Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 05:49pm on 22 Jan 2026,Thursday Sports
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar paid tribute to Saina Nehwal following her retirement announcement, praising her for carrying "Indian badminton to the world stage." Nehwal confirmed her retirement on Monday after being out of competitive action for two years due to severe knee degeneration that made training impossible. Tendulkar highlighted that her greatest achievement was "inspiring young athletes across the country to believe global success is possible." The shuttler revealed her knee couldn't sustain the eight-to-nine-hour training required for world-class competition, swelling after just one-to-two hours. Her career was significantly impacted by a 2016 Olympics knee injury, though she won 2017 World Championships bronze and 2018 Commonwealth Games gold.
