The 29-year-old Saina, an Olympic bronze medallist, had finished runner-up in the tournament last year, losing to Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu-Ying in the final.
Kidambi Srikanth made a winning start but PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy were ousted
India's campaign at the BWF World Tour Super 300 tournament ends after Srikanth, Prannoy and Verma were knocked out earlier in the day.
The 'Pran Pratishtha' of the idol of Ram Lalla -- the childhood form of Lord Ram -- will be attended by people from all walks of life, including representatives of major spiritual and religious sects of the country and of various tribal communities and prominent personalities.
After Taapsee Pannu, Neha Dhupia, Mandira Bedi and badminton star Saina Nehwal, it is Varun Dhawan's turn to head out to the Maldives.
On the occasion of International Olympic Day, Sushil Kumar and Saina Nehwal shared their medal-winning memories at the showpiece event.
In the mixed doubles, the Indian duo of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto lost 13-21, 12-21 to the Chinese pair of Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping in the first round.
Sindhu is the only Indian to feature in the women's singles competition.
Saina Nehwal, who settled for a silver medal in the Denmark Open, thanked her team for supporting her throughout the tournament, especially her fiancee.
The Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy clarified that it played no role in Saina Nehwal shifting from the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad to Bengaluru to train under Vimal Kumar ahead of the Rio Olympics, saying the move was the "sole decision" of the ace shuttler.
Saina Nehwal's chances of defending her title at the Commonwealth Games looks bleak as she has decided to skip the selection trials for the upcoming multi-sport events.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu stormed into the women's singles second round at the Swiss Open with a straight-game win over Denmark's Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt in Basel.
The Bollywood star takes tips from the athlete she will play in Amole Gupte's biopic.
Sindhu pens thoughts, Saina enjoys evening at beach
Parineeti Chopra plays the Olympic bronze medallist in the film directed by Amole Gupte.
Fellow Indian Kidambi Srikanth also jumped two places to sit at the 12th spot, while Lakshya Sen continued to be the best-placed Indian male shuttler at world number 9.
Take the poll below and let us know who is the hottest Lakme Fashion Week.
Former world No. 1 Saina, who missed a lot of tournaments last year due to multiple injuries, moved to the second round after her opponent, Czech Republic's Tereza Svabikova, suffered a back injury and retired mid-way while trailing 20-22, 0-1 in an opening round match.
Saina had pulled out of the opening round of All England Open Championships last week after suffering a thigh injury.
The core of the team remains the same with HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in good form and the Indian team would hope the rub of the green also goes their way when it begins campaign on Thursday.
Nehwal ended her journey in the tournament while Mia will proceed to the quarterfinals.
A former world no. 2, Sindhu has regained her place in the top 5 after three years. The former world champion from Hyderabad resumed her training on Monday after recovering from the injury.
Photographer Pradeep Bandekar catches showbiz folk going about their business.
Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu are on a collision course at next week's World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, as they have been placed in the same half after the world governing body re-conducted the women's singles draw.
'Let's be the strength of our nation and help it reach greater heights.'
India's double Olympic medallist superstar PV Sindhu reached the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open Super 1000 tournament in Odense on Thursday after three hard-fought games against her opponent from Thailand.
The former world number one said she tried contacting the BWF, but got no response from the badminton world body.
The star Indian pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will be the key attraction in the men's doubles category. However, they are set to face a stiff competition as the line-up includes the three-time world champion and world No. 2 Indonesian duo of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan alongside another Indonesian pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto, who are currently ranked eighth in the world.
'Hum Rahe Ya Na Rahe Kal Kal Yaad Aayenge Yeh Pal. Heartbreaking to know that KK is no more.'
Lakshya Sen and Saina Nehwal made impressive starts at the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament, advancing to the second round of men's and women's singles respectively with contrasting victories in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The Sports Ministry on Monday decided to recommend ace shuttler Saina Nehwal for the Padma Bhushan award but insisted that it did not receive her nomination from the Badminton Association of India (BAI) within the stipulated deadline.
Scheduled to be held in Denmark from October 3 to 11, the Thomas and Uber Cup will mark the resumption of international badminton after it was brought to a halt in March because of the dreaded virus.
Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki N Reddy also won their mixed doubles first round match, beating Denmark's Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje 10-21, 21-16, 21-17.
The badminton champ was one of the showstoppers at Lakme Fashion Week.
Indian women's badminton star Saina Nehwal crashed out of the women's singles competition in the first round after a loss to China's Zhang Yiman. She lost the match 17-21, 21-19,11-21. After being a game down, Nehwal made a comeback in the second game but lost the final one.
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.
Jadeja most tested Indian cricketer so far in 2023, 58 samples collected in first 5 months
The women's doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly bowed out of the All-England Badminton Championships, losing in the semi-finals, at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, on Saturday. Playing on court No. 6, the Indian duo lost to China's Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu 21-17, 21-16, in 51 minutes.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances