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Saina Nehwal

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Saina Nehwal
Nehwal in 2011
Personal information
CountryIndia
Born (1990-03-17) 17 March 1990 (age 34)
Hisar, Haryana, India[1][2]
ResidenceHyderabad, Telangana, India[3]
Height1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)[4]
Weight65 kg (143 lb)[4]
Spouse
​
(m. 2018)​
HandednessRight
CoachPullela Gopichand
Women's singles
Career record451 wins, 223 losses
Highest ranking1 (2 April 2015[5][6])
Medal record
Women's badminton
Representing  India
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Women's singles
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2015 Jakarta Women's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Glasgow Women's singles
Uber Cup
Bronze medal – third place 2014 New Delhi Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Kunshan Women's team
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2010 New Delhi Women's singles
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast Women's singles
Gold medal – first place 2018 Gold Coast Mixed team
Silver medal – second place 2010 New Delhi Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Melbourne Mixed team
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place 2014 Incheon Women's team
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Jakarta–Palembang Women's singles
Asian Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2010 New Delhi Women's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Wuhan Women's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Wuhan Women's singles
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Pune Girls' singles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Incheon Girls' singles
Commonwealth Youth Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Pune Girls' singles
Silver medal – second place 2004 Bendigo Mixed team
BWF profile

Saina Nehwal (pronunciationⓘ; born 17 March 1990) is an Indian badminton player. A former world no. 1, she has won 24 international titles, which includes ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world's 2nd in 2009, it was only in 2015 that she was able to attain the world no. 1 ranking, thereby becoming the only female player from India and thereafter the second Indian player – after Prakash Padukone – to achieve this feat.[7] She has represented India three times in the Olympics, winning a bronze medal in her second appearance at London 2012.[8][9][10][11]

Nehwal has achieved several milestones in badminton for India. She is the only Indian to have won at least one medal in every BWF major individual event, namely the Olympics, the BWF World Championships, and the BWF World Junior Championships. She is the first Indian badminton player to have won an Olympic medal, the first Indian to have reached the final of the BWF World Championships, and the first Indian to have won the BWF World Junior Championships.[12] In 2006, Nehwal became the first Indian female and the youngest Asian to win a 4-star tournament. She is also the first Indian to win a Super Series title. In the 2014 Uber Cup, she captained the Indian team and remained undefeated, helping India to win a first-ever Uber Cup bronze medal.[13] Nehwal also became the first Indian to win two singles gold medals (2010 and 2018) at the Commonwealth Games.

Considered one of India's most successful badminton players, Nehwal is credited for increasing the popularity of badminton in India.[14] In 2016, she was conferred the Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award.[15] Previously, she had also received the nation's top two sporting honours, namely the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award. Nehwal is a philanthropist and was ranked 18th on the list of most charitable athletes in 2015.[16]

Early life

[edit]

Saina Nehwal, the daughter of Harvir Singh Nehwal and Usha Rani Nehwal, was born in Hisar, Haryana.[17][18][19] She has an elder sister named Chandranshu Nehwal.[20][21][22] Her father, who has a PhD in agricultural science,[23] worked at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University.[24] She completed her first few years of schooling at Campus School CCS HAU, Hisar.[24] She finished 12th grade from the St. Ann's College for Women, Hyderabad.[22]

When her father was promoted and transferred from Haryana to Hyderabad,[23][25] she took up badminton at the age of eight to express herself, as she did not know the local language well enough to socialise with other kids.[23] Her parents played badminton for a number of years.[23] Her mother, Usha Rani, was a state level badminton player in Haryana.[20][23] Nehwal took up badminton to fulfill her mother's dream of becoming a national level badminton player, while her sister played volleyball.[20] Her father, who was among the top players in the university circuit, used his provident fund to invest in good badminton training for her.[22] After moving to Hyderabad in 1998, she was enrolled in a karate class by her parents, which she continued for a year and earned a brown belt.[26][27][28][29]

She trained under Pullela Gopichand in his academy Gopichand Badminton Academy. In 2014, she parted with Gopichand and joined Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bangalore and trained under U. Vimal Kumar under whose training she became World number one; she later in 2017 returned to train under Gopichand. In his book 'Dreams of a Billion: India and the Olympic Games', Gopichand said that he felt miserable when she left him and went to train in Bangalore.[30][31]

Career

[edit]

2005–2007

[edit]

In 2005, at the age of 15, Nehwal has won an Asian Satellite tournament in New Delhi, beating Aparna Popat in the final in straight games.[32]

In 2006, Nehwal became the under-19 national champion and claimed her second Indian Asian Satellite tournament.[33] In May, at age 16, she became the first Indian woman and the youngest player from Asia to win a 4-star tournament – the Philippines Open. Entering the tournament as the 86th seed, she went on to stun several top-seeded players including the then world number two Huaiwen Xu before defeating Julia Wong Pei Xian of Malaysia for the title.[34][35] A few months after she entered the International badminton circuit, Nehwal participated at the World Championships where she lost to Jiang Yanjiao of China. The same year Nehwal reached the final of 2006 BWF World Junior Championships where she lost a hard-fought match against top seed Chinese Wang Yihan.[36] She also competed at the Doha Asian Games.

In 2007, at a very young age of 17, Nehwal went on to take part in the All England, where she challenged experienced Wang Chen in round 2, but went down in 3 games 21–17, 13–21, 16–21. She represented India at the Sudirman Cup in Scotland. At the 2007 BWF World Championships, she won her opening matches against Jeanine Cicognini of Switzerland and 13th seed Juliane Schenk of Germany, but lost the next round to French Pi Hongyan with score 13–21, 17–21.[37] She was a finalist at the Indian International challenge in 2007 where she lost to Kanako Yonekura in 2 games.[38]

2008

[edit]

Two years after losing the final to Wang Yihan, she became the first Indian to win World Junior Championships by defeating ninth seeded Japanese Sayaka Sato 21–9, 21–18.[39] She participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics where she was unseeded. She began her fight with a win against Russian Ella Diehl (2–0) in round 1 and Ukrainian Larisa Griga (2–0) in second round.[40] She became the first Indian woman to reach the quarter-finals when she upset reigning Asian Games champion number four seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong in a three-game thriller.[41] In the quarter-finals Nehwal lost a 3-gamer to world number 16 Maria Kristin Yulianti. Nehwal was leading 11–3 in the decider but could not hold on against her opponent and lost the match by a 28–26, 14–21, 15–21 scoreline.[42]

In September 2008, she won the Chinese Taipei Open 2008 beating Lyddia Cheah of Malaysia 21–8, 21–19.[43] She was also a semifinalist at the China Masters Superseries after she beat reigning World Champion Zhu Lin in quarterfinals.[44] Nehwal won the Commonwealth Youth Games by beating her compatriot N. Sikki Reddy in two games.[45] Nehwal was named "The Most Promising Player" by the Badminton World Federation in 2008.[46] She qualified for the season ending Superseries Finals which consists of most consistent players of the year. She defeated Pi Hongyan and Wong Mew Choo in early rounds. She lost to Tine Rasmussen in round 3. She entered semifinals but lost to Wang Chen with scores 21–15, 14–21, 16–21.[47]

2009

[edit]

In June, she became the first Indian to win a BWF Super Series title, the most prominent badminton series of the world by winning the Indonesia Open. She beat Chinese Wang Lin in the final 12–21, 21–18, 21–9.[48] Nehwal on winning the tournament said, "I had been longing to win a super series tournament since my quarter final appearance at the Olympics". She is at par with the likes of Prakash Padukone and her mentor Pullela Gopichand who both won the all England championships which are of similar status to the super series.

In August, she reached to the quarterfinals of the World Championships, losing to the second seed Wang Lin.[49] She qualified for the season ending Superseries Finals in December, where she lost the opening match to Wong Mew Choo (eventual champion) but won the next two group matches against Porntip Buranaprasertsuk and Canada's Charmaine Reid. She again reached the semifinals of this tournament but went down, this time to Germany's Juliane Schenk.[50] She won India Grand Prix tournament later in the year, defeating compatriot Aditi Mutatkar in the final with scores 21–17, 21–13.[51]

2010

[edit]

Nehwal became the first Indian woman to reach the semi-finals of All England Open before losing to eventual champion Tine Rasmussen.[52] Top seeded Nehwal reached the semifinals of Asian Championships, losing out to unseeded eventual champion Li Xuerui of China, settling for bronze medal. Her coach Pullela Gopichand advised her not put too much pressure on herself due to the overwhelming home crowd support.[53]

Nehwal won the India Open Grand Prix Gold, beating Wong Mew Choo of Malaysia in the final and thus justifying her billing as top seed in the tournament.[54] Nehwal, again seeded number 1, won the Singapore Open, by beating qualifier Tai Tzu-ying of Chinese Taipei in the final with the score of 21–18, 21–15 having defeated World Champion Lu Lan earlier in the semifinal.[55] Nehwal reached a career high of world no. 3 in the women's singles badminton world rankings on 24 June 2010.

She defended her Indonesia Open title in three tough games against Sayaka Sato, 21–19, 13–21, 21–11. This was her third Super Series title and her third successive title following wins at Indian and Singapore Open Super Series.[56] On 15 July 2010, with 64791.26 points, Nehwal reached a career high world ranking of number 2 only behind Wang Yihan of China. Second seed Nehwal, a tournament favourite, crashed out of the 2010 BWF World Championships in Paris after losing to 4th ranked Chinese Wang Shixian in straight sets 8–21, 14–21.[57]

Saina Nehwal at 2010 BWF World Championships
Saina Nehwal in action in 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi

As on 27 September 2010, Nehwal dropped to number 7 ranking after giving a miss to China Masters and Japan Open due to her preparation for the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Top seed Nehwal won the gold medal in the women's singles in the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi.[58] after beating Wong Mew Choo of Malaysia 19–21, 23–21, 21–13. After her win Nehwal said, "when I was a match-point down, it was like a shock. It was a big match and winning it means a lot to me. Even many years from now, those present here will always remember how Saina won the gold. It is a proud feeling".[59] Nehwal confirmed her participation for the Hong Kong Open after a gap of more than five months since her win in the Indonesia Open in June 2010. On 12 December 2010, she defeated Wang Shixian 15–21, 21–16, 21–17 in the final of the Hong Kong Open to win her fourth career Super Series title.[60]

2011

[edit]

2nd seeded Nehwal beat Sung Ji-hyun of South Korea 21–13, 21–14 to win the Swiss Open title.[61] Nehwal faltered after a good start as she lost to the then world number three Wang Xin of China in the finals to finish runner-up in the Malaysia Grand Prix Gold tournament.[62] She was a part of Indian team in the Sudirman Cup mixed team who managed to reach the quarterfinals of this elite mixed team event for the first time ever, as India managed to beat Thailand 3–2, even when Nehwal lost her tie against Ratchanok Intanon.[63] In the quarterfinals against China, Nehwal put up her best performance and beat the then world number two Wang Xin with 21–15, 21–11, but still the Chinese managed to move into the semi-finals with a 3–1 win over India.

In attempt to record a third straight win at the Indonesian Open, she reached the finals once more where she lost to Wang Yihan of China to finish as runner-up, on 26 June.[64] Nehwal crashed out of the World Championship as she lost 15–21, 10–21 to Wang Xin. Nehwal, who reached the quarterfinals in the last two editions of the event, had to be content with yet another last-eight finish.[65] During the season ending tournament 2011 BWF Super Series Masters Finals in Liuzhou in December, Nehwal won her all group matches against Bae Yeon-ju, Sayaka Sato and Wang Xin and once again reached the semifinals. She created history by becoming the first Indian singles player to reach the final after defeating World number 5 Tine Baun of Denmark scoring 21–17, 21–18 win.[66] She lost the final 21–18, 13–21, 13–21 against the World No. 1 Wang Yihan in a contest lasting over an hour.[67]

2012

[edit]

Nehwal successfully defended her Swiss Open title by defeating Wang Shixian 21–19, 21–16 on 18 March,[68] a day after she turned 22 years old. On 10 June, she defeated Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon 19–21, 21–15, 21–10, to lift the Thailand Open title.[69] On 17 June, Nehwal won the third consecutive Indonesia Open by defeating Li Xuerui, a player who was on 30 match winning streak with most dominant performance in the season so far with scores 13–21, 22–20, 21–19.[70]

At the London Olympics, Nehwal was seeded 4th in the draw. In the group stage she defeated Swiss Sabrina Jaquet (2–0) and Belgian Lianne Tan[71] both in straight games. She reached the knockout phase where she defeated Dutch Yao Jie with scores 21–14, 21–16.[72] She then faced Tine Baun, the number 5 seed whom she defeated with 21–15, 22–20 scoreline.[73] She afterwards advanced to semifinals where she lost to top seed Wang Yihan in two straight games 13–21, 13–21.[74] On 4 August, she won the bronze medal when Wang Xin retired from the bronze medal playoff with an injury after taking the first game.[75]

On 21 October, she won the Denmark Open after defeating Germany's Juliane Schenk.[76] Nehwal successfully entered the finals of French Open, but she lost against Minatsu Mitani in straight sets.[77] She participated at the season ending Superseries Finals. In the group stage, she lost to Tine Baun (1–2), won against Juliane Schenk (2–0) & lost the 3rd match to Ratchanok Intanon (0–2). She reached the semifinals but lost a well contested match to Li Xuerui in 3 games, 20–22, 21–7, 13–21.[78]

2013–2014

[edit]

In 2013, Nehwal reached the semifinal of All England Open also but was defeated by 3-time World Junior Champion Ratchanok Intanon.[79] She has yet another quarterfinal finish at the World Championships, after going down to Korean Bae Yeon-ju with score 21–23, 9–21.[80] She qualified for the season ending Superseries Finals held at Kuala Lumpur where she lost to Minatsu Mitani and Li Xuerui, but won the last group match against Bae Yeon-ju in 3 games. However, she failed to progress to the semifinals.

On 26 January 2014, Nehwal defeated World Championship bronze medalist P.V. Sindhu 21–14, 21–17 to win the India Grand Prix Gold tournament.[81] In the final of Australian Open on 29 June, Nehwal defeated Spain's Carolina Marín 21–18, 21–11 to win the title.[82] She withdrew from 2014 Commonwealth Games due to fitness Issue and injury problems she carried during Australian Open.[83] She lost in the quarterfinals of World Championships again, this time to Li Xuerui.[84] She was the quarter-finalist at the Asian Games as well, where she lost to Wang Yihan.[85] She became the first Indian player to win the China Open by beating Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21–12, 22–20 in the final.[86] She contested at the Superseries Finals and won all of her group matches against top seed Wang Shixian (2–0), Bae Yeon-ju (2–1) & Sung Ji-hyun (2–0). She reached the semifinals once more, but lost to eventual champion Tai Tzu-ying 21–11, 13–21, 9–21.[87]

2015

[edit]

Defending champion Nehwal won the Syed Modi International by defeating Carolina Marín in the final.[88] She became the first Indian woman shuttler to reach the finals of the All England Open, but lost to Marín in the final.[89] On 29 March, Nehwal won her maiden women's singles title at the India Open, by beating Ratchanok Intanon. This assured her of becoming World number 1 when the latest BWF rankings were released on 2 April. With this, she became the first Indian player to achieve this feat in Women's category.[90][91]

At the World Championship held in Jakarta, Nehwal was seeded 2nd. She defeated Cheung Ngan Yi and Sayaka Takahashi in early rounds and reached the quarterfinals where she faced Chinese Wang Yihan. She was able to beat her in 3 games 21–15, 19–21, 21–19; thus assured herself of first ever medal at the World Championships.[92] She beat home hope Lindaweni Fanetri in the semifinal and created history by becoming first ever player from India to contest World badminton championship finals.[93] She settled for the silver after going down to Carolina Marín in final.[94]

Defending champion Nehwal fought hard before going down to Li Xuerui in the final of the China Open.[95] She took part at the Season Ending Championships where she lost against Tai Tzu-ying and Nozomi Okuhara but won against Carolina Marín,[96] a player she struggled to beat in the whole year, in one of the group matches. However she failed to reach the knockout phase.

2016

[edit]

Nehwal dealt with injuries in early 2016 but she eventually recovered. She reached the semifinals of the Asian Championships after defeating the third seed Wang Shixian but settled for bronze medal, after losing to Wang Yihan 16–21, 14–21.[97] At the Australian Open, Nehwal went into the finals after beating Ratchanok Intanon in quarters and Wang Yihan in semifinals. She defeated China's Sun Yu in the final by 11–21, 21–14, 21–19.[98]

Making her third appearance at the Olympics, Nehwal, the fifth seed, won her opening match against the unseeded Lohaynny Vicente in straight games. However, she lost her second match against the world no. 61 from Ukraine Marija Ulitina by 18–21, 19–21, thereby making an exit at the group stage.[99] Her coach cited the week-old knee injury for her below par performance.[100] She was appointed as a member of IOC Athletes' Commission in October.[101] She was also chosen as an Integrity Ambassador in BWF's Campaign – "I am Badminton" in December to promote clean and fair play in the sport.[102]

2017

[edit]

Nehwal went on to win Malaysia Masters by defeating Pornpawee Chochuwong with score 22–20, 22–20.[103] She couldn't do well much of the year due to injury; she was still recovering. She was seeded 12th in the World Championship at Glasgow. She ousted Sabrina Jaquet in round 1. She beat 2nd seed Sung Ji-hyun in round of 16 and reached quarterfinals for 7th straight time. She had to dug deep into her reservoir to eke out a 21–19, 18–21, 21–15 win over world no. 31 Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland in the quarterfinal.[104] However, she lost the semifinal to eventual winner Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, thus won the bronze medal.[105] She then won the 82nd national badminton championship by beating P. V. Sindhu in the final.[106]

2018

[edit]

Nehwal reached the finals of the Indonesia Masters. En route to the finals she beat 3 seeded players Chen Yufei, P. V. Sindhu and Ratchanok Intanon. However she finished second-best after losing the final to Tai Tzu-ying.[107] She won her second gold in Commonwealth Games women's singles after beating P. V. Sindhu in the final[108] and led the Indian team to another gold medal in the mixed team event.[109] She then clinched a bronze in the Asian Championships which was her third medal in the tournament altogether, as she went down fighting to the defending champion Tai Tzu-ying.[110] At the World Championships, Nehwal was seeded 10th. She outgunned Turkish Aliye Demirbağ and advanced to next round. She further ousted 4th seed Ratchanok Intanon and reached World Championships quarter-final for record 8th straight time. She lost tamely to Carolina Marín there, in an unexpectedly lop-sided clash.[111]

Nehwal was unseeded at the Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. She defeated Iran's Sorayya Aghaei in round of 32 and Indonesia's Fitriani in second round both in straight games. She then won the quarterfinal, after making a stunning comeback against 4th seeded Ratchanok Intanon, when she was 3–12 down in Game 1 but eventually won it in 2 games thus made it to the semifinals.[112] She made history by winning the first medal for India in badminton after a long wait of 36 years.[113] She lost to Tai Tzu-ying in the semifinal, winning a bronze medal. She achieved a rare feat by winning medals from the quintet of badminton tournaments – the Olympics, the World Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Championships and the Asian Games.

At the Denmark Open, Nehwal was unseeded. She defeated Hongkonger Cheung Ngan Yi scoring 20–22, 21–17, 24–22 in her favour. She then defeated 2 tough Japanese opponents in successive rounds; beating Akane Yamaguchi and Nozomi Okuhara. After an easy win against Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in semifinal, she met her arch-rival and the no.1 seed Tai Tzu-ying. In the past 16 meetings Tai had won 11 and Nehwal wanted to break that jinx but couldn't managed and went down by 13–21, 21–13, 6–21.[114] Nehwal went into the finals of Syed Modi Badminton Super 300 tournament but lost to Han Yue of China.[115]

2019

[edit]

She won her first BWF Super 500 title, the Indonesia Masters, against Carolina Marín, after the latter retired from the court injured.[116] Defending her national championship title in Guwahati, Assam, Nehwal refused to play her singles match citing poor playing surface,[117] and went on to win the National Championship by defeating top seed P. V. Sindhu 21–18, 21–15. This was her 4th National title.[118] Her consistent record at the World Championships came to an end after she lost to Mia Blichfeldt in pre-quarterfinal in 3 hard fought games 21–15, 25–27, 12–21.[119]

Achievements

[edit]

Olympic Games

[edit]

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref
2012 Wembley Arena, London, Great Britain China Wang Xin 18–21, 0–1 retired Bronze [75]

BWF World Championships

[edit]

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref
2015 Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Indonesia Spain Carolina Marín 16–21, 19–21 Silver Silver [94]
2017 Emirates Arena, Glasgow, Scotland Japan Nozomi Okuhara 21–12, 17–21, 10–21 Bronze Bronze [105]

Commonwealth Games

[edit]

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2010 Siri Fort Sports Complex, New Delhi, India Malaysia Wong Mew Choo 19–21, 23–21, 21–13 Gold Gold
2018 Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, Gold Coast, Australia India P. V. Sindhu 21–18, 23–21 Gold Gold

Asian Games

[edit]

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref
2018 Istora Gelora Bung Karno, Jakarta, Indonesia Chinese Taipei Tai Tzu-ying 17–21, 14–21 Bronze Bronze [113]

Asian Championships

[edit]

Women's singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref
2010 Siri Fort Indoor Stadium, New Delhi, India China Li Xuerui 17–21, 11–21 Bronze Bronze [53]
2016 Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China China Wang Yihan 16–21, 14–21 Bronze Bronze [97]
2018 Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium, Wuhan, China Chinese Taipei Tai Tzu-ying 25–27, 19–21 Bronze Bronze [110]

BWF World Junior Championships

[edit]

Girls' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result Ref
2006 Samsan World Gymnasium, Incheon, South Korea China Wang Yihan 13–21, 9–21 Silver Silver [36]
2008 Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Badminton Hall, Pune, India Japan Sayaka Sato 21–9, 21–18 Gold Gold [39]

Commonwealth Youth Games

[edit]

Girls' singles

Year Venue Opponent Score Result
2008 Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India India N. Sikki Reddy 23–21, 22–20 Gold Gold

BWF World Tour (1 title, 3 runners-up)

[edit]

The BWF World Tour, which was announced on 19 March 2017 and implemented in 2018,[120] is a series of elite badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). The BWF World Tour is divided into levels of World Tour Finals, Super 1000, Super 750, Super 500, Super 300 (part of the HSBC World Tour), and the BWF Tour Super 100.[121]

Women's singles

Year Tournament Level Opponent Score Result Ref
2018 Indonesia Masters Super 500 Chinese Taipei Tai Tzu-ying 9–21, 13–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [107]
2018 Denmark Open Super 750 Chinese Taipei Tai Tzu-ying 13–21, 21–13, 6–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [114]
2018 Syed Modi International Super 300 China Han Yue 18–21, 8–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [115]
2019 Indonesia Masters Super 500 Spain Carolina Marín 4–10 retired 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [116]

BWF Superseries (10 titles, 5 runners-up)

[edit]

The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007,[122] was a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). BWF Superseries levels were Superseries and Superseries Premier. A season of Superseries consisted of twelve tournaments around the world that had been introduced since 2011.[123] Successful players were invited to the Superseries Finals, which were held at the end of each year.

Women's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref
2009 Indonesia Open China Wang Lin 12–21, 21–18, 21–9 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [48]
2010 Singapore Open Chinese Taipei Tai Tzu-ying 21–18, 21–15 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [55]
2010 Indonesia Open Japan Sayaka Sato 21–19, 13–21, 21–11 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [56]
2010 Hong Kong Open China Wang Shixian 15–21, 21–16, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [60]
2011 Indonesia Open China Wang Yihan 21–12, 21–23, 14–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [64]
2011 BWF Super Series Finals China Wang Yihan 21–18, 13–21, 13–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [67]
2012 Indonesia Open China Li Xuerui 13–21, 22–20, 21–19 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [70]
2012 Denmark Open Germany Juliane Schenk 21–17, 21–8 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [76]
2012 French Open Japan Minatsu Mitani 19–21, 11–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [77]
2014 Australian Open Spain Carolina Marín 21–18, 21–11 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [82]
2014 China Open Japan Akane Yamaguchi 21–12, 22–20 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [86]
2015 All England Open Spain Carolina Marín 21–16, 14–21, 7–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [89]
2015 India Open Thailand Ratchanok Intanon 21–16, 21–14 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [90]
2015 China Open China Li Xuerui 12–21, 15–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [95]
2016 Australian Open China Sun Yu 11–21, 21–14, 21–19 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [98]
  BWF Superseries Finals tournament
  BWF Superseries Premier tournament
  BWF Superseries tournament

BWF Grand Prix (10 titles, 1 runner-up)

[edit]

The BWF Grand Prix had two levels, the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Gold. It was a series of badminton tournaments sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) and played between 2007 and 2017. The World Badminton Grand Prix was sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006.

Women's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref
2006 Philippines Open Malaysia Julia Wong Pei Xian 21–15, 22–20 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [34]
2008 Chinese Taipei Open Malaysia Lydia Cheah 12–21, 21–18, 21–9 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [43]
2009 India Grand Prix India Aditi Mutatkar 21–17, 21–13 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [51]
2010 India Open Malaysia Wong Mew Choo 20–22, 21–14, 21–12 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [54]
2011 Malaysia Grand Prix Gold China Wang Xin 21–13, 8–21, 14–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [62]
2011 Swiss Open South Korea Sung Ji-hyun 21–13, 21–14 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [61]
2012 Swiss Open China Wang Shixian 21–19, 21–16 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [68]
2012 Thailand Open Thailand Ratchanok Intanon 19–21, 21–15, 21–10 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [69]
2014 India Grand Prix Gold India P. V. Sindhu 21–14, 21–17 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [81]
2015 Syed Modi International Spain Carolina Marín 19–21, 25–23, 21–16 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [88]
2017 Malaysia Masters Thailand Pornpawee Chochuwong 22–20, 22–20 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [103]
  BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament
  BWF & IBF Grand Prix tournament

BWF International Challenge/Series/Satellite (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

[edit]

Women's singles

Year Tournament Opponent Score Result Ref
2005 India Satellite India Aparna Popat 11–8, 11–6 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [32]
2006 India Satellite South Korea Jang Soo-young 21–9, 21–14 1st place, gold medalist(s) Winner [33]
2007 India International Japan Kanako Yonekura 13–21, 18–21 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up [38]
  BWF International Challenge tournament
  BWF International Series/Satellite tournament

National titles and runners-up

[edit]

National Junior/Senior titles (13)

[edit]
S. No. Year Tournament Age group Format Partner Opponent(s) in final Score Ref.
1 2002 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 13 Singles N/A Parsa Naqvi 11–0, 11–4 [124]
2 2002 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 13 Doubles Pizza Bharali Mudra Dhainje / Fernaz Jasdanwala 11–5, 11–4 [124]
3 2002 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 16 Doubles Aparna Balan Manisha Eswarappa / Y. K. Subrata 11–2, 11–3 [124]
4 2003 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 16 Singles N/A Anjali Kalita 11–3, 11–13, 11–2 [125]
5 2003 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 16 Doubles P. Jyotshna G. M. Nischitha / Madhuri Vijay 15–6, 15–7 [125]
6 2004 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Singles N/A Ridhi Pajwani 11–2, 11–4 [126]
7 2004 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Doubles Aparna Balan T. Soumya / Ashwini Chowdary 15–6, 15–10 [126]
8 2005 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Singles N/A Aditi Mutatkar 11–5, 13–10 [127]
9 2005 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Doubles Aparna Balan V. Ruth Misha / Saumya Padhye 15–2,15–4 [127]
10 2007 Senior National Badminton Championships Senior Singles N/A Aditi Mutatkar 21–19, 21–16 [128]
11 2007 National Games Senior Singles N/A Aditi Mutatkar 24–22, 21–15 [129]
12 2008 Senior National Badminton Championships Senior Singles N/A Trupti Murgunde 21–11, 21–10 [130]
13 2017 Senior National Badminton Championships Senior Singles N/A P. V. Sindhu 21–17, 27–25
14 2019 Senior National Badminton Championships Senior Singles N/A P. V. Sindhu 21–18, 21–15

National Junior/Senior runners-up (1)

[edit]
S. No. Year Tournament Age group Format Partner Opponent(s) in final Score Ref.
1 2006 Senior National Badminton Championships Senior Singles N/A Aparna Popat 11–13, 3–11 [131]

Performance timeline

[edit]
Key
W F SF QF #R RR Q# A G S B NH N/A DNQ
(W) won; (F) finalist; (SF) semi-finalist; (QF) quarter-finalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze medal; (NH) not held; (N/A) not applicable; (DNQ) did not qualify.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.
Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 SR Best Ref
BWF events
World Junior Championships 2R NH S A G N/A 1/3 G ('08) [36][39]
World Championships NH A 1R 3R NH QF QF QF NH QF QF S NH B QF 3R NH A 3R 0/12 S ('15) [37][49][57][65][80][84][94][105][111][119]
Olympic Games DNQ NH QF NH B NH RR NH DNQ NH 0/3 B ('12) [42][75][99]
IBF Grand Prix BWF Superseries / Grand Prix BWF World Tour
Malaysia Open N/A A QF QF A SF SF 2R SF SF 1R 2R 1R NH 1R 1R 0/12 SF ('12, '13, '15, '16)
India Open NH 2R QF W 1R 2R 2R QF W SF QF QF w/d NH 2R 2R 2/13 W ('10, '15) [51][54][90]
Indonesia Masters NH A NH F W 1R A 2R 1/4 W ('19) [107][116]
Thailand Masters NH w/d A 1R NH w/d 0/1 1R ('20)
German Open A 1R A NH 2R A 0/2 2R ('22)
All England Open N/A 2R 1R 1R SF QF QF SF QF F QF QF 1R QF 1R 1R 2R A 0/16 F ('15) [52][79][89]
Swiss Open N/A 1R 2R QF A W W SF QF A SF w/d A w/d NH 1R 2R A 2/10 W ('11, '12) [61][68]
Spain Masters NH A QF A NH A 0/1 QF ('20)
Orléans Masters N/A A NH SF A 1R 0/2 SF ('21)
Malaysia Masters NH QF A F A W A SF QF NH 1R A 1/6 W ('17) [62][103]
Thailand Open N/A 1R QF A NH QF W QF NH A SF w/d 2R 2R NH 1R 2R 1/11 W ('12) [69]
1R
Singapore Open N/A A SF QF W 2R A QF 1R A QF NH QF 1R 1/9 W ('10) [55]
Indonesia Open N/A A 2R W W F W SF QF QF QF 2R 2R w/d NH A 3/11 W ('09, '10, '12) [48][56][64][70]
Taipei Open N/A A W A w/d NH w/d 1/1 W ('08) [43]
Korea Open A 2R A 2R QF QF A QF 1R NH A 0/6 QF ('12, '13, '18)
Japan Open N/A A 1R 1R A SF A 2R A 2R A w/d NH 1R 0/6 SF ('11)
Vietnam Open N/A A NH w/d 0/0
Denmark Open N/A 1R A QF A 2R W QF QF 2R A QF F 1R A 1R 1R 1/11 W ('12) [76][114]
French Open N/A A QF A 2R F 2R QF QF A 2R QF QF NH 1R 1R 0/11 F ('12) [77]
Hylo Open A 1R 0/1 1R ('22)
Hong Kong Open N/A 1R QF 1R W QF 2R 2R QF w/d QF 2R 1R 1R NH 1/12 W ('10) [60]
Australian Open N/A A W QF W QF w/d A NH A 2/4 W ('14, '16) [82][98]
China Open N/A 1R 1R 2R A 1R A 2R W F 1R 2R 1R 1R NH 1/11 W ('14) [86][95]
China Masters NH N/A A SF A QF A w/d A 1R NH 0/3 SF ('08) [44]
Syed Modi International N/A NH W A 1R NH W W w/d w/d F w/d NH w/d 3/5 W ('09, '14, '15) [81][88][115]
Odisha Open N/A w/d 0/0
World Superseries/Tour Finals NH SF SF DNQ F SF RR SF RR DNQ 0/7 F ('11) [47][50][67][78][87]
Macau Open A QF A NH 0/1 QF ('16)
Philippines Open NH W 1R NH A NH 1/2 W ('06) [34][132]
Other events
Commonwealth Games NH 3R NH G NH A NH G NH A NH 2/3 G ('10, '18) [58][108][133]
Asian Games NH 2R NH QF NH QF NH B NH NH 0/4 B ('18) [85][113]
Asian Championships A 2R 2R 1R 1R B A 2R A QF B 1R B QF NH 2R 0/12 B ('10, '16, '18) [134][135][53][97][110]
India Satellite A W W NH 2/2 W ('05, '06) [32][33]
Year-end ranking 8 4 3 3 8 4 2 10 10 9 11 20 25 31 97 1
Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 SR Best Ref

Record against selected opponents

[edit]

Record against Year-end Finals finalists, World Championships semi-finalists, and Olympic quarter-finalists. Accurate as of 22 September 2023.

Personal life

[edit]

Nehwal and her family speak the Haryanvi language at home.[136] She is a fan of actors Shah Rukh Khan and Mahesh Babu and cricketer Chris Gayle .[17] She is in the process of opening a badminton academy in her native state of Haryana.[137]

She married a badminton player, Parupalli Kashyap in a private ceremony on 14 December 2018.[138]

Politics

[edit]

Nehwal joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in Delhi on 29 January 2020 in the presence of party's national general secretary Arun Singh. Her sister Abu Chandranshu Nehwal also joined the party. She was quoted as saying "Narendra Modi is working hard for the country, and has always inspired me."[139][140]

Accolades

[edit]

Awards

[edit]
For the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics

Endorsements

[edit]

In 2002, sports brand Yonex offered to sponsor Nehwal's kit. As her status and rankings improved, the number of sponsorships also increased. In 2004, Bharat Petroleum[151] signed the rising star. She is one of the athletes supported by Olympic Gold Quest.[152] She endorses Commune Builder,[153] Edelweiss Group,[153] Emami,[153] Fortune Cooking Oil,[154] Godrej No Marks,[153] Herbalife Nutrition,[153][155] Huawei Honor smartphone.[156] Indian Overseas Bank,[153] Iodex,[153] NECC,[157] Sahara Group,[158] Star Sports,[153] Top Ramen Noodles,[159] Vaseline[160] and Yonex.[161]

Nehwal signed an endorsement deal worth Rs. 400 million with the sports management firm Rhiti Sports in 2012.[162] However, she severed this deal in 2013 and signed up with KWAN entertainment and marketing solutions for an undisclosed sum.[163] She has a dedicated sporting range with the multinational sports goods manufacturer Yonex, 4% of the profits of which goes to her.[163]

[edit]

Nehwal has been invited on popular Indian television shows as a guest including Satyamev Jayate, Comedy Nights with Kapil, The Kapil Sharma Show, Sam Jam.[164]

Her autobiography, Playing to Win: My Life On and Off Court,[165][166] was released in 2012.[167]

Saina, a biopic based on her life, directed by Amol Gupte with actress Parineeti Chopra playing the title role, was released in 2021.[168][169]

Legacy

[edit]

Saina Nehwal Institute of Agricultural Technology, Training & Education[170] at Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University is named after her.

References

[edit]
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