Exhausted Saina blames tough scheduling at Worlds for the loss

NEW DELHI: Saina Nehwal complained about scheduling at the World Badminton Championships after losing her women’s singles semi-final to Japanese Nozomi Okuhara in Glasgow on Saturday.

“Clearly when you play tough matches, it is tiring. I thought we would play in the second session but scheduling was kept like that. (It is) surprising because we do not have enough time to recover and take the necessary steps because I just could not. I just slept,” the 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist said after her loss.

Saina, who won silver at the 2015 Worlds, had played a marathon match on Friday when she defeated local player Kirsty Gilmour in a match that lasted an hour and 14 minutes. It was played in the evening session.

However, she was back on Saturday, but this time in the morning session.

“Well it is okay because it is the same thing with her (Nozomi), so no excuse for that. I also got tired because of the match yesterday which was quite tough. She (Kirsty Gilmour) was hitting good smashes for which I had to bend a lot; that way it was quite tough for me,” added Saina.

Commenting on the semi-final, the Hyderabadi said that she tried her best but her opponent proved better on the day.

Earlier, Saina admitted she should not have gone to Rio Olympics in 2016 where she suffered a shock second round exit and aggravated her injury, forcing her out of the circuit for several months.

“Only I know what I went through. I shouldn’t have gone to Rio. I didn’t know I had a major injury. The belief of my parents and coach helped me get back. I still have tendonitis in the (right) knee,” Saina said.