After missing out on Rio Olympics last year due to a knee surgery, a fit-again Parupalli Kashyap is racing against time to regain his place in the Indian team and defend his title at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
When Bollywood star Akshay Kumar joined hands with Premier Badminton League (PBL), only entertainment was expected.
Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram notched up a superb straight-game win over Estonia's Raul Must in the finals to defend his men's singles title at the Dutch Open Grand Prix in Almere, The Netherlands on Sunday.
Saina Nehwal sailed past Indonesia's Hana Ramadhini 21-15, 21-12 for her maiden entry into the semi-finals at the India Open Super Series, while giant-killer H S Prannoy and RMV Gurusaidutt went down fighting in the quarter-finals at the Siri Fort Sports Complex, in Delhi, on Friday.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal and World number five Kidambi Srikanth were among the nine Indian shuttlers who entered the quarter-finals of the singles events at the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Lucknow.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
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.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Chennai Smashers qualified for the semifinals after beating Bangalore Top Guns 3-2 in the last league match of the Premier Badminton League 2016 at Sri Kanteerava Indoor Stadium, in Bengaluru, on Wednesday.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal advanced to the quarter-finals of the Denmark Super Series Premier with a straight-game thrashing of Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour in the second round of the women's singles.
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.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
A high-intensity training for last three weeks has boosted his confidence and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap says he is looking to maintain the rhythm as he sets out to achieve his dream of winning an Asian Games medal in Incheon.
Memories of a path-breaking gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games are still fresh in her mind as Saina Nehwal embarks on a quest to regain the title at the Gold Coast Games starting next week.
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The Indian men's team salvaged some pride with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Germany in their inconsequential Group C tie to end its campaign at the Thomas Cup badminton tournament on a positive note at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.
After launching the new season with an emphatic title win at the just-concluded Syed Modi International tournament, India's top shuttler Parupalli Kashyap said he needed this victory to silent the critics after been "written off".
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.
P V Sindhu cemented her position as a dominant force on the world stage with an Olympic silver medal while Saina Nehwal continued to battle with injuries in a year, which saw Indian badminton take giant strides at the global platform. It turned out to be a watershed year for Sindhu, who reached the upper echelons of world badminton with a silver medal at Rio Games -- an achievement also for her mentor and chief coach Pullela Gopichand, who became the only Indian coach to produce two Olympic medallists. On the other hand, for the first part of the year, it was Saina's battle with injuries which dominated the headlines even though she was considered to be the best bet for India at Rio. The Indian ace fought against time to recover from an Achilles tendons and went on to win the Australian Super Series.
Saina Nehwal finally broke her jinx at the $250,000 Indian Open Super Series badminton, storming into the quarter-finals of the women's singles with a straight-game victory over Thailand's Natcha Saengchote, in Delhi, on Thursday. The world No 8 Indian did not go beyond the second round in the last three editions of the Open and broke the hoodoo when she thrashed Natcha 21-15, 21-12 in just 35 minutes at the Siri Fort Sports complex. Parupalli Kashyap also continued his good run to reach the quarter-finals. He prevailed over his training partner, R M V Gurusaidutt, 21-15, 16-21, 21-11 in the men's singles.
Parupalli Kashyap came up with a brilliant performance to shock world No 7 Zhengming Wang of China in the US $250,000 India Super Series badminton tournament, in Delhi, on Wednesday.
One of the most awaited matches of the inaugural Indian Badminton League (IBL) turned out to be a damp squib as Saina Nehwal trampled PV Sindhu 21-19, 21-8 at the Siri Fort Complex.
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