Star Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal, who was out of action for the past two years following a chronic knee condition, has confirmed her retirement from competitive badminton.
Her last appearance was during a competitive match at the 2023 Singapore Open, but she did not formally announce her retirement at the time.
“I had stopped playing two years back. I actually felt that I entered the sport on my own terms and left on my own terms, so there was no need to announce it,” she said on a podcast.
“If you are not capable of playing anymore, that`s it. It`s fine,” added the shuttler.
She also revealed that the decision was forced by a severe knee injury, which made it difficult to compete in the tournaments.
Nehwal then said that her parents and coaches wanted to know her decision.
“Your cartiledge has totally degenerated, you have arthritis, that`s what my parents needed to know that, my coaches needed to know that, and I just told them, `Now probably I can`t do it anymore, it is difficult. Slowly people will also realise that Saina is not playing,” said the 35-year-old former badminton player.
Nehwal reveals reason for not announcing formal retirement
The shuttler also stated that she did not see the need for a formal retirement announcement.
“I didn`t think it was such a big matter to announce my retirement. I just felt my time was up because I couldn`t push much, that my knee is not able to push like before,” said the Hisar-born former athlete.
“You train eight to nine hours to be the best in the world, now my knee was giving up in one or two hours. It was swelling and it became very tough to push after that. So I thought it`s enough. I can`t push it anymore.” she added.
However, Nehwal made a strong comeback to win a World Championships bronze in 2017 and the Commonwealth Games gold in 2018, but recurring knee issues continued to disrupt her progress. In 2024, she revealed that she has arthritis in her knees and that her cartilage has worn away, making it extremely difficult to train at the intensity required for top-level competition.
(With PTI Inputs)
