PBL will not affect Saina Nehwal's fitness, says coach Vimal Kumar

12/26/2016

Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal's coach Vimal Kumar has said that she will not be strained in any way by playing in the upcoming Premier Badminton League event. Saina had played through an injury in last year's PBL, which was widely seen as a reason for her poor show at the Rio Olympics.

"There is no need for Saina to stay away from playing (in the) Premier Badminton League. It adds to her career profile. The league will not be a strenuous affair because it is not as competitive as international tournaments," Saina Nehwal's coach Vimal Kumar told PTI on Wednesday.

Saina Nehwal had recently recovered from a career-threatening knee injury, which she suffered during the Rio Olympics and made a come-back at the Hong Kong Open in November.

The 26-year old is set to represent Awadhe Warriors in the third edition of the Premier Badminton League scheduled to be played between Jan 1-14, 2017 and Kumar feels that a two-week tournament will not affect his student's practice for international tournaments.

"PBL is not like IPL or any other cricket league, which goes on for two months. It goes on for two weeks, which gets a lot of attention. PBL will in no way affect the training programme of the Indian women's singles star because there are at 15 to 16 international tournaments," he said.

"She will be playing wherever the matches are going to be held, but still will have time of about five to six weeks to prepare, before participating in big events coming up in March," he added.

PBL will not affect Saina Nehwal's fitness, says coach Vimal Kumar

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