MOST people would have given up by now, but national women's singles shuttler S. Kisona soldiers on despite the many adversities.
After being sidelined for nearly two months by a nagging knee injury, the 23-year-old is ready to make a comeback at the Taiwan Open next week ahead of the World Championships in Tokyo on Aug 22-28.
Yesterday, the world No 54 spoke to Timesport about her troubled right knee, and how it has sent her career into a free fall in the past one year.
However, instead of feeling sorry for herself, Kisona wants to keep fighting.
"Over the past two months, I've skipped a number of tournaments, including this week's Singapore Open to work on improving my physical condition.
"The goal is to make a comeback at the Taiwan Open, and the World Championships after that.
"It's really not easy to play with this injury because there is no guarantee, and I've been struggling on and off since the Uber Cup in May.
"It's not a new injury, but it has been my main issue all this while," said Kisona, whose best form was back in 2019 when she won the Sea Games gold.
This year, for a short spell, Kisona showed glimpses of her old self when she stunned former world No 1 Saina Nehwal of India to reach the quarter-finals of the Super 300 Swiss Open in March.
Unfortunately, Kisona suffered a dip in form right after, and
withdrew from a number of
tournaments to focus on her
rehabilitation and physical conditioning.
If all goes well, Kisona is slated to have another crack at Saina in the quarter-finals of the Taiwan Open, and the Malaysian No 1 is looking forward to it.
"I know I can do this. When I reached the Swiss Open quarter-finals in March, I know I still have it in me.
"That is why I've been working so hard on beefing up physically over the last few months," added Kisona, who is also excited over the arrival of new women's singles coach, James Chua.
In retrospect, Kisona has battled injuries in her career.
In 2014, she suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at the World Junior Championships in Alor Star, and was forced to undergo surgery a year later.
She also sustained a medial
collateral ligament (MCL) and a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury on the right knee.