India coach Vimal Kumar lauds Saina for remaining focussed on game

Former national badminton coach Vimal Kumar Thursday lauded Saina Nehwal for not letting her relationship with fellow shuttler Parupalli Kashyap affect her game, amid reports that the two are tying the knot in December.

"I knew about their (Saina and Kashyap) relationship. One good thing about it is, Saina managed it very well. She did not get distracted with it. Her priority was sport and she gave hundred per cent to it," he told PTI at the Padukone-Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence here.

Saina shifted from Hyderabad to Bengaluru to train under Vimal Kumar in 2014 before her return to Hyderabad to once again train under Pullela Gopichand last year.

Kumar has been instrumental in helping Saina achieve World No. 1 ranking in April 2015 and win a silver at the World Championship.

"Normally, such attractions and relationships among teens are a great distraction, but Saina drew inspiration from it and reached many milestones in her career," he added.

Recently, Saina had included ...