Top six most memorable moments of Saina Nehwal's career

Fondly nicknamed the “Queen of Istora Senayan,” Saina Nehwal is truly a queen of Indian badminton as well. She has played a pivotal role in ushering in a new era of success for the sport in India. As a former world No. 1, she holds an impressive record of 24 international titles, including 10 Superseries titles. Nehwal is only the second Indian, following Prakash Padukone, to achieve the World No. 1 and held it for nine consecutive weeks, a total of 14 weeks.

Saina Nehwal stands as the only Indian to have won the Junior World Championships title. Her remarkable contributions have been pivotal in achieving two consecutive Uber Cup medals in 2014 and 2016, as well as a medal for the women's team at the 2014 Asian Games.

She achieved a rare feat by winning medals from the quintet of badminton tournaments – the Olympics, the World Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the Asian Championships and the Asian Games, thereby becoming the first Indian to do so.

In this article, let’s take a look at Saina Nehwal’s most memorable moments in her career.

2008 Junior World Championships

Saina secured her first Junior World Championships medal in 2006, where she was defeated by Wang Yihan, who would later become the World Champion. Two years later, Saina won her first title at the Junior World Championships. To date, she is the only Indian to have claimed the title of Junior Champion.

2015 World Championships

At the 205 World Championships, Nehwal was ranked second. She triumphed over the former World Champion Wang Yihan in the quarterfinals, winning in a tightly contested match with scores of 21–15, 19–21, and 21–19. This victory guaranteed her a medal at the World Championships for the first time in her career.

She beat home hope Lindaweni Fanetri in the semifinal and created history by becoming the first-ever player from India to contest the World Badminton championship finals. Ultimately, she settled for the silver after losing to Carolina Marín in the final match. This achievement represents India's first silver medal at the World Championships level.

2010 Commonwealth Games

2010 was kind of a year for Saina. She made history by becoming the first Indian woman to advance to the semi-finals of the All England Open. She also won the India Grand Prix Gold and the Singapore Open, successfully defending her title at the Indonesia Open, which propelled her to a career-high world ranking of two. However, despite being a favorite in the tournament, she was eliminated earlier than expected at the World Championships.

She took a break for the 2010 Commonwealth Games and eventually won gold from a match point down. Following her victory, Nehwal said, “Being at match point down felt like a shock. This was a significant match, and winning it holds great importance for me. Even years from now, those who witnessed it will always recall how Saina achieved the gold. It is a source of immense pride.”

2009 Indonesia Open

In June 2009, she became the first Indian to win a BWF Super Series title, by winning the Indonesia Open.  In the final, she defeated China's Wang Lin with scores of 12–21, 21–18, and 21–9. Reflecting on her victory, Nehwal expressed, “I had been longing to win a super series tournament since my quarter-final appearance at the Olympics.”

Later she was known as the “Queen of Istora Senayan”, as she reached the final of the Indonesia Open four times and won the title thrice. Her first World Championships and Asian Games medal also came from the same venue. She has also claimed a title at the Indonesia Masters and has finished as a runner-up once.

2018 Asian Games

Nehwal was unseeded at the 2018 Asian Games. In a remarkable display of resilience, she triumphed in the quarterfinals against the fourth-seeded Ratchanok Intanon, overcoming a significant deficit of 3–12 in Game 1. Ultimately, she secured victory in two games, advancing to the semifinals.

She made history by winning the first medal for India in badminton after a long wait of 36 years. Later, PV Sindhu joined her as well who also became the first-ever silver medalist at the event from the Indian contingent.

2012 London Olympics

At the London Olympics, Nehwal was seeded 4th in the draw. During the group stage, she defeated Swiss player Sabrina Jaquet (2–0), followed by a victory against Belgian Lianne Tan in straight games. In the quarterfinals, she encountered Tine Baun, the 5th seed, and secured her place in the semifinals with a score of 21–15, 22–20.

Following the 2008 Beijing Olympics, during which she narrowly missed reaching the semifinal after leading 11-3 in the decisive match, she achieved her maiden semifinal appearance at the Games four years later.

She afterwards advanced to the semifinals where she lost to top seed Wang Yihan in two straight games 13–21, 13–21. On August 4, she won the bronze medal after Wang Xin withdrew from the bronze medal playoff due to injury, having won the first game. This marked India’s first-ever medal at the Olympics from badminton.

Cover Credits - India Today