Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal is a badminton player who has broken the glass ceiling in terms of sports in the country. A former world no. 1, Saina has won over twenty three international titles, which include ten Superseries titles. Although she reached the world’s 2nd in the 2009, it was only in 2015 that she was able to attain the coveted world no. 1 ranking, thereby becoming the only female player from India and overall the second Indian player – after Prakash Padukone – to achieve! And for India, she has represented the country thrice at the Olympics, winning bronze medal along the way.

In an old interview with JFW, Saina has spoken about why it’s not fair to always expect to win.

“You cannot win all the time. I fight to win always, but people’s expectations have started becoming unrealistic. They want me to win all the time. While I appreciate their faith in me I feel they should make allowances for fitness issues. High pressure events like the Olympics drain the body and mind of sportspeople and they need sufficient time to bounce back,” she said.

She also has a biopic coming up, with Shraddha Kapoor playing her on screen!