Saina Nehwal and husband Kashyap Parupalli, who is also a badminton player, have announced their divorce.The Indian Shutter took to Instagram on Sunday (July 13) and announced the news in an update that has left the sporting world in shock.

"Life takes us in different directions sometimes. After much thought and consideration, Kashyap Parupalli and I have decided to part ways. We're choosing peace, growth, and healing - for ourselves and each other. I'm grateful for the memories and wish nothing but the best moving forward. Thank you for understanding and respecting our privacy during this time," wrote Saina on Instagram.

The couple got married to each other on 14th December 2018 and were known to have dated each other for more than a decade before tying the knot.

Saina is among India's greatest sportspersons and was the first-ever badminton player to win an Olympic medal for the country when she clinched the bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. She was only second Indian women to win an Olympic medal after Karnam Malleshwari in 2012. She also won two World Championship medals in her career, with one gold andone silver, while also clinching three gold medals in the Commonwealth Games by winning the singles competition in 2010 and 2018 as well as the mixed team in the Delhi edition. She won two bronze medals (2014, 2018) in the Asian Games too. In 2015, she became the first Indian woman to achieve the world no.1 ranking.

As far as Kashyap is concerned, he was among the finest male players to emerge from India and achieved a career-high ranking of 6. He was the men's singles goldmedalist at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Earlier, he also won the bronze medal in the 2010 edition in Delhi.

More details on the couple's separation after spending 20 years together are awaited.