Saina Nehwal is now a married woman. Yes, the 2012 London Olympics bronze medallist has tied the knot with fellow badminton player Parupalli Kashyap. The ace shuttler made the announcement on Twitter, calling it “Best match of my life”.
The two badminton players have been training under Pullela Gopichand since 2005 and while the two have time and again refuted rumours of a romance, they were supposedly dating for the last decade.
“We started travelling for bigger tours from 2007-08 onwards. We played tournaments together, trained together and slowly, started paying more attention to each other’s matches. In the competitive world that we live in, it is difficult to get close to someone. But somehow we both found it very easy to talk to each other, talk about our matches. The feeling gradually grew,” Saina had said in an interview.
“We didn’t think about marriage before. The career that we pursue is very demanding. It is very important to win tournaments and we didn’t want to shift our focus by getting married earlier,” she said.
Saina has been one of the best in the women’s circuit and is currently playing in the Korea Open. She has won 20 major titles, an Olympic bronze and a silver at the World Championships. Kashyap too has been a force to reckon with, having reached the highs of a World No. 6 ranking before injuries hindered his rise in the men’s circuit.
“A player needs treatment and attention just like a baby. At home, I get everything without asking, but this will change once I get married. I will be equally responsible of doing things on my own,” she said.
“I didn’t want to rush things before the CWG and Asian Games. But now, we think we are ready for it and can manage things on our own.
“Bolne ki zaroorat nahi padi (I didn’t have to tell them). We used to be together most of the time and my parents also travelled with me, so they understood who I was close to and comfortable with even after my losses,” she said in the interview.
