Saina Nehwal Turns 35: Why Is She Called The Queen Of Badminton? Her Journey, Olympic Glory And Records
Saina Nehwal, who revolutionised Indian badminton, turns 35 today. She won India's first Olympic badminton medal in 2012 and has 24 international titles.
Happy Birthday Saina Nehwal: Credited for revolutionising the Indian badminton scene, Saina Nehwal rings in her 35th birthday today, March 17. The Indian shuttler has achieved tremendous success in both national and international competitions. She earned India the first Olympic medal in badminton in 2012, winning bronze at the London Games.
Hailing from the state of Haryana, Nehwal started her career at the age of eight after her family relocated to Hyderabad. Her parents, Harvir Singh Nehwal and Usha Rani Nehwal were also state-level badminton players.
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Nehwal trained under several badminton stars of the generation, including the likes of SM Arif, Pullela Gopichand and U Vimal Kumar. The shuttler rose to fame in 2008 when she first secured the BWF World Junior Championships.
In the same year, Saina Nehwal made her Olympic debut at the Beijing Games and became the first Indian to reach the quarter-finals. Her campaign ended with a heartbreaking loss to Indonesia’s Maria Kristin Yulianti.
In 2009, Saina Nehwal scripted history by becoming the first-ever Indian to triumph at a BWF Super Series event– Indonesian Open. She eventually established her dominance at the India Open and the Singapore Open.
Nehwal also succeeded in defending her Indonesia Open title in 2010. Later in that year, she clinched a Commonwealth Games gold, beating Malaysia’s Wong Mew Choo in the women’s final in New Delhi.
After the 2012 Olympics, Nehwal appeared to be invincible in all major tournaments. She claimed two Austrian Open titles and won the China Open as well in the next three years.
The shuttler defeated PV Sindhu in the 2014 India Open final, which was also the first clash between the two Indian badminton stars.
The duo met again in the 2018 Commonwealth Games final where Saina Nehwal won convincingly to secure her second continental gold. Nehwal remains the only Indian to have secured a podium finish in every BWF major tournament.
Thanks to her remarkable success, Nehwal is often regarded as the “Queen of Badminton" in India.
Saina Nehwal’s Career Highlights and Achievements
- Saina Nehwal has claimed as many as 24 international badminton titles during her illustrious career.
- Her decorated cabinet also features five Commonwealth Games medals including three gold, one silver and one bronze.
- Nehwal was the first female player in history to win the Asian Satellite Badminton Tournament in two editions.
- In 2015, Nehwal became the first Indian to seal the top spot in the world rankings.
- Recognising her contribution to the sport, the Indian government conferred Nehwal with the coveted Arjuna Award in 2009. She also received the Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award and Padma Shri in the next year, and the Padma Bhushan award in 2016.
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