Grace Daniel on the slow road to recovery

By Ifeanyi Ibeh


Grace Daniel has been Africa's top women's badminton player for the better part of the past eight years but it remains doubtful if she will ever get to play at the top level again even though she remains optimistic about her chances of getting back to the pinnacle of the racket and shuttle sport.

Daniel's ordeal began late last year when she was involved in a ghastly automobile accident in Jos, Plateau State that saw her suffering fractures to her legs as well as several cuts and bruises. As a result of the injuries she suffered, she spent over two months, including the Christmas and New Year holidays, under the care of doctors at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) who battled to save her legs, as well as family members.

By the end of January, Daniel was out of hospital and returned to her base in Abuja but could only go about with the aid of a pair of crutches as she set about the task of regaining proper use of her legs through regular therapy sessions at the National Sports Commission's medical centre situated within the National Stadium complex.

Aspiration

Nowadays she can be seen almost on a daily basis at the badminton courts of the Abuja National Stadium watching badminton players, most of them her contemporaries from the national team, in training. But one thought regularly goes through her head.

"I'm always thinking of when I will be able to play again because it has been a long time since I hit a shuttle," Daniel said.

"Sometimes I just want to pick up a racket and play but that is impossible for now as my legs are not yet strong enough for that." She then added: "But I have great faith in God. If not for God I don't think I would be alive today to tell my story so I believe God will see me through this trying period. And if it is God's will for me to play again then I will play again, even back to the level I was," remarked Daniel, who now goes about with one-half of the pair of crutches which accompanied her from the hospital in Jos.

One step at a time

Getting back to the top could however be easier said than done for the 25-year-old Daniel as badminton, reputed to be one of the fastest racket sports in the world, can be quite intense. Furthermore, the sheer number of promising junior players coming through the ranks, could make it difficult for her to once again grace the top level of the women's game. At least that was the opinion of her coach, Mohammed Bako who is the head coach in the Federal Capital Territory where most of the country's top players are based.

"It could be very difficult for Grace to come back to the top level so soon after the accident. She is still undergoing therapy and from the discussion I had with one of her therapists she might not be back for another six months," said Bako.

"Age is also not on her side. By badminton standards she is not so young and there are younger players, so many of them, out there desperate to hit the limelight," emphasized the erstwhile handler of the Nigerian national team.

However, Daniel isn't one to give up quite easily as she patiently awaits the green light to stage a return to action from her physiotherapists.

"I know it won't be easy but with God on my side I believe I can achieve anything," she continued. "He is responsible for my being alive today and if it's in his plans for me to play again then I will."