‘Doubted if I could ever play again’
But even after missing the Olympics due to the knee injury, I was still motivated. I told myself okay, Olympics is gone, I can’t help it It was only during the two weeks before the Australian Open that Gopi sir tweaked my training programme ... the programme worked
Enduring the worst injury phase of his career, Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap says he had doubts if he would be able to play again after dislocating his right shoulder at the Premier Badminton League in January.
Ever since limping out of the court in October 2015 with a calf muscle injury, life has never been the same for Kashyap as he entered into a constant battle to gain fitness. He recovered from a torn calf muscle, only to suffer a knee injury at the German Open, which ended his Olympic dream as from World No.7, he slipped out of contention. “It was the most difficult phase of my life. But even after missing the Olympics due to the knee injury, I was still motivated. I told myself okay, Olympics is gone, I can’t help it,” said Kashyap.
“So, let me recover and 2017 will be the year for me and I got the confidence also after reaching the semifinals at Korea. But after dislocating my shoulder at PBL, I was completely messed up,” he added.
“It was my right hand and again I had a three months break. There was a long period of bed rest and then there was the rehab. During this time, I lost it, I didn’t know how I will ever play if I can’t smash.
“But I had good friends and support of the doctor and physio. I completely followed what they told me to do. I took one day at a time and slowly I started getting my confidence back,” added the first Indian shuttler to reach the men’s singles quarterfinals at the London Olympics.
After recovering, Kashyap played at the China Open but he ended up pulling his hamstring. “I pulled my hamstring just 10 days before the Thailand Open,” he said.
Kashyap played at Thailand before entering a training programme, which was specifically designed for him by chief coach Pullela Gopichand. “It was only during the two weeks before the Australian Open that Gopi sir tweaked my training programme here and there because he knew I am an experienced player and the programme worked for me,” said Kashyap.