India's ace men's doubles shuttler Chirag Shetty believes Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu's Olympic medals have raised the profile of badminton in the country.
Saina won the bronze medal in women's singles in 2012 London Olympics while Sindhu went a step higher by bagging the silver four years later in Rio Games.
"Badminton is currently the second most popular sport in the country after cricket, the meteoric rise of the sport is courtesy of the medals won by Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu at the Olympics," said Shetty, who competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast and won a gold in the mixed team event and silver in the men's doubles.
"They have been the biggest motivation which the sport in our country needed and now everyone who wants to take up badminton professionally believes that it is possible."