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Saina Nehwal

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Women's Singles IND Legend Retired

First Indian to win Olympic medal in badminton (bronze 2012). India's torchbearer for women's badminton.

Profile

Country: India
Born: 1990-03-17 (36 yrs)
Height: 165 cm
Weight: 65 kg
Handed: Right
Best BWF rank: #1 WS 2015-04-02
BWF: Profile
Wikipedia: Saina Nehwal

Attacking · all-court control

Honours · golds

3× Commonwealth

Career record

446 W 234 L

65.6% win rate · 680 matches

Career highlights

2010 Commonwealth Games gold medal, women's singles, New Delhi (first Indian to win CWG singles gold)
2012 London Olympics bronze medal — India's first-ever Olympic badminton medal
2015 BWF World Championships silver medal, Jakarta (first Indian woman in WC final)
2015 April: reached BWF World No. 1 ranking — first Indian woman and only second Indian ever (after Prakash Padukone)
2018 Commonwealth Games gold medal, women's singles, Gold Coast (defeated PV Sindhu in final; first Indian to win two CWG singles golds)
2016 Rio Olympics — third consecutive Olympics appearance; conferred Padma Bhushan (India's third-highest civilian honour)
Retired January 2026 after arthritis forced end to competition; last match at 2023 Singapore Open

Gear

Racquet Yonex Arcsaber 11 Pro ✓ verified

String Yonex BG66 Ultimax

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Hyderabad-trained alongside PV Sindhu under Pullela Gopichand. India's first Olympic badminton medallist (bronze London 2012) and the first Indian woman to top the BWF singles rankings. Her career-defining 2015 — World Championships silver plus a #1 ranking — set the highest peak any Indian woman has reached in the sport.

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