Press Trust of India
Hyderabad, August 18: World Championship silver medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal feels her decision to change base to Bangalore under Vimal Kumar’s tutelage turned out to be a masterstroke as it helped her regain her game and prolong her career, which was in serious doubt last year.
Saina reiterated that she contemplated quitting last year following a string of poor performances but Vimal came as a saviour and instilled confidence and self belief in her.
“It really really helped (decision to shift to Bangalore) and everyone can see that. A lot has changed since then. As of now I have become World no. 1, won China and India Open, reached the finals of All England and World Championships. All these happened only as I moved to Bangalore,” Saina said after returning from World Championship in Jakarta.
“I was thinking about quitting (last year) because I thought I was getting irritated with the kind of performances I was giving. I was not happy with the way I was playing. It was not happening, I was not finding out ways to win. It was getting challenging for me because I knew I was a world class player,” Saina said.
Having created history by becoming the first Indian woman to enter the finals of the World Championship, Saina is now all geared up for next year’s Rio Olympics.
“It’s (World Championship medal) one of the special medals because it is going to give me lot more confidence to be ready for the Olympics. That is for sure. Olympics will have the same players coming in. Olympics come every four years. It will be lot more pressure. But same kind of players will be there,” she said.
