Vimal Kumar: Saina Nehwal going through toughest phase

Saina Nehwal and Vimal Kumar

Former World No. 1 Saina Nehwal is going through the toughest phase of her career and needs to take care of herself so as to avoid any more defeats, says former national champion and coach U Vimal Kumar.

Saina, currently ranked 20th in the world, was knocked out of the first round of the ongoing second Thailand Open. She had earlier fallen in the second round of the first Thailand Open, which was also her first tournament since the All England Championships in March 2020.

A two-time national champion felt Saina is going through the toughest phase of her career. "I think so. Things have not been going well for her for the past couple of years. She needs confidence to get going," said the man who won the national title in 1988 and 1989.

Doubles pairs lose at Thailand

The Indian mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa went down 20-22, 21-18, 12-21 to top seeds Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai in the semi-finals of the Thailand Open. The impressive run of Satwik and Chirag Shetty also came to an end after a close 18-21, 18-21 semi-final defeat to Malaysian combination of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik.