Saina to get this year's prestigious Yudhvir Award

Badminton star Saina Nehwal will be given the 22nd Yudhvir Memorial Foundation Award.

Yudhvir Foundation, founded in 1991 to commemorate late Shri Yudhvir, eminent freedom fighter, journalist and founder of Daily Hindi Milap, in a press release on Wednesday, made this announcement. Every year the Foundation honours individuals who excel in some field of human endeavor. This year's award will be presented to Saina Nehwal on April 30th, the birthday of late Shri Yudhvir.

Saina is the first Indian to win a medal in Badminton at the Olympics. As an under-19 national champion, Saina was the first player to win the prestigious Asian Satellite Badminton tournament (India Chapter) twice, thus setting the first of many records to come. Famously known as ‘The Dragon Slayer’ for defeating the best Chinese Badminton players, she is also the first Indian to win the World Junior Badminton Championships in 2008. With two monumental wins at the Super-Series tournaments in 2009 and 2010 she rose to No. 2 spot in World Rankings.

Saina Nehwal won the 2010 Commonwealth Games and is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest. Saina went on to win Bronze for India at London Olympics 2012 and in the same year, lifted her first Denmark Open trophy.

The award ceremony will be held on April 30 at 6.30 PM at KLN Prasad Auditorium, FAPCCI Bhavan, Red Hills, Lakdi-Ka-Pul, Hyderabad. Andhra Pradesh Lokayukta Justice B Subhashan Reddy will be the chief guest and present the 22nd Yudhvir Foundation Award.

The previous Yudhvir awardees include Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Classical musician Pandit Jasraj, Space Scientist Prof U R Rao, founder of Amar Chitra Katha late Anant Pai, eminent film maker Shyam Benegal and others.