#5 Saina Nehwal
Saina Nehwal has been the flag-bearer of Indian badminton for quite some time. She is the only Indian female badminton player to attain the World No. 1 ranking. She achieved this feat in 2015.
She also became the first Indian badminton player to win an Olympic medal when she won the bronze medal in the London Olympics in 2012. Saina is the only Indian to have won a medal in every BWF major individual event – the Olympics, the BWF World Championships and the BWF World Junior Championships.
Although she has been successful, her advice to youngsters who wish to enter the professional sports arena is to not leave their studies. She had once said, “If you want to play professional sports, make sure you maintain a balance between playing and your education.”
