"EC has added Saina Nehwal and Mary Kom to its list of national icons. Till now we had former President APJ Abdul Kalam and Indian cricket captain M S Dhoni as icons. I am hopeful that our new icons will make debut appearances in Gujarat polls. The work is going on with them for promotional messages to be released soon," EC Director General Akshay Raut said.
19 per cent of all travel in India (by bus, train or air) was pilgrimage or religious travel (possibly the single largest after business and family-related travel), discovers Ambi Parameswaran.
Parupalli Kashyap and B Sai Praneeth, along with several other Indian players, are in Switzerland
'I go to shoots on a cycle; it saves so much time!' confesses Saiyami Kher.
Fifth seeded Sindhu, who made early exits from China and Korea last month, has been pitted against Michelle Li, who remains a tricky customer despite the fact that Sindhu has a 5-2 head-to-head record against the world no 9 Canadian.
It was Saina Nehwal's 13th straight defeat against the World No 1 Taiwanese, whom she has not beaten since 2015.
After a shocking exit from the Rio Olympics, Saina Nehwal cited an inflammation in her right knee as the reason for her hampered on-court movement.
All eyes will be on Indian ace Saina Nehwal when she returns to the court after an injury lay-off at the All England Championship, hoping to better last year's runner-up finish at the prestigious event which begins with the qualifiers in Birmingham.
Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal celebrated her No 1 ranking by beating Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon to clinch the India Open $275,000 Yonex Sunrise Super series event at the Siri Fort sports complex in New Delhi on Sunday.
Saina Nehwal remained static at second position while Kidambi Srikanth dropped a place to be at ninth spot in the world badminton rankings released on Thursday.
The Indian was ousted in straight games as she suffered a 21-16, 21-13 defeat in 40 minutes.
Saina Nehwal's personal coach Vimal Kumar is happy that the newly crowned Australian Open Super Series champion "attacked well" and displayed more determination during her hard-earned win over China's Sun Yu.
India's Saina Nehwal thrashed Olympic silver medallist Yihan Wang of China to storm into the semi-finals of the All England badminton championships in Birmingham.
Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap have urged badminton's governing body to reconsider its decision not to extend the qualification period for the Tokyo Games despite several events being cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus.
However, Srikanth squandered a one-game advantage to go down 23-21, 16-21, 17-21 to fourth seed Korean Son Wan Ho in the men's singles quarter-finals that lasted an hour and 12 minutes.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Saina Nehwal scripted a remarkable victory over reigning World Champion Carolina Marin to turn around her campaign at the BWF Super Series Finals even as Srikanth faced exit after suffering his second straight loss in the men's singles in Dubai.
PV Sindhu advanced to the quarterfinals of Badminton Asia Championships
Indian shuttler HS Prannoy grabbed his career-best world number 12 spot.
The 18-year-old Sen, the 2018 world junior championships silver-medallist, lost 13-21, 12-21 to Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand in a 32-minute contest.
Olympic medallist PV Sindhu yet again finished second-best in a major final but grabbed a historic individual silver medal at the Asian Games after losing the women's singles title clash to world number one Tai Tzu-Ying in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Saina Nehwal once again faltered at the semi-final stage as she suffered a straight game defeat at the hands of China's Wang Yihan in the women's singles at the Asia Badminton Championships, in Wuhan, China, on Saturday.
Reacting to Nehwal's tweet almost one-and-a-half-hour later, Rashtriya Lok Dal president Chaudhary tweeted, "Sarkaari shuttler recognises BJP skill in smashing peoples' verdict! I think voters need to play a subtle drop shot on celebs trying to influence their decisions!."
Being hounded by eager selfie seekers is something that top level sportspersons are used to but Saina Nehwal's father and PV Sindhu's mother had a surprise 'fan' waiting for them outside the World Badminton Championship venue.
Jubilant after receiving the Padma Bhushan from President Pranab Mukherjee, India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has admitted that the prestigious award will encourage her to perform even better and bring more accolades to the country.
India's Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty outclassed Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe of Japan in straight games to enter the men's doubles final at the French Open.
Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and H S Prannoy registered fighting victories in the last eight contests at the $120,000 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Basel on Friday.
The Olympics in London next year is Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal's best chance for Olympic glory. But, for that to happen, Indonesian badminton legend Rudy Hartono says, she needs to improve her physical fitness considerably.
The Indian ace will be looking to get the better off the Spaniard in Japan Super Series, starting next week, and avenge her recent defeat at the World Championships.
The Indian mixed badminton team claimed its maiden Commonwealth Games gold medal, thrashing three-time defending champions Malaysia in the final, in Gold Coast.
Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal wants Bajirao Mastani actress Deepika Padukone to portray her in the upcoming biopic on herself.
Saina dropped two spots to third in the women's singles list, and is placed below Spaniard Carolina Marin (80752), who rose a rung following her Australian Open title triumph.
PV Sindhu will open her campaign against South Korea's Sung Ji Hyun, while Saina Nehwal takes on Scotland's Kristy Gilmour in the first round.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal moved one place up to occupy the fifth spot while P V Sindhu remained unchanged at 10th in the latest Badminton World Federation Rankings issued on Thursday. Saina, who clinched her second Australian Open title earlier this month, exchanged places with Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, who now occupies the sixth spot in the women's singles list headed by Spain's Carolina Marin.
Tokyo Olympian B Sai Praneeth will meet compatriot HS Prannoy in his opening match, while former Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap will square off against a qualifier.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Sunday, praised Saina Nehwal after the ace Indian female shuttler suffered a heartbreaking defeat in the final of the All England badminton championships.
Saina Nehwal feels the year going by is one of the best of her career but rued that a series of injuries affected her chances of winning more titles.
Three-time champion Saina Nehwal registered a 21-18, 21-15 win against PV Sindhu, a two-time winner, in the summit clash.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award from Sports Minister M S Gill after missing out on the August 29 ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhawan due to the World Championships in Paris.
They would only be allowed in the academy after they produce COVID-19 negative certificate, the SAI said in a release.
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