World Championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth on Monday announced his retirement from international badminton, bringing down curtains on a successful career during which he won the Singapore Open and also represented India at the Tokyo Olympics.
He will next face sixth seed Li Shi Feng of China in the last-eight round.
Our current players just need to develop a bit more physically: Saina Nehwal
World number 14 Kidambi Srikanth has also withdrawn from the tournament and is in quarantine due to his close contact with Sai Praneeth, BWF said. Srikanth had returned a negative result on Monday.
Sindhu battled hard before going down to Akane Yamaguchi 18-21, 15-21.
New Delhi has been chosen as the host city of the next Badminton World Championships in August 2026, the sport's global governing body BWF announced on Monday.
In the mixed doubles event, Satwiksairak Rankreddy and Ashwini Ponnappa started their campaign on a winning note. The duo beat the German combine of Marvin Seidel and Linda Efler in straight games 21-14, 31-19.
Chess champion Koneru Humpy has been nominated for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth sailed into the semi-finals of the of the $ 120000 Thailand Grand Prix Gold after registering a straight-game win over local player Kantaphon Wangcharoen in Bangkok on Friday.
B Sai Praneeth went down fighting to second seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the men's singles semi-finals of the New Zealand Open badminton in Auckland on Saturday.
Saina squandered a game advantage to lose 21-16, 11-21, 14-21 against Takahashi
With the two teams locked 2-2 in the overall tie after the first the three matches, it was left to their respective mixed doubles pairs to push them ahead.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth moved into the quarter-finals of Japan Open badminton tournament after registering contrasting wins but it was curtains for H S Prannoy.
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.
H S Prannoy had things his way as he beat Denmark's Hans-Kristian Vittinghus in straight games to progress to the men's singles quarter-finals at the French Open Super Series badminton tournament, in Paris, on Friday.
Olympic medallist P V Sindhu is also missing in action as she recovers from an injury.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu will next play Japan's Natsuki Nidaira, while Sen will be up against Ygor Coelho of Brazil.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Lakshya Sen, Tokyo Olympic B Sai Praneeth and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde will be in action later on Wednesdat.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hailed Kidambi Srikanth's silver medal win in the World Badminton Championships, saying it will inspire several sportspersons and further interest in badminton.
Harshit Aggarwal defeated Mongolia's Batdavaa Munkhbat 21-15, 21-13 to be pitted against Japan's third seed Kodai Naraoka in the third round.
Sindhu, Lakshya win openers; Sai Praneeth loses in US Open
Newly-crowned Canada Open champion Lakshya Sen will hope to continue his winning momentum while beginning his campaign at the US Open Super 300 badminton tournament.
International badminton players posted a video where they played different strokes while Bella Ciao, the theme song for Money Heist, plays in the background.
India's challenge at the Japan Open ended with Sai Praneeth's losing to top seed and home hero Kento Momota in the semi-finals, in Tokyo, on Saturday. The Indian lost 18-21, 12-21 in 45 minutes.
Chief National coach Pullela Gopichand, who guided India to two Olympic medals, has opted out of India's Olympics-bound badminton contingent to create space for Indonesia's Agus Dwi Santosa, who trains singles shuttler B Sai Praneeth.
However, a tough contest awaits the former world No. 1 as he faces top seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan next.
Rankireddy and Shetty, who had arrived in Madrid after winning the Swiss Open Super 300 last week, retired from their first-round match
Sindhu is the only Indian to feature in the women's singles competition.
Sindhu made short work of the world number 32, Yi Man 21-12, 21-10
Disappointed not to get gold but bronze means a lot: Prannoy
Sindhu will be looking to do one better than her last outing at the Olympics where she won the badminton silver at the Rio Games in 2016.
Manjunath will play Taipei's Yu Jen, who was lucky to progress after fifth seed Rasmus Gemke retired in the second game after pocketing the first.
India's double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu showed great determination to outwit Japan's Aya Ohori in the women's singles opening round, while B Sai Praneeth and Kidmabi Srikanth also advanced to the men's singles second round of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 event, in Bali, on Wednesday.
Djokovic has been even more visible on social media this week as the Tokyo Olympics got under way.
Ajay Jayaram, who skipped the ongoing Korea Open, slipped a place to be at 17th.
The fifth seed Indian lost 21-12, 10-21, 19-21 in his opening round men's singles tie that lasted 56 minutes.
The Badminton Association of India are hoping to finalise the duo's appointments by the end of this month.
India will take on traditional powerhouse China in the final match on Wednesday.
India will be sending full teams for the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold (May 30-June 4), Indonesia Open Super Series (June 12-18) and Australian Open Super Series (June 20-25).
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