Badminton ace Saina Nehwal has announced her retirement, ending a glittering career that saw her become India’s first World No. 1 and Olympic medalist. After years of battling injuries, Nehwal leaves behind a legacy of hard work, grit, and inspiration for the next generation.
“It’s tough when your body finally gives up, but that is the life of a sportsperson,” said the badminton ace Saina Nehwal, as quoted in the Gulf News, a few days ago, at the time of announcing her decision to retire from the sport that she glorified so much, even as she earned milestones of achievements.
Champions may be born or made, but finally, a time comes when there is no escape from health, fitness, or injury issues that hasten the moment to leave the sport behind. As a former chief national junior coach, Sanjiv Sachdeva said, few players put in as much effort into their training and playing schedule as Saina used to in her drive for excellence. But, then in the last two years, knee issues had kept her away from the sport and with medical opinion finally not in her favour, the great lady decided to take a bow.
But then there are champions who also thrive on hard work and careful planning to somehow, it would seem, extend their great journey. We have seen how cricketing great Virat Kohli, two years senior to Saina, at 37, continues to sparkle, which is what his adoring fans want, but experts know the kind of sacrifice he is going through to remain the top-notch player that he is famously known for in the world of cricket. And Kohli is not expending his energy on all the formats of the sport. In 2024, after helping India win the T20 World Cup and also earning the Player of the Match award in the final, he retired from this format. The very next year, he decided to come out of Test cricket as well. This helped this cricket great to concentrate on one format _the ODI. This has helped him remain trim and exciting in the playing arena and, in the process, as we see now, extend his playing career and, more importantly, enjoy what he is doing.
Reduce the workload but keep the level of excellence at a high, seems to be the mantra that champions among sportspersons follow with diligence. Yet another famous votary of this has to be the current tennis legend Novak Djokovic. The Serb has been defying injuries and the extra struggle on the courts to remain firmly on the lookout for that elusive 25th Grand Slam title, which would put him on a special pedestal of greats in the sport. Not that Djokovic seeks any mercy from his opponents, some even perhaps half his age of 38 years, for his tennis quality continues to delight and win him plaudits as it should, for the Serb has not been an ordinary talent but one who right from his early days looked destined for great deeds. For sure, now the great man has reached a stage where each time he enters the court, a new record seems ready to be set! In the Australian Open now on, he won his 100th win in Melbourne Park after getting past the first round. Soon, he notched up his 400th win in Grand Slams put together. The latest edition happened to be his 81st Grand Slam event. There are more matches, and who knows what more surprises are in store for Djokovic!
Yet for all the hard work, diligence and care, champions too have a career span that has to end one day. Like the proverb, ‘all good things must come to an end’, the happiness and sparkle that a champion provides to a sport has to end. Take Saina’s career itself. The only link she had with the sport was that her parents were both players of some level, and that legacy seemed to continue, only, in her case, it was to rise to an amazing level. Sheer hard work said Coach Sachdeva of her rise. “She was the type who would spend hours correcting one wrong stroke by rigorous practice. Saina was always early for practice sessions. Her grit and desire to be the best pushed her on”, he said while looking back on the characteristics that made Saina special. At the age of eight years, she had moved out of Haryana to settle in Hyderabad, thanks to her father’s official transfer, and the story of her journey began there. Step by step, she rose, her accomplishments grew and, in the process, gave a boost to Indian badminton. First Indian woman to become World number one, first Indian to win an Olympic medal, shine in the Commonwealth Games, and the list grew. National recognition came in abundance, and as a champion, there was little for her now to look up to.
What at times makes the exit of a champion a tough emotional experience and a sense of loss to the fans, there is no denying that the end feeling had always to be that he or she was leaving and having done his or her bit for history to record it in golden letters. For Saina, too, it was no different. Quietly, she had come to the sport, and equally quietly she left. For two years she had struggled to regain fitness, and decided in the end to put a full stop. For sure, Saina’s retirement marks the end of an era, and her accomplishments should be an inspiration for the upcoming young generation of players.
Published: 27 Jan 2026, 07:45 am IST
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