India's Bulgarian International champion admits the event may have been sans big stars, but title is a big leap of faith after year-long injury break
Playing an international tournament after almost a year, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt yesterday clinched the men's singles title at the Bulgarian International Future Series tournament. Gurusaidutt, who has been out of action since the US Open in July 2016 due to an injury, defeated Muhammed Ali Kurt 21-17, 21-16 in a 35-minute match to boost his confidence ahead of next month's Senior Nationals Championship. "I am feeling good, though it is a small tournament but coming back after a year was not so easy," Guru said.
Indian shuttler RMV Gurusaidutt, who has been out of action since the US Open in July 2016 due to injury, defeated Turkey's Muhammed Ali Kurt 21-17, 21-16 to clinch the Bulgarian International Future Series title yesterday. Pic/Bipin Kokate
ADVERTISEMENT
"I wasn't getting entry anywhere. My rank was above 900 and this is the only place where I could get entry." Talking about the tournament, Gurusaidutt said: "The level of the tournament was decent. I feel this was a good tournament for me to start my season. "I was in the qualifying and had to play three rounds in qualifying. I was doing well in training and I felt I was in a good shape for this tournament. Semis and the finals were good matches." It was an ankle injury and subsequent surgery put Gurusaidutt out of action for longer than he expected as a ligament strain was detected during the surgery.
"I was totally out of badminton or any kind of training from August 2016 until April 2017. Before I underwent surgery, the doctor and physios tried a lot to avoid the surgery but then in the end surgery was the only option. "I got back well in April-May before Thailand Open but just before leaving for Thailand, I had a jerk in my ankle, that was because of over loading. Again that took me about 5 to 6 weeks to heel. But this time, it was well planned by physios Chris Pedra, Kiran and Sumansh with the guidance of Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala." Asked what tournament he is playing next, Gurusaidutt said: "I'm playing nationals next. I thought I need two good weeks
of training."
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
