Saina Nehwal honoured with Bhavya Bharat Bhushan Award

COIMBATORE: Olympian shuttler Saina Nehwal was honoured with the Bhavya Bharat Bhushan Award by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Isha Yoga Centre in Coimbatore. After receiving the award, Saina Nehwal expressed deep gratitude and pride.

“I feel very different because it’s such a huge gathering today. I’d like to thank Sadhguru Ji (Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev) for honouring me. I just love this place. You feel very peaceful and have a positive outlook. And today he honoured a lot of us. He presented us with the Bhavya Bharat Bhushan Award, which is one of the most prestigious for me. It feels really special to be in front of him, and our Defence Minister was also here to give the award. It’s a very proud day for me. So I would like to thank Sadhguru Ji and hope in the future that we have many more such recognitions for the sportspersons and for the different fields as well,” the London Olympics 2012 bronze medallist said.

#WATCH | Coimbatore | Olympian shuttler Saina Nehwal honoured with the Bhavya Bharat Bhushan Award by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the Isha Yoga Centre.

She says, “This is one of the most prestigious awards for me. It feels really special to be in front of him (Sadhguru… pic.twitter.com/yoEvBiHbgQ

— ANI (@ANI) February 15, 2026

Notably, Saina Nehwal confirmed her retirement from competitive badminton on January 20 this year, after nearly two years out of action due to a chronic knee condition. “I had stopped playing two years back. 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,” Saina Nehwal said in a podcast as quoted by the Olympics.com.

The former World No. 1 revealed that the decision was made after severe cartilage degeneration in her knees rendered sustained high-intensity training impossible. The badminton player added that her body could no longer meet the demands of top-tier badminton. (ANI)