Saina Nehwal (About this sound pronunciation born 17 March 1990) is a professional badminton singles player from India. Nehwal, the former world no. 1, has maintained her world ranking in the top ten since 2009. She has won over twenty international titles, which include ten Superseries titles. Although she reached to the world no. 2 ranking in 2009, it was only in 2015 that she was able to attain the world no. 1 ranking. And thereby becoming the only female player from India & overall the second Indian player – after Prakash Padukone – to achieve this feat. She has represented India three times in the Olympics, winning bronze medal in her second appearance.
Nehwal has achieved several milestones in badminton for India. She is the only Indian to have won at least a 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, along with being the only Indian to have won the BWF World Junior Championships or to have reached to the final of the BWF World ChampionshipsIn 2006, Nehwal became the first Indian female and the youngest Asian to win a 4-star tournament. She also has the distinction of being 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 bronze medal. It was India’s first medal in any BWF major team event.
Considered as one of the most successful Indian female sportsperson,she is credited for increasing the popularity of badminton in India.In 2016, the Government of India (GoI) conferred the Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award – on her. Previously, the nation's top two sporting honours, namely the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award, were also conferred on her by the GoI.Personal life
Saina Nehwal, the second daughter of Harvir Singh and Usha Rani, was born in Hisar
Her father worked in CCS HAU. She completed her first few years of schooling at Campus School CCS HAU, Hisar. The family later shifted to Hyderabad Nehwal also has a brown belt in KarateSaina did her Xll from St. Ann's College Mehdipatnam Hyderabad.
Career
2006–2009
In 2006, Saina became the under-19 national champion and created history by winning the prestigious Asian Satellite Badminton tournament (India Chapter) twice, becoming the first player to do so. In May 2006, the 16-year-old Saina became the first Indian woman and the youngest player from Asia to win a 4-star tournament – the Philippines OpenEntering the tournament as the 86th seed, Saina went on to stun several top seeded players including the then world number four Xu Huaiwen before defeating Julia Wong Pei Xian of Malaysia for the title. The same year Saina was also the runner up at the 2006 BWF World Junior Championships, where she lost a hard fought match against top seed Chinese Wang Yihan. She did one better in the 2008 by becoming the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships by defeating ninth seeded Japanese Sayaka Sato 21–9, 21–18.
She became the first Indian woman to reach the quarter finals at the Olympic Games when she upset world number five and fourth seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong in a three-game thriller. In the quarter-finals Saina lost a nail biting 3-gamer to world number 16 Maria Kristin Yulianti. In September 2008, she won the Yonex Chinese Taipei Open 2008 beating Lydia Cheah Li Ya of Malaysia 21–8 21–19.Maria Yulianti had earlier lost her quarter-final match to Pia Bernadet, Saina's semi-final opponent, thus denying Saina a rematch. Saina was named "The Most Promising Player" in 2008.She reached the world super series semifinals in the month of December 2008.
In June 2009, 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. Saina on winning the tournament said, "I had been longing to win a super series tournament since my quarter final appearance at the Olympics". Saina is on the 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 2009, she reached to the quarterfinals of the World Championships, losing to the second seed Wang Lin.
2010
Saina successfully led the Indian Women Team to the Quarter-finals stage of the 2010 Uber Cup finals. Saina became the first Indian Woman to reach the semi finals of 2010 All-England Super Series before losing to eventual champion Tine Rasmussen. Top seeded Saina reached the semifinals of Yonex Sunrise Badminton Asia Championships 2010 losing out to unseeded eventual champion Li Xuerui of China. Saina's Coach Gopichand advised her not exert too much pressure on herself due to the overwhelming home crowd support. Saina wins the 2010 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. She won a prize money of $8,280 for winning this BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament. Nehwal, again seeded no.1 in the Singapore Open Super Series 2010, entered the finals defeating World champion Lu Lan of China. Saina won the second Super Series title of her career by beating qualifier Tai Tzu-Ying of Chinese Taipei in the final of the Singapore Open 21–18, 21–15. But the fact that she won the tournament in the absence of all the top 5 ranked players takes a little sheen away from her path breaking victory. Saina won a prize money of $15,000 for winning this BWF Super Series tournament. Saina reached a career high of world no. 3 in the women's singles badminton world rankings on 24 June 2010.saina defended her Indonesia Open super series title in three tough games against Sayaka Sato of Japan, 21–19 / 13–21 / 21–11.This is her third super series title and her third successive title following wins at Indian open, Singapore Super series She again won the top prize money of $18,750 for winning this BWF Super Series tournament. On 15 July 2010, with 64791.26 points Saina Nehwal reached a career high world ranking of No. 2 only behind Wang Yihan of China. 2nd seed Saina, 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. She although equalled her tournament best performance, as she was also a losing quarter-finalist in the last edition held in Hyderabad. She subsequently dropped a spot to be No. 3 in the world rankings.
Top seed Saina, won the gold medal in the Women's Singles badminton event in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in New DelhiShe beat Wong Mew
2011
4th seed Saina Nehwal crashed out of the 2011 Korea Open Super Series Premier on 27 January 2011 in the 2nd round. She was defeated by the Japanese Sayaka Sato in a tight 3 set match with score 17–21,21–19 and 21–11. 5th seed Saina, was disappointed when she was defeated by Eriko Hirose of Japan at 2011 All England Super Series Premier on 11 March 2011. She was defeated in straight sets with a score of 21–11 and 22–20. It was her second early exit of the year after being defeated in Korean Premium Super Series earlier in January. One week later, on 17 March 2011, she met Eriko Hirose again (in the second round of the Wilson Badminton Swiss Open), but managed to win this time in three games 21–15, 17–21 and 21–11 – on her birthday. 2nd seed Saina Nehwal beat Ji Hyun Sung of South Korea 21–13, 21–14 to win the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold badminton title on 20 March 2011. Saina posed an early exit from the Indian Open Super Series in Delhi. She disappointed the home crowd being defeated by Ai Goto of Japan in straight games 21–17 and 21–19 .
Saina 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 2011 Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold tournament on 8 May 2011. Saina Nehwal participated in the 2011 BWF Double Star Sudirman Cup Mixed team event, she won her first match against Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei which was a tough three setter 21–10, 12–21 21–17, but India lost the tie 3–2. She was then shocked in her second match by current Junior World Champion & 16-year-old teen sensation Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand losing in straight sets 21–14, 22–20, but India managed to beat Thailand 3–2 in the tie to book a spot in the quarterfinals of the Elite mixed team event for the first time in the history of the tournament. In the quarterfinals against the mighty Chinese, Saina put up her best performance and beat the then World number two Xin Wang in straight sets 21–15, 21–11, but still the Chinese managed to move into the semi finals with a 3–1 win over India. Saina lost to Li Xuerui of China in the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open GP Gold.
Defending Champion Saina lost to Cheng Shao-chieh of Chinese Taipei in the second round of Singapore Open Super Series. Saina, in her attempt to record a third straight win at the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier, reached the finals where she lost to Wang Yihan of China to finish as runner-up, on 26 June. Nehwal crashed out of World Championship 2011 as she lost 15–21, 10–21 to World Number 3 Wang Xin of China in a lop-sided women's singles match. Saina, who reached the quarterfinals in the last two editions of the event,
had to be contend with yet another last-eight finish. She lost in quarter finals of 2011 China Masters Super Series against World No. 1 Wang Yihan of China in straight games 8–21, 12–21. Saina lost in semi finals of 2011 Japan Super Series against Juliane Schenk of Germany in straight games 19–21, 10–21. In the 2011 Denmark Super Series Premier, she lost to 17-year-old teen Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in straight games 19–21, 13–21 in the second round. Saina repeated her shocking second round exit in the 2011 French Super Series as she lost to World No. 16 Li Xuerui of China in straight games 18–21, 29–30. Saina lost in quarter finals of 2011 Hong Kong Super Series against World No. 7 Tine Baun of Denmark in straight games 16–21, 15–21.
Saina was defeated in the very first round of 2011 China Open Super Series Premier by World No. 8 Bae Youn-joo of South Korea 21–15, 22–24, 15–21.[34] During the season ending tournament in December, Saina Nehwal created history by becoming the first Indian singles player to reach the final of BWF Super Series Masters Finals after defeating World No. 5 Tine Baun of Denmark to cruise 21–17, 21–18 in the semifinals of the 2011 BWF Super Series Masters Finals in Liuzhou (China).[35] She went on to lose the final 21–18, 13–21, 13–21 against the World No. 1 Chinese Wang Yihan in a contest lasting over an hour.
2012–2013
Saina successfully did her Swiss Open Title by defeating World No 2 Wang Shixian of China 21–19 21–16 on 18 March 2012, a day after she turned 22 years old. On 10 June 2012, Saina defeated Thailand’s Ratchanok Inthanon 19–21 21–15 21–10, to lift the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold title.
On 17 June 2012, Saina Nehwal won the Indonesia Open Super Series by defeating World No. 3 Li Xuerui of China 13–21, 22–20 21–19. It was her 3rd Indonesia Open titleOn 4 August 2012, she won the bronze medal at the London Olympics when China's Wang Xin retired from the match after an injury with the match at 18–21, 0–1.[not in citation given] On 21 October 2012, she won the Denmark Open Super Series Premier after defeating Wang Yihan 21–12 12–7 in the semifinal.Yihan got retired hurt in this match after losing first set and trailing in second set. In the final Saina defeated Juliane Schenk
2015
Defending Champion Saina Nehwal won the 2015 India Open Grand Prix Gold by defeating Spain's Carolina Marin in the Final. She became the first Indian woman shuttler to reach the finals of All England Open Badminton Championships, but lost to Carolina in the final. On 29 March 2015, Saina won her maiden women's singles title at the India Open BWF Super Series beating Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand. This assured her of becoming World number 1 when the latest BWF rankings were released on April 2. Thus, she became the first Indian women's player to be World No.1 in badmintonOn 16th Aug 2015, Saina went down fighting to Carolina Marin again, in the Final of World Badminton Championships held in Jakarta, settling for the Silver.
2016
Saina dealt with injuries in the starting of 2016 but she eventually recovered. She, the defending champion lost to the reigning Olympic Champion Li Xuerui in a hard fought match at the India Open in the semifinals. She registered semifinal finishes at the India Open and Malaysia Open. She reached the semifinals of the Badminton Asia Championships after defeating the third seed Wang Shixian (21–16 21–19) in the quarterfinals, but lost to Wang Yihan in the semifinals. She settled for bronze, her second in the Asian Championships after 2010. In June 2016, she competed at the Indonesia Open Superseries Premier, she reached the quarterfinals where she lost to the top seed Carolina Marin with the score of 22–24, 11–21.
At the Australian Super Series, after registering victories in straight games against unseeded players, Saina reached to the quarterfinals, where she won a hard-fought match against the second seed Ratchanok Intanon by 28–26, 21–16.[50] After registering victory in the semifinals against the world no. 2 Wang Yihan by 21–8, 21–12, she won her first title of the year after defeating China's Sun Yu in the final by 11–21, 21–14, 21–19
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 Marija Ulitina by 18–21, 19–21, thereby making exit at the group stage. Her coach cited the week-old knee injury for her below par performance at the event.
Career titles and runners-up
International titles and runners-up
Individual titles (23)
9| align="center" | 6
S. No. Year Tournament Opponent in final Score
1 2005 India Asian Satellite India Aparna Popat 11–8, 11–6[55]
2 2006 Philippines Open Malaysia Julia Wong Pei Xian 21–15, 22–20[56]
3 2006 India Asian Satellite South Korea Jang Soo-young 21–9, 21–14[57][58]
4 2009 Indonesia Open China Wang Lin 12–21, 21–18, 21–9[59]
5 2008 Chinese Taipei Open Malaysia lydia cheah 12–21, 21–18, 21–9
2009 India Grand Prix India Aditi Mutatkar 21–17, 21–13[60]
2010 India Open Malaysia Wong Mew Choo 20–22, 21–14, 21–12[61]
8 2010 Singapore Open Chinese Taipei Tai Tzu-ying 21–18, 21–15
9 2010 Indonesia Open Japan Sayaka Sato 21–19, 13–21, 21–11
10 2010 Commonwealth Games Malaysia Wong Mew Choo 19–21, 23–21, 21–13
11 2010 Hong Kong Open China Wang Shixian 15–21, 21–16, 21–17
12 2011 Swiss Open South Korea Sung Ji-hyun 21–13, 21–14
13 2012 Swiss Open China Wang Shixian 21–19, 21–16
14 2012 Thailand Open Thailand Ratchanok Inthanon 19–21, 21–15, 21–10
15 2012 Indonesia Open China Li Xuerui 13–21, 22–20, 21–19
16 2012 Denmark Open Germany Juliane Schenk 21–17, 21–8
17 2014 India Grand Prix Gold India P. V. Sindhu 21–14, 21–17
18 2014 Australian Open Spain Carolina Marín 21–18, 21–11
19 2014 China Open Japan Akane Yamaguchi 21–12, 22–20
20 2015 Syed Modi International Spain Carolina Marín 19–21, 25–23, 21–16
21 2015 India Open Thailand Ratchanok Intanon 21–16, 21–14
22 2016 Australian Open China Sun Yu 11–21, 21–14, 21–19
23 2017 Malaysia Masters ThailandPornpawee Chochuwong 22-20, 22-20
Super Series Premier
Super Series
Grand Prix Gold
Grand Prix
Individual runners-up (8)[edit]
S. No. Year Tournament Opponent in final Score
1 2007 India International Challenge Japan Kanako Yonekura 13–21, 18–21[62]
2 2011 Malaysia Masters China Wang Xin 21–13, 8–21, 14–21[63]
3 2011 Indonesia Open China Wang Yihan 21–12, 21–23, 14–21
4 2011 Super Series Masters Finals China Wang Yihan 21–18, 13–21, 13–21
5 2012 French Open Japan Minatsu Mitani 19–21, 11–21
6 2015 All England Spain Carolina Marín 21–16, 14–21, 7–21
7 2015 World Championships Spain Carolina Marín 16–21, 19–21
8 2015 China Open China Li Xuerui 12–21, 15–21
BWF Event
Super Series Premier/Finals
Super Series
Grand Prix Gold
Individual Junior titles (3)[edit]
S. No. Year Tournament Opponent in final Score
1 2003 Czech Junior International (de) Ukraine Yana Vorotnykova 11–3, 11–6[64]
2 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games India N. Sikki Reddy 23–21, 22–20[65][66]
3 2008 World Junior Championships Japan Sayaka Sato 21–9, 21–18
BWF Event
Individual Junior runners-up (1)[edit]
S. No. Year Tournament Opponent in final Score
1 2006 World Junior Championships China Wang Yihan 13–21, 9–21
BWF Event
National titles and runners-up[edit]
National Junior/Senior titles (12)[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 [67]
2 2002 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 13 Doubles Pizza Bharali Mudra Dhainje / Fernaz Jasdanwala 11–5, 11–4 [67]
3 2002 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 16 Doubles Aparna Balan Manisha Eswarappa / Y. K. Subrata 11–2, 11–3 [67]
4 2003 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 16 Singles N/A Anjali Kalita 11–3, 11–13, 11–2 [68]
5 2003 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 16 Doubles Jyotshna P G. M. Nischitha / Madhuri Vijay 15–6, 15–7 [68]
6 2004 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Singles N/A Ridhi Pajwani 11–2, 11–4 [69]
7 2004 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Doubles Aparna Balan T. Soumya / Ashwini Chowdary 15–6, 15–10 [69]
8 2005 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Singles N/A Aditi Mutatkar 11–5, 13–10 [70]
9 2005 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Doubles Aparna Balan V. Ruth Misha / Saumya Padhye 15–2,15–4 [70]
10 2007 Senior National Badminton Championships Senior Singles N/A Aditi Mutatkar 21–19, 21–16 [71]
11 2007 National Games Senior Singles N/A Aditi Mutatkar 24–22, 21–15 [72]
12 2008 Senior National Badminton Championships Senior Singles N/A Trupti Murgunde 21–11, 21–10 [73]
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 [74]
Career overview[edit]
Singles Played Wins Losses Balance
Total* 477 339 138 +201
Current year (2016)* 24 17 7 +10
Doubles Played Wins Losses Balance
Total* 33 9 24 −15
Current year (2016)* 0 0 0 0
* Statistics were last updated on 4 June 2016.[75]
Event 2008
2012
2016
Summer Olympics QF Bronze Group Stage
Event 2006
2010
Commonwealth Games Bronze Gold
Event 2004
2008
Commonwealth Youth Games Silver Gold
Singles Titles
Type No. of titles
Super Series Premier 3
Super Series
Awards
Most Promising Player of the Year (2008) award by Badminton World Federation[88]
Arjuna Award (2009)
Padma Shri (2010)
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2009–2010)[90]
Padma Bhushan (2016)
For the Bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics
₹10 million (US$150,000) cash award from the Haryana Government.
₹5 million (US$74,000) cash award from the Rajasthan Government.
₹5 million (US$74,000) cash award from the Andhra Pradesh Government.
₹1 million (US$15,000) cash award from the Badminton Association of India.
Honorary Doctorate Degree by Mangalayatan University
Honorary Doctorate Degree by SRM University
Endorsements
In 2002, sports brand Yonex offered to sponsor Saina’s kit. As her status and rankings improved, the sponsorships increased. In 2004, BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited) signed the rising star. She is one of the athletes supported by Olympic Gold Quest. She is the brand ambassador of Sahara India Pariwar. Saina endorses Herbalife,Top Ramen Noodles,Fortune Cooking Oil,NECC,Indian Overseas Bank, Vaseline, Sahara and Yonex. Most recently Saina Nehwal was announced as the brand ambassador for Honor, the Huawei smartphone sub-brand
She had signed an endorsement deal worth Rs. 400 million with the popular sports management firm Rhiti Sports in 2012. However, she severed this deal in 2013 and signed up with KWAN entertainment and marketing solutions for an undisclosed sum. She has a dedicated sporting range with the multinational sports goods manufacturer Yonex, 4% of the profits of which goes to her. Apart from endorsements, she has also been invited on popular Indian television shows as a guest including Satyamev Jayate, Comedy Nights with Kapil, The Kapil Sharma Show.
Nehwal has achieved several milestones in badminton for India. She is the only Indian to have won at least a 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, along with being the only Indian to have won the BWF World Junior Championships or to have reached to the final of the BWF World ChampionshipsIn 2006, Nehwal became the first Indian female and the youngest Asian to win a 4-star tournament. She also has the distinction of being 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 bronze medal. It was India’s first medal in any BWF major team event.
Considered as one of the most successful Indian female sportsperson,she is credited for increasing the popularity of badminton in India.In 2016, the Government of India (GoI) conferred the Padma Bhushan – India's third highest civilian award – on her. Previously, the nation's top two sporting honours, namely the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna and the Arjuna Award, were also conferred on her by the GoI.Personal life
Saina Nehwal, the second daughter of Harvir Singh and Usha Rani, was born in Hisar
Her father worked in CCS HAU. She completed her first few years of schooling at Campus School CCS HAU, Hisar. The family later shifted to Hyderabad Nehwal also has a brown belt in KarateSaina did her Xll from St. Ann's College Mehdipatnam Hyderabad.
Career
2006–2009
In 2006, Saina became the under-19 national champion and created history by winning the prestigious Asian Satellite Badminton tournament (India Chapter) twice, becoming the first player to do so. In May 2006, the 16-year-old Saina became the first Indian woman and the youngest player from Asia to win a 4-star tournament – the Philippines OpenEntering the tournament as the 86th seed, Saina went on to stun several top seeded players including the then world number four Xu Huaiwen before defeating Julia Wong Pei Xian of Malaysia for the title. The same year Saina was also the runner up at the 2006 BWF World Junior Championships, where she lost a hard fought match against top seed Chinese Wang Yihan. She did one better in the 2008 by becoming the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships by defeating ninth seeded Japanese Sayaka Sato 21–9, 21–18.
She became the first Indian woman to reach the quarter finals at the Olympic Games when she upset world number five and fourth seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong in a three-game thriller. In the quarter-finals Saina lost a nail biting 3-gamer to world number 16 Maria Kristin Yulianti. In September 2008, she won the Yonex Chinese Taipei Open 2008 beating Lydia Cheah Li Ya of Malaysia 21–8 21–19.Maria Yulianti had earlier lost her quarter-final match to Pia Bernadet, Saina's semi-final opponent, thus denying Saina a rematch. Saina was named "The Most Promising Player" in 2008.She reached the world super series semifinals in the month of December 2008.
In June 2009, 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. Saina on winning the tournament said, "I had been longing to win a super series tournament since my quarter final appearance at the Olympics". Saina is on the 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 2009, she reached to the quarterfinals of the World Championships, losing to the second seed Wang Lin.
2010
Saina successfully led the Indian Women Team to the Quarter-finals stage of the 2010 Uber Cup finals. Saina became the first Indian Woman to reach the semi finals of 2010 All-England Super Series before losing to eventual champion Tine Rasmussen. Top seeded Saina reached the semifinals of Yonex Sunrise Badminton Asia Championships 2010 losing out to unseeded eventual champion Li Xuerui of China. Saina's Coach Gopichand advised her not exert too much pressure on herself due to the overwhelming home crowd support. Saina wins the 2010 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. She won a prize money of $8,280 for winning this BWF Grand Prix Gold tournament. Nehwal, again seeded no.1 in the Singapore Open Super Series 2010, entered the finals defeating World champion Lu Lan of China. Saina won the second Super Series title of her career by beating qualifier Tai Tzu-Ying of Chinese Taipei in the final of the Singapore Open 21–18, 21–15. But the fact that she won the tournament in the absence of all the top 5 ranked players takes a little sheen away from her path breaking victory. Saina won a prize money of $15,000 for winning this BWF Super Series tournament. Saina reached a career high of world no. 3 in the women's singles badminton world rankings on 24 June 2010.saina defended her Indonesia Open super series title in three tough games against Sayaka Sato of Japan, 21–19 / 13–21 / 21–11.This is her third super series title and her third successive title following wins at Indian open, Singapore Super series She again won the top prize money of $18,750 for winning this BWF Super Series tournament. On 15 July 2010, with 64791.26 points Saina Nehwal reached a career high world ranking of No. 2 only behind Wang Yihan of China. 2nd seed Saina, 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. She although equalled her tournament best performance, as she was also a losing quarter-finalist in the last edition held in Hyderabad. She subsequently dropped a spot to be No. 3 in the world rankings.
Top seed Saina, won the gold medal in the Women's Singles badminton event in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in New DelhiShe beat Wong Mew
2011
4th seed Saina Nehwal crashed out of the 2011 Korea Open Super Series Premier on 27 January 2011 in the 2nd round. She was defeated by the Japanese Sayaka Sato in a tight 3 set match with score 17–21,21–19 and 21–11. 5th seed Saina, was disappointed when she was defeated by Eriko Hirose of Japan at 2011 All England Super Series Premier on 11 March 2011. She was defeated in straight sets with a score of 21–11 and 22–20. It was her second early exit of the year after being defeated in Korean Premium Super Series earlier in January. One week later, on 17 March 2011, she met Eriko Hirose again (in the second round of the Wilson Badminton Swiss Open), but managed to win this time in three games 21–15, 17–21 and 21–11 – on her birthday. 2nd seed Saina Nehwal beat Ji Hyun Sung of South Korea 21–13, 21–14 to win the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold badminton title on 20 March 2011. Saina posed an early exit from the Indian Open Super Series in Delhi. She disappointed the home crowd being defeated by Ai Goto of Japan in straight games 21–17 and 21–19 .
Saina 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 2011 Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold tournament on 8 May 2011. Saina Nehwal participated in the 2011 BWF Double Star Sudirman Cup Mixed team event, she won her first match against Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei which was a tough three setter 21–10, 12–21 21–17, but India lost the tie 3–2. She was then shocked in her second match by current Junior World Champion & 16-year-old teen sensation Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand losing in straight sets 21–14, 22–20, but India managed to beat Thailand 3–2 in the tie to book a spot in the quarterfinals of the Elite mixed team event for the first time in the history of the tournament. In the quarterfinals against the mighty Chinese, Saina put up her best performance and beat the then World number two Xin Wang in straight sets 21–15, 21–11, but still the Chinese managed to move into the semi finals with a 3–1 win over India. Saina lost to Li Xuerui of China in the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open GP Gold.
Defending Champion Saina lost to Cheng Shao-chieh of Chinese Taipei in the second round of Singapore Open Super Series. Saina, in her attempt to record a third straight win at the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier, reached the finals where she lost to Wang Yihan of China to finish as runner-up, on 26 June. Nehwal crashed out of World Championship 2011 as she lost 15–21, 10–21 to World Number 3 Wang Xin of China in a lop-sided women's singles match. Saina, who reached the quarterfinals in the last two editions of the event,
had to be contend with yet another last-eight finish. She lost in quarter finals of 2011 China Masters Super Series against World No. 1 Wang Yihan of China in straight games 8–21, 12–21. Saina lost in semi finals of 2011 Japan Super Series against Juliane Schenk of Germany in straight games 19–21, 10–21. In the 2011 Denmark Super Series Premier, she lost to 17-year-old teen Tai Tzu-ying of Taiwan in straight games 19–21, 13–21 in the second round. Saina repeated her shocking second round exit in the 2011 French Super Series as she lost to World No. 16 Li Xuerui of China in straight games 18–21, 29–30. Saina lost in quarter finals of 2011 Hong Kong Super Series against World No. 7 Tine Baun of Denmark in straight games 16–21, 15–21.
Saina was defeated in the very first round of 2011 China Open Super Series Premier by World No. 8 Bae Youn-joo of South Korea 21–15, 22–24, 15–21.[34] During the season ending tournament in December, Saina Nehwal created history by becoming the first Indian singles player to reach the final of BWF Super Series Masters Finals after defeating World No. 5 Tine Baun of Denmark to cruise 21–17, 21–18 in the semifinals of the 2011 BWF Super Series Masters Finals in Liuzhou (China).[35] She went on to lose the final 21–18, 13–21, 13–21 against the World No. 1 Chinese Wang Yihan in a contest lasting over an hour.
2012–2013
Saina successfully did her Swiss Open Title by defeating World No 2 Wang Shixian of China 21–19 21–16 on 18 March 2012, a day after she turned 22 years old. On 10 June 2012, Saina defeated Thailand’s Ratchanok Inthanon 19–21 21–15 21–10, to lift the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold title.
On 17 June 2012, Saina Nehwal won the Indonesia Open Super Series by defeating World No. 3 Li Xuerui of China 13–21, 22–20 21–19. It was her 3rd Indonesia Open titleOn 4 August 2012, she won the bronze medal at the London Olympics when China's Wang Xin retired from the match after an injury with the match at 18–21, 0–1.[not in citation given] On 21 October 2012, she won the Denmark Open Super Series Premier after defeating Wang Yihan 21–12 12–7 in the semifinal.Yihan got retired hurt in this match after losing first set and trailing in second set. In the final Saina defeated Juliane Schenk
2015
Defending Champion Saina Nehwal won the 2015 India Open Grand Prix Gold by defeating Spain's Carolina Marin in the Final. She became the first Indian woman shuttler to reach the finals of All England Open Badminton Championships, but lost to Carolina in the final. On 29 March 2015, Saina won her maiden women's singles title at the India Open BWF Super Series beating Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand. This assured her of becoming World number 1 when the latest BWF rankings were released on April 2. Thus, she became the first Indian women's player to be World No.1 in badmintonOn 16th Aug 2015, Saina went down fighting to Carolina Marin again, in the Final of World Badminton Championships held in Jakarta, settling for the Silver.
2016
Saina dealt with injuries in the starting of 2016 but she eventually recovered. She, the defending champion lost to the reigning Olympic Champion Li Xuerui in a hard fought match at the India Open in the semifinals. She registered semifinal finishes at the India Open and Malaysia Open. She reached the semifinals of the Badminton Asia Championships after defeating the third seed Wang Shixian (21–16 21–19) in the quarterfinals, but lost to Wang Yihan in the semifinals. She settled for bronze, her second in the Asian Championships after 2010. In June 2016, she competed at the Indonesia Open Superseries Premier, she reached the quarterfinals where she lost to the top seed Carolina Marin with the score of 22–24, 11–21.
At the Australian Super Series, after registering victories in straight games against unseeded players, Saina reached to the quarterfinals, where she won a hard-fought match against the second seed Ratchanok Intanon by 28–26, 21–16.[50] After registering victory in the semifinals against the world no. 2 Wang Yihan by 21–8, 21–12, she won her first title of the year after defeating China's Sun Yu in the final by 11–21, 21–14, 21–19
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 Marija Ulitina by 18–21, 19–21, thereby making exit at the group stage. Her coach cited the week-old knee injury for her below par performance at the event.
Career titles and runners-up
International titles and runners-up
Individual titles (23)
9| align="center" | 6
S. No. Year Tournament Opponent in final Score
1 2005 India Asian Satellite India Aparna Popat 11–8, 11–6[55]
2 2006 Philippines Open Malaysia Julia Wong Pei Xian 21–15, 22–20[56]
3 2006 India Asian Satellite South Korea Jang Soo-young 21–9, 21–14[57][58]
4 2009 Indonesia Open China Wang Lin 12–21, 21–18, 21–9[59]
5 2008 Chinese Taipei Open Malaysia lydia cheah 12–21, 21–18, 21–9
2009 India Grand Prix India Aditi Mutatkar 21–17, 21–13[60]
2010 India Open Malaysia Wong Mew Choo 20–22, 21–14, 21–12[61]
8 2010 Singapore Open Chinese Taipei Tai Tzu-ying 21–18, 21–15
9 2010 Indonesia Open Japan Sayaka Sato 21–19, 13–21, 21–11
10 2010 Commonwealth Games Malaysia Wong Mew Choo 19–21, 23–21, 21–13
11 2010 Hong Kong Open China Wang Shixian 15–21, 21–16, 21–17
12 2011 Swiss Open South Korea Sung Ji-hyun 21–13, 21–14
13 2012 Swiss Open China Wang Shixian 21–19, 21–16
14 2012 Thailand Open Thailand Ratchanok Inthanon 19–21, 21–15, 21–10
15 2012 Indonesia Open China Li Xuerui 13–21, 22–20, 21–19
16 2012 Denmark Open Germany Juliane Schenk 21–17, 21–8
17 2014 India Grand Prix Gold India P. V. Sindhu 21–14, 21–17
18 2014 Australian Open Spain Carolina Marín 21–18, 21–11
19 2014 China Open Japan Akane Yamaguchi 21–12, 22–20
20 2015 Syed Modi International Spain Carolina Marín 19–21, 25–23, 21–16
21 2015 India Open Thailand Ratchanok Intanon 21–16, 21–14
22 2016 Australian Open China Sun Yu 11–21, 21–14, 21–19
23 2017 Malaysia Masters ThailandPornpawee Chochuwong 22-20, 22-20
Super Series Premier
Super Series
Grand Prix Gold
Grand Prix
Individual runners-up (8)[edit]
S. No. Year Tournament Opponent in final Score
1 2007 India International Challenge Japan Kanako Yonekura 13–21, 18–21[62]
2 2011 Malaysia Masters China Wang Xin 21–13, 8–21, 14–21[63]
3 2011 Indonesia Open China Wang Yihan 21–12, 21–23, 14–21
4 2011 Super Series Masters Finals China Wang Yihan 21–18, 13–21, 13–21
5 2012 French Open Japan Minatsu Mitani 19–21, 11–21
6 2015 All England Spain Carolina Marín 21–16, 14–21, 7–21
7 2015 World Championships Spain Carolina Marín 16–21, 19–21
8 2015 China Open China Li Xuerui 12–21, 15–21
BWF Event
Super Series Premier/Finals
Super Series
Grand Prix Gold
Individual Junior titles (3)[edit]
S. No. Year Tournament Opponent in final Score
1 2003 Czech Junior International (de) Ukraine Yana Vorotnykova 11–3, 11–6[64]
2 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games India N. Sikki Reddy 23–21, 22–20[65][66]
3 2008 World Junior Championships Japan Sayaka Sato 21–9, 21–18
BWF Event
Individual Junior runners-up (1)[edit]
S. No. Year Tournament Opponent in final Score
1 2006 World Junior Championships China Wang Yihan 13–21, 9–21
BWF Event
National titles and runners-up[edit]
National Junior/Senior titles (12)[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 [67]
2 2002 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 13 Doubles Pizza Bharali Mudra Dhainje / Fernaz Jasdanwala 11–5, 11–4 [67]
3 2002 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 16 Doubles Aparna Balan Manisha Eswarappa / Y. K. Subrata 11–2, 11–3 [67]
4 2003 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 16 Singles N/A Anjali Kalita 11–3, 11–13, 11–2 [68]
5 2003 Sub-Junior National Badminton Championship Under 16 Doubles Jyotshna P G. M. Nischitha / Madhuri Vijay 15–6, 15–7 [68]
6 2004 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Singles N/A Ridhi Pajwani 11–2, 11–4 [69]
7 2004 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Doubles Aparna Balan T. Soumya / Ashwini Chowdary 15–6, 15–10 [69]
8 2005 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Singles N/A Aditi Mutatkar 11–5, 13–10 [70]
9 2005 Junior National badminton championships Under 19 Doubles Aparna Balan V. Ruth Misha / Saumya Padhye 15–2,15–4 [70]
10 2007 Senior National Badminton Championships Senior Singles N/A Aditi Mutatkar 21–19, 21–16 [71]
11 2007 National Games Senior Singles N/A Aditi Mutatkar 24–22, 21–15 [72]
12 2008 Senior National Badminton Championships Senior Singles N/A Trupti Murgunde 21–11, 21–10 [73]
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 [74]
Career overview[edit]
Singles Played Wins Losses Balance
Total* 477 339 138 +201
Current year (2016)* 24 17 7 +10
Doubles Played Wins Losses Balance
Total* 33 9 24 −15
Current year (2016)* 0 0 0 0
* Statistics were last updated on 4 June 2016.[75]
Event 2008
2012
2016
Summer Olympics QF Bronze Group Stage
Event 2006
2010
Commonwealth Games Bronze Gold
Event 2004
2008
Commonwealth Youth Games Silver Gold
Singles Titles
Type No. of titles
Super Series Premier 3
Super Series
Awards
Most Promising Player of the Year (2008) award by Badminton World Federation[88]
Arjuna Award (2009)
Padma Shri (2010)
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2009–2010)[90]
Padma Bhushan (2016)
For the Bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics
₹10 million (US$150,000) cash award from the Haryana Government.
₹5 million (US$74,000) cash award from the Rajasthan Government.
₹5 million (US$74,000) cash award from the Andhra Pradesh Government.
₹1 million (US$15,000) cash award from the Badminton Association of India.
Honorary Doctorate Degree by Mangalayatan University
Honorary Doctorate Degree by SRM University
Endorsements
In 2002, sports brand Yonex offered to sponsor Saina’s kit. As her status and rankings improved, the sponsorships increased. In 2004, BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited) signed the rising star. She is one of the athletes supported by Olympic Gold Quest. She is the brand ambassador of Sahara India Pariwar. Saina endorses Herbalife,Top Ramen Noodles,Fortune Cooking Oil,NECC,Indian Overseas Bank, Vaseline, Sahara and Yonex. Most recently Saina Nehwal was announced as the brand ambassador for Honor, the Huawei smartphone sub-brand
She had signed an endorsement deal worth Rs. 400 million with the popular sports management firm Rhiti Sports in 2012. However, she severed this deal in 2013 and signed up with KWAN entertainment and marketing solutions for an undisclosed sum. She has a dedicated sporting range with the multinational sports goods manufacturer Yonex, 4% of the profits of which goes to her. Apart from endorsements, she has also been invited on popular Indian television shows as a guest including Satyamev Jayate, Comedy Nights with Kapil, The Kapil Sharma Show.
