Saina Nehwal shares clip of favourite pilates workout from separate training facility

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Tokyo Olympics-hopeful Saina Nehwal began training at a private facility in Hyderabad. Nehwal, who will be training with her husband Parupalli Kashyap, chose to train at a separate centre close to the SAI Pullela Gopichand Academy following a forced four-month-long hiatus due to COVID-19. The London Olympics bronze medallist recently shared a clip of her pilates workout. 

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Saina Nehwal Instagram: Nehwal shares Pilates workout routine video from her Tokyo Olympics training

The Indian shuttler captioned the video, claiming that pilates is her favourite kind of workout though it can be both difficult and relaxing at the same time. She tagged Mannedi Chandana in her video, who cross-posted the video on her own Instagram account. Chandana owns and runs Flex Pilates in Hyderabad and is a Rehab & Injury Prevention Specialist. 

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Saina Nehwal training at a private facility for Tokyo Olympics

While Nehwal was one of the eight players invited to the Pullela Gopichand Academy, she chose to train with Kashyap and 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt. She had reportedly taken permission from chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand to train separately. While the 30-year-old player was supposed to start training at the academy soon, the facilities had to be shut down after N Sikki Reddy and physiotherapist Kiran C tested positive with COVID-19. 

Saina Nehwal Olympics training with Parupalli Kashyap

Along with Kashyap, Nehwal will also be training with 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt. The centre they are working at is close to the Gopichand Academy. During an interview with PTI, Kashyap detailed why Nehwal chose to train separately and "with the basics". “We have been training at a centre near the Gopichand Academy for a week now. It is a small facility," the former Commonwealth Games champion explained. He added that Nehwal is training to 'get fitter and reach a decent level' before she decides to rejoin the Gopichand Academy. Her training was discussed with Gopichand and their new Indonesian coach, Agus Dwi Santoso. 

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Kashyap, who is currently ranked 24th in the world, also spoke about the Gopichand Academy and other players not training at the centre. As per the London Olympics quarter-finalist, multiple players could train at the academy at different timings while following the rules and safety protocols set up by the Sports Authority of India (SAI). Apart from Nehwal, Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa are also among players who were yet to start training. However, their arrival will be further delayed after Reddy's positive test. The COVID-19 tests were administered by SAI and had to be taken by every player, coach and staff member at the academy. 

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(Image source: Saina Nehwal Instagram – @nehwalsaina)