Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal is all set to tie the knot with long-time boyfriend and Commonwealth Games gold medalist Parupalli Kashyap in December.
The marriage between the two shuttlers, who have trained together over the last decade at Pullela Gopichand's academy in Hyderabad, will be held on December 16. It is going to be a private affair with only family and close friends attending the event, according to The Times of India.
Meanwhile, a grand reception will be held later (on December 21) and quite a few big names from across the sporting fraternity are expected to grace the occasion.
"Both families had been planning the wedding for a while now. Now they have finalised the date. The arrangements are all for December 16," the news daily quoted a source close to the couple as saying.
Saina and Kashyap have been dating for nearly a decade but have successfully managed to keep their relationship low-profile, the report adds. The star shuttler often hangs out with her boyfriend only in the presence of other shuttlers to avoid unwanted attention.
Notably, Saina has been often uploading photos of Kashyap and herself together on social media. The 28-year-old credited her 32-year-old partner for being a "great motivation" after winning her second Commonwealth Games gold earlier this year in Gold Coast.
The couple had met when they began training under Gopichand in 2005 and their news about their relationship was out only at the London Olympics in 2012, the reports adds.
Notably, Saina had left Gopichand's academy in 2014 over issues with training and joined Vimal Kumar at the Prakash Padukone Academy in Bengaluru.
The former world number one returned to Hyderabad after her bronze medal at World Championships last year but Kashyap often traveled to Bengaluru during the time Saina was away from the Gopichand academy.
Saina though has managed to keep relationship and work life as two different entities. The Hyderabad shuttler was one of the earliest shuttlers to challenge China's domination on the tour. With a never-say-die attitude, the 28-year-old is still going strong and is among the top 10 in the women's singles circuit.
On the other hand, Kashyap rose to as high as world number six in the men's singles rankings, a year before he won the Commonwealth Games 2014 gold. However, recurring injuries have hampered the senior campaigner's progress.
Kashyap last played the Hyderabad Open in which he was knocked out in the second round by Japan's Ryotaro Maruo. His next challenge is at the Dutch Open, starting October 9.
