President Droupadi Murmu plays badminton with Saina Nehwal ahead of women's lecture series

President Droupadi Murmu’s natural love for sports and games was seen when she played badminton with Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal at the Badminton Court in Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Wednesday.

"The President’s inspiring step is in keeping with India’s emergence as a badminton-power house, with women players making a great impact on the world stage," said a post on the official account of the President of India on X, formerly Twitter.

As part of the ‘Her Story – My Story’ lecture series featuring women Padma Awardees, Saina Nehwal, the first Indian woman player to reach the World No.1 ranking in Badminton World Federation (BWF) Rankings and honoured with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, will deliver a talk and interact with the audience at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre on Thursday.

The official handle on X also released a video of President Murmu playing badminton in a court at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The ‘Her Story – My Story’ lecture series has been initiated by President Droupadi Murmu’s office that delves into the stories of women Padma awardees wherein they talk about their struggles and successes. The series aims to develop informal interactions at Rashtrapati Bhavan, and form bonds with trailblazing women achievers.