2012 Syed Modi International: Knee trouble puts Saina’s expedition to halt in Women’s Singles event
India’s badminton queen Saina Nehwal was struggling because of knee trouble before the start of Syed Modi International India GPG event but still she decided to participate in the home event to end her season on super note.
However, Women’s Singles expert had to face a woeful exit due to fitness issues. World Number three shuttler was in strong position in the opening match against Ksenia Polikarpova when she had to concede walk over in the second set.
Earlier, Saina also graced the BWF Superseries Finals with similar physical condition and managed to surge into the semi-final round of this prestigious event. Her over exertion ultimately aggravate the knee injury in Syed Modi International and she had
to pull out her name.
The Olympic Bronze medallist looked off colour straight away in the beginning as she could not move swiftly across the court in first set and it took her plenty of time to oust the opponent.
This segment of the showdown heated up when Saina unleashed a flurry of power packed strokes and confined her competitor in the rear court. She put the Russian under huge pressure by piling up a mountainous figure of 6 in no time.
However, she could not carry this momentum and allowed Ksenia to proceed on the points table. The opposing shuttler made best out this situation and levelled the score before the interval. Both contenders made the crowd gasp by standing toe-to-toe in next
couple of rallies.
This neck and neck contest ended when Saina made a notable difference with few back-to-back points in third quarter of the set. She maintained a respectable lead of four points and registered a winning margin of 21-17.
The following game proved real test for both shuttlers as Saina was trying to overcome an ill-timed injury whereas her challenger was striving hard to avoid a straight-set defeat.
In first half of the set, both female shuttlers remained close and did not allow each other to establish a permanent lead. The game kept swinging between them until the mid-game break and Saina was just one step ahead of her rival before the interval.
The Indian expert gathered some pace in latter part of game and left her opponent far behind with 20-18 score but then the knee trouble put her expedition to halt and she had to hang up racket immediately.
Now Saina will stay away from court for couple of weeks to regain her fitness. She is scheduled to represent the country in Korea Open which will be in full swing from January 8, 2013.
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