Saina Nehwal: Saina Nehwal, India’s badminton genius has decided to call it a day. Saina who rose to nationwide fame after winning the 2012 London Olympics bronze, the first for any Indian badminton player, said her worn out knee cartilage and inability to practice for 8-9 hours as the biggest reasons for her premature retirement from competitive badminton.
Saina Nehwal-The Badminton Girl of India
Born on 17 March 1990 in Haryana, Saina reached global stardom under Coach Pullela Gopichand. She went on to become the world number 1 in 2015 amassing 24 Super Series tiitles, including Indonesia Open and Singapore Open triumphs.
During her illustrious career, Saina Nehwal won many medals: Commonwealth Games gold (2010, 2018 women’s singles), World Championships silver (2015) and bronze (2017), Asian Games bronze (2014 team) and multiple Badminton Asia Championships bronzes. Saina received the Padma Bhushan (2016), Padma Shri (2010) and Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna (2016) and was married to shuttler Parupalli Kashyap.
Her Battles With Injuries
Saina revealed during a podcast while announcing her retirement that the severe degeneration of knee cartilage resulted in arthritis, exacerbated by years of intense badminton training and matches.
Since 2016, Saina has been suffering from chronic knee injuries that accelerated cartilage wear-and-tear from repetitive high-impact lunges, pivots and jumps on hard courts. Saina revealed in 2024 that she is experiencing total cartilage loss, resulting in painful swelling after just an hour or two of training that is disrupting her ability to sustain elite-level sessions of 8-9 hours.
Disease Progression
Osteoarthritis progressed from overuse trauma: cartilage cushions joints but erodes under constant stress, inflammation and age (she’s 36). The explosive on-court movements of Saina caused micro-tears, fluid buildup and bone-on-bone friction, worsened by inadequate recovery post-2017 World Championships bronze and 2018 Commonwealth gold comeback.
Available Treatment Options
Presently, there is no cure for worn cartilage but it can be managed using Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections that can reduce inflammation. Medically, Hyaluronic Acid can also be used to lubricate joints temporarily and physiotherapy may come handy to strengthen surrounding muscles around the affected body parts.
Surgery may be suggested at a later date and may include micro-fracture or cartilage grafting to facilitate partial regeneration; knee replacement would be the last resort.
Prevention Strategies
Saina may be advised to follow cross-training sessions with low-impact activities (swimming, cycling), wearing proper footwear and court surfaces and strength exercises for quads, hamstrings and core. Other options may include ice, rest, nutrition (glucosamine, omega-3s) and early MRI monitoring.
