Saina Nehwal set to miss World Championship owing to injuries

12/01/2021

Former world no.1 shuttler Saina Nehwal will miss the World Championship for the first time in her career, due to a spate of injuries. The two-time medalist from the prestigious tournament is currently recovering from a groin pull and knee injury, which has kept her away from the court.

The event scheduled to be played in Huelva, Spain, will start from December 12. "Saina had to withdraw from World Championship as she is still recovering from the groin and a knee injury. She won't be able to regain fitness in time to play the tournament," Saina's husband and fellow shuttler Kashyap told PTI.

It was during the Thomas and Uber Cup final in October, that Saina had to retire from her match against Spain's Clara Azurmendi due to a groin niggle. "She had a tough groin injury in Uber Cup. She was fine in Denmark but it didn't heal properly and again started paining when she was playing in French Open. It aggravated and became serious," said Kashyap.

"She also had a knee injury in France and had to pull out. She is doing her rehabilitation now. Hopefully, she will be able to get back to training from 10th or 15th of this month."

This will be for the first time since 2006 that she is going to miss the tournament. Following a series of injuries, her ranking has also slipped to world no.23 in the world.

"She is naturally a bit upset, especially since it has been tough two years for her, she has been getting injured too often, there were niggles, stomach issues, I mean, something or other has been happening," Kashyap said.

"But it is a phase and she has to work around it. She can play for 2-3 years, I feel. She is a positive person and she will figure things out."