Netballer Sindhu Nair ‘back stronger’ after ACL injury as Singapore prepare for Nations Cup

SINGAPORE – When Singapore netballer Sindhu Nair suffered the dreaded anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear in April 2023, it not only caused her much pain and frustration, but also threatened to rip up her sporting future.

With some of her teammates retiring, the lawyer, who earned her first national call-up in 2017, wondered if she should also call time on her netball career.

But the debilitating right knee injury, which she picked up at the PacificAus Sports Netball Series in Australia and included a minor fracture, eventually failed to break her spirit.

The goalkeeper, who was just one match shy of her 50th cap, decided this was just not the way to end her career.

“It felt incomplete to me. I would rather retire by my own choice. I also wanted to prove to myself that I can get past this, I can go back,” said Nair, who started rehabilitation promptly despite needing crutches to move around.

She subsequently underwent surgery to repair her torn ACL – a crucial knee-stabilising band – with 11 more months of rehabilitation ensuing.

But her perseverance has borne fruit. The 28-year-old recently earned a recall to the Singapore squad, with national coach Annette Bishop remarking that Nair is “back stronger”, ahead of their title defence at the Sept 1-7 Mirxes Nations Cup at OCBC Arena.

This was in stark contrast to her condition about a year ago, when she was still recovering from her operation.

Nair recalled: “If I sat for one hour, when I got up I wouldn’t be able to straighten my leg for the rest of the day. I couldn’t sit down on the floor, or bend to pick things up like normal. I couldn’t imagine having a normal leg any more.

“I had to depend on people to help me in my daily life, which took a hit on my mental health as well.”

Even though she was out, Nair still attended training to show her support for her teammates, who went on to win the Nations Cup in October 2023.

Teammates who had recovered from similar injuries advised her not to rush the process and to take her time to strengthen her muscles.

She said: “There were moments I felt sad that I wasn’t also playing, but the team really made me feel welcome. They would never exclude me from conversations and always reminded me that I’m still part of the team, even if I’m injured. They would also constantly check in on me and visit me.

“Their support was a very big factor in motivating me. I was so used to seeing them every day that once I got injured, it really felt very lonely and I missed being around them.”

So determined was she to make her comeback that Nair and another ACL injury victim Yew Shu Ning requested private training sessions from Bishop earlier in the year, when the national team did not have any as players were with their Deloitte Netball Super League clubs.

Not surprisingly, Nair was cautious after returning to court, but Bishop and her teammates helped her overcome the mental block and she cannot wait to contribute as the squad’s oldest player at the Nations Cup.

World No. 24 Singapore will be facing United Arab Emirates (21st), Ireland (25th), Kenya (30th), Canada (unranked) and the developmental Singapore A side.

Bishop said: “Sindhu will be looking out for her 50th cap. The big thing is that she is back on court, playing the game she loves, and she’s back stronger and brings so much skill and experience to the team.”

Expressing gratitude to Bishop, teammates and family, Nair said: “I don’t think I’m really thinking about my injury any more, which is a relief because I always thought that I would be very scared.

“I’m just excited to be back in the competitive scene and to see how I can contribute to the team.”