‘One Of The Greatest Ever’: Saina Nehwal Turns 33, Wishes Pour In For Badminton Legend

Social media overflowed with birthday wishes for the Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal on Friday, March 17. The former world no. 1 was born on March 17, 1990, and turned 33 years old on Friday. Known as one of the best badminton players produced, Nehwal has brought many glories for India in the sport, including a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

Meanwhile, wishing Saina Nehwal on the occasion, India para-badminton great Pramod Bhagat took to his official Twitter handle and said, “Wishing one of the great Badminton legend @NSaina a very happy birthday”. Replying to the 2020 Paralympic gold medal winner, Nehwal said, “Thank u so much”.

Haryana’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal was also among the prominent personalities to wish Nehwal as he tweeted, “Padma Bhushan Saina Nehwal made a special identity in the whole world on the strength of her talent. Born in Hisar, Haryana, you inspired daughters by winning an Olympic medal in badminton. Hearty birthday greetings and best wishes @NSaina”.

Pramod Bhagat’s brother Sekhar Bhagat also wished Saina and tweeted “𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲 One of the greatest players ever to play the beautiful game!”. Another para-badminton star Sukant Kadam took to his Twitter handle and said, “Wishing you many many happy returns of the day @NSaina #HappyBirthdaySaina #SainaNehwal”.

Saina Nehwal’s campaign in the 2023 season
Saina Nehwal was scheduled to play in the ongoing All England Open 2023 but pulled out of the tournament due to injury. Earlier this year, she opened her season on the BWF World Tour at the Malaysia Open Super 1000, returning with a 12-21, 21-17, 12-21 loss against world number 11, Han Yue of China. She then ended her campaign at the India Open and Indonesia Open in the second round but displayed much better form.