Saina Nehwal: The remarkable story of India’s Shuttlecock star
A Brief Biography-
Sania Nehwal is a well-known Indian badminton player. She was born on March 17, 1990, in Herar District, Haryana. The Indian shuttler is the younger daughter of Dr Harvir Singh Nehwal and Usha Rani Nehwal. She has just one sibling, an elder sister, Chandranshu Nehwal. She finished her primary years of education at Campus School, CCS HAU, Hisar. On December 14, 2018, she tied the knot with professional badminton player Parupalli Kashyap in a secret ceremony.
Her Tremendous Journey-
Nehwal started out playing badminton at the young age of eight as a way of expressing himself. The Indian star took up badminton, hoping she could fulfil her mother’s desire to play at the national level. Additionally, Nehwal received a brown belt in karate.
Notably, she began her initial coaching at Gopichand Badminton Academy before heading to Bangalore’s Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, where she learned under U. Vimal Kumar, and by 2015 she had become World No. 1. Notably, after that, Nehwal returned to training with the Gopichand Badminton Academy.
Her Early days of struggle-
Her monthly expenses could be somewhere between INR 25,000 and INR 60,000. This comprised travel costs (the stadium was 30 km from her home), training fees, and luxurious equipment. In order to give Saina everything, she required, her dad, who was a government employee, took money from his family, friends, and coworkers. The problem was made tougher by the fact that her sister was pursuing a degree in pharmacy.
Rise towards the Glory-
As Nehwal claimed the Philippines Open in 2006, she garnered headlines around the country for the first occasion ever in India. The 16-year-old was selected as the 84th seed when she initially participated in the four-star tournament. She crushed a number of top-seeded opponents on the way to the final, marking her debut on the international stage.
Achievements Olympic Games Women’s singles
Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
2012 | Wembley Arena, London, Great Britain | China Wang Xin | 18–21, 0–1 retired | Bronze | [76] |
BWF World Championships Women’s singles
Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
2015 | Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Indonesia | Spain Carolina Marín | 16–21, 19–21 | Silver Silver | [95] |
2017 | Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland | Japan Nozomi Okuhara | 21–12, 17–21, 10–21 | Bronze Bronze | [106] |
Commonwealth Games Women’s singles
Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
2010 | Siri Fort Sports Complex, New Delhi, India | Malaysia Wong Mew Choo | 19–21, 23–21, 21–13 | Gold Gold |
2018 | Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, Gold Coast, Australia | India P. V. Sindhu | 21–18, 23–21 | Gold Gold |
Asian Games Women’s singles
Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Ref |
2018 | Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Indonesia | Chinese Taipei Tai Tzu-ying | 17–21, 14–21 | Bronze Bronze | [114] |
BWF World Junior Championships Girls’ singles
2006 | Samsan World Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea | China Wang Yihan | 13–21, 9–21 | Silver Silver | [37] |
2008 | Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Badminton Hall, Pune, India | Japan Sayaka Sato | 21–9, 21–18 | Gold Gold | [40] |
Commonwealth Youth Games Girls’ singles
Year | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result |
2008 | Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India | India N. Sikki Reddy | 23–21, 22–20 | Gold Gold |
National titles and runners-up National Junior/Senior titles (13)
S. No. | Year | Tournament | Age group | Format | Partner | Opponent(s) in final | Score | Ref. |
1 | 2002 | Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship | Under 13 | Singles | N/A | Parsa Naqvi | 11–0, 11–4 | [125] |
2 | 2002 | Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship | Under 13 | Doubles | Pizza Bharali | Mudra Dhainje / Fernaz Jasdanwala | 11–5, 11–4 | [125] |
3 | 2002 | Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship | Under 16 | Doubles | Aparna Balan | Manisha Eswarappa / Y. K. Subrata | 11–2, 11–3 | [125] |
4 | 2003 | Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship | Under 16 | Singles | N/A | Anjali Kalita | 11–3, 11–13, 11–2 | [126] |
5 | 2003 | Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship | Under 16 | Doubles | P. Jyotshna | G. M. Nischitha / Madhuri Vijay | 15–6, 15–7 | [126] |
6 | 2004 | Junior National badminton championships | Under 19 | Singles | N/A | Ridhi Pajwani | 11–2, 11–4 | [127] |
7 | 2004 | Junior National badminton championships | Under 19 | Doubles | Aparna Balan | T. Soumya / Ashwini Chowdary | 15–6, 15–10 | [127] |
8 | 2005 | Junior National badminton championships | Under 19 | Singles | N/A | Aditi Mutatkar | 11–5, 13–10 | [128] |
9 | 2005 | Junior National badminton championships | Under 19 | Doubles | Aparna Balan | V. Ruth Misha / Saumya Padhye | 15–2,15–4 | [128] |
10 | 2007 | Senior National Badminton Championships | Senior | Singles | N/A | Aditi Mutatkar | 21–19, 21–16 | [129] |
11 | 2007 | National Games | Senior | Singles | N/A | Aditi Mutatkar | 24–22, 21–15 | [130] |
12 | 2008 | Senior National Badminton Championships | Senior | Singles | N/A | Trupti Murgunde | 21–11, 21–10 | [131] |
13 | 2017 | Senior National Badminton Championships | Senior | Singles | N/A | P. V. Sindhu | 21–17, 27–25 | |
14 | 2019 | Senior National Badminton Championships | Senior | Singles | N/A | P. V. Sindhu | 21–18, 21–15 | |