Sachin Tendulkar marvelled at India's rise in newer disciplines, while Abhinav Bindra paid tribute to all those who "silently carry the athletes forward" as the two icons offered their views on India's sporting growth on National Sports Day.
The fixtures of the inaugural edition of the Indian Badminton League which kicks-off on August 14.
The batting icon is set to be part of a conglomerate to buy the Mumbai Masters franchise in the event.
Sports Solutionz, the promoters of the Indian Badminton League, are contemplating legal action against the Badminton Association of India in the wake of reports it has terminated the tournament agreement with them.
Top badminton stars, including two-time All England champion Tine Baun of Denmark and world No.4 Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro will participate in the inaugural edition of the US$ 1 million Indian Badminton League.
Former Olympic and World champion Taufik Hidayat criticised the auction process of the inaugural Indian Badminton League (IBL) saying he felt that the foreign players were not treated in a fair manner as compared to their Indian counterparts.
With the Premier Badminton League all set to kick-start on January 2, India top shuttler PV Sindhu said the new format of 15-point games will make the ties interesting and keep the shuttlers on their toes.
Top stars Saina Nehwal and Lee Chong Wei were the costliest buys, fetching the maximum prize of 100,000$, while Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth were bought for a whopping 95,000$ and 80,000$ respectively at the rechristened Premier Badminton League (PBL) players' auction on Monday.
Check out how much the big names went for in Monday's Players' auction.
The 2nd season of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) has been scheduled to be held from January 1-14, 2017 with Hyderabad hosting the opening games and Delhi the finale.
In the lines of the hugely popular Indian Premier League cricket Twenty20 tournament, the Badminton Association of India on Saturday launched a franchise-based Indian Badminton League (IBL), which will see the top Indian players play along with the best players from around the world next year.
The Indian Badminton League will hold its first players' auction in Delhi on July 19. Over 150 shuttlers are expected to go under the hammer for 66 slots in six teams. Each franchisee can have 11 players, including a maximum of four foreign and an under-19 player from their catchment area.
PV Sindhu still has the hunger to succeed, and the primary aim is to help her regain consistency, says her new coach Anup Sridhar, who has been roped in by the two-time Olympic medallist on a trial basis following the Paris Games.
Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk produced a superb comeback against Ajay Jayaram in the deciding fifth rubber to help Chennai Smashers edge out Mumbai Rockets 4-3 in a thrilling final to clinch the Premier Badminton League season 2 title.
Chennai Smashers put up a clinical display to outplay Delhi Acers 4-3 and register their second consecutive win in an exciting Premier Badminton League (PBL) encounter in Lucknow on Tuesday.
Home-grown icons Saina Nehwal and P Kashyap, along with some international stars such as Lee Chong Wei, would be the top draws at the Indian Badminton League's players' auction to be held in New Delhi on Monday.
Taapsee Pannu wed longtime beau Mathias Boe over the weekend in Udaipur.
In a 73-minute battle, Ayush, who hails from Sanoor near Karkala in Karnataka, showed his grit as he recovered from a game down to outwit his Indonesian opponent.
Sathish Kumar wins men's singles title, Tanisha-Dhruv claim mixed doubles crown at Odisha Masters
It's going to be a hell of journey, says Sindhu welcoming new coach Hafiz Hashim
Badminton and cricket are two of his favourite sports. He was here with us for about an hour, Vimal Kumar said.
Meet Olympic silver medalist Mathias Boe.
Pune born Sanjana is a trained engineer and now sportscaster.
The million-dollar Indian Badminton League (IBL) kicked off on Wednesday with a glittering opening ceremony even as Krrish Delhi Smashers clashed with the Pune Pistons in the tournament opener, in New Delhi.
Gupta, 56, was a Rajya Sabha member and was minister for steel in the United Progressive Alliance government.
P V Sindhu-spearheaded Awadhe Warriors inched a step closer to the semifinal spot after they defeated Mumbai Masters 3-2 in the inaugural Indian Badminton League in Bangalore.
The Mumbai Masters have been boosted by the arrival of World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, who believes that the Indian Badminton League is better than the badminton league in China.
Doubles specialist Jwala Gutta has worked on her fitness and is ready to stage a smashing comeback in the forthcoming Indian Badminton League.
Olympic champion Carolina Marin kicked-off the second edition of Premier Badminton League, on Sunday, in style winning a closely contested encounter against PV Sindhu guiding Hyderabad Hunters to 4-3 win over Chennai Smashers.
Saina Nehwal's comeback may have ended with a gruelling opening round loss at the China Super Series Premier in Fuzhou but the London Olympics bronze medallist said she was satisfied with the way she played.
Young men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty too entered the quarter-finals after getting past Chinese Taipei's Liao Min Chun and Su Ching Heng 21-17, 21-16 in the second round.
Sindhu said she is working on her technique to iron out the flaws.
Indian cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar boosted the morale of Mumbai Masters when he came out to cheer the home team in their match against Krrish Delhi Smashers, in the Indian Badminton League, in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
Pune Pistons rode in their mixed doubles combination to beat Delhi Smashers 3-2 in the opening match of the inaugural Indian Badminton League, in Delhi, on Wednesday.
PV Sindhu recorded a consolation win over China's He Bingjiao in the third Group A match to end her campaign on a positive note
Ace shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa, on Wednesday, said that Indians do not do well in mixed doubles in the international stage as the male partners always want his female team-mate to play in a fixed position.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Star India shuttler PV Sindhu was stunned by North Eastern Warriors' Michelle Li in straight games as former champions Hyderabad Hunters' made a disappointing start to its home leg of the Premier Badminton League in Hyderabad on Wednesday. World champion Sindhu suffered an 8-15, 9-15 defeat against World No 10 Canadian Li in a lop-sided women's singles contest.
Anand Pawar, ranked 43rd in the world and a member of the Indian Sudirman Cup team, became the latest Indian player to slam the Indian Badminton League after he went unsold at the IBL players' auction while other lower-ranked Indian players were snapped up by the six franchises.
Sindhu' Hyderabad Hunters and Tai Tzu's Bengaluru Raptors can meet each other on January 31 in the third leg in Hyderabad.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances