New Delhi: Saina Nehwal is out once again defending herself after trollers alleged that her bronze medal came as a ‘gift’ during the London 2012 Olympics. After making controversial comments during the Paris Olympics 2024 she has found herself once again in a tug-of-war.

In the recent statement by Nehwal, Saina has hit out against the trollers by saying-

Those who say I got Olympic medal as gift…Olympic level ke layak toh bano aap. Pehle Olympics ke liye qualify toh karke dikhao…

For the unversed, Saina Nehwal won the bronze medal in the 2012 London Olympic Games thereby becoming the first female shuttler who won a medal in the Olympic Games. The controversy starts over here cause in her last game Saina did not play the entire game after her opponent China’s Wang Xin injured herself by twisting her knee and retired hurt.

This triggered the narrative that Saina Nehwal got the bronze medal without playing the final match and was given the medal as a gift.

Why did the controversy arise?

Now, a common question that has been arising is why this debate has flared up once again in the public sphere. Saina had earlier commented on Vinesh Phogat’s failed quest for an Olympic gold where she said-

Generally, such type of mistakes don’t happen to any athlete at this level. How did this happen is a question mark. Because she has a big team. She has so many coaches, physios, trainers. They all must be feeling so bad. I am not sure about the rules and regulation of wrestling. As an athlete, I am feeling bad….

Subsequently, it irked the stakeholders who have been supporting Vinesh lashed out at Nehwal for her insensitive comment. Coming to the current controversy, in a recent chat with RJ Anmol and actor Amrita Rao, Saina’s husband Kashyap revealed that he had seen comments which had belittled the hard work of her wife. Post that the entire controversy unfolded.