Saina Nehwal is undoubtedly one of the best sports players to come out of India. Indian professional badminton singles player who is celebrating her 31st birthday on March 17, 2021, has been an inspiration for millions for years.
Saina Nehwal is a former world no. 1, who has won over 24 international titles, including eleven Superseries titles and a precious bronze medal in the Olympics.
Saina Nehwal was born on 17 March 1990 in Hisar, Haryana to Harvir Singh Nehwal and Usha Rani Nehwal.
Saina took up badminton at the age of eight. Her mother, Usha Rani, was a state-level badminton player in Haryana. Nehwal took up badminton to fulfill her mother’s dream of becoming a national-level badminton player, while her sister played volleyball. Her father, who was among the top players in the university circuit, was supportive of Nehwal’s passion for Badminton. Nehwal also has a brown belt in karate.
Saina Nehwal Badminton Career
She became the first player to win the India Chapter of the Asian Satellite Badminton Tournament twice. At the age of 16, she became the first Indian woman and the youngest Asian player to win a 4-star tournament, the Philippines Open.
In 2010, Saina was at the top of her career by winning 5 international tournaments as well as the India Open Grand Prix Gold, Indonesia Open Super Series, Singapore Open Super Series, and the Hong Kong Open Super Series in 2010. Also, she won a Gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games which were held in India.
In 2012 she made back-to-back victories in the Swiss Open, Thailand Open, Indonesia Open, Denmark Open, and the French Badminton Open. In the 2012 London Olympics, she won the Bronze medal and became the first Badminton player to win a medal for India in Olympics.
Saina Nehwal personal life and achievements
Saina is married to fellow badminton player Parupalli Kashyap in a private ceremony on 14 December 2018.
Saina Nehwal received the Government of India’s Arjuna Award for Badminton in 2009, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna for Badminton in 2010, Padma Shri in 2010, and the Padma Bhushan – India’s third highest civilian award in 2016 for her outstanding performance in the sport.
Recently the trailer of the movie ‘Saina’ starring Parineeti Chopra as the ace badminton player Saina Nehwal was released. The film is based on Saina’s personal life and depicts her struggle on the silver screen. The film is all set to hit the theatres on March 26.
