Indian badminton sensation Saina Nehwal has recently caused some controversy with her views on the cover of cricket in Indian sporting culture. Known to possess a good quality of forthrightness, the 2012 London Olympics Bronze winner has always made it a point to be in the thick of things about issues relating to the recognition and support for sports other than cricket. Her latest remarks have stirred controversy, especially among cricket enthusiasts.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi: “Saina Nehwal claims playing badminton, tennis tougher than cricket”, Now this statement didn’t go down to make several cricket fans, and continuing from where they left in their protest, young Kolkata Knight Riders batter Angkrish Raghuvanshi challenged the ace shuttler in a bold way of social media by posting a controversial comment on X (formerly known as Twitter).
He wrote, “Let’s see how she goes when Bumrah bowls 150k’s bumper at her head,” referring to India’s ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah.
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Saina Nehwal, who is never shy of a fight, hit back squarely at the comparison in an appearance in Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast. “Why should I face Jasprit Bumrah anyway? If I had played for 8 years maybe I would have answered Jasprit Bumrah,” she answered, in a scathing response, citing the absurdity in comparing people across very different sports.
She took the chance to talk about a more general issue: the need for India to adopt a more inclusive sporting culture. What she emphasized was that the country was pitting its athletes against each other, whereas the main focus should be on their nurturing and valuing of all sports.
Unplugged FT. Saina Nehwal
– If other sports get facilities and services like cricket, India will brings Medals like China and USA in every events.
– few were saying I cannot survive Bumrah’s bowling. if he plays Badminton with me, he might not be able to survive my smash. pic.twitter.com/qK2F6nj1Sd
— Shubhankar Mishra (@shubhankrmishra) August 8, 2024
“Maybe if Jasprit Bumrah came to play badminton with me, then maybe he wouldn’t be able to take my smash. We shouldn’t fight with ourselves in our own country for such things. Every game is good in its place. But I want to say, do give value to other games as well. Otherwise, where will we get the sporting culture from? And cricket, Bollywood will always be our focus,” she said passionately.
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Nehwal recognized the huge talent enjoyed by cricketing stars such as Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, but she also stated that these were very rare spaces and their level of excellence should not at any cost shadow talent in other sports. “How will you become Virat there at that level? How will you become Rohit Sharma? So many players have to become like them. They can’t. Only a few of them are like that. But I just feel that it’s more of a skill-based sport. And bowlers, I agree. I won’t die there,” she concluded.
Her comments have stirred a major debate over the state of sports in India, specifically how there needs to be equality in giving appreciation toward all sporting works, not just cricket. Nehwal’s drive toward a more inclusive sporting culture really goes to underline her commitment to seeing a world with diversity and support toward athletes in all disciplines within India.
