A safety-first approach paid off handsomely for world number one Lee Chong Wei when the Malaysian downed old foe Lin Dan of China 21-17, 21-17 to retain his All England badminton title on Sunday.
Malaysia's world number one Lee Chong Wei exited the world badminton championships on Friday, beaten 21-15, 11-21, 21-12 in the quarter-finals by former World and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat. Less than an hour later, in another big surprise, title-holder Lin Dan succumbed 21-13, 21-13 to 13th seeded South Korean Park Sung-hwan.
Anyone who wants to attend the wedding of Malaysian badminton player Lee Chong Wei could be one of 10 lucky fans winning invitations by posting on his Facebook page.
Our current players just need to develop a bit more physically: Saina Nehwal
H S Prannoy scored his second successive victory over three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei, while Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth also registered contrasting wins to advance to the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open Super Series Premier, in Odense, on Thursday.
Parupalli Kashyap played his heart out before going down fighting to world No 2 Lee Chong Wei in a gruelling quarter-final of the men's singles badminton event at the London Olympics on Thursday.
Lin Dan of China won his fifth All England title on Sunday when world number one Lee Chong Wei had to retire with a shoulder injury that had emerged over the last 24 hours.
Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei staged a magnificent recovery to beat world No 1 Kidambi Srikanth of India 19-21, 21-14, 21-14 and win the men's singles badminton final at the Commonwealth Games on Sunday.
Badminton World No 1 Lee Chong Wei hinted that retirement was on the horizon after the emotional Malaysian sealed his 10th national championship in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
World number one Lee Chong Wei continued his dominance over Peter Gade Christensen in the Super Series events to win the men's singles title in the inaugural Indian Open badminton championship in New Delhi on Sunday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Defending champion Lee Chong Wei produced one of his finest performances to retain the men's singles title with a straight-game victory over familiar foe Chen Long of China in the final of the US $250,000 Yonex Sunrise Metlife India Super Series in Delhi on Sunday. In an all-Chinese women's singles final, All-England champion Shixian Wang, seeded second, kept her cool at crucial moments to overcome Olympic champion and top seed Li Xuerui 22-20, 21-19 in 47 minutes.
Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei was a relieved man on Monday after being handed a backdated eight-month ban for doping by the Badminton World Federation, leaving him free to go for gold at the Rio Olympics next year.
Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal is very skillful and has the potential to win a medal at this year's London Olympics provided she continues to work hard, feels World No. 1 male shuttler Lee Chong Wei.
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.
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.
Malaysia's top badminton player Lee Chong Wei wrested the Malaysian Open title when he defeated world number one Chen Long at Shah Alam on Sunday. The world No. 4 won 21-13, 21-8 to clinch his record 11th title in Malaysia, which also comes as a much-needed boost in his pursuit of a still-elusive Olympic gold medal. The world number four shuttler was in fine form for the Malaysian competition after suffering early exits in the All England Championships and India Open in March. "Many critics have said that I should retire after some poor performances. But I know within myself that I am capable of still producing the goods at the highest level and this win was the proof of that," said the 33-year old Lee.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal and two-time World Championships bronze medallist P V Sindhu advanced to the quarter-finals, but it turned out to be a dismal day for star shuttlers Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei at the India Open Super Series in Delhi on Thursday.
Saina Nehwal's wish to be in her home team came true as Hyderabad Hotshots bought the Indian star for USD 120,000 but world number one Lee Chong Wei proved to be the costliest, going to Mumbai Masters for USD 135,000 in the inaugural Indian Badminton League's players auction on Monday.
A summary of sports events and persons in the news over the weekend.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal bowed out of the $250,000 India Open Super Series after a straight games defeat to world No 2 Yihan Wang in the quarter-finals of the women's singles at the Siri Fort complex in Delhi on Friday.
Lee, 2019 Hong Kong open winner, had finished as runner-up in the last edition and his dream of winning the title remained unfulfilled after he went down in the final for the second time in two years.
'I envision a vibrant future for badminton, witnessing the emergence of new champions and an expanding fan base. As legends, our responsibility is to inspire and motivate these budding stars, contributing to the progression of the sport's legacy,' says Saina who won an Olympic bronze medal in 2012 and achieving the World No. 1 ranking in 2015.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) have opted against giving twice Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei a wildcard for the world championship, leaving Malaysia in an awkward selection position.
China's two-time Olympic badminton champion Lin Dan, one of the sport's greatest singles players, announced his retirement on Saturday. The 37-year-old, who won the Olympics singles titles in Beijing in 2008 and the 2012 London Games, has won all the sport's major titles, including five world championships' gold medals.
Four-times winner Lin Dan of China ended the brave run of Germany's Marc Zwiebler on Saturday to set up a repeat of the 2009 final he won against holder and world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.
Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Saina Nehwal continued her impressive run, progressing into the women's singles semi-finals with a straight-game win over unseeded Korean Lee Jang Mi at the Asia Badminton Championship in Wuhan, on Friday.
Mumbai Masters owner Sunil Gavaskar is waiting with bated breath to meet the world's No 1 shuttler Lee Chong Wei. He says it will be a "thrill" to watch the Malaysian in action in the inaugural Indian Badminton League.
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.
World No 1 Lee Chong Wei faced a stiff challenge but eventually stamped his class to prevail over Kenichi Tago of Japan and claim the men's singles title at India Open Super Series badminton tournament in New Delhi on Sunday.
Speaking at his first news conference since his diagnosis in September, the Malaysian three-time Olympic silver medallist said he has no intention of retiring.
China's Lin Dan survived a big fright before claiming his place in Sunday's World badminton championship final, where he will meet old foe and arch-rival Lee Chong Wei.
Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei shrugged off eight years of Olympic heartbreak on Friday to defeat his nemesis Lin Dan 15-21, 21-11, 22-20 and reach the final of the men's badminton after another classic encounter.
Lee, who was diagnosed with early stage nose cancer last year, said he opted to retire after being told by doctors that his body could no longer take the intense training needed for high-level competition.
For seven years, Lee Chong Wei, one of badminton's finest athletes, took cordyceps tablets from unmarked containers on the advice of a mysterious friend without any knowledge of how they were capsulated or stored.
Former badminton World No 1 Lee Chong Wei has been nominated for Malaysia's 2014 sportsman of the year award.
The Indian mixed badminton team claimed its maiden Commonwealth Games gold medal, thrashing three-time defending champions Malaysia in the final, in Gold Coast.
Newly-crowned China Open champion P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal entered the quarterfinals of the women's singles competition at the Hong Kong Open Super Series tournament on a fruitful day for Indian shuttlers in Kowloon. Sindhu, who bagged her maiden Super Series Premier title last week at the China Open just months after winning the silver at Rio Olympics, trounced Chinese Taipei's Hsu Ya Ching 21-10 21-14, while Saina dished out a gruelling performance against Japan's Sayaka Sato to edge prevail 21-18 9-21 21-16.
Focus on nutrition, tailor-made training for specific opponents key to Prannoy's success.
Two-time Olympic silver medalist Lee Chong Wei suffered his second successive loss in a crucial Trump match at the Premier Badminton League (PBL) as Delhi Acers notched up a thrilling 4-1 win over Hyderabad Hunters at the Siri Fort Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.