“I Thought It Was Enough”: Saina Nehwal Bids Farewell to Competitive Badminton

New Delhi: Indian badminton icon Saina Nehwal has confirmed her retirement from competitive badminton, bringing an end to a remarkable career that helped redefine the sport in the country. The former world number one has been away from competitive action for nearly two years, largely due to a chronic knee condition that gradually made elite-level training and competition impossible.
Saina last appeared in a professional match at the Singapore Open in 2023 but chose not to make a formal retirement announcement at the time. She explained that her decision to step away felt natural and personal, shaped by her physical limitations rather than by any specific moment or event. In her view, the absence from tournaments was itself a clear indication that her competitive journey had reached its conclusion.
The 2012 London Olympic bronze medallist revealed that severe cartilage degeneration and arthritis in her knees played a decisive role in forcing her hand. The condition severely restricted her ability to endure the intense training schedules required to compete at the highest level. While elite badminton demands eight to nine hours of daily training, she found herself unable to train beyond one or two hours before pain and swelling set in.
Saina said she eventually reached a point where continuing no longer felt possible or sensible. With her body no longer responding as it once did, she felt it was time to stop pushing beyond her limits. The decision, though difficult, was one she described as unavoidable.
Her career had already been altered significantly by a serious knee injury sustained during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Despite that setback, Saina showed resilience by returning to the podium with a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2017 and a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. However, recurring knee problems continued to interrupt her momentum in the years that followed.
In 2024, she publicly acknowledged the extent of her condition, stating that arthritis and the complete wearing away of cartilage had made high-intensity training unsustainable. That revelation brought clarity to her prolonged absence from competition.
Saina Nehwal leaves the sport as one of India’s most influential athletes, a trailblazer whose achievements inspired a generation and helped elevate Indian badminton on the global stage.