Two’s a Charm for Nehwal & Parupalli
It’s early days yet, but Saina Nehwal is noticing significant improvements in her game since fellow-player and husband Parupalli Kashyap started working with her late last year.
· DEV SUKUMAR
The Nehwal-Parupalli partnership is a unique sight in badminton: both elite singles players, they are now frequently seen in the coach’s chair during matches, helping each other with insights or admonitions.
For Nehwal, Parupalli’s coaching inputs have worked wonders as she began her 2019 season in the best way possible – recovering from an ankle injury in December, the world No.9 made the semifinals at the Malaysia Masters before claiming the title at the Indonesia Masters the very next week.
“I feel, from before the Asian Games to now, although I’m not fully fit, the results are extraordinary,” Nehwal said at the Malaysia Masters. “I feel there’s a lot of change in my game. I can see that, (comparing) with all the top players, the margin is very less.”