Saina Nehwal (Badminton)

Saina Nehwal is the second daughter of Harvir Singh and Usha Rani, born on March 17, 1990 at the University Hospital of the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University in Hisar, Haryana. Her father worked in worked in the hospital she Saina was born. Saina completed her schooling at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan's Vidyashram, NIRD campus, Hyderabad. Nehwal also has a brown belt in Karate.

Saina Nehwal is currently ranked No.1 in the world by Badminton World Federation Women's Singles 2015.  She is the first Indian to win a medal in Badminton at the Olympics. She is also the first Indian after Prakash Padukone and the first Indian woman to become world number 1. Besides these, she is the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships and was also the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament. Saina is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest.

In 2006, Saina became the under-19 national champion and created history by winning the prestigious Asian Satellite Badminton tournament (India Chapter) twice, becoming the first player to do so. She became the first Indian woman to reach the quarter finals at the Olympic Games when she upset world number five and fourth seed Wang Chen of Hong Kong in a three-game thriller.

Saina successfully led the Indian Women Team to the Quarter-finals stage of the 2010 Uber Cup finals. Saina became the first Indian Woman to reach the semifinals of 2010 All-England Super Series. After her gold medal win in the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi Saina said, "When I was a match-point down, it was like a shock. It was a big match and winning it means a lot to me. Even many years from now, those present here will always remember how Saina won the gold. It is a proud feeling". 

Career Statistics:

	Singles	Doubles
Played	381	33
Won	266	9
Lost	115	24
Win Percentage	69.81%	27.27%

Besides these, she also has won 16 other Singles tittles which include 5 Super Series Premieres, 4 Super Series, and 7 Grand Prix Golds. In 2002, sports brand Yonex offered to sponsor Saina’s kit. As her status and rankings improved, the sponsorships increased. In 2004, BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited) signed the rising star. She is the brand ambassador of Sahara India Pariwar. Saina endorses Herbalife, Top Ramen Noodles, Fortune Cooking Oil, Indian Overseas Bank, Vaseline, Sahara and Yonex.  She has a dedicated sporting range with the multinational sports goods manufacturer Yonex, 4% of the profits of which goes to her.

Awards:

Award	Year
Arjuna Award	2009
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna	2010
Padma Shri	2010

Institute	Year	Cash Prize
Haryana State Govt.	2012	₹ 10 million
Rajasthan State Govt.	2012	₹ 5 million
Andhra Pradesh State Govt.	2012	₹ 5 million
Badminton Association of India	2012	₹ 1 million