Saina Nehwal facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Saina Nehwal |
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Nehwal in 2011
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| Personal information | |
| Born | 17 March 1990 Hisar, Haryana, India |
| Residence | Hyderabad, Telangana, India |
| Height | 1.65 m |
| Weight | 65 kg |
| Country | India |
| Handedness | Right |
| Women's singles | |
| Highest Ranking | 1 (2 April 2015) |
Saina Nehwal is a famous Indian badminton player. She was once the world's number one player. Saina has won 24 international titles, including ten major Superseries wins. In 2015, she became the first Indian woman to reach the world number one ranking in badminton. She is also the second Indian player ever to do so, after Prakash Padukone.
Saina has played for India three times in the Olympics. She won a bronze medal at the London 2012 Games. She is the only Indian player to win a medal in all major individual badminton events. These include the Olympics, the BWF World Championships, and the BWF World Junior Championships. Saina was the first Indian badminton player to win an Olympic medal. She was also the first Indian to reach the BWF World Championships final. In 2006, she became the youngest Asian woman to win a 4-star tournament.
Many people see Saina Nehwal as one of India's best badminton players. She has helped make badminton more popular in India. In 2016, she received the Padma Bhushan. This is India's third-highest award for civilians. She also received the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award. These are India's top two sports awards.
Contents
Early Life and Training
Saina Nehwal was born in Hisar, Haryana. Her parents, Harvir Singh Nehwal and Usha Rani Nehwal, also played badminton. Her mother was a state-level player. Saina started playing badminton at age eight. She wanted to fulfill her mother's dream of becoming a national player. Her father helped her get good training.
In 1998, her family moved to Hyderabad. Saina also took karate classes for a year and earned a brown belt. She trained at the Gopichand Badminton Academy with Pullela Gopichand. In 2014, she trained with U. Vimal Kumar in Bangalore. Under his guidance, she became world number one. She later returned to train with Gopichand in 2017.
Saina's Amazing Career Journey
Starting Strong: 2005–2007
In 2005, when Saina was just 15, she won an Asian Satellite tournament in New Delhi. She beat Aparna Popat in the final. The next year, in 2006, Saina became the under-19 national champion. She also won her second Indian Asian Satellite tournament. At 16, she made history by winning the Philippines Open. She was the first Indian woman and youngest Asian to win a 4-star tournament. She beat many top players, including the world number two, Huaiwen Xu.
Saina also reached the final of the 2006 BWF World Junior Championships. She lost to Wang Yihan of China in a tough match. In 2007, Saina played in the All England Open. She also represented India at the Sudirman Cup.
Becoming a Junior World Champion: 2008
In 2008, Saina made history again. She became the first Indian to win the 2008 BWF World Junior Championships. She beat Sayaka Sato of Japan in the final. Saina also played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She reached the quarter-finals, a first for an Indian woman. She beat Wang Chen of Hong Kong.
Later that year, she won the Chinese Taipei Open. She was also a semi-finalist at the China Masters Superseries. The Badminton World Federation named her "The Most Promising Player" in 2008.
First Super Series Title: 2009
In June 2009, Saina became the first Indian to win a BWF Super Series title. This is one of the biggest badminton tournaments. She won the Indonesia Open by beating Wang Lin of China. Saina said she had wanted to win a Super Series title since the Olympics. She also won the India Grand Prix tournament.
Rising to World Number Two: 2010
Saina reached the semi-finals of the All England Open. She also won the India Open Grand Prix Gold. Then, she won the Singapore Open. She beat Tai Tzu-ying in the final. On June 24, 2010, Saina reached a career-high ranking of world number 3.
She successfully defended her Indonesia Open title. This was her third Super Series title in a row. On July 15, 2010, Saina reached world number 2. She won the gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. She beat Wong Mew Choo in a thrilling final. Saina also won her fourth Super Series title at the Hong Kong Open.
More Wins and Olympic Bronze: 2011–2012
In 2011, Saina won the Swiss Open title. She also reached the finals of the Indonesian Open. Saina made history by becoming the first Indian singles player to reach the final of the 2011 BWF Super Series Masters Finals.
In 2012, Saina defended her Swiss Open title. She also won the Thailand Open title. A week later, she won her third straight Indonesia Open.
At the London Olympics, Saina won a bronze medal. She became the first Indian badminton player to win an Olympic medal. She also won the Denmark Open.
Becoming World Number One: 2013–2015
In 2014, Saina won the India Grand Prix Gold. She also won the Australian Open. Saina became the first Indian player to win the China Open.
In 2015, Saina won the Syed Modi International. She became the first Indian woman to reach the finals of the All England Open. On March 29, 2015, Saina won her first India Open title. This win made her the world number 1 on April 2, 2015.
At the 2015 BWF World Championships in Jakarta, Saina won her first World Championships medal. She reached the final, becoming the first Indian to do so. She won a silver medal.
Battling Injuries and More Medals: 2016–2019
Saina faced injuries in early 2016. But she recovered and reached the semi-finals of the Asian Championships. She also won the Australian Open. In October, she was chosen to be part of the IOC Athletes' Commission.
In 2017, Saina won the Malaysia Masters. She also won a bronze medal at the World Championship in Glasgow. She then won her 82nd national badminton championship.
In 2018, Saina reached the finals of the Indonesia Masters. She won her second gold medal in women's singles at the Commonwealth Games. She also helped the Indian team win gold in the mixed team event. Saina won a bronze medal at the Asian Championships. At the Asian Games, she won a bronze medal. This was India's first badminton medal in 36 years.
In 2019, Saina won her first BWF Super 500 title, the Indonesia Masters. She also won her fourth National Championship title.
Personal Life
Saina Nehwal and her family speak the Haryanvi language at home. She enjoys watching movies and sports. She married fellow badminton player Parupalli Kashyap on December 14, 2018.
Awards and Recognition
Saina Nehwal has received many awards for her achievements:
- Most Promising Player of the Year (2008) by Badminton World Federation
- Arjuna Award (2009)
- Padma Shri (2010)
- Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna (2009–2010)
- Padma Bhushan (2016)
For her bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, she received cash awards from several Indian governments and the Badminton Association of India. She also received honorary doctorate degrees from two universities.
Images for kids
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Nehwal in 2011
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Saina Nehwal at the 2010 BWF World Championships
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Saina Nehwal in action in 2010 Commonwealth Games, Delhi
See also
In Spanish: Saina Nehwal para niños
