Saina Nehwal: Early Life, Husband & Net Worth
Saina Nehwal is a professional badminton player. She is a former world no. 1 female badminton player.
Moreover, Nehwal is the only female badminton player and overall the second Indian player to rank 1st globally.
Currently, she ranks 20th in the world. However, she has won over 24 international titles. Further, she also represented Indian three times in the Olympics.
Similarly, the shuttler won a bronze medal in her second Olympics. As a result, this made her the first Indian badminton player to have ever won an Olympics medal.
Furthermore, she paved the way for achieving several milestones for India. Not to mention, people credit her for increasing the popularity of badminton in India.
Besides that, she is the recipient of multiple awards such as the Arjuna Award, Padma Shri, Padma Bhusan, and many more.
QUICK FACTS
Here are few interesting facts about Saina Nehwal.
| Full Name | Saina Nehwal |
| Birth Date | March 17, 1990 |
| Birth Place | Hisar, Haryana, India |
| Nick Name | Steffi Saina |
| Religion | Hindu |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Ethnicity | Indian |
| Education | Campus School CCS HAU |
| Horoscope | Pisces |
| Father’s Name | Harvir Singh Nehwal |
| Mother’s Name | Usha Nehwal |
| Siblings | Abu Chandranshu Nehwal |
| Age | 34 Years Old |
| Height | 5 feet 5 inches |
| Weight | 143lbs (65kg) |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Eye Color | Black |
| Build | Athletic |
| Profession | Badminton Player |
| Sport | Badminton |
| Handedness | Right Hand |
| Active Years | 2002-present |
| Marital Status | Married |
| Wife | Parupalli Kashyap |
| Kids | None |
| Net Worth | $3 Million |
| Social Media | Facebook, Instagram, Twitter |
| Merch | Playing to Win, Vogue Magazine Cover |
| Last Update | April, 2024 |
Saina Nehwal: Early Life, Family, and Education
Saina Nehwal was born in Hisar, Haryana, India. Her parents are Harvir Singh Nehwal and Usha Nehwal. She also has one elder sister named Abu Chandranshu Nehwal.
Further, her father is a teacher who has Ph.D. in agricultural science. Not to mention, her mother was a former state-level badminton player in Haryana.
Likewise, Usha wanted both the sisters to fulfill her dream of becoming a national-level badminton player. Hence, both the sister were involved in sports from a very young age.
Furthermore, the athlete’s father was promoted and transferred to Hyderbad from Haryana. During this period of time, she was eight years old.
Moreover, Telugu is the local language spoken in Hyderabad. Therefore, she faced a communication barrier. As a result, she took badminton to express herself.
Likewise, she was already getting proper training during this time. Notably, she trained under her mother, mostly learning her skills for the sport.
Besides that, Saina completed her high school at St. Ann’s College for Women, Hyderabad. Before completion, she had already won some major competitions.
Consequently, she had proven to be the top under-19 player of Hyderabad state.
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Saina Nehwal: Age, Height, and Weight
Saina Nehwal is 34 Years Old as of March 17, 2021.
Above all, as an athlete, she takes excellent care of her fitness. She hits the gym regularly and trains to increase her stamina as well as maintain her body weight.
Similarly, the olympian also does Pilates under a personal trainer. Pilates is a form of exercise that contains less-impact flexibility and muscular strength.
Furthermore, she is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 143 lbs, i.e., 65kg.
Saina Nehwal: Badminton Career
Nationals Championship
Junior Year
The shuttler started playing badminton at the age of eight. Hence, we can imagine that she is an extraordinary player.
Furthermore, she started playing tournaments during her schooling period. Similarly, at the age of 12, she played her very first singles and doubles national tournament.
Further, the Indian shuttler was the champion of the under-13 singles and doubles nationals in 2002.
Likewise, she also competed in the singles and doubles under-16 nationals. However, she could only win the doubles tournament.
Nevertheless, she went on winning both the singles and doubles under-16 nationals the next year. After that, she kept her streak alive throughout the under-19 nationals.
She never lost a match during the under-19 nationals. Not to mention, she was also proving her worth in many international games as well.
Senior Year
Alongside playing in the Commonwealth Games, she also played in the 2006 nationals. Further, this was her first senior game, which she lost in the finals.
After the loss, she again participated in the nationals. Not to mention, for the senior championship, she didn’t play in any doubles tournament.
Hence, she played two singles national games that year. Likewise, in both the tournament, she faced Aditi Mutatkar in the final round.
As expected, the player won both the tournament unanimously. Furthermore, the following year she again won the nationals. However, this would be her last national of the 2000 era.
After 9 years, i.e., in 2017, she again played the nationals against P.V. Sindhu. This was not an ordinary match as both of them were elite players.
However, Nehwal turns out to be the better player at that moment. Thus, she beats P.V. Sindhu and won her 13th nationals championship title.
Moreover, they both had a rematch in 2019. The rematch ended with Saina adding the 14th title to her resume.
Besides that, after this win, the professional has not played any national games. Nonetheless, we do hope to see her soon in the coming years.
International Championship
Commonwealth Games
At a very young age, the Indian player became a rising star. Hence, alongside playing her first national game, she also played her first international game.
In 2004, Nehwal debuted in the Commonwealth Youth Games. Further, this debut came after a win in the under-19 singles and doubles nationals.
However, the athlete couldn’t get a win in this tournament. Nevertheless, she did secure a silver medal which still was a huge deal.
Similarly, two years later, she again participates in the singles match. The start of this tournament was very auspicious for the gold medalist.
Moreover, despite her best efforts, she was knocked out in the semi-final. Thus, in her second tournament, she only secured a bronze medal.
Furthermore, in 2008, she again participates in the same categorize. Nonetheless, this time she was more desperate than ever to win. As a result, she was calm and focused.
Certainly, this was one of her best performances. In fact, she won every set to win gold that year.
Likewise, after nearly eight-year, she again participates in the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Additionally, she again faced P.V. Sindhu in the finals.
Just like the last two nationals game against Sindhu, Nehwal again beats her. Henceforth, securing her second commonwealth gold medal.
Asian Games
The shutter made her Asian Game debut in the 2010 Asian Championships. Further, she was doing very well until facing Li Xuerui in the semi-finals.
Hence, she lost the match to the Chinese professional. However, she secured a bronze medal for India.
Likewise, she again participates in the 2016 Asian Championships. The start of the tournament for her was auspicious.
Nevertheless, she again lost in the semi-finals to a Chinese professional, Wang Yihan. This was her second loss in the Asian tournament to a Chinese player.
Moreover, two years later, she again lost in the semi-finals to a Taiwanese professional. Similarly, she again competed in the Asian Games the same year.
Furthermore, she has never won an Asian game or championship till now. She always got knocked out in the semi-final round. Hence, she has four bronze in the Asian tournaments.
Nonetheless, she is determined to participate in upcoming Asian tournaments.
Also, she plans on winning a gold medal in these tournaments as well.
World Championship
Junior Division
Saina played her first World Championship as a junior in 2006. Further, this game was held in Incheon, South Korea.
Likewise, she faced some great players from different countries. One of them was Wang Yihan, the Chinese Professional.
Furthermore, she faced Wang in the finals, losing very badly to her.
However, for a 16-year-old, this was a huge milestone. Hence, she received multiple praises for her effort.
Similarly, the 2008 BFW World Junior Championships were held in Indian this time. She was also one of the participants, and all eyes were on her.
Hence, as expected, she won her first world junior gold medal. Moreover, this victory came by beating a Japanese professional in the final round.
Senior Division
The professional player has played many senior division world championships. Further, she won 437 games out of 637 games in multiple world tournaments.
Notably, she won 10 BWF Superseries titles till now. One of her best performances was in 2015 where she was ranked the 1st seed in the world.
Similarly, she has 10 titles of BWF Grand Prix. Not to mention, she is a three-time runner-up and one-time champion of the BWF World Tour.
She won 23 gold, 11 silver, and 15 bronze medals in different world tournaments.
Currently, she competed in the Orleans Masters, where she again secured silver.
Olympics
The athlete participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Furthermore, this was her debut which came after her first win in the World Junior Championship.
Further, she started the tournament with some huge wins. She won her first round against Russia, second against Ukraina, and third against Hong Kong.
Moreover, she was the first Indian woman to reach the quarter-finals of the Olympics. Despite her best efforts, she lost the match to Indonesia.
Likewise, this ended her first journey to the Olympics. However, for her second journey, she again competed in the 2012 London Olympics.
Much like the last time, she reached the quarter-finals. Additionally, she won this match. Nonetheless, she lost the next match to Wang Yihan.
Hence, she only secured a bronze medal on her second try. Nevertheless, she becomes the first Indian woman to win a medal in Olympics for badminton.
Similarly, she again participates in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Regardless of her efforts, she could only make it as far as the group stage.
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Saina Nehwal: Marriage and Kids
Saina Nehwal is married to Indian star shuttler Paropalli Kashyap. They dated for some time before tying knots on December 14, 2018.
Further, the two meet at Pullela Gopichand’s academy. However, the couple was never open to the media regarding their relation.
Besides that, her husband is also a badminton player. Currently, he is ranked 26th globally in the men’s singles badminton competition.
Additionally, the news of their wedding was confirmed back in October 2018. Nevertheless, due to the shuttler’s busy schedule, they had to postpone the wedding.
Moreover, the wedding was done very secretly. Hence, a small gathering of about 40 people attended the wedding.
Furthermore, the wedding was done in Saina’s residence in Orion villas at Raidurgam in Cyberabad.
Nevertheless, due to career concerns, they have decided not to have any children right now.
As of now, they both are focused on their career and living a happy married life together.
Saina Nehwal: Net Worth and Salary
Nehwal has built enormous wealth throughout the years as a professional shuttler.
Saina’s estimated net worth is Around $3 million.
Furthermore, the athlete has signed a deal with Rhiti Sports Company worth Rs.40 Crore.
Similarly, she earns a fair amount through other endorsements and sponsorships.
Moreover, the athlete had purchased a luxurious house for Rs.4.6 Crore. On top of that, she owns some of the world’s luxury cars, such as BMW and Mercedes Benz.
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Saina Nehwal: Social Media Presence
Steffi Saina is quite active on various social media platforms. She is on Instagram with over 1.5 million followers.
Furthermore, the athlete mostly posts pictures of her and her family. She posts with the parents, husband, and sister.
Likewise, she also posts pictures of her playing badminton at various events. Also, she posts details about a biopic of her.
Moreover, this biopic is played by Parineeti Chopra and was released on 26th March 2021.
Besides that, she also has a Twitter handle with over 8.5 million followers. She mostly tweets about badminton and politics. Many high-profile celebrities and shuttlers follow her.
Similarly, Nehwal also has a Facebook account with over 8 million followers. She usually shares pictures of herself and her family on the Facebook handle as well.
FAQs
Who is best Nehwal or P.V. Sindhu?
Both of them are elite-level players and have won multiple titles. However, the discussion of who’s best is purely subjective.
Does Saina Nehwal still play badminton?
Yes, Saina Still plays badminton. Currently, she played the semi-finals of Orleans Masters. Further, this match was held on March 27, 2021.
