Saina Nehwal is an Indian professional badminton singles player. A former world no. 1, she has won over 24 international titles, which includes eleven Superseries titles.
| Bio/Wiki | |
|---|---|
| Profession(s) | Badminton Player, Politician |
| Physical Stats & More | |
| Height (approx.) | in centimeters- 168 cm |
| in meters- 1.68 m | |
| in feet inches- 5’ 6” | |
| Eye Colour | Brown |
| Hair Colour | Black |
| Badminton | |
| International Debut | Asian Badminton Satellite tournament in 2005 |
| Coach(es)/Mentor(s) | S. M. Arif, Pullela Gopichand, Nani Prasad Rao, Vimal Kumar |
| Records (main ones) | 2006 |
| • First player to win the Asian Satellite Badminton tournament twice. | |
| • First Indian woman and youngest Asian player to win a 4-star Philippines Open tournament. | |
| 2008 | |
| • First Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships. | |
| • First Indian woman to reach the quarter finals at the Olympic Games. | |
| 2009 | |
| First Indian to win the title of BWF Super Series. | |
| 2010 | |
| First Indian woman to reach the semi finals of 2010 All-England Super Series. | |
| 2011 | |
| First Indian singles player to reach the final of the BWF Super Series Masters Finals. | |
| 2014 | |
| First Indian woman to win the China Open Super Series Premier. | |
| 2015 | |
| • First Indian woman badminton player to reach the finals of the All England Open Badminton Championships. | |
| • First Indian woman badminton player to be ranked world number one in the Badminton World Federation in Women’s Singles. | |
| 2018 | |
| First Indian woman badminton player to win the Asian badminton medal for India at the Asian Games. | |
| Awards, Achievements | 2006 |
| • Bronze Medal at Commonwealth Games in Melbourne | |
| • Won a four-star badminton Philippines Open tournament at Pasig City, Manila | |
| • Won the Philippines Open Grand Prix | |
| 2007 | |
| Gold Medal at National Games in Guwahati | |
| 2008 | |
| • Won the Chinese Taipei Open Grand Prix Gold | |
| • Won the World Junior Badminton Championships tournament in Pune | |
| • Most Promising Player of the Year Award by Badminton World Federation (BWF) | |
| 2009 | |
| • Won the Indonesia Open tournament at Jakarta | |
| • Arjuna Award | |
| 2010 | |
| • Won the Singapore Open Super Series in Lion City | |
| • Won the Yonex Sunrise Indian Open tournament in Chennai | |
| • Bronze Medal at Asian Badminton Championships in New Delhi | |
| • Won the India Open Grand Prix | |
| • Silver Medal in Mixed Team Event at Commonwealth Games in Delhi | |
| • Gold Medal at Commonwealth Games in Delhi | |
| • Won the Hong Kong Open Badminton Super Series | |
| • Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award | |
| • Padma Shri Award | |
| 2011 | |
| Won the Swiss Open tournament in Basel | |
| 2012 | |
| • Won the Swiss Open tournament in Basel | |
| • Won the Indonesia Super Series in Jakarta | |
| • Bronze Medal at London Olympics in Women’s Singles | |
| • Won the Denmark Open Super Series in Odense | |
| • An honorary doctorate degree by Mangalayatan University | |
| 2014 | |
| • Bronze Medal at Asian Games | |
| • Won the Australian Badminton Open Super Series | |
| • Won the China Super Series Premier | |
| 2015 | |
| • Won the India Super Series in New Delhi | |
| • Silver Medal at World Championships in Jakarta | |
| 2016 | |
| • Won the Australian Badminton Open Super Series in Sydney | |
| • An honorary doctorate degree in literature by SRM University | |
| • Padma Bhushan Award | |
| 2017 | |
| • Won the Malaysia Masters tournament | |
| • Bronze Medal at World Badminton Championships in Glasgow | |
| 2018 | |
| • Gold Medal at Commonwealth Games in Women’s Singles | |
| • Gold Medal in badminton mixed team event at Commonwealth Games | |
| • Bronze Medal at Asian Badminton Championships | |
| Career Turning Point | When she became the under-19 national champion in 2006. |
| Politics | |
| Party | Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) |
| BJP Flag | |
| Personal Life | |
| Date of Birth | 1990-03-17 |
| Age (as in 2019) | 29 Years |
| Birthplace | Hisar, Haryana, India |
| Zodiac sign | Pisces |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Hometown | Hisar, Haryana, India |
| School(s) | • Campus School, CCS HAU, Hisar |
| • Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Public School, Hyderabad | |
| • National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) School Rajendranagar, Hyderabad | |
| • St. Ann's College for Women, Hyderabad | |
| College/University | None |
| Educational Qualification | 12th Standard |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Hobbies | Travelling |
| Relationships & More | |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Affair/Boyfriend | Parupalli Kashyap (Badminton Player) |
| Marriage Date | 2018-12-14 |
| Marriage Place | Hyderabad |
| Family | |
| Husband/Spouse | Parupalli Kashyap (m. 2018-present) |
| Saina Nehwal with Parupalli Kashyap | |
| Parents | Father- Harvir Singh Nehwal (Scientist) |
| Mother- Usha Nehwal | |
| Siblings | Brother- None |
| Sister- Abu Chandranshu Nehwal (Elder) | |
| Favourite Things | |
| Food | Aloo Paratha, Kiwi |
| Fruit | Kiwi |
| Actor(s) | Shah Rukh Khan, Mahesh Babu |
| Athlete(s) | Cricketer- Sachin Tendulkar |
| Tennis Player- Roger Federer | |
| Destination | Singapore |
| Politician | Narendra Modi |
| Style Quotient | |
| Car Collection | BMW |
Some Lesser Known Facts About Saina Nehwal
- Saina Nehwal belongs to Haryana, but her family shifted to Hyderabad when she was 5 years old.
- Her grandmother was not happy at her birth; as she wanted a boy.
- Her parents have also been state-level badminton champions for Haryana.
- On the advice of badminton coach Nani Prasad Rao, she started playing badminton at the age of 8.For her training, her father used to take her 50 km away to a badminton academy on a daily basis.
- Saina did her badminton training from the Gopichand Badminton Academy.
- In 2005, she got selected to play in the under-19 national team and became the U-19 national champion in 2006; after winning Asian Satellite Badminton tournament twice.
- Her mother often calls her “Steffi Saina;” as she has been a huge fan of tennis star “Steffi Graff.”
- She has a brown belt in Karate.
- In 2012, Sachin Tendulkar gave her BMW as a gift; after she won the gold medal in the Olympics.
- In the same year, Saina Nehwal released her autobiography ‘Playing to Win: My Life On and Off Court.’
- Saina Nehwal’s autobiography ‘Playing to Win- My Life On and Off Court’
- In October 2016, she was appointed as a member of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Athletes’ Commission.
- She faced injuries in the year 2016 and 2017, due to which she didn’t play in several tournaments.
- Saina has appeared on the cover of various magazines like ‘Women’s Health,’ ‘Femina,’ etc.
- She has also appeared as a guest on some TV shows like ‘Satyamev Jayate,’ ‘Comedy Nights with Kapil,’ and ‘The Kapil Sharma Show.’
- In Hisar, ‘Saina Nehwal Institute of Agricultural Technology, Training & Education’ at ‘Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University’ is named after her.
- She has endorsed numerous famous brands like Vaseline, Fortune Cooking Oil, Emami, Godrej No Marks, Edelweiss Group, Huawei Honor Smartphone, Star Sports, NECC, Indian Overseas Bank, Top Ramen Noodles, Herbalife Nutrition, Yonex, Iodex, Sahara Group, etc.
- Saina Nehwal is a dog lover.
- On 29 January 2020, Saina joined the Bharatiya Janata Party; ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections in February 2020. After joining the party, she said,
I draw a lot of inspiration from Narendra sir. I have won medals for the country. I am a very hardworking and I love hardworking persons. I can see Prime Minister Narendra Modi does so much for the country, I want to do something for the country with him.”
