India’s top shuttler and former world number 1 Saina Nehwal has announced her retirement from badminton. She said that her body can no longer handle the physical demands of the sport. Nehwal was out of action for the last two years, her last competitive match was in 2023 when she participated in the Singapore Open. It is noteworthy that despite being away from the court, Nehwal had not formally announced her retirement from badminton.
Why Nehwal retired from badminton
Nehwal’s career suffered a major setback after suffering a serious knee injury at the Rio 2016 Olympics, which threatened to end her career. Although she returned to win bronze at the 2017 World Championships and gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, persistent knee problems repeatedly slowed her down. In 2024, she revealed that she had developed arthritis in both knees, and that cartilage deterioration was making it increasingly difficult for her to continue high-intensity training at the elite level.
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In a podcast quoted by PTI, Saina said, “I stopped playing two years ago. I really felt I entered the sport on my own terms and left it on my own terms, so there was no need to announce it. If you’re not capable of playing anymore, that’s it. That’s fine.”
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The former world No. 1 explained that she was unable to continue high-intensity training for long periods due to excessive wear and tear on her knee. She said, “Your cartilage is completely worn out, you have arthritis. My parents needed to know that, my coach needed to know that, and I just said to them, ‘I probably can’t do this anymore, it’s hard.’
Saina Nehwal said she didn’t feel a formal retirement statement was necessary, as her decision to step away from competition had made it clear. “I didn’t think it was such a big deal to announce my retirement. I just felt my time was up because I couldn’t push hard enough, my knee wasn’t able to handle the same amount of stress as before,” she said.
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She continued, “To be the best in the world, you train for 8 to 9 hours. Now, my knee was giving up in just 1 or 2 hours. It would swell, and then it would become very difficult to push. So I thought enough is enough. I can’t push anymore.”
