I am happy to see Saina attacking well: coach Vimal Kumar
Saina Nehwal’s personal coach Vimal Kumar showered praise on the shuttler on Sunday after she secured the Australian Open title defeating Sun Yu of China. Vimal expressed his happiness in seeing Saina’s attacking game and pointed that the 26-year-old's determination helped her win the match.
The World No.8 had started the match poorly and lost the first game 11-21 to the Chinese shuttler in the title match. Needing a big effort to come back into the match, Saina showed great determination and took the second game 21-14, before winning the match with a 21-19 third game. Speaking to PTI after Saina’s first title win of the year, coach Vimal Kumar praised the shuttler for her attacking play and determination to come back into the match.
"She (Saina) started bit slowly today but I am happy to see her attacking well. She did not get the length initially as Sun was dictating the rallies. The most important thing today was her determined play. She really wanted to win badly and that made the difference.
"In my opinion, she is moving much faster and attacking than ever before. This win should spur her preparations towards the Olympic Games in August. There is a lot of scope for improvement and the next six to seven weeks, which will help her prepare better. It is a good result for Saina," Vimal said on Saina's victory.
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The coach also pointed out Saina’s ability to come out of tough situations and said that the 26-year-old did well to come out of tough stages throughout the tournament to win the title.
"Definitely, she wriggled out of some tough stages against Ratchanok and today against Sun Yu,” the coach told PTI.
It was Saina’s second Australian Open title, having won the title in 2014 as well. The win also helped the 26-year-old claim her 22nd career title, and it could move her up to the third place in the BWF rankings as well.
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