Sachin Tendulkar hailed Saina Nehwal for her career, which ‘carried Indian badminton to the world stage’. The cricket legend took to X after Nehwal announced her retirement. The Indian shuttler had been out of competitive action for the last two years due to a chronic knee condition. Confirming her retirement on Monday, she revealed that her body couldn’t cope with the physical demands of the sport anymore.
“Dear Saina, your career is proof that greatness is built one day at a time, with patience, courage, and consistency. You carried Indian badminton to the world stage and showed that belief, when matched with preparation, can change the course of a sport”, wrote Sachin.
“Beyond the medals lies your greatest achievement. Inspiring young athletes across the country to believe that global success is possible. Every sporting journey evolves, and while one phase ends, another begins. One where your experience, perspective, and love for the game will continue to guide many.
“Thank you for everything you’ve given to Indian sport. Your influence will be felt for generations”, he further added.
‘My knee was giving up’
Nehwal also revealed that her decision was forced due to a severe degeneration of her knee, which made training impossible. Her career was significantly impacted by a knee injury at the 2016 Olympics. She did make a comeback, winning bronze at the 2017 World Championships and gold at CWG 2018. But her knee issues kept on her halting her progress.
“I didn’t think it was such a big matter to announce my retirement. I just felt my time was up because I couldn’t push much, that my knee is not able to push like before,” she said.
“You train eight to nine hours to be the best in the world, now my knee was giving up in one or two hours. It was swelling and it became very tough to push after that. So I thought it’s enough. I can’t push it anymore,” she added.
