New Delhi, Jan 20 (IANS) Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh congratulated Olympic medalist Saina Nehwal, one of India's most outstanding badminton players, who has announced her retirement from competitive sports after nearly two years of absence due to a chronic knee issue.
The 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist last played a competitive badminton match at the 2023 Singapore Open and had not officially announced her retirement until Monday, when, during a podcast, the ace shuttler mentioned that she had left the court on her own terms and “there was no need to announce it.”
“Well played, Saina! Congratulations on an incredible career. You pushed Indian badminton forward and inspired a generation. Wishing you the very best for what's next,” Yuvraj wrote on X, congratulating the badminton ace on a remarkable career.
Nehwal revealed that a degeneration of cartilage in her knees forced her to take the tough call after discussions with her family and coaches, stating, “Your cartilage has totally degenerated, you have arthritis… I just told them, ‘Now probably I can’t do it anymore, it is difficult.’”
Nehwal mentioned that her body could no longer handle the strain of elite badminton, leading her to retire. “You train eight to nine hours to be the best in the world. Now,, my knees would give outut in one or two hours. It was swelling, and it became very tough to push after that. So I thought it was enough. I can’t push it anymore,” she said.
The shuttler from Hisar gained international recognition in 2008 by winning the junior world championship and making history as the first Indian woman to reach the singles quarterfinals at the Beijing 2008 Olympics.
In2009, she made history as the first Indian to win a BWF Super Series tournament by securing the Indonesia Open. A year later, she achieved the status of a Commonwealth Games champion.
During London 2012, Nehwal achieved a historic milestone as India’s first Olympic badminton medallist by winning a bronze in women’s singles after her semi-final.
In 2015, she achieved a historic milestone by becoming the world No. 1 in singles badminton rankings, making her the first Indian woman to do so and only the second Indian shuttler, after Prakash Padukone, to reach the top. That year, she also reached the final of the BWF World Championships, being the first from India to do so, but took home silver after losing to Carolina Marin.
--IANS
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