Ace Badminton player Saina Nehwal has called for parity for other sports as well, accusing Cricket of getting all the attention. This comes after India ended its 11-year drought of ICC trophy wins by becoming the T20 World Cup 2024 champions.

This long-awaited victory spurred widespread celebrations, with ecstatic fans filling the streets. In appreciation of their accomplishment, the BCCI announced a substantial prize of INR 125 crore to be dispersed among the World Cup-winning players. Additionally, state governments announced monetary awards for the players.

Maharashtra state government also announced INR 11 Crores as a reward for World Cup-winning players from the state- Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shivam Dube.

This move was criticized by badminton player Chirag Shetty, who pointed out that athletes from other sports also deserve to be recognized. He said that he also was part of the Indian team that claimed the Thomas Cup in 2022, which is equivalent to winning the World Cup in badminton. But received no recognition or prize money.

And now the same issue has been taken up by Saina Nehwal, the first women’s badminton player from India to win an Olympic medal.

She emphasized that athletes in various other disciplines are equally "tough physically" and deserve similar recognition and support.

“Everyone wants to know what Saina is doing, what wrestlers and boxers are doing, what Neeraj Chopra is doing. Everyone knows these sportspersons because we have consistently performed and we have been in the newspapers. I did that, I feel it's like a dream that I did it in India, where there isn't even a sporting culture,” Saina said on the Nikhil Simha podcast.

“Sometimes, I feel bad that cricket gets all the attention. The thing about cricket is... you see badminton, basketball, tennis, and other sports are so tough physically. You don't even have time to pick up the shuttle and serve, you are like... you are breathing so hard. A game like cricket gets so much attention where I personally believe skill is more important,” she added.

She also noted that criticizing cricket will have little effect on its popularity in India, as the sport holds a firm place in the hearts of the people.

"Even if I say bad things about cricket, cricket will be there, because it is loved by everyone. I love it, but you have to also give that kind of attention to other sports, otherwise, how will India become a sporting nation and how will we compete to beat China to win 60 Olympic medals? There's no way, it will always be cricket,” she stated.

Nehwal was also the first Indian badminton player to achieve the world's number-one ranking in women’s badminton.