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Trailblazing Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has announced her retirement from competitive badminton, ending a remarkable career that inspired millions. The 2012 London Olympic bronze medallist has been out of action for the past two years due to a chronic knee condition, and she says her body can no longer handle the demands of elite sport.
“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,” Saina said on a podcast. “If you are not capable of playing anymore, that’s it. It’s fine.”
Why did Saina announced retirement?
The former world No. 1 explained that severe degeneration in her knees made high-intensity training impossible.
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“Your cartilage has totally degenerated, you have arthritis. That’s what my parents needed to know, my coaches needed to know, and I just told them, ‘Now probably I can’t do it anymore, it is difficult,’” she said.
Saina on not giving formal retirement?
Saina emphasised that she never felt the need for a formal retirement announcement, believing her absence from tournaments spoke for itself.
“Slowly, people will also realise that Saina is not playing,” she said.
She added that her knees could no longer handle even short training sessions, which made continuing at the top level impossible.
“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, my knee is not able to push like before,” she said. “You train eight to nine hours to be the best in the world. Now my knee was giving up after 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.”
When was Saina seriously affected by a knee injury?
Saina’s career was first seriously affected by a knee injury at the Rio 2016 Olympics. She made a strong comeback, winning a World Championships bronze in 2017 and Commonwealth Games gold in 2018, but recurring knee problems continued to limit her. In 2024, she revealed she has arthritis in her knees, with worn-out cartilage making it nearly impossible to train at the intensity required for elite competition.
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