When Li Xuerui first came to India in 2010, she was part of the group of upcoming badminton players that China had sent for the Asian Championship. Then 19 years old, she went on to win the title after coming through qualification.
Eight years later, Xuerui is back in India with another group of developing players trying to make a return to the top of world badminton. The 2012 London Olympics gold medallist is charting her way back to the top of world badminton following a knee injury that kept her out for almost two years since the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The 27-year-old is clearly slower and needed to bank on her experience to get the better of India’s Shreyanshi Pardeshi 21-19, 21-16 in the second round of the Syed Modi International badminton tournament in Lucknow on Thursday.
Xuerui preferred to conserve herself for the bigger battles and only pushed the pace when under pressure as her opponent concentrated on moving the 2012 London Olympics gold medallist around to try and cause an upset.
“India has been lucky for me as I won my first big title here,” said Xuerui through a translator. “I am enjoying playing here and hope to go back with another title.”
The holder of 23 Superseries titles isn’t too worried about the physical limitations that she still have to overcome. She revealed that she did not allow her knee injury to affect her emotionally during her time on the sidelines.
“I was away from the game, but I never lost my focus,” said Xuerui, who along with Wang Yihan were the last Chinese women’s singles players to dominate the international circuit. “I kept myself updated about what happening in the badminton world, and was trying hard to recover from my injuries.”
She added, “During recovery, I was also busy on social media, discussing the game and developments in world badminton. In fact, I was connected to my fans, who kept motivating me for a comeback.”
The 27-year-old returned to international action in April at the China Masters Super 100 event and won the title, prompting the team management to draft her into the Uber Cup team. Though she did not set the stage on fire in Thailand, she won the US Open and Canada Open titles to begin her march towards the top and has now already broken into the top-50 in the world rankings.
“It was a nervous start after my injuries at the China Masters, as I felt everything quite unfamiliar to me,” she said. “But now everything seems fine and I am feeling fit and fine. I hope to find my rhythm back before the 2020 Olympics.”
The road to Tokyo isn’t going to be easy for Xuerui. Earlier this year, Chen Yufei ended China’s near two-year wait for a major title by winning the China Masters. He Bingjiao is already in the top-10, and the likes of Gao Fangjie and Cai Yanyan are beginning to make their mark.
Though Xuerui wasn’t willing to speak about the state of women’s singles back home, even the team management is aware of the value the 27-year-old brings to the overall strength of the squad. Badminton fans would be eager to see a fit and fighting Xuerui in Japan two years from now.