National coach Pullela Gopichand today said that the loss of form of ace shuttler Saina Nehwal, whose campaign in the Japan Open Super Series ended in semifinals today, was not a cause of concern.
“Last year was fantastic while this year has not been that great. Having said that she reached the semi-finals and had a couple of decent runs till the semi-finals. And it looked better than the previous tournament,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the India International Sports Summit.
“If you look at the way she played her match yesterday and the day before, she proved that she is up there against the top players. Probably this is the first time she has lost the match to (Juliane) Schenk. I haven’t spoken to her post the match. But I’m sure we will iron out those things. These are minor things. I’m sure they can be sorted out.
“There are still five Super Series level tournaments left till the end of the year. Hopefully, we will get her back to form,” he added.
World No 5, Saina was stunned 19-21 10-21 by Germany’s Schenk in just 39 minutes in Japan Open Super Series.
The 21-year-old Hyderabadi, who became world number two following her exploits last year that included three Super Series wins, has won only one major tournament - the Swiss Open Grand Prix - this year (in March).
“Earlier in the year, she had a couple of fitness issues but she overcame those. It seems to be a case of bad form.
Hopefully, we will rectify that. And we just need to redeem and get back to do some work on her,” Gopichand said.
To a query on India’s preparation for next year’s London Olympics, Gopichand said, “I think the run-up to the Olympics is important. The 2-3 months before the Olympics are important. We have to talk to everyone to give them confidence. But what really matters is winning.
“We have to keep up the winning habit and get back to it as soon as possible.”
