Kolkata: Its has been a bumpy ride for ace shuttler Saina Nehwal who has had to face the wrath of an injury. A knee injury followed by an operation, has paved way for more negativity than positive waves for Saina. But her coach Vimal Kumar is of the view that her student should participate in the Premier Badminton League (PBL). “There is no need for Saina to stay away from playing Premier Badminton League. It adds to her career profile. The league will not be a strenuous affair because it is not as competitive as international tournaments,” Kumar told PTI.
For Saina’s coach, PBL is not like the Indian Premier Leaugue (IPL). “PBL is not like the IPL or any other cricket league, which goes on for two months. It goes on for two weeks, which gets a lot of attention. Moreover, PBL will not affect the training session of Saina because there are as many as 16 international events, which will keep her fit,” Kumar said according to the news agency.
“She (Saina) will be playing wherever the matches are going to be held, but still will have time of about five to six weeks to prepare, before participating in big events coming up in March,” Kumar said.
A bronze medalist in the Olympics, Saina has been troubled by injuries, yet even respecting the rise of PV Sindhu who did India proud by winning a silver at the Rio Olympics this year, it would be unfair to write Saina off. Here’s a badminton star called Saina Nehwal also hailing from Hyderabad like Sindhu, who made an impact after Prakash Padukone and Syed Modi with due respect to Madhumita Bisht and others. Saina was honoured with the Padma Bhushan and has also won the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award and the Arjuna Award.
Let’s give it to Saina for the time being because despite Sindhu having gone past her in terms of Olympics honours, Saina glamourised the sport in her own way!