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Olympic medallist and Indian badminton icon Saina Nehwal has officially announced her retirement from competitive badminton, ending a remarkable career that spanned over 15 years. The London 2012 bronze medallist, who will turn 36 in March, had been sidelined for nearly two years due to severe knee issues.
Saina revealed her decision on a podcast hosted by Subhojit Ghosh, citing chronic cartilage degeneration and arthritis in her knees that made high-intensity training impossible. “I trained eight to nine hours daily, but my knees gave up after one or two hours. It became impossible to continue,” she said.
A trailblazer for Indian badminton, Saina rose to prominence after becoming junior world champion in 2008. She went on to become the first Indian woman to reach an Olympic singles quarter-final (Beijing 2008), win a BWF Super Series title (2009 Indonesia Open), and clinch Commonwealth Games gold (2010, 2018). Her crowning achievement came at London 2012, where she became India’s first Olympic medallist in badminton.
In 2015, Saina made history by reaching world No. 1 in singles, becoming the first Indian woman and only the second Indian after Prakash Padukone to achieve the top ranking. She also earned a silver at the BWF World Championships that year. Despite repeated injuries, she made notable comebacks, winning bronze at the 2017 World Championships and collecting numerous national honours, including the Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Khel Ratna, and Arjuna Award.
Saina’s retirement marks the end of an era in Indian badminton, leaving behind a legacy of courage, resilience, and historic achievements on the international stage.
