Saina Nehwal welcomes Lord Ganesha into her house with "high spirits"

Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal celebrated Ganesh Chaturthi with her fans this week. The 30-year-old athlete shared a photo of herself carrying a Ganesh idol, wishing everyone a happy Ganesh Chaturthi. "Let us welcome Ganpati Bappa in our homes and lives with high spirits. Happy Ganesh Chaturthi. #GaneshaChaturthi2020 #ganeshafestival," Nehwal wrote on her Twitter account. Fans immediately responded to her tweet wishing her the same, while also wishing her luck for all her future endeavours. 

Also read | Saina Nehwal resumes training with Parupalli Kashyap, will join Gopichand Academy later

Saina Nehwal celebrates Ganesh Chaturthi, tweets while wishing fans

Nehwal, along with her husband Parupalli Kashyap, recently began training after a four-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The Olympic hopeful began training at a private facility in Hyderabad and will soon move to the Sai Pullela Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad, where PV Sindhu, B Sai Praneeth and Kidambi Srikanth are already training. While Nehwal is yet to speak about her training, Kashyap has spoken about her plan to train independently

Also read | Saina Nehwal shares clip of favourite pilates workout from separate training facility: Indian badminton 

During an interview with PTI, Kashyap explained why Nehwal opted to train separately and "with the basics", instead of working at the Gopichand Academy. "We have been training at a centre near the Gopichand Academy for a week now. It is a small facility," the former Commonwealth Games champion added. He further said that Nehwal is now training to 'get fitter and reach a decent level' before she decides to join others at the Gopichand Academy. As N Sikki Reddy's first COVID-19 test had come back positive, Nehwal's return to the academy was delayed. However, the facility reopened this week after Reddy's second test came back negative. 

Also read | Saina Nehwal recalls London Olympics 2012 silver medal win on International Olympics Day: Indian Badminton

Nehwal recently shared a video of herself doing pilates, which she wrote is her favourite workout as it can be both difficult and relaxing. Nehwal is training with 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt, and took permission from chief national Indian badminton coach Pullela Gopichand and discussed training with their new Indonesian coach, Agus Dwi Santoso. Apart from Nehwal, Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa are also among the players who are yet to start training at the national camp.

Also read | Saina Nehwal exhausted just by watching All England 2015 throwback videos: Saina Nehwal Twitter update

(Image credits: Saina Nehwal Twitter – @NSaina)