Saina Nehwal
Badminton player who won India’s first Olympic medal in the sport
- Age
- 36 yrs
- Birthday in 140 days
- Works listed
- 0
- Career highlights
- Honours
- 4
- Most recent 2016
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
Saina Nehwal is a badminton player who won India’s first Olympic medal in the sport, a bronze at London 2012, and became the first Indian woman to be ranked world No. 1. Her success inspired a boom in Indian badminton.
Biography
Early life
Saina was born in Hisar, Haryana, and moved to Hyderabad as a child when her father, an agricultural scientist, was transferred there. Her parents, both former state-level badminton players, made great sacrifices to fund her training.
Breakthrough
Training under Pullela Gopichand, she won the World Junior Championships in 2008 and reached the quarter-finals at the Beijing Olympics. In 2009 she became the first Indian to win a BWF Super Series title, at the Indonesia Open, and she won Commonwealth Games gold in Delhi in 2010.
London and No. 1
At the 2012 London Olympics she won bronze, India’s first Olympic medal in badminton. In 2015 she reached the All England final and the World Championships final and became world No. 1, the first Indian woman to top the rankings. She won a second Commonwealth gold in 2018.
Honours and public life
Saina received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2009–10 and the Padma Bhushan in 2016. She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2020. Her success is widely credited with inspiring the generation of Indian players that followed, including P. V. Sindhu.
Timeline
-
1990
Born in Hisar, Haryana
-
2008
World Junior Champion; Beijing Olympics quarter-final
-
2009
First Super Series title
-
2010
Commonwealth Games gold; Khel Ratna
-
2012
Olympic bronze in London
-
2015
World No. 1
-
2016
Padma Bhushan
-
2018
Second Commonwealth gold
Awards and honours
-
Arjuna Award
2009
-
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna
2010
-
Padma Shri
2010
-
Padma Bhushan
2016
Did you know?
-
1
She won India’s first Olympic medal in badminton.
-
2
She was the first Indian woman ranked world No. 1.
-
3
Her parents both played badminton at state level.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Saina Nehwal?
Saina Nehwal is a badminton player who won India’s first Olympic medal in the sport, a bronze at London 2012, and became the first Indian woman to be ranked world No. 1. Her success inspired a boom in Indian badminton.
How old is Saina Nehwal?
Saina Nehwal is 36 years old, born on 17 March 1990 in Hisar, Haryana.
Where is Saina Nehwal from?
Saina Nehwal was born in Hisar, Haryana.
What is Saina Nehwal known for?
Saina Nehwal is best known for Olympic bronze at London 2012; first Indian woman to be ranked world No. 1 in badminton.
What awards has Saina Nehwal received?
Notable honours include Arjuna Award (2009), Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2010), Padma Shri (2010), Padma Bhushan (2016).
References
- Saina Nehwal — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Saina Nehwal — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Saina Nehwal — Olympics.com athlete profile. Olympics.com. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Saina Nehwal — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 27 October 2026.
- Saina Nehwal (Q464311) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 27 October 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Saina Nehwal”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
Featured in
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 27 October 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Saina Nehwal.” TrackFame, last updated 28 October 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/saina-nehwal
Discussion 0
Sign in or create an account to join the discussion.
No comments yet — be the first.
More in Sports
Sports
Viswanathan Anand
Five-time world chess champion and India’s first grandmaster
Born 1969
Sports
P. V. Sindhu
Badminton world champion and two-time Olympic medallist
Born 1995
Sports
V. V. S. Laxman
Former India batsman famous for his 281 against Australia
Born 1974
Sports
Dipa Karmakar
First Indian woman gymnast to compete at the Olympics
Born 1993
Sports
Anil Kumble
India’s leading Test wicket-taker and former captain
Born 1970
Sports
Sunil Gavaskar
Former India opening batsman, first to score 10,000 Test runs
Born 1949