Saina Nehwal looking to complete rehab properly, says coach Vimal Kumar

After struggling with injuries at the start of this year, Saina Nehwal went to Rio hoping to improve on her bronze medal-winning performance from the 2012 London Games. However, the former World No.1 suffered a shock defeat in the group match against World No.61 Marija Ulitina in straight sets, and exited the tournament in the group stage itself. But, after Saina’s exit, her coach Vimal Kumar revealed that the star shuttler was carrying a knee injury. After returning from Rio, Saina had a surgery on her right knee last Saturday.

"For the next three months, we are not looking at titles. She is looking at completing her rehab programme properly, get her strength back and make a comeback," Saina's coach Vimal Kumar told mid-day on Tuesday. "The injury was unfortunate for Saina. She tried her best, but it came all of a sudden. The rehab programme is most crucial right now and how seriously she takes it will be very important in her comeback bid. Strength will be the key here. To get her strokes back won't take less than a week," he added.

The seven-week rehab programme for the 26-year-old will begin after two weeks of rest. Before the Rio Games, a small portion of Saina’s kneecap broke and that reportedly caused a fat pad impingement and inflammation of her knee joint.

"I thought she looked quite good before Rio. In the first week of August, she consulted a doctor and he said it was a 'fat pad inflammation.' We thought a few days of rest should do. But after reaching Rio on August 7 she was in great discomfort. She thought she could take a painkiller. She was mentally prepared but the pain was really bad," the former national coach explained.