Saina Nehwal with coach Vimal Kumar (PTI File photo)
Coach Vimal Kumar has guided Saina Nehwal in this second innings of her career and ensured another positive result with a successive medal at the Worlds. However, understandably he is not very happy about her loss on Saturday. Excerpts…
Happy that Saina’s won a second Worlds medal?
No, I’m not looking at it that way at all. It’s a very tough and sad loss for me and her today. She was right on top till the beginning of the second set and it was crucial to keep it to 2. She slackened in the second at the poor start, and did not play well after recovering to make it 17-all. She should’ve looked to close out there and then. In the third, she felt drained out and Okuhara remained persistent and increased in confidence. Saina needed energy for strokeplay at that stage, and unfortunately she didn’t. But it was a match to be finished in the second. Okuhara got second wind and it was over then. She had a very remote chance of coming back in the third.
How has the journey been—silver at 2015 Worlds, the Olympics disappointment and now the bronze?
I try to help her as much as I can, though I can’t travel much with her. She’s shown courage to come back but these are the matches that need to be won. I was happy how she played against Sung Ji Hyun and Kirsty—two tough matches. It’s sad her match was scheduled in a way there was no recovery, but that’s how it is.
How tough was the Kirsty match?
We were preparing for He Bingjiao, though I watched Kirsty play. Frankly, I’d thought Saina would beat her comfortably, but that didn’t happen. The home girl played really well, though Saina responded well by absorbing her pace and it was good to pull out that match in the last four rallies.
Are you happy with the shots that Saina is playing?
There’s many she is practicing for. But she’s still not playing them all in matches. I’m happy how she got her reverse clears going in the first game, but there’s potential for a lot more in the coming months.
One year since Olympics. Happy where she’s reached?
Olympics was the worst experience of my life—all we did was visit the physios and doctors. It’s ok like this—when you play and fight and win or lose. But that was a terrible period. Recovering from surgery was tough, and I thought she rushed back a little. Big players know how to schedule their tournaments and how long to take their breaks, and that will be most important in coming years.
As we saw, she’s playing well, but she’ll have to take the bold decisions. But players frustration when kept away from the game is nothing compared to an outsiders’ —so a coach or a fan will not understand what she’s going through and how badly she wants to play. I’m older I knew how to deal with the tough times, but she’s the player and I can understand her wanting to return and start playing at the top level.
When did you know she could compete with the best?
Wins against Ratchanok and Sung Ji gave her confidence and after Australia and Indonesia I knew she was ready to start challenging the top players. We can’t be happy with a bronze here. But now, the next target.
