Saina Nehwal pulls out of Syed Modi
by Kapil Khera
Still recovering from a foot injury and a recurring fever, defending champion Saina Nehwal has pulled out of the women’s singles competition at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here.
The Olympic bronze medallist cited illness as the reason behind her last-minute withdrawal.
“I have been carrying the illness for a couple of days and have not fully recovered. I need some time to recover and get back into shape,” Saina said in a letter to the organisers of the event, which begin with the qualifiers here today.
World No. 2 Saina had hurt her achilles tendon during the China Open finals last year and missed the Hong Kong Open. She did play in the BWF Super Series Masters at Dubai in December but has been struggling with her fitness ever since.
The star Indian had played for Awadhe Warriors in the recently-concluded Premier badminton League, where she won two and lost one against China’s Han Li in the semifinal contest.
So she is lacking in stamina and to play at the highest level, it is important to be at your best. So after consulting with her coach Vimal Kumar, she decided to skip the event,” Saina’s father Harvir Singh said.