Not thinking about Olympic qualification: Saina Nehwal (IANS Interview)

By Rohit Mundayur New Delhi, Oct 9 : Saina Nehwal is currently concerned with maintaining fitness for competitions and tournaments next year and not thinking about the long road ahead of her to ensure a fourth appearance at the Olympic Games.
The 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist is currently ranked 22nd in the Badminton World Federation’s (BWF) Race to Tokyo rankings and needs to be within the top 13 to seal qualification.
The 30-year-old former women’s singles world No.1 is currently looking to get back to competitive badminton in January. “I have no plans as such,” Saina told IANS in am exclusive interview, when asked about her plans to approach the qualification period next year.
“I am only trying to improve the fitness and [look after] my injuries during this period and would look forward to do well in competitions. I am not thinking much about qualifying for Olympics,” she said.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic brought the badminton calendar to a halt, and eventually forced the postponement of the Olympics itself, Saina was in a race against time to confirm qualification to the quadrennial event. The freezing of the calendar, and eventually the BWF rankings, meant that Saina could stop and recuperate.
“I took a break probably for few weeks. I had some issues with my ankle and shins and I needed a proper break so it was good. Once I started back, obviously, I knew that it will take a few months to get back in shape as I need to progress slowly for my fitness. But it was fun. We also knew we had enough time before tournaments would happen,” she said.