Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap tie the knot

Star Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap tied the knots in a simple ceremony in Hyderabad on Friday.

"Saina got married as per court rules today at about 11.30 (AM)," her father Harvir Singh told PTI.

The wedding took place at Saina's residence in Orion villas at Raidurgam in Cyberabad.

"It was a small gathering of about 40 guests, including relatives of the Saina and Kashyap's families.

"It was a very simple ceremony and December 16th will be the reception," Singh said.

The guests included Governor of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana E S L Narasimhan, according to Singh.

Saina posted a photograph with Kashyap on Friday announcing her marriage.

"Best match of my life...#justmarried," she wrote on Twitter.

While Saina wore a powder blue lehenga and minimal makeup and jewellery, Kashyap was dressed in a pink kurta and white pyjamas.

Saina and Kashyap, who met at Pullela Gopichand's academy, were in a relationship for quite some time now. But the couple never came out in the open regarding their relationship.

Saina had confirmed the news of their wedding in October but the hectic international badminton schedule kept them busy.

Last month, they started extending their wedding invitation to important personalities, including Telangana MLA KT Rama Rao, film star Chiranjeevi, owner of Hyderabad Hunters (PBL franchise) VRK Rao.

Saina and Kashyap's wedding is the latest among a string of high-profile weddings.

Last year, India cricket captain Virat Kohli had married Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma in Italy.

From the past few years, the love affair of Saina and Kashyap has been the talk of the town and the good news will surely bring a smile on the faces of their fans. The marriage will mark another alliance inside Indian sports fraternity after Dinesh Karthik-Dipika Palikal, Ishant Sharma-Pratima Singh, Geeta Phogat-Pawan Kumar and Sakshi Malik-Satyawart Kadian. 

On the professional front, Saina recently won the bronze medal at the Asian Games 2018 in Indonesia and made the nation proud as it was the first time India won any medal in a badminton event in the Asiad. Alongside Saina, PV Sindhu also won the silver in the tournament. Earlier, Saina defeated Sindhu in the Commonwealth Games 2018 women's singles badminton final to secure the gold medal for herself for the second time after 2010.

Meanwhile, Kashyap is also a prolific shuttler in India having won the gold medal in men's singles at the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow. Kashyap's career-best rank is six which he attained in 2013 while Saina is a former world No.1 women's singles player.

( With PTI Inputs)