A month ago, in a podcast with journalist Shubhankar Mishra, Saina Nehwal expressed her concern that only cricket receives attention in India, while other sports are often ignored. She emphasized that sports like badminton and tennis are physically tougher than cricket, but they do not receive enough focus on their growth in the country. In response, Kolkata Knight Riders’ young batsman Angkrish Raghuvanshi made a childish remark.
Angkrish took to his X handle to mock Saina Nehwal, tweeting, “Let’s see how she goes when Bumrah bowls a 150 KMPH bouncer at her head.” This comment did not sit well with netizens, who criticized Raghuvanshi for mocking a former World No.1 badminton player and senior athlete. Following the backlash, the KKR batter apologized and deleted his comment, explaining that it was intended as a joke, though he later realized it was an immature one.
Recently, Saina Nehwal was again featured in a podcast with Shubhankar Mishra, where she was asked about the KKR batter’s challenge to face Bumrah. To this, Saina Nehwal responded with a fiery reply, saying Jasprit Bumrah wouldn’t stand a chance if he ever played badminton against her.
“Why should I face Jasprit Bumrah anyway? If I had played for 8 years maybe I would have answered Jasprit Bumrah. Maybe if Jasprit Bumrah came to play badminton with me, then maybe he wouldn’t be able to take my 300 KMPH 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” said Saina Nehwal.
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She also addressed the issue of India’s performance in the Olympics, stating that while cricket academies are widespread, there is a lack of similar facilities for other sports. Saina Nehwal pointed out that if India had academies for every sport, as it does for cricket, the country could be better positioned to compete with nations like Australia and China in the Olympics.