Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal announced on Sunday that she and her husband, Parupalli Kashyap, have decided to separate. Nehwal, who brought home a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics, shared the news with her followers through an Instagram story.
Saina Nehwal Announces Separation from Parupalli Kashyap
Saina Nehwal took to her social media to announce the news. She said: “Life takes us in different directions sometimes. After much thought and consideration, Kashyap Parupalli and I have decided to part ways. We’re choosing peace, growth, and healing – for ourselves and each other. I’m grateful for the memories and wish nothing but the best moving forward. Thank you for understanding and respecting our privacy during this time.”
Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap got married in 2018.
Both of them trained at the Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad. While Saina became well-known for her great performances and winning a bronze medal at the Olympics, Parupalli also made his mark by winning a gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Saina was the second Indian woman to win an Olympic medal, after Karnam Malleshwari. In 2015, she became the first Indian woman to reach the World No. 1 ranking in women’s singles badminton.
So far, Parupalli hasn’t said anything publicly about their separation.
Parupalli Kashyap has also made a big mark in Indian badminton. He won a gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, which was a huge achievement because it was the first time in 32 years that an Indian badminton player had won gold at the event.
Over the years, Kashyap trained under some of India’s best-known coaches, including former All-England champions Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand.
He also made history by becoming the first Indian male badminton player to reach the quarter-finals at the Olympics, a milestone he achieved at the 2012 London Games. In 2013, he reached his highest career world ranking at number six. Unfortunately, injuries later got in the way and made it tough for him to keep up that level of play.
Saina’s Ongoing Battle with Arthritis
In 2024, Saina shared that she’s dealing with arthritis and would soon have to decide about her future in badminton.
“The knee is not very good. I have arthritis. My cartilage has gone to a bad state. It is very difficult to push for eight-nine hours,” Saina Nehwal said during her appearance on the House of Glory podcast, hosted by shooting legend Gagan Narang, who recently served as India’s chef-de-mission at the Paris Olympics.
“How will you challenge the best players in the world in such a state? I think I will have to accept it somewhere. Because two hours of training is not good enough to play with the highest level of players and get the desired results,” she added.
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