THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: “I am not a machine, but just a human being,” said Saina Nehwal when asked whether she would participate in the 35th National Games scheduled to be held in Kerala from January 2015.
The ace badminton player who presently ranks 4 in the world, made it abundantly clear that her priority will not be the most prestigious national tournament.
She cited fatigue caused by 15 back to back international tournaments, she has participated in this year as the reason for taking a break.
“I am presently looking ahead to regain my fitness as we all are preparing for the 2016 Rio Olympics,” said Saina who recently parted ways with her mentor Pullela Gopichand and made Vimal Kumar, her new coach. She was in the city to inaugurate the new sportsgear showroom of a brand which she endorses.
In an interaction with children of the Oxford School Kallattumuuku that followed, the Hyderabadi girl said that her victory in the China Open Series Tournament last month was the most memorable of her career.
“I am happy to have beaten many Chinese players on my way up in the tournament,” the 24-year-old said. It is pertinent to note that the top three rankers in the world Li Xuerui, Wang Shixian and Wangyihan are Chinese players.
S Muralidharan, the Honorable Secretary of Kerala Badminton (Shuttle) Association, said that Saina was one player who did not repeat any of her mistakes in her next tournament.
