It was a day of mixed results for India as B Sai Praneeth sailed into the final with a straight-game win but Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal's campaign ended in the semi-final of the $120000 Thailand Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Bangkok on Saturday.
An Indian team which is a nice little blend of youth and experience, will have to punch above its weight in what's going to be an arduous challenge in the Sudirman Cup mixed team championships here on Sunday.
Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth sailed into the semi-finals of the of the $ 120000 Thailand Grand Prix Gold after registering a straight-game win over local player Kantaphon Wangcharoen in Bangkok on Friday.
Saina showed signs of regaining her form on her way to a sensational win over Chinese world number 9 He Bing Jiao
Former World champion P V Sindhu needed 36 minutes to get the better of the 21-year-old Chaliha 21-7, 21-18 and set up a last-four meeting with Thailand's Supanida Katethong.
India's top shuttler P V Sindhu is targetting peak form during the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games this year to ensure that she clinches the two titles missing from her cabinet.
PV Sindhu won Swiss Open title after beating Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand in final
Both enter finals in Singles of the Swiss Open
Satwik and Ashwini, who reached the semi-finals at Toyota Thailand Open Super 1000 in January, will meet the winner of the match between fifth-seeded Malaysians Tan Kian Meng and Lai Pei Jing and Germany's Jones Ralfy Jansen and Kilasu Ostermeyer.
Reigning World champion and title favourite P V Sindhu sailed into the pre-quarter-finals at the China Open Super 1000 tournament with a convincing straight-games victory over former Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui, in Changzhou, on Wednesday.
Saina and Busanan engaged in some long rallies but it was the Thai shuttler who had the last laugh
Top shuttler B Sai Praneeth and doubles player Dhruv Rawat have already pulled out after testing positive in the pre-departure testing.
Now all eyes are on the two Super 1000 events -- Yonex Thailand Open (January 12-17) and Toyota Thailand Open (January 19-24) as the world's best return to action following a prolonged break.
P V Sindhu will be eager to return to the podium as former winner Saina Nehwal looks to regain her touch
Indonesian coach Agus Dwi Santoso has been roped in to guide the singles players -- both men and women -- ahead of Tokyo Olympics. Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary, Ajay Singhania said the visa process has started and Santoso is likely to join the Indian team in the mid of next month.
While Olympic and two-time World Championship silver medallist, Sindhu stamped her authority with a 21-12, 21-15 win over Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the second round, Srikanth got the better off Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto in a three-game match.
Nehwal has had a troubled run in this year as she has now faced exits from a tournament in the first round five times.
World Championships bronze medallist Lakshya Sen and men's doubles combination of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy registered contrasting victories to reach their first Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2022 final, while PV Sindhu was knocked out, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu celebrated her 23rd birthday with a straight-game win over Japan's Aya Ohori to enter the quarter-finals of the $1,250,000 Indonesia Open BWF World Tour Super 1000 tournament.
The 24-year-old from Hyderabad will begin her campaign against China's Li Xuerui, a former Olympic gold medallist and World No 1.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday