It appears badminton player Jwala Gutta took a dig at Saina Nehwal after the latter joined Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of Delhi Elections 2020. Without naming Nehwal, soon after the Olympics broke medalist announced her decision to enter politics, Gutta took to Twitter and posted a cryptic tweet. "Pehli baar Suna hai...bewajah khelna shuru kiya aur ab bewajah party join kiya (Hearing it for the first time, started playing without any specific reason and now joining party without any specific reason)" tweeted Nehwal. Saina Nehwal Joins BJP Along WIth Sister Chandranshu, Ace Badminton Player Begins Political Career, Says 'Want to Work Hard Like PM Narendra Modi'.

Interestingly, in an interview with olympic.org, Nehwal once said that she played many sports in childhood but not badminton. "I played all childhood sports like swimming, running, cycling, et cetera, but not badminton until I was eight years old. Then I moved about 3,000 kilometres, from north India to south India, after my father got promoted. I didn't know the local language, and I didn't know any other kids."

Jwala Gutta's Tweet

However, after her tweet, Gutta had to face criticism from some of the Nehwal fans and they accused the doubles badminton player of being envious of Nehwal's achievements.

After Nehwal officially joined BJP, the badminton star said, "I have won medals for the country. I am a very hardworking and I love hardworking persons. I can see Prime Minister Narendra Modi does so much for the country, I want to do something for the country with him," the shuttler said, wearing the BJP scarf. I draw a lot of inspiration from Narendra sir." From Sports to Politics: As Saina Nehwal Joins BJP, Here's A Look At Sportspersons Who Took The Political Plunge In The Recent Past.

In 2018, Gutta took a potshot at Nehwal who had threatened to pull out of the Commonwealth Games 2018 (CWG) as her father's accreditation was not provided by the Indian Olympic Association. Gutta took a jibe at Nehwal and tweeted, "Hmmm..my family always paid for tickets n stayed in hotels...I have no idea what's being promised n what's the demand?? But for the games when u know dates long before the team leaves.. isn't it better to book n plan in advance? Threatening not play..is it correct??"

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 29, 2020 06:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).