Saina Nehwal Pulls Out of Hong Kong Open
Saina Nehwal withdrew from the Hong Kong Open after complaints of severe pain in the legs, which also hampered her movements during the China Open final against Li Xuerui.
The Indian badminton team received a major jolt ahead of the Hong Kong Open as Saina Nehwal decided to pull out of the USD 350,000 event after complaints of severe pain in her legs. (Saina Nehwal Goes Down to Olympic Champion Li Xuerui in China Open Final)
Despite achieving the World No.1 spot this year, the Indian ace has only been able to clinch one Superseries title in 2015 -- the India Open in March.
Though she won the India Grand Prix Gold too in January, she has lost three major finals -- All-England, World Championships and China Open -- which has prevented her from making 2015 a great season from only a good one.
According to a report in Times of India, Saina's father Harvir Singh had informed that she was having severe pain in her leg and could not move properly during her China Open title clash against Li Xuerui.
"After the final she couldn't even walk properly," Singh had said.
Even Saina's coach Vimal Kumar felt it would be best to give the Hyderabadi a break so that she can recover well.
India's hopes will now rest on double world championship bronze medallist P.V. Sindhu, who has been handed an extremely tough first round against World No.1 and reigning world champion Carolina Marin.
Though the tall and lanky Indian has a respectable 2-3 record against the Spaniard, also having won their last encounter in October in Denmark, the top seed is nevertheless always an extremely tough opponent.