Birthday Special: 8 things you would love to know about Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal turns 25 today. She is one of the most iconic athletes in India. The first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships and was also the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament, by clinching the Indonesia Open on 21 June 2009. Saina Nehwal gave the entire nation a reason to be proud of by becoming the World Number one.

She is one of the highest paid women athletes. The 25 year old youth icon has firmly cemented her place among the highly paid biggies. She is now praised as India’s highest paid non-cricketing athlete.

She is the ardent fan of Shah Rukh Khan. Saina is a die hard fan of Shah Rukh Khan. Ace badminton player Saina Nehwal is an inspiration for millions of Indians, but on one occasion she had admitted that, even she hasn't been able to resist Shah Rukh Khan's charm.

She is a brown belt in Karate. Saina is multi-talented. She is someone who is very hardworking and has a brown belt in Karate.

Saina’s parents were the former state badminton player. Saina’s parents have been her biggest inspiration. Her father always encouraged him to play Badminton and took her to the badminton coach of Lal bahudar Stadium, Hyderabad to train her under the guidance of Coach Nani Prasad.

She hopes to see Deepika to play her in A Biopic When asked about which actress would Saina prefer to play her in the biopic, she responded, "Of course, Deepika Padukone.'' Award-winning screenwriter Amole Gupte, will direct the film."It's a story of a tigress beti, princess beti, who has set fire to the badminton court with her prowess like no one else before,"he said "The nation needs to know the story of the world No. 1 beti, an icon for the young and the old, for a long time to come."

She once thought of quitting badminton Saina was even thinking about quitting Badminton after persistent losses and an early exit in the World Badminton Championships.But later she proved by winning the game that persistence pays.

The 25-year-old athlete has changed India's fortunes in badminton after achieving many firsts in the sport. So for making India proud, she is called as the "darling daughter of India" by Prime minister Narendra Modi