Saina Nehwal steps down from competitive badminton citing knee injury, internet reacts

Former world no. 1 badminton player, Saina Nehwal has officially announced her retirement. She has been awarded with the Khel Ratna Award by Government of India.

By Loveleen Kaur

Updated on Jan 20, 2026 | 01:40 PM IST | 1.8M

Saina Nehwal steps down from competitive badminton citing knee injury, internet reacts

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Saina Nehwal brought India to the centre stage with her impeccable badminton playing skills. But sadly, the former world no. 1 has finally announced her retirement from international badminton. In a podcast, she cited chronic knee injury as the reason behind her stepping down from the game. Read on!

Saina Nehwal announces retirement

Whenever Saina Nehwal went to the court to play competitive badminton, the entire country stood by her, praying for her to win the match. Her fans could sense the tension and feel the adrenaline rush throughout the game. But sadly, they won’t be able to feel this anymore as the ace Indian badminton player has decided to step away from the game.

While talking to Subhojit Ghosh on his podcast, an emotional Nehwal officially announced her retirement from international badminton. Apparently, she stopped playing the game two years ago. “I actually felt that I entered the sport on my own terms and left on my own terms, so there was no need to announce it (the retirement),” she revealed, adding that she isn’t capable of playing anymore.

Citing a knee injury, the ace Indian sports personality divulged, “Cartilage has totally degenerated, and I have arthritis. That’s what my parents and coaches needed to know. I just told them, ‘Now, probably I can’t do it anymore. It is difficult.’” Even though she stepped down from the game two years ago, she didn’t feel the need to make an official announcement because she thought that, when she’s not in the circuit, people would know that Saina is not playing.

“I thought my time is up because I can’t push, my knee is not able to push 8-9 hours like I used to train earlier to be the best in the world,” stated Saina Nehwal, adding that now her knee gives up in a couple of hours, unlike earlier. “It was very tough for me to push. So, I thought it’s enough, I can’t push it anymore,” concluded the 35-year-old badminton player.

Internet reacts to Saina Nehwal’s retirement

After news of her retirement hit headlines, her ardent fans took to social media to pay their heartfelt tribute to Saina. A user penned, “She put India in the world badminton map; a legend unparalleled” while another wrote, “Legend is done world champion u ll always be my idol.” “You have done enough champ! You are (fire)” stated another.

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Saina Nehwal steps down from competitive badminton citing knee injury, internet reacts