Is Saina Nehwal Retiring Soon?

New Delhi: India’s shuttler Saina Nehwal, bronze medal winner in the women’s singles category at the London Olympics 2012, revealed that she has been battling arthritis for some time.

According to a report by India Today, the star India shuttler may consider retirement by the end of this year, if her health doesn’t improve, as it is becoming difficult for her to train.

“The knee is not very good. I have arthritis. My cartilage has gone to a bad state. It is very difficult to push for 8-9 hours. How will you challenge the best players in the world in such a state? I think I will have to accept it somewhere. Because 2 hours of training is not good enough to play with the highest level of players and get the desired results,” India Today quoted Saina as saying in the House of Glory podcast by Gagan Narang, who was India’s Chef de Mission at Paris Olympics 2024.

Notably, since her appearance in 2023 at the Singapore Open, Saina has not participated in competitive badminton tournaments. Though she didn’t disclose that she would retire by the end of 2023, she did admit to the short career span of a sportsperson.

“I am also thinking about it. It will be sad because it is like a job that a normal person does. Obviously, a sportsperson’s career is always a short one. I started at the age of 9. I will be 35 next year. So, I have also had a long career. And I am very proud of that. I have broken my body to a great extent. I am happy with what I have done and given it all. Will assess how I feel by the end of this year,” she said.