Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap, who tied the knot last year on December 14 in a private ceremony, shared their "classic love story" on social media and highlighted the societal trouble that they felt due to the inter-community situation.
Saina took to her social media to share the journey she and Kashyap went through and how their "friendship blossomed into something more". She went on to reveal the reason the two kept their relationship under wraps for a long time.
"I first met Kashyap at our badminton coaching class and eventually, our friendship blossomed into something more. :blush: What more could you ask for than to fall in love with your closest friend?! After spending enough time with him, I knew he was the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with!
"But there was one issue that I'm from Haryana and he is from Hyderabad, and inter-community marriages are still quite rare in our country, which is why we had to hide our relationship for the longest time. It's sad that societal barriers like community, religion, gender and age still become a reason for people to give up on their relationships," Saina wrote in an Instagram post.
Kashyap also shared the same story in his own style and expressed his disappointment on how societal pressure leads to people giving up on their relationships.
"Ours is such a classic love story if you think about it. We first met at badminton classes, when we were still kids and were childhood friends throughout. Then, slowly and steadily that friendship grew into love as we started spending more and more time together. So much so, that soon I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.
"But there was one issue that she is from Haryana and I am from Hyderabad. In our country, inter-community marriages are still so rare that there are even many movies and books written about the North Indian girl and the South Indian boy or vice-versa. This societal barrier is so common in the country that many couples succumb to the pressure and give up on their relationships due to the fear of being judged by others," Kashyap wrote.
Kashyap is currently playing in the Korea Open and he is the only Indian left in the tournament. On Friday, he beat Denmark's Jan O Jorgensen 24-22, 21-8 to set up a semi-final date with world No.1 Kento Momota.