(1990-03-17) 17 March 1990 (age 34) Hisar, Haryana, India[1][2]
Residence
Hyderabad, Telangana, India[3]
Height
1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[4]
Weight
65 kg (143 lb)[4]
Handedness
Right
Coach
Pullela Gopichand
Women's singles
Career record
451 wins, 223 losses
Highest ranking
1 (2 April 2015[5][6])
Current ranking
97 (9 January 2024[7])
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing India
Olympic Games
2012 London
Women's singles
World Championships
2015 Jakarta
Women's singles
2017 Glasgow
Women's singles
Uber Cup
2014 New Delhi
Women's team
2016 Kunshan
Women's team
Commonwealth Games
2010 New Delhi
Women's singles
2018 Gold Coast
Women's singles
2018 Gold Coast
Mixed team
2010 New Delhi
Mixed team
2006 Melbourne
Mixed team
Asian Games
2014 Incheon
Women's team
2018 Jakarta–Palembang
Women's singles
Asian Championships
2010 New Delhi
Women's singles
2016 Wuhan
Women's singles
2018 Wuhan
Women's singles
World Junior Championships
2008 Pune
Girls' singles
2006 Incheon
Girls' singles
Commonwealth Youth Games
2008 Pune
Girls' singles
2004 Bendigo
Mixed team
BWF profile
Saina Nehwal (pronunciationⓘ; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian professional badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 that she was able to attain the world no. 1 ranking, thereby becoming the only female player from India and thereafter the second Indian player – after Prakash Padukone – to achieve this feat.[8] She has represented India three times in the Olympics, winning a bronze medal in her second appearance at London 2012.[9][10][11][12]
Nehwal has achieved several milestones in badminton for India. She is the only Indian to have won at least one medal in every BWF major individual event, namely the Olympics, the BWF World Championships, and the BWF World Junior Championships. She is the first Indian badminton player to have won an Olympic medal, the first Indian to have reached the final of the BWF World Championships, and the first Indian to have won the BWF World Junior Championships.[13] In 2006, Nehwal became the first Indian female and the youngest Asian to win a 4-star tournament. She is also the first Indian to win a Super Series title. In the 2014 Uber Cup, she captained the Indian team and remained undefeated, helping India to win a first-ever Uber Cup bronze medal.[14] Nehwal also became the first Indian to win two singles gold medals (2010 and 2018) at the Commonwealth Games.
Considered one of India's most successful badminton players, Nehwal is credited for increasing the popularity of badminton in India.[15] In 2016, she was conferred the Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award.[16] Previously, she had also received the nation's top two sporting honours, namely the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award. Nehwal is a philanthropist and was ranked 18th on the list of most charitable athletes in 2015.[17]
^T. S. Sudhir: Saina Nehwal – An Insipirational Biography, Nimby Books (Westland Publications), 2012, ISBN 978-8190657037
^Krishnan, Madhuvanti S. (27 August 2015). "Breaking the jinx". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
^"Here's how coach Pullela Gopichand reacted to Saina Nehwal's Hyderabad homecoming". Deccan Chronicle. 5 September 2017.
^ ab"Saina Nehwal". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
^"BWF World Rankings: Ranking week: 4/2/2015". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
^"It's official, Saina Nehwal is World No. 1 badminton player". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
^"BWF World Rankings – BWF". Badminton World Federation. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
^"Saina Nehwal scales historic World No.1 ranking". Business Line. 28 March 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
^Selvaraj, Jonathan (29 March 2015). "Saina Nehwal smashes new mark: First Indian woman to be World No. 1". The Indian Express. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^"Twitter round: Who says what on Saina Nehwal's Australia Super Series win". Zee News. 12 June 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^"Commonwealth Youth Games 2008". tournamentsoftware.com. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
^"Vij wins shot put gold". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 February 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
^"London 2012 Badminton: Saina Nehwal gets Bronze as Xin Wang withdraws". NDTV. IANS. 5 August 2012. Archived from the original on 12 June 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^"Saina Nehwal and Co eye another medal, uphill task for men in Thomas and Uber Cup". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 14 May 2016. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^Niumata, Foster. "Badminton boom in India sparked by Saina Nehwal's success". Yahoo! News. No. 16 March 2016. Associated Press. Retrieved 9 August 2016.
^"Saina Nehwal awarded Padma Bhushan". www.sportskeeda.com. 28 March 2016.
^"Saina Nehwal – 18th most charitable athlete". looktothestars.com. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2015.
SainaNehwal (pronunciation; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian professional badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles...
successive years. She reached the finals of the Thailand Open but lost to SainaNehwal. After defeating the higher-seeded Juliane Schenk of Germany in round...
became the second male player to make it to the top spot in April 2018. SainaNehwal is the first female player from India to achieve the world no. 1 spot...
Look up Saina in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Saina may refer to: Betsy Saina (born 1988), Kenyan long-distance runner SainaNehwal (born 1990), Indian...
have won an Olympic medal so far. They are Karnam Malleswari, Mary Kom, SainaNehwal, P. V. Sindhu (twice), Sakshi Malik, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and Lovlina...
difficult for India. India started with a narrow 2–3 loss to Malaysia SainaNehwal and the duo of Gutta and Ponnappa delivered the wins. Gutta and Ashwini...
April 2016. "Sports Minister Gives away Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award to SainaNehwal" (Press release). Press Information Bureau, India. 8 November 2010. Archived...
Pullela Gopichand, the facility trains several badminton players such as SainaNehwal, P. V. Sindhu, Srikanth Kidambi, Parupalli Kashyap, H.S. Prannoy, Sai...
in the 2013 edition. He married a best Indian women badminton player, SainaNehwal in a private ceremony on 14 December 2018. Born to Uday Shankar and Subhadra...
Olympics and silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics) since independence. SainaNehwal won a bronze medal in badminton in Women's singles, winning the country's...
cricket. Forget about boxing, India is doing so well in other sports too. SainaNehwal is a great badminton player, the Indian tennis team has just won a Davis...
concerned". Kapoor was committed to star in a biopic of badminton player SainaNehwal, directed by Amole Gupte, but after filming for a few days she opted...
As Anmol Kharb shoots into limelight, meet her coach who once lost to SainaNehwal and has many a story to tell". The Indian Express. 18 February 2024....
Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2023. "SainaNehwal and Parupalli Kashyap pull out of Denmark Open". Hindustan Times. 6 October...
Delhi and the Hyderabad Hotshots bid of $120,000 for player SainaNehwal was successful. Nehwal was the highest paid female shuttler and second highest paid...
by Chennai Superstarz. 2020 being the Olympic year, key players like SainaNehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, Carolina Marín, Victor Axelsen and others have decided...
November 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2022. Shah, Wajiha (27 January 2014). "SainaNehwal ends title drought, wins Syed Modi". The Indian Express. Archived from...
Junior Championships with her win against Malaysian Lyddia Cheah & Indian SainaNehwal respectively. She earned a spotlight in the World elite badminton where...
BWF World Junior Championships losing the semifinal to eventual winner SainaNehwal. In 2009, she stunned several seeded players in Malaysia Open Grand Prix...
Srikanth stuns Ajay Jayaram". The Hindu. "SainaNehwal, Kidambi Srikanth Win China Open Titles". "SainaNehwal, Kidambi Srikanth boost their semifinal chances...
time. The two athletes were badminton player and world junior champion SainaNehwal, who became the first Indian athlete to win an Olympic bronze medal in...
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