Saina Nehwal's career in numbers, records, stats, and titles

She was the first Indian to clinch a medal at the Olympics in badminton.

The sport of Badminton holds a special place in the heart of Indians as it is widely played by people, ranging from professionals to enthusiasts engaging in the sport during leisure time. Prakash Padukone is the first badminton player to put India’s name on the global badminton map. He rose to fame by becoming the 1978 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, India’s first in Badminton. 

His other accomplishments like winning the prestigious All England in 1980, two World Cup medals - gold in 1981 and bronze in 1980, and World Championships bronze medalist in 1983 made him one of the greatest Indian Badminton players to have ever graced the sport.

However, when it comes to women’s badminton, the torchbearer of India was none other than Saina Nehwal , one of the brightest students from Pullela Gopichand’s academy. Under the guidance of Pullela, another Indian badminton legend, Saina, went on to become the first Indian to win a medal in badminton in the form of a bronze in the London Olympic Games 2012.

Before that, Saina was also a dominant performer during her junior days scripting history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win a gold medal at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Junior Championships in 2008. Besides this, she is the first Indian shuttler to claim a BWF Super Series title. In 2014, she played an instrumental role as the skipper of team India to win India’s first-ever medal at the renowned Uber Cup as the nation clinched the bronze medal.

For her achievements in the sport of Badminton, she was rewarded with some of the biggest honors- Arjuna Award in 2009, Padma Shri in 2010, Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna (2009-10), and Padma Bhushan in 2016. Overall, Nehwal has claimed a total of one BWF World Tour, ten Super Series, and ten Grand Prix titles. We will now take a look at the shuttler’s records and titles won in the sport.

Saina Nehwal’s BWF World Tour titles

Super 300

2018 Syed Modi International - Runner-up

Super 500

2019 Indonesia Masters - Winner

2018 Indonesia Masters - Runner-up

Super 750

2018 Denmark Open - Runner-up

Saina Nehwal’s BWF Superseries titles

2016

Australian Open - Winner

2015

All England Open - Runner-up

India Open - Winner

China Open - Runner-up

2014

Australian Open - Winner

China Open - Winner

2012

Indonesia Open - Winner

Denmark Open - Winner

French Open - Runner-up

2011

BWF Super Series Finals - Runner-up

Indonesia Open - Runner-up

2010

Singapore Open - Winner

Indonesia Open - Winner

Hong Kong Open - Winner

2009

Indonesia Open - Winner

Saina Nehwal’s BWF Grand Prix Titles

2017 Malaysia Masters - Winner

2015 Syed Modi International - Winner

2014 India Grand Prix Gold - Winner

2012 Swiss Open - Winner

2012 Thailand Open - Winner

2011 Malaysia Grand Prix Gold - Runner-up

2011 Swiss Open - Winner

2010 India Open - Winner

2009 India Grand Prix - Winner

2008 Chinese Taipei Open - Winner

2006 Philippines Open - Winner

Saina Nehwal’s Other Major Titles

2012 Olympics - Bronze

2018 Commonwealth Games - Gold

2018 Asian Games - Bronze

2018 Asian Championships - Bronze

2017 World Championships - Bronze

2016 Uber Cup - Bronze

2018 Asian Championships - Bronze

2015 World Championships - Silver

2015 Uber Cup - Bronze

2010 Commonwealth Games - Gold

2010 Asian Championships - Bronze

Saina Nehwal’s Other Achievements

2008 World Junior Championships - Gold

2008 Commonwealth Youth Games - Gold

2006 World Junior Championships - Silver