Saina Nehwal to marry Kashyap

Indian badminton stars Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap are to get married by the end of the year, according to media reports. The wedding will reportedly take place on December 16 and will feature about 100 guests. A grand reception is expected to take place on December 21. The two badminton players, who have been training with Pullela Gopichand since 2005, are said to have been dating for the past 10 years.

Earlier this year, during the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Saina had mentioned how Kashyap has played an important role in motivating her after she won the singles gold.

Saina has 20 major titles to her name, which include an Olympic bronze and a silver at the World Championships.

Kashyap has also reached the high of a World No. 6 ranking before injuries stopped his rise in the men's circuit.

Saina is currently playing in the Korea Open. The three-time national champion and former World No 1 has been seeded fifth in Seoul.

The 28-year-old Indian ace will face two from a trio of South Koreans in her opening two matches – Kim Hyo Min in the first round, and then the winner between qualifiers Kim Ga Eun and Lee SeYeon.

It is unlikely that either of these two rounds will pose any major problem for Saina, who should go through for a quarter-final duel with the No 3 seed, Nozomi Okuhara of Japan.