DUBAI // Having been a brown belt in karate before she took up badminton, Saina Nehwal knows a thing or two about hard knocks and pain management.
That said, India’s most prominent sportswoman was only eight years old when she made the switch, on account of the fact badminton was less painful.
Even though the racquet game is ostensibly more sedate, it still brings injuries with it.
Nehwal might have arrived at Dubai for the season finale as the main crowd-puller for the Dubai World Superseries Finals. But hindered by an injury to her right Achilles, the world No 2 might not make it to Saturday and Sunday, let alone be in position to contend for the title.
Nozomi Okuhara had not beaten Nehwal in the four matches they had played against each other preceding this tournament, but the Japanese player, made short work of Nehwal in their opening group match with a 21-14, 21-6 win in just 35 minutes.
Read more: Caroline Marin and Saina Nehwal set to renew badminton rivalry at Dubai World Superseries Finals
Nehwal said she has not trained for the past three weeks since sustaining the injury, but given the prestige of the season’s climax in the UAE, she felt compelled to play.
“It is always good to play in this tournament,” Nehwal said. “It is always good to come here, but I knew it was going to be very tough because the competition here is like the quarter-final stage of any other tournament.
“There are no easy games. It’s not easy against any player. Okuhara was everywhere Thursday. It is not going to be easy for me. In fact, I think it is going to be very, very, very difficult for me.
“This is one of the most prestigious tournaments. I always want to come here and give my best, but all these players are really tough to play against.”
The 25-year-old Hyderabadi became the first Indian woman to reach the top of badminton’s world rankings earlier this year.
The Superseries Final had been touted as a showdown between her and Carolina Marin, the Spaniard who has leapfrogged her and is currently top of the world rankings.
Marin faced few problems in her opening match. Her main concern in her straight games win over Tai Tzu Ying, the defending champion from Chinese Taipei, was the speed of the shuttlecocks in flight.
“They were too slow at the start,” said Marin, who won 21-16, 21-9 in 37 minutes. “I had to get the speed changed. I wanted to play faster.”
Nehwal, too, suggested the conditions at the Hamdan Sports Complex made for a slow court, and she said that counted against her given her depleted energy reserves.
“When you don’t have the stamina to push yourself, it is really difficult,” Nehwal said. “I am trying to push myself, but it is not happening.
“Against a rally player, at the highest level it is not going to be easy because they cover your shots. You have to be equally prepared if you are going to beat them. Obviously, I am not there as of now. In the first game I could push a little bit, but in the second game I was totally down, my stamina levels were very low.”
Marin, who reveres her Spanish tennis compatriot Rafa Nadal and said she shares his fighting qualities, and Nehwal meet in Thursday’s second round of matches.
Given that only the top two from the group will advance to Saturday’s semi-final, Nehwal has her work cut out.
Dubai’s Indian badminton supporters could be in for a double disappointment, too, as the same situation faces Kidambi Srikanth in the men’s draw. Srikanth was comfortably beaten 21-13, 21-13 by Kento Momota in the match that preceded Nehwal’s on Court 1.
“I still have a chance. I still have two more matches,” said Srikanth, who plays Viktor Axelsen in his second match. “I’m in a situation where if I win I stay, I lose I go.
“But I won’t win if I play like I did in this match. I made far too many mistakes.”
Chen Long, who was irresistible in winning this title last year, got his defence off to a perfect start as he easily dispatched his Chinese compatriot Tian Houwei 21-13, 21-13.
pradley@thenational.ae
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