An angry Saina Nehwal slammed the Sports Ministry after the Olympic bronze medallist's name was not included for the prestigious Padma Bhushan award -- India's third highest civilian award.
Srikanth or Sindhu? Advani or Kohli? Or will a 21 year old pip the stars? Vote and tell us who your favourite Indian sportsperson of the year is.
Far from mourning the end of her brief reign as the World No 1, shuttler Saina Nehwal is happy.
PV Sindhu fought back in the 2nd game to down compatriot Saina Nehwal 21-16, 22-20 and book a berth in the Yonex-Sunrise India Super Series badminton tournament at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi on Friday.
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.
Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal stood just one win away from clinching her maiden China Open title after she stormed into the finals of the USD 700,000 Super Series Premier tournament in Fuzhou.
Hailing Pusarla V Sindhu's excellent show right through 2016 that saw her becoming the first and only Indian shuttler to win a silver medal in the Olympic Games, chief national coach P Gopichand said his lanky ward is capable of scaling greater heights. "I have always maintained that even when she won in 2013 or 2014 (back-to-back world championship singles bronze medals) Sindhu is still some time away from being her best. I maintain that even now that she has the potential to do even better," said the former All-England men's singles champion during an interaction with the media in Mumbai.
With mind and body both more willing now, the only way for the World No 3 is up, says Dhruv Munjal.
She clinched three individual titles and a couple of bronze medals at prestigious team events this season but far from satiated, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal feels she could have garnered more trophies had it not been for some missed opportunities.
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.
The Indian kabaddi contingent made an impressive start to its campaign at the 18th Asian Games with the women's team mauling Japan and the men's side beating Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Jakarta on Sunday.
A foot injury early in the year derailed her plans but ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu is happy to make a successful comeback with a good performance at the Denmark Super Series Premier and a third successive Macau Grand Prix Gold title.
Olympic champion, Spain's Carolina Marin turned out to be the costliest buy of the second edition of the Premier Badminton League (PBL), while Kidambi Srikanth fetched the highest amount by an Indian at the players' auction, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
The Delhi high court, on Thursday, passed a stay-order against the life-ban imposed on Jwala Gutta by the Badminton Association of India.
Take a look at what fit-again Saina needs to do before going into the Olympic Games in August this year.
India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal snapped her 15-month title drought, clinching the Syed Modi International India Grand Prix Gold badminton crown with a straight-game victory over compatriot P V Sindhu in the women's singles competition in Lucknow on Sunday.
Star shuttler Jwala Gutta once again asked the Badminton Association of India to stop the "step-motherly treatment" towards its doubles players, saying its high time the federation changes its attitude. "I've won medals at the highest level but you're still not capitalising on the achievement. The doubles are still being given a step-motherly treatment. You need to change your attitude," a concerned Jwala told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of the 12th South Asian Games here. "After Ashwini and I, there is nobody and that is the plain truth. It's the doubles, I'm more worried about," a three-time medalist in the Commonwealth Games 2006, 2010 and 2014 lamented. "If we want to compete with China, we have to encourage all the events. We can't just bank on singles all the time. Doubles is taken seriously everywhere except India," the ace shuttler said.
Rising Indian shuttler P V Sindhu entered the second round easily but it was Anand Pawar and K Srikanth who created a flutter at the Japan Open as they notched up stunning victories over their higher-ranked opponents in the men's singles competition in Tokyo.
India shuttler Saina Nehwal is now looking for an 'even better' outing in the coming year besides getting ready to try her hand in coaching.
Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal was the only bright spot in what turned out to be a dismal day for the Indian badminton team as it crashed out of the prestigious Sudirman Cup after a 1-4 loss to three-time champions Korea in a Group 1D tie, in Dongguan China, on Wednesday.
Pullela Gopichand salutes P V Sindhu on her superb showing that saw her return with a silver medal from the Rio Olympics.
'I have certainly gained the respect of my rivals by consistently maintaining my ranking inside the top-10 mark.' 'I have beaten all these top players at least once and there will be no fear factor when I face them at Rio.'
India's highest ranked male shutter, Kidambi Srikanth, pulled off an upset victory over former world No 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, but his team Bengaluru Hot Guns went down 2-3 to Hyderabad Hunters in the Premier Badminton League clash in Mumbai on Sunday.
A resurgent Saina Nehwal and fast rising PV Sindhu, country's best women shuttlers, set up a summit clash against each other at the Syed Modi International badminton tournament in Lucknow.
Using a sledgehammer to fix some ills can cut down a game at its peak, warns Shekhar Gupta.
When it boils down to matters of discipline, Pullela Gopichand has no peers with PV Sindhu learning it the hard way since her formative years at the legendary coach's academy.
Rediff.com presents India's Olympic wonder-women...
Jwala Gutta launched a verbal tirade against the Badminton Association of India on Friday, saying the decision to recommend a life ban on her has only made it a laughing stock.
Having slumped in the rankings, champion shuttler Parupalli Kashyap tells Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com how he plans to qualify for the Rio Olympics.
Tennis star Leander Paes and badminton player-turned-coach Pullela Gopichand were selected for the prestigious Padma Bhushan awards while cricketer Yuvraj Singh was among the seven sportspersons chosen for this year's Padma Shri award.
Marin retained the world title with a 21-16, 21-19 win over the Indian ace.
The Indian badminton team went down fighting against hosts South Korea (1-3) in the women's team badminton semi-finals to settle for their maiden bronze medal at the Asian Games in Incheon on Sunday.
Some stellar performances by seasoned veterans and promising youngsters continued to raise the bar in Olympic sports but there was heartbreak in equal measure when corruption scandals blighted India's favourite obsession, cricket, in a see-saw year for the country's sportspersons.
There was no stopping the Indian juggernaut at the 12th South Asian Games with the country's swimmers, wrestlers and weightlifters continuing their dominance in the competition to fetch a bulk of the gold medals, in Guwahati, on Sunday.
Anjali helped Sachin Tendulkar deal with the debacles during his reign as captain and carry on.
India assured themselves of at least another silver medal in the 17th Asian Games after the trio of Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and Sandeep Kumar entered the final of the compound men's team archery event in Incheon on Thursday.
An Olympic campaign saved by the fortitude of three women, a cricket team that rediscovered itself under a bold and zealous Virat Kohli -- Indian sports in 2016 was a dramatic mix of highs and lows wherein athletes mostly raised the bar but administrators found new ways to embarrass the country.
From a laidback boy with poor dietary habits, Kidambi Srikanth has become an attacking player who can quickly deploy his considerable skills against tough opponents, writes Anand Datla
The 125-ranked Indian badminton ace, whose career has been dogged by injury, wants to reach the top 30-35 this year.
Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram overcame Rajiv Ouseph of England to enter the men's singles final of the $50,000 Yonex Dutch Open Grand Prix, in Almere, The Netherlands.
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