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Saina is in no position to play in competitive tournaments this month: U Vimal Kumar

Undergoing rehabilitation in Bengaluru, World No. 2 will miss South Asian Games and Badminton Asia Team Championships; likely to return to action in All England

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Saina Nehwal is likely to return to competitive action at the All England Badminton Championships to be held in Birmingham next month
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Saina Nehwal is likely to return to competitive badminton at the All England Badminton Championships to be held in Birmingham from March 8-13.

Nehwal, who is recovering from a foot injury and also a viral infection that she caught during the Premier Badminton League last month, is currently undergoing rehabilitation at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru under the watchful eyes of her coach U Vimal Kumar.

This means that the 25-year-old Padma Bhushan awardee will miss the South Asian Games in Shillong (February 6-10) and the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Hyderabad (February 15-21). The injury has forced the World No. 2 to withdraw from a host of tournaments including last week's Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and the Thailand Masters GPG in Bangkok from February 8-13.

"Saina is undergoing a rehab programme and has also started playing. She is still in the training phase with on-court sessions. She needs to get that on-court endurance," coach Vimal told dna on Wednesday. "She will take time to improve. She will be fully fit by February end and hence is not in a position to play in competitive tournaments this whole month," he added.

Missing some tournaments, especially in an Olympic year, may hamper the 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist's chances of qualifying. "Saina had to miss out on certain tournaments like Syed Modi, where she was the defending champion. She entered Thailand Masters thinking she can gain fitness but had to withdraw. You cannot play just like that. When you play (in tournaments), you have to play well," Kumar, to whom Nehwal has dedicated the Padma Bhushan, said.

Nehwal was last seen in competitive tournament in the Superseries Finals in Dubai in December, which she played with the injury. She had felt pain in her right calf muscle during the China Open Superseries Premier in November that forced her to withdraw from Hong Kong Superseries the following week. She managed to play only three matches for her franchise Awadhe Warriors in the PBL last month, when she also caught a viral infection.

"That viral infection that she caught in Lucknow completely drained her out. She was weak, especially when playing her last match against the Chinese Han Li (in the semifinals)," explained Kumar, former national champion.
The former chief national coach also said that the South Asian Games "has come at a wrong time for the badminton players when the top players are seeking qualification for the Olympics".

Kumar said: "The government is very keen that every top athlete participates in the SAG. Unfortunately, it has come at a wrong time. There are serious competitions lined up till April end and all are in contention for Olympic qualification. All the big players have to improve their ranking points, and not drop them.

"Competition at the SAG is not that great. Even second and third string Indian shuttlers should be able to do well. But the government is keen to have all the top athletes playing in SAG as it insists it does a lot for the top sportspersons."

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