Saina Nehwal has confirmed her retirement from competitive badminton after a prolonged battle with a chronic knee condition. Nehwal said her body can no longer cope with the physical demands of elite sport. She played for the last time at the 2023 Singapore Open. She revealed she has severe chronic knee problems and arthritis. This is how netizens reacted.
On 20th January 2026, Indian Badminton player and Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal announced her retirement from competitive Badminton because "she could no longer handle the physical demands of elite sport." Sania Nehwal shared what she had been dealing with at the health front. She said she has severe chronic knee problems and arthritis, with cartilage in her knees badly worn down, which discourages her from training and playing.
She did not announce her retirement through social media, but admitted it in an interview. Her health conditions pose a barrier and stop her from training intensely and maintaining consistency as a sportsperson. The former World 1 shuttler played her international for the last time at the 2023 Singapore Open, and since then kept herself aloof but did not officially announce her retirement.
Saina Nehwal was born on March 17, 1990, in Hisar, Haryana. She already comes from a sports-oriented family; both of her parents, Harvir Singh Nehwal and Usha Rani Nehwal, are former badminton players at the state level, and her father also has a doctorate and worked in agricultural research. Her parents encouraged and helped her to become a Badminton player who made India proud at the International level.
She began playing badminton with a clear goal in 1998, and her family moved to Hyderabad in order to provide her with better facilities. She trained at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad. In 2008, Nehwal won the World Junior Championships. In the 2012 London Olympics, she became the first Indian badminton player to win an Olympic bronze medal. She has also won medals in the BWF World Championships, Commonwealth Games, and numerous international titles over her career.
Saina Nehwal is not just a name; she is one of those Indian female players who inspired a whole generation and popularised badminton. Saina Nehwal: “Trailblazer of Indian badminton” bows out of professional badminton at the age of 35.