Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu will be the cynosure of all eyes when the seventh India Super Series badminton tournament gets underway with the qualifiers in New Delhi on Tuesday.
An angry Saina Nehwal slammed the Sports Ministry after the Olympic bronze medallist's name was not included for the prestigious Padma Bhushan award -- India's third highest civilian award.
It was day of mixed results for India at the US$750,000 Denmark Open Super Series in in Odense on Friday, as Kidambi Srikanth fought back brilliantly to shock World No 1 Victor Axelsen and enter the semis after Saina Nehwal crashed out of the event following her quarter-final loss to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi.
A foot injury early in the year derailed her plans but ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu is happy to make a successful comeback with a good performance at the Denmark Super Series Premier and a third successive Macau Grand Prix Gold title.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
India's mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Chopra and N Sikki Reddy reached the second round but it was curtains for men's singles shuttlers at the Singapore Super Series, on Wednesday.
The revamped Premier Badminton League (PBL), commencing here tomorrow with hosts Mumbai Rockets taking on the Saina Nehwal-spearheaded Awadhe Warriors, is to experiment with a new concept - Trump match - that's expected to keep the interest till the end of a tie.
H S Prannoy stunned the legendary Lin Dan of China while compatriot Sameer Verma pipped Rasmus Gemke of Denmark to advance to the second round of the Indonesia Open badminton event.
Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram notched up a stunning three-game victory over higher-ranked Japanese Sho Sasaki to reach the men's singles semifinals of the Korea Open Super Series badminton tournament, in Seoul, on Friday.
Three-time champion Saina Nehwal staved off a challenge from a lower-ranked Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei to make a positive start to her women's singles campaign at the $900,000 Indonesia Super Series Premier badminton tournament in Jakarta on Tuesday.
India assured themselves of at least another silver medal in the 17th Asian Games after the trio of Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and Sandeep Kumar entered the final of the compound men's team archery event in Incheon on Thursday.
India's highest ranked male shutter, Kidambi Srikanth, pulled off an upset victory over former world No 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, but his team Bengaluru Hot Guns went down 2-3 to Hyderabad Hunters in the Premier Badminton League clash in Mumbai on Sunday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
World Badminton Championships silver medallist Saina Nehwal feels her decision to shift base to Bangalore and train under Vimal Kumar turned out to be a masterstroke.
India's report card on the eigth day of the 2016 Olympics.
Using a sledgehammer to fix some ills can cut down a game at its peak, warns Shekhar Gupta.
'I think it was a fantastic game for me. I started off really well in the first game but he was playing well in the second game, leading 11-6 at the break and fighting it out. But overall, I think my game was going great, my attack was going well for me'
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
India cricket captain Virat Kohli and weightlifter Mirabai Chanu were on Monday recommended for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna by the awards selection committee.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth moved into the quarter-finals of Japan Open badminton tournament after registering contrasting wins but it was curtains for H S Prannoy.
World number one Saina Nehwal disposed off Nichaon Jindapon's challenge in straight games, but PV Sindhu crashed out of the Indonesian Open Super Series badminton tournament after a close first-round defeat, in Jakarta, on Wednesday. In the men's singles, both the Indians in the fray -- Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth -- advanced to the second round with contrasting victories.
Hyderabad Hotshots, spearheaded by Indian badminton icon Saina Nehwal, brought down the high-flying, unbeaten Pune Pistons with a comprehensive 4-1 victory in the Indian Badminton League, at the NSCI courts, in Mumbai.
She clinched three individual titles and a couple of bronze medals at prestigious team events this season but far from satiated, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal feels she could have garnered more trophies had it not been for some missed opportunities.
Having beaten two-time Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan to clinch the China Open title, India's latest badminton star K Srikanth said he is now confident of doing well in the future.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
Parupalli Kashyap surprised world No. 5 Son Wan Ho in straight games to enter the men's singles quarter-finals at the Indonesian Open Super Series, but Kidambi Srikanth bowed out after losing to a lower-ranked opponent, in Jakarta, on Thursday.
India's campaign in the women's singles came to an early end at the US $500,000 Malaysia Super Series Premier badminton tournament after Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu lost their second round matches, in Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday. While Olympic bronze medallist Saina went down narrowly to lower-ranked Yao Xue of China 21-16, 10-21, 19-21 in 56 minutes, Sindhu was beaten by sixth seed Yeon Ju Bae of Korea 16-21, 19-21 in 45 minutes at the Putra Stadium.
In an interview with PTI, the Hyderabadi also reveals why she parted ways with the former All England champion and throws light on the Padma controversy.
Some of the big moments of the sporting world from 2010-2019!
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Rio Games silver medalist P V Sindhu says her performance at the Olympics has helped her to deal with failures and she realises now that she needs to work harder to win medals at big-ticket events like the World Championship and All England.
A round-up of Indians' showing on the fifth day of the 17th Asian Games, in Incheon, on Wednesday.
Sania Mirza's was officially named for the coveted Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award on Friday. The Hyderabadi lady is only the second tennis player to be nominated for the country's highest sport honour.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
The haul of 64 medals at the Commonwealth Games, in July-August, which included 15 gold, should act as the ideal springboard for the Indian contingent to better its medal tally at Guangzhou, China, four years ago.
Parupalli Kashyap shocked World No 1 Chen Long to make it to the semi-final of the Indonesia Super Series Premier badminton tournament.
Describing the year that's coming to an end as "fantastic" for her personally, Rio Olympic Games silver medal-winning shuttler Pusarla V Sindhu said she was now targeting the no.1 world ranking among women after reaching a career-best six at present. "It has been a fantastic year for me, because winning a medal at the Olympics is a big achievement. It's a dream come true. Also, I always had in mind that I wanted to win a Super Series title and that also was fulfilled (at the China Open)," Sindhu told reporters on the sidelines of a promotional event in Mumbai on Thursday.
What a year Sania Mirza, Leander Paes, Saina Nehwal, Vijender Singh and Anirban Lahiri had!
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
The discontent with the Indian Badminton League has almost come to an end as men's doubles specialists Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar have decided to compete in the franchise-based tournament.
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