What’s the story?
Indian badminton ace Parupalli Kashyap has been ruled out for at least three months after having dislocated his shoulder during the recently-concluded second season of the Premier Badminton League. The Commonwealth Games champion, who represented the eventual champions Chennai Smashers, dived to retrieve a shot during his men’s singles match against the Mumbai Rockets’ HS Prannoy in the final on Saturday.
It was while getting up that his body weight was awkwardly burdened on his right shoulder. The 30-year-old continued playing after receiving treatment but admitted that he was not feeling good in his post-match interview.
Kashyap opted for an MRI scan soon after which revealed not only a dislocation but also a tear in the labrum. Through a post on his Facebook page, Kashyap announced the disappointing news on Monday.
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The two-time Syed Modi International winner has been having a very tough phase since the end of 2015. During the French Open Superseries in October that year, he sustained a calf muscle tear, recovering from which he had an abdominal strain during his title defence at the Syed Modi International tournament in January, 2016.
There was no respite for him as he suffered a serious knee injury that forced him to retire from his pre-quarter-final match against the eighth seed Son Wan Ho at the German Open in early March. It not only required a surgery and put him on the sidelines for six months but also dashed all his hopes of representing India at the Rio Olympics.
The ranking of the former World No. 6 slipped even below 100 due to the hiatus.
On the comeback trail, Kashyap made it to the semi-finals of the Korea Masters in December, his first semi-final at any tournament since his surgery.
The heart of the matter
After the long break, Kashyap was starting to show flashes of his brilliance of late and at the PBL, he gave many glimpses of it. He secured three wins out of six matches with his biggest victory coming over the World No. 17 Vincent Wong Wing Ki of the Awadhe Warriors in the PBL semi-finals.
It is most unfortunate that the star shuttler would not be able to build on those performances.
What next?
Having been ruled out for three months, Kashyap is certain to miss both the big Indian BWF events – the Syed Modi International (January 24-29) and the India Open Superseries (March 28-April 2). He will also miss another high-profile event – the All England Championships (March 7-12).
If his recovery goes according to plan, he should be expected to resume competitive play in the month of April which has the Malaysia Open, the Singapore Open, the China Masters as well as the Badminton Asia Championships.
Sportskeeda’s take
Despite his injury, there was no dearth of commitment from Kashyap’s side during the PBL final. He still dived for shots even after hurting himself. His dedication was surely rewarded when the Smashers lifted the trophy.
There is no doubt that Kashyap is a fighter. He has been through a lot and has made a successful comeback each time. This time too, there will be no exception.
