Table of Biography
Saina Nehwal is a world-class badminton player from India who rose to the top of the rankings in 2015. Saina Nehwal is the only female player from India to achieve this feat, trailing only Prakash Padukone. Moreover, Saina also holds the distinction of being the first Indian badminton player to win an Olympic medal.
Early Life
Saina Nehwal was born in Hisar, Haryana, India on 17 March 1990. According to her birthdate, She is 33 years old under the zodiac sign Pisces. Saina holds Indian nationality and belongs to the Indian ethnicity.
Regarding her family background, Saina was born to Harvir Singh Nehwal (Father) and Usha Rani Nehwal (Mother).
Her father labored at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, and her mother was a Haryana state-level badminton player. She only has one sibling, a sister named Chandranshu Nehwal.
Caption: Saina Nehwal with her family source: WikiBio.
Education
Speaking of her educational background, Saina Nehwal completed her pre-university education at various schools in Haryana and Hisar. Campus School CCS HAU in Hisar, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Public School in Hyderabad, NIRD School Rajendranager in Hyderabad, and St. Ann’s College for Women in Hyderabad are among them.
Career
Talking about her career, When Saina Nehwal was eight years old, her family relocated from Haryana to Hyderabad, and she started playing tennis. She began playing badminton to interact with other children because she did not speak her native tongue.
Nehwal made history in 2006 by becoming the first player to win the Asian Satellite Badminton event twice in addition to becoming the under-19 national champion.
She won the Phillippines Open, a 4-star competition, at the age of 16, becoming the first Indian woman and the youngest player from Asia to do so. Nehwal competed in several international competitions after joining the international badminton circuit, including the 2006 BWF World Junior Championships, the 2006 Doha Asian Games, and the 2007 BWF World Championships.
She became the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships in 2008 by doing so. Likewise, She won the Chinese Taipei Open that year and the BWF named her “The Most Promising Player.”
She won the Indonesian Open in 2009, making history as the first Indian to hold a BWF Super Series championship. She won the India Grand Prix competition that same year. Saina won the India Open Grand Prix Gold in 2010, the Singapore Open Super Series in 2010, and the Indonesia Open in 2010.
She won gold at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi in 2010 and the 2010 Hong Kong Super Series, her fourth career Super Series title. She won the Swiss Open in 2011.
The following year, she successfully defended her Swiss Open, Thailand Open, Indonesian Open, and Denmark Open titles. She took bronze in the Olympics in London.
Caption: Saina in action in 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi Source: Wikimedia Commons.
More about her career
In 2014, Nehwal won the 2014 India Open Grand Prix Gold Tournament, the 2014 Australian Super Series, and the China Open for the first time. Nehwal won the 2015 Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold and the India Open, making her the first Indian player to do so in the Women’s category.
She took home silver at the Jakarta World Championships in the same year. Saina Nehwal suffered injuries in early 2016 but recovered to take bronze at the Badminton Asia Championships.
That same year, she won the Australian Super Series. Nehwal did not compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics due to injuries. While still recovering from his injuries, Nehwal won the Malaysia Masters and finished third at the World Championship. She won the Senior National Badminton Championship by defeating PV Sindhu.
Nehwal won the gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games after defeating PV Sindhu. She later won bronze at the Asian Championships. She won bronze at the 2018 Asian Games, giving India its first medal in 36 years.
Nehwal won her first BWF Super 500 title, the Indonesia Masters, in 2019. She accomplished a rare feat by winning medals at all five major badminton tournaments: the Olympics, World Championships, Commonwealth Games, Asian Championships, and Asian Games.
Saina Nehwal – Net Worth 2024
Saina Nehwal has earned a huge amount of money through her hard work and brilliance. By 2024, her net worth is projected to be $5 million.
Awards and Achievements
At the 2012 Olympics, Saina Nehwal became the first female badminton player to take home a medal. She was given the Padma Bhushan in 2016, India’s third-highest civilian honor.
In 2009, she was also given the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Awards. The shuttler also received a Padma Shri in 2010. Saina defeated Akane Yamaguchi of Japan to win the gold medal at the China Open Superseries.
At the 2010 Commonwealth Games, she became the first-ever woman to win a gold medal.
Endorsements
Yonex, a sportswear company, offered to sponsor Nehwal’s kit in 2002. Her standing and ranks rose, and so did the number of sponsors. Bharat Petroleum signed the young prospect in 2004. She is one of the athletes Olympic Gold Quest supports.
She supports brands including Huawei Honor, Fortune Cooking Oil, Godrej No Marks, Emami, Edelweiss Group, and Commune Builder. Iodex, NECC, Sahara Group, Star Sports, Top Ramen Noodles, Vaseline, and Yonex are a few other companies worth mentioning.
In 2012, Nehwal signed an Rs. 400 million endorsement deal with the well-known sports management firm Rhiti Sports. She ended the contract in 2013 and signed with KWAN Entertainment and Marketing Solutions for an undisclosed sum.
She has a specific athletic line with the large sports goods brand Yonex, of which she receives 4% of the earnings.
Personal Life
Regarding her love life, Saina Nehwal is currently married to fellow badminton player Parupalli Kashyap. The pair tied the wedding knot in an intimate ceremony on 14 December 2018. However, The duo is yet to have children.
Caption: Saina Nehwal with her husband Parupalli Kashyap source: Olympics.
Saina Nehwal – Body Measurements
Saina is very pretty, undoubtedly. She has a very perfect height of about 5 feet 5 inches (165 cm/1.65 m) and weighs about 60 kg (132 pounds). In addition, Nehwal has brown pairs of beautiful eyes and black hair color.
Social Media
Regarding her social media presence, Nehwal is active on her Instagram account @nehwalsaina with 1.5 million followers. Moreover, Nehwal also has 8.4 million followers on Twitter and 8.1 million followers on Facebook.