A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday congratulated badminton sensation Saina Nehwal for winning the Indonesian Open Super Series at Jakarta, her third international title on a row.
Jonatan Christie gifted Indonesia the Asian Games gold medal they most yearned for when he beat Taiwan's Chou Tienchen in an exciting men's singles badminton final in front of a vociferous home crowd on Tuesday.
Saina Nehwal's brand value soars five times to Rs 30 lakh per endorsement.
The Indonesian phrase Semunya bisa diatur - Everything can be arranged - comes to mind as I read of the factors that helped to transform Calcutta's Stephen Court into a towering inferno. Clearly, there's nothing money can't buy. This is the compelling impetus of the tradesmen who have taken over Calcutta. This is still a city that thinks today what Mumbai, Chennai, Delhi and other Indian cities will think tomorrow, but those thoughts are focused on maximising profit.
Driven from its self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria, Islamic State is down but not out. Where once they confronted armies, the extremist Islamist group's adherents have now staged hit-and-run raids and suicide attacks. In some cases, the group has claimed responsibility for atrocities, including the bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed at least 253 people. Its involvement is not always proven, but even if the link is ideological rather than operational, Islamic State still poses a security threat in many countries.
The 26-year-old boxer is aiming to become India's first boxer with three back-to-back Asian Games medals.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal defeated Indonesian Aprilia Yuswandari 21-17, 21-11 to set up a women's singles summit-clash with second seed Mew Choo Wong of Malaysia at the Yonex-Sunrise Indian Open Grand Prix badminton tournament in Chennai.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal slipped a rung from her career-best position of world No 2 in the latest international badminton rankings released on Thursday.
The navies of India and Indonesia are launching the 14th coordinated patrolling on the waters of Indian Ocean, to prevent piracy, armed robberies, poaching, illegal immigration, drug trafficking, and other illegal activities in the deep sea.
Few people in India are aware that India and Indonesia are geographically contiguous, sharing a settled maritime boundary. The last island in the Andaman and Nicobar chain is only 80 kilometres from the first island of the Indonesian archipelago.
A Tsunami alert was sounded in coastal areas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala, with authorities asked to remain vigilant after a powerful earthquake struck an Indonesian province.
The London Olympics bronze medallist beat world No. 73 Brazilian Vicente Lohaynny 21-17, 21-17 in 39 minutes, while Sindhu, a two-time World Championships bronze winner, had things her way against Laura Sarosi of Hungary, winning 21-8, 21-9 in 27 minutes.
Pintor Sirait loathes Formula One racing, so it's fitting the renowned Indonesian sculptor chose the superfast cars to highlight what he believes is wrong with mankind. The aim, Sirait says, is to make people stop and think about the state of modern man, and just what make Formula One racing so attractive.
Indian shuttler P Kashyap crashed out of the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament after suffering a straight-game defeat against higher-ranked Sony Kuncoro of Indonesia.
'The administration failed in the coronavirus crisis so they are making it a Hindu-Muslim issue.'
India's HS Prannoy continued his dream run and reached the men's singles final to be just one step away from clinching his maiden title in the $50,000 Vietnam Open Grand Prix at Ho Chi Minh City.
Mahabharat fame Shaheer Sheikh makes a comeback with Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi.
Congratulate Saina Nehwal on her success at Singapore.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal clinched her second Super Series title, winning the Singapore Open with a straight-game triumph over qualifier Tzu Ying Tai in the final on Sunday. The top seed Indian ace needed just 33 minutes to beat Chinese Taipei's Tai 21-18, 21-15 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Who would have thought an American President would have a niece named Savita?
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Rising golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar began his new year with a bang, lifting the season-opening Asian Tour International with a sensational final round of eight-under 64 in Bangkok on Sunday.
The Indian challenge ended at the $1,250,000 Indonesian Open after PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy suffered straight-game quarter-final defeats to crash out of the BWF World Super 1000 tournament in Jakarta.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal survived an early scare from Indonesia's Dinar Dyah Ayustine to book her place in the quarter-finals of the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here on Thursday. After going down in the first game, the London Olympics bronze medallist rebounded strongly to register a 17-21, 21-18, 21-12 win over her Indonesian opponent in the women's singles clash that lasted about an hour.
Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan used all their experience to bounce back and enter the men's doubles final of the Asian Games, in Palembang, on Thursday.
India's badminton sensation Saina Nehwal was Thursday declared the Sports Illustrated Sportsperson of the Year for her stupendous show in 2009.
Anirban Lahiri was voted the 2014 'Players' Player of the Year' after a successful season on the Asian Tour, where he won two titles and finished second on the Order of Merit.
For the first time in the history of badminton, two Indians will clash in a Super Series final with Kidambi Srikanth taking on B Sai Praneeth at the Singapore Open, in Singapore, on Sunday.
Boosted by a strong recovery in 2009, Meanwhile, other leading indices in the region which witnessed a cumulative gain in the six-year period include China's SSE Composite Index (116.9 per cent) Kospi index of South Korea (104.4 per cent), Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (74.2 per cent), Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (58.7 per cent) and TSEC weighted index of Taiwan (32.3 per cent).
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal advanced to the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Super Series Premier tournament with a comfortable straight-game win over local favourite Fitriani Fitriani in the women's singles event in Jakarta on Thursday.
Three-time champion Saina Nehwal staved off a challenge from a lower-ranked Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei to make a positive start to her women's singles campaign at the $900,000 Indonesia Super Series Premier badminton tournament in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Fresh from her Indonesian Open Super Series triumph, Saina Nehwal stormed into the pre-quarter-finals of Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament with a straight games victory over Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in Johor Bahru on Wednesday. Second seed Saina needed less than half an hour to send Buranaprasertsuk packing with a 21-18, 22-20 victory in her opening round match.
Saina Nehwal will spearhead the Indian challenge in the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold, beginning in Johar Bahru on Wednesday. The second seed faces world No 39 Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in her opening match in the women's singles.
Saina Nehwal scripted history on Sunday, becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after clinching the Indonesian Open with a stunning victory over higher-ranked Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta.
Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu are training at separate academies of national coach Pullela Gopichand ever since their epic Commonwealth Games summit clash
Wu Ashun became the first Chinese golfer to win a European Tour title on home soil.
The 700-odd clerics of the Indonesian Council of Ulemas were in agreement that yoga exercises included Hindu religious rituals that were haram (forbidden in Islam). During the weekend talks in Padang Panjang, a village in West Sumatra province, the clerics and scholars felt that practising rituals will erode and weaken Islamic faith.
'There will be much for President Trump and Prime Minister Modi to discuss including growing Chinese military cooperation with Pakistan, which heralds a new attempt by China and Pakistan to neutralise India's influence in its Indian Ocean neighbourhood,' notes Ambassador G Parthasarathy.
Saina Nehwal's preparation for the 2012 London Games received a shot in the arm on Saturday with the ace shuttler signing a contract with Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ).