Saina Nehwal's Retirement At 35, Won India's First Olympic Medal, Marriage, Divorce And More

India's first-ever badminton Olympic medallist, Saina Nehwal, left millions in shock when she confirmed her retirement from competitive badminton. Saina is one of the most famous names in the Indian badminton scene. She had achieved tremendous success in national and international competitions. Her retirement at 35 shocked many, but for her, she thought disappearance was a sign that she was not coming back.

Saina Nehwal's early life 

Saina Nehwal was born on March 17, 1990. She hailed from Haryana, and despite it, her family supported her in all her endeavours. Her parents, Harvir Singh Nehwal and Usha Rani Newal, relocated to Hyderabad when she was eight. Her parents were also state-level badminton players, and she found her calling to play badminton for the nation through her parents. 

Saina Nehwal's journey to being India's top badminton player

Saina Nehwal took training under several badminton stars of the generation, including SM Arif, Pullela Gopichan and U Vimal Kumar. She tasted fame in 2008 when she won a gold medal at the BWF World Junior Championships. After this, there was no looking back for Saina. In the same year, she made her Olympic debut at the Beijing Games and became the first Indian to reach the quarter-finals. However, she had a heartbreaking loss to Indonesia's Maria Kristin Yulianti. 

In 2009, Saina made India proud as she became the first-ever Indian to win a BWF Super Series event at the Indonesian Open. She showed her power at the India Open and the Singapore Open. In 2010, Nehwal won Commonwealth Games gold as she defeated Malaysia's Wong Mew Choo in the women's final in New Delhi. 

In 2012, Nehwal marked her victory in the Olympics and became the first badminton player to win a medal for the country. The same year, she claimed two Austrian Open titles and won the China Open as well. She even defeated PV Sindhu in the 2014 India Open final, and it was the first time two Indian badminton stars met. In 2018, they again came face to face in the 2018 Commonwealth Games, and Saina secured her second continental gold medal. It is one of the reasons why Saina Nehwal is hailed as the Badminton queen. 

Saina Nehwal's retirement announcement at 35

Saina Nehwal confirmed her retirement from competitive badminton on a podcast. She has been missing from the badminton court for the past two years due to a chronic knee condition. Saina last played a competitive match at the Singapore Open in 2023. However, it is worth noting that before this, Saina Nehwal had never publicly announced her retirement from the game. But her fans had an idea that she was not returning. 

Saina revealed that she had stopped playing two years back. She revealed that she entered the sport on her own terms and left when she felt like on her own terms, so she never felt the need to officially announce it. Saina without feeling pity for her situation, clarified that if a person is not capable of playing anymore then that's it. She said:

"I had stopped playing two years back. I actually felt that I entered the sport on my own terms and left on my own terms, so there was no need to announce it. If you are not capable of playing anymore, that’s it. It’s fine."

Saina further added that she was facing a lot of pain in knees and she wasn't able to take the grueling training session and it became so bad that she was unable to endure the training session. She stated that she didn't felt like announcing retirement as people would know if they won't see her playing.

More about Saina Nehwal's personal life and marriage

Talking about Saina's personal life, she is married to Parupalli Kashyap, who also gave her coaching and became the pillar of strength in her professional life too. The couple tied the knot in 2018. However, in July 2025, their marriage hit a rough patch as Saina announced her separation. However, after staying away from each other for a month, they confirmed their reconcilation. As per Saina it was a misunderstanding and since they have known each other for so long, they decided to solve it. 

What do you think about Saina Nehwal's glorious journey which gave her lot of love, awards, accolades and a partner?

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