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What’s the story?
The sports world is set to witness a high-profile alliance between two of the best Indian shuttlers as Saina Nehwal will tie the knot with Parupalli Kashyap in year-end, according to media reports. The duo, who is said to be in a relationship for a decade, will marry on December 16. The wedding, which will be attended by only a handful of people, will be followed by a grand reception on December 21.
In case you didn’t know
For years, the sport of badminton has played cupid between players and is dotted with stories of successful romantic partnerships. Lin Dan married former World No. 1 Xie Xinfang, Lee Chong Wei tied the knot with Commonwealth Games silver medallist Wong Mew Choo. Chris and Gabrielle Adcock are well-known for being a successful mixed doubles pair. Former World No. 1s Chen Long and Shixian Wang of China never confirmed their relationship but have been seen together on many occasions.
Closer home, Syed Modi-Ameeta Kulkarni, Pullela Gopichand-PVV Lakshmi all met on the badminton court.
The heart of the matter
The 32-year-old Kashyap and the 28-year-old Nehwal have never publicly acknowledged their relationship, although they have become more open to sharing photos of each other on social media of late. However, most of those photos would see the duo hanging out with fellow shuttlers, B Sai Praneeth and RMV Gurusaidutt.
Commenting on each other’s photos has become a regular affair these days, due to which there had been many speculations regarding the nature of friendship between the two. Saina, who has so far guarded her private life, perhaps dropped the first hint that they have decided to take a step forward when she thanked Parupalli Kashyap on social platform for motivating her during the Commonwealth Games. And she continued the trend after her Asian Games bronze medal win too.
It has been their time at the Pullela Gopichand Academy that has helped them come closer. The budding romance started after the two met there around 13 years ago.
The highly ambitious Nehwal went on to scale the heights in her sport, adding an Olympic bronze in London in 2012. It was there where the badminton circle got a wind of their off-court partnership. Kashyap too did very well in men’s singles, having reached No. 6 in the world rankings until falling to a spate of injuries.
The couple managed to be in touch even when Saina shifted base to Bangalore to train under Vimal Kumar. It wouldn’t be wrong to surmise that settling down with Kashyap would be one of the biggest reasons for Saina to move back to Hyderabad and the Gopichand Academy.
What’s next?
Even though she triumphed at the Commonwealth Games and got a bronze medal at the Asian Games, Nehwal is still seeking her first BWF title of the season at the Korea Open. The former World No. 1 won her first round match at this Super 500 tournament on Wednesday and will next play Korean qualifier Kim Ga Eun for a place in the quarter-finals.
How excited are you to see this grand union between Nehwal and Kashyap? Do share your thoughts in the comments section below.
