Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt announced his return to the international badminton circuit after almost a year by defeating Muhammed Ali Kurt of Turkey 21-17, 21-16 to lift the Bulgarian International men’s singles title in Sofia on Sunday.
The 27-year-old, who reached a career high ranking of 19 in 2013, was out of action since the US Open in July last year with an ankle injury. He subsequently had to undergo surgery to remove a bone spur and treat a ligament strain that was discovered during the operation.
He returned to the circuit at the Thailand Open in May but lost in the opening round against Indonesia’s Panji Ahmad Maulana.
He then decided to withdraw from the Hellas Open and Belgian Open to get fitter as his ranking plummeted beyond 900 and it was clear that he would have to start from the bottom rung tournaments.
In Sofia, the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games bronze medallist came through three qualifying rounds and five main draw matches while dropping just one game in the semifinal against Ahmetcan Oruc of Turkey.
“It was a good tournament for me to start since my ranking is really down and I have to play qualifying matches even at this level,” said Gurusaidutt from Sofia.
Long journey back
The former junior national champion is now ranked 962 in the world and knows that it would be a long journey back.
It would have not been the case had he successfully returned to the circuit back in May at the Thailand Open as he was still ranked among the top-300. But, just before going to the tournament he once again twisted his ankle and needed another long break to come back.
“I had actually started playing by April and felt that I was fit for Thailand Open and had even entered in the US and Canada Open. But a couple of days before the tournament, I hurt my ankle and though I was advised to go and play, I did not feel good in the opening round.
“So, I came back and consulted Dr Pardiwala, who had done my operation, and he told me to take a few weeks’ rest as there was a lot of strain on the ankle. Two weeks became two months and then I pulled out of Hellas and Belgian Open because I felt I needed to train more,” he added.
Admitting that the last one year had been frustrating to wait for the recovery process to get over, Gurusaidutt said it helped that the coaches and staff showed faith in his abilities. “When I underwent the operation and the rehab, Kashyap was also in Mumbai for the treatment of his shoulder injury and we would talk to each other about coming back and than helped.
“After the Thailand Open, the coaching staff also allowed me to take my time and not push me and it helped me focus on myself,” he said.
Gurusaidutt knows that he would have to now play many more tournaments to get back into the top 200, but said he would now return home and train for the Senior Nationals before planning his international calendar.
“This year almost everyone is playing the Nationals and it would be good to test my training and preparation,” he added.
Shukla-Arun clinch men’s doubles title
Later, Sanyam Shukla and Arun George upset third seed Miha Ivanic and Andraz Krapez of Slovenia 21-18, 21-13 in just 28 minutes.
However, Shukla could not clinch a double crown in the tournament after he and Ahilya Harjani lost the mixed doubles final 21-16, 21-5 against Austria’s Dominik Stipsits and Antonia Meinke.
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