Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, among others, lavished praise on Kidami Srikanth for claiming the Australian Open title with a stunning win over reigning Olympic and world champion Chen Long.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
15-year-old Russian skater Kamila Valieva tested positive for the banned heart medication trimetazidine in a sample collected on Christmas Day
India's top shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, on Wednesday, suffered shocking first-round exits from the Malaysia Open Super Series in Kuching.
Somdev Devvarman took just eight minutes to complete the unfinished business as he beat Ti Chen 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 1-6, 6-2, 9-7 in the second singles to put India 2-0 ahead in the Asia/Oceania Group I Davis Cup tie in Indore on Saturday.
The paper also includes musing that SARS -- which hit China in 2003 -- could have been a man-made bioweapon deliberately unleashed by "terrorists".
Defending champion Kidambi Srikanth beat compatriot Sameer Verma 22-20, 19-21, 23-21 in an absorbing men's singles quarter-final to enter the semi-finals of the Denmark Open, in Odense, on Friday night. The Indian ace will meet second seeded Japanese and world No 1 Kento Momota, who got the better of Thailand's Khosit Phetpradab 21-13, 21-9 in another quarter-final.
He was hailed as the next big thing when he shocked five-time world and two-time Olympic champion, Lin Dan in the final of China Open Super Series Premier event, a performance that also held out promise of a medal at the Rio Olympics.
Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram continued his rampaging run at the Korea Open notching up a sensational straight-game upset victory over world No 7 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei to storm into the finals of the $ 600,000 Super Series event, in Seoul, on Saturday.
Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam claimed the top honours in compound mixed pair event to fetch India's only gold medal at the 21st Asian Archery Championships.
'It is the first time that India badminton player has won two Olympic medals in badminton, so it is a great achievement not only for Sindhu but also a big moment for my teaching life.'
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Three-time champion Lee Chong Wei was sensationally beaten by India's B Sai Praneeth in the first round of the All-England Championships on Wednesday, putting a firm dent into his preparations ahead of the Rio Olympics . The Malaysian second seed was beaten 24-22 22-20, which ended a promising few months where he had won his last four events. "I can't believe I lost in the first round," Lee told reporters. "I had pressure to win but I made mistakes and I'm shocked at how well he played. "This is a real learning curve for me." Lee, the former world number one, was playing his first All-England since 2014 following his eight-month drug suspension ended last year. Praneeth, however, clawed his way back from 11-3 and 15-7 deficits in the first game to take control of the match and hailed the win as his best result. "It is a big shock for me too and after the last rally I cannot believe that I won," said Praneeth, who set up a last 16 clash with Denmark's Hans-Kristian Vittinghus.
An armed gunman on Monday took several people hostage at the Lindt Chocolat Cafe in Sydney and forced two people to hold what appeared to be a black flag bearing Islamic slogans written in Arabic in the store's window.
The sixth seed and world No. 6 Indian needed 42 minutes to get the better of Beiwin Zhang of the United States, ranked eight places below her, 21-14, 21-17.
Four Chinese soldiers were killed in the fierce clash with the Indian Army in the Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June last year, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) acknowledged for the first time on Friday.
Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who was at the centre of a recent Sino-United States diplomatic row, said he was thankful that Beijing had dealt with the situation with "restraint and calm" as he arrived in the US with his family.
Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guancheng on Thursday pitched for democracy in his homeland as he accused the government of China of retaliating against his family after he fled house arrest to leave for the United States.
Blind Chinese activist Chen Guangcheng, who was at the centre of an extraordinary diplomatic crisis between China and the United States, on Saturday left for New York with his family after the Chinese government granted them passports. Chen, along with his wife and two children boarded a flight to Newark, near New York, after being taken from a Beijing hospital to the airport.
World champion P V Sindhu was beaten 18-21, 12-21 by Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-Ying in the semi-finals of the Olympics badminton and will play for the bronze medal now.
India Amit Panghal (52kg) bowed out of the Olympics boxing after a surprising 1-4 defeat to Rio Games silver-medallist Yuberjen Martinez in the pre-quarter-finals, on Saturday.
Sindhu has said while there will be a lot of expectations on her going into the Tokyo Olympics
Fifth seeded Sindhu, who made early exits from China and Korea last month, has been pitted against Michelle Li, who remains a tricky customer despite the fact that Sindhu has a 5-2 head-to-head record against the world no 9 Canadian.
Returning to action after nearly two months, Saina, who made last-minute withdrawals from Indonesia Open and last week's Japan Open because of injuries, got past Chaiwan 21-17, 21-19 in her opening round contest.
Rediff.com introduces you to the athletes who have brought India glory in Birmingham.
The photo published by the People's Liberation Army Air Force showing a long-range strategic bomber flying within visible range of Yushan, Taiwan's highest mountain, has caused great concern in Taiwan amid debate about whether the mainland will reunify the island by force, state-run Global Times reported.
China has ordered all Buddhist monasteries in Tibet to display China's national flag as part of its efforts to maintain social stability in the restive Himalayan province, which experienced self-immolation protests against the Communist party rule.
India's Sania Mirza and her Czech partner Barbora Strycova defeated China's Chen Liang and Zhaoxuan Yang 6-1, 6-1 in the final to win the women's doubles titles at Toray Pan Pacific Open, in Tokyo, on Saturday.
Pranab Bardhan became the oldest man in Indian contingent to win a medal at the 18th Asian Games as he joined forces with Shibhnath Sarkar to clinch gold in men's pair event of the bridge competition.
Glasgow World Championship bronze medallist Saina got the better of two-time World champion Marin 22-20, 21-18 and in the process avenged her second round defeat to the Spanish ace at the Japan Open.
Sindhu hardly had to break a sweat as she posted a comfortable 21-14 21-7 win over the third seeded Japanese shuttler in just 44 minutes.
After losing the first game, the 24-year-old Indian rebounded strongly to clinch a 15-21, 21-13, 21-13 win over Wan Ho in a gruelling second-round clash that lasted almost an hour.
The suspect in a deadly bus fire that killed 47 people and injured 34 others in China's southeastern city was an angry and deeply disgruntled man who planned the arson to vent personal grievances.
That's our jaws on the ground!
Join us in congratulating Srikanth on his wonderful achievement.
Chinese astronauts Jing Haipeng, 50, and Chen Dong, 37, were blasted off into space by Shenzhou-11 (heavenly vessel) spacecraft.
"As so far, 12 people died and another 125 were injured," China Daily reported.
India's star women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashiwini Ponnappa also made the last eight stage, but it was curtains for the men's doubles duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar.
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.
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.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances