Smashing all odds and owning every court, here's how Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal, made a name for India and the sport around the world.
Every sports personality have their share of struggles and challenges that they had to face in life to become what they are today. There is a lot that goes into making a great athlete who then goes on to inspire many. India stands as a proud country to be house to many such amazing talents, one among them being Saina Nehwal. Taking the Indian badminton game a notch higher, Saina has created her own fan following.
A need to express herself out of the stress of not knowing the local language after her father Harvir Singh Nehwal was transferred from Haryana to Hyderbad, Saina took up badminton as a sport at the age of eight. It is also a sport that runs in her family as her mother was a state-level badminton player in Haryana, which further encouraged Saina to work hard in the sport and fulfill her mother's dream.
Needless to say, Saina's passion and determination for the sport is commendable. The number of accolades and achievements from around the world is a result of the same. With over 24 International titles to her name, she stood as the world's number one player in 2015. She is the first female and second overall Indian player to have reached the position.
Her love for the game popularised the sport of badminton even further in India with many young minds of the country wanting to follow her steps in joining the sport. Her contributions in bringing pride to the nation were duly noted as she was awarded India's sports honours, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and Arjuna Award in 2009-2010. She was later honoured with India's third-highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan in 2016.
With a number of firsts, Saina has crossed various milestones for India in the field of sports. She is the first Indian to have won a medal in all three of BWF major individual event. First Indian badminton player to have won an Olympic medal, to have reached the final of the BWF World Championships, along with being the only Indian to have won the BWF World Junior Championships. Saina is also the youngest Asian and first Indian female and to win a 4-star tournament. She also has the distinction of being the first Indian to win a Super Series title. And guess who is the first Indian to win two singles gold medals (2010 and 2018) in Commonwealth Games, you guessed it, it is Saina Nehwal.
She truly is an ambassador of hard work and determination, isn't she?
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