Saina Nehwal in action. (file photo)
Saina Nehwal’s chances of defending her Commonwealth Games title look bleak as she has decided to skip the selection trials for the upcoming multi-sport events.
Big-ticket events include the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the Hangzhou Asian Games. The selection tests are scheduled from April 15 to 20 in New Delhi.
The 32-year-old Hisar-born shuttler, a two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist and 2012 London Olympics bronze medalist, has informed the Badminton Association of India (BAI) about her decision not to participate in the trials.
A BAI source told PTI, “Saina has written to BAI informing her of her decision not to play in the trials, which will be the only tournament to select players for the Commonwealth Games, the Asiad and the Thomas and Uber Cup.”
The Commonwealth Games will have 10 members with equal numbers of men and women, while the Asian Games and Thomas and Uber Cup contingents will have 20 members each, including 10 men and 10 women.
BAI has made it clear that the top 15 players in the BWF rankings will be selected directly, while the rest will be selected through trials in which shuttlers ranked between 16 and 50 will participate in the latest world rankings released on March. 29.
The national governing body will “finalize the prospects for the Senior Core Group for the 2024 Olympic Games” during the trials.
-Injuries and recent form-
Former world number one, Saina has been battling injuries and poor form for the past few years, which has brought her ranking down to 23rd.
Saina, who won gold medals in 2010 and 2018 Commonwealth Games, suffered a knee injury ahead of the Rio Olympics.
He suffered a groin injury during the Thomas & Uber Cup final in Aarhus, Denmark in October last year, and a knee injury forced him to miss a French Open first-round match.
Her return to the circuit at the India Open ended in the second round when she lost to the fast-rising Malvika Bansod. After a hiatus of a few weeks, she played three events – the German Open, the All England and the Swiss Open – last month but failed to cross the second round.
The semi-finals at the 2021 Orleans Masters Super 100 and the quarter-finals at the 2020 Barcelona Spain Masters Super 300 and Malaysia Masters have been Saina’s highlights in recent years.