(S.Ravi Seshu)
One of the hopes of Indians in Rio Olympics, Saina Nehwal, winner of bronze medal in the last edition in London in Shuttle Badminton, was ousted from the race on Sunday. World No-5 badly lost to World No-61 Marija Ulitina of Ukraine in straight games (18-21, 19-21) in her second match of Group ‘G’.
Looked uncomfortable with a band wrapped to her right knee, Saina lacked her natural aggression from the word go. She was leading till 12 points in the first set but later lost all her energies to control Ulitina, an Olympic debutant. Saina, obviously not in her elements, struggled very hard to cover the court with ease. The lesser known face in international badminton arena, Ulitina didn’t play a high quality game. But what costed Saina were her poor reflexes and lack of self-motivation.
The dejected Badminton Association of India (BAI) said: “You have to watch it to believe it.”
Saina’s inability to switch the gear in the crucial stage of the match was evident in both the sets. Saina had won her first match against a local Brazilian girl 21-17, 21-17. Given the experience of Saina, that score line had surprised many. After winning Australian Open, Saina worked very hard to perform well in Rio under the watchful eyes of her coach Vimal Kumar in Bangaluru.
After the match, Saina declared that she had an inflammation in her right knee preventing her to stretch.
Sports commentator from Hyderabad, Harsha Bhogle said: “This wasn’t Saina playing. Such tragedy to come so far and be so handicapped. Waiting to hear what it was.”
With Saina’s ouster, now the attention turned to Hyderabad-based player PV Sindhu, seeded ninth.
After a phenomenal performance by Indian players, Government sent the largest contingent to Rio with a lots of hopes. By now, the combinations of Ashwini Ponnappa-Jwala Gutta and Manu Attri-Sumeeth Reddy crashed out after losing their first two respective group stage clashes.
