In an interview with PTI, the Hyderabadi also reveals why she parted ways with the former All England champion and throws light on the Padma controversy.
The unseeded Indian duo had to toil hard for 58 minutes to win its round of 16 clash
Women's Day is coming up on March 8 and we're marking the occasion with a series on India's women achievers across entertainment, business, sports, politics and fashion. Today, we look at the forerunners in the field of sports. Vote for your favourite!
Saina and Busanan engaged in some long rallies but it was the Thai shuttler who had the last laugh
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina staved off a spirited challenge from World No 44 Mette Poulsen of Denmark 21-19, 23-21 in a 46-minute match.
None of the other three quarters boast of such a strong star cast but there would be a few mouth-watering opening round clashes to look forward to.
Despite clinching the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold men's title, India's K Srikanth remained static at World No. 9 while P V Sindhu dropped a place to be No.12 in the latest Badminton World Federation rankings released on Thursday. The women's singles' ranking list had Saina Nehwal holding on to her World No. 2. place despite skipping the Lucknow event, where she was the defending champion. Runners-up in men's doubles event at Syed Modi, Indian pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar improved two places to be at World No. 34, while Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, who lost in the opening round at Lucknow, dropped two places to be at No. 20. A quarterfinal loss at Syed Modi event also had an adverse affect on P Kashyap as he slipped to World No. 15, while H S Prannoy slumped seven places to be at 27th spot. Ajay Jayaram was static at No. 25.
The actor sports her girly side on the cover of Cosmopolitan.
Despite being predictable and sluggish at some places, Saina seems like something Parineeti Chopra would be proud of, notes Prateek Sur.
The Indian challenge at the Australian Open Super Series badminton ended as Saina Nehwal was sent packing by China's Shixian Wang in the women's singles quarter-finals, in Sydney, on Friday. The world No 1 was beaten by the two-time All England champion and fifth seed 15-21, 13-21 in 41 minutes.
Ace Indian shuttlers, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth, had a disappointing start to their campaign at the BWF Super Series Finals as they suffered straight-game defeats on the opening day of the prestigious event in Dubai.
While praising the depth in the Indian men's ranks and expecting it to last for the next 10 years, badminton legend Prakash Padukone lamented that the women's side did not possess the same depth in class after world no. 2 Saina Nehwal and no. 12 P V Sindhu.
Despite clinching the Macau Open title for the third time, India's ace shuttler P V Sindhu remained static at 12th position in the latest BWF world ranking released on Thursday. Saina Nehwal also held on to her number two position but a poor run of form saw K Srikanth lose a spot and slip to World No. 9.
Riding on her stupendous performance at the Australian Open Super Series, Indian ace Saina Nehwal jumped two places to reach the World No. six in the latest BWF ranking released on Thursday. The 26-year-old from Hyderabad, who clinched the Australian Open title -- her first of the season - last Sunday, now has 75,369 points in her kitty.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal regained the No 1 position in the international rankings after China's Li Xuerui dropped a couple of rungs to third in the latest list, issued on Friday.
Rio-bound Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal, who just clinched the Australian Open Super Series title in Sydney, said she wants to be aggressive like India Test skipper Virat Kohli. The 26-year-old from Hyderabad defeated Sun Yu of China in the finals yesterday to notch up her first title of the season ahead of the Rio Olympics.
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.
This season promises to be special for many reasons.
The Indian men's team, led by Srikanth, had beaten powerhouse and 14-time champions Indonesia in the final to win the country's maiden Thomas Cup title on Sunday.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, on Saturday, felicitated 2018 Commonwealth Games medallists Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu among others at Pragathi Bhavan.
Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal reached the quarter-finals of the Asia Badminton Championship after brushing aside Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol in straight games, in Wuhan, China, on Thursday.
India's leading shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the second round of the French Open with straight-game wins, but it was curtains for Sameer Verma at the US $750,000 BWF event, in Paris, on Wednesday.
Bansod took just over half an hour to dispatch 16-year-old Tasnim in the pre-quarterfinals
Beijing Olympics-bound shuttlers Anup Sridhar and Saina Nehwal's participation in the first Tata Open badminton tournament, to be held in Mumbai, from July 27-31 is in doubt. While the former is nursing an injury, the latter is still to confirm her entry.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met India's chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand
Saina Nehwal said she has no regrets about 'standing up for her father' in the athletes village accommodation controversy
The first Indian woman to clinch a silver medal at the World Championship in the 2015 edition at Jakarta, Saina has been struggling ever since, limping out of the Olympics last year with a knee injury.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal played her heart out but eventually ran out of steam as French Hongyan Pi beat her in a gruelling quarterfinal encounter of the Malaysian Super Series in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.
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.
The Indian men's doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty reclaimed its position in the top 10 of the latest BWF rankings.
Three-time champion Saina Nehwal is likely to clash with fellow Indian P V Sindhu in the women's singles second round of the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier in Jakarta next month.
Saina Nehwal defeated China's Sun Yu 11-21, 21-14, 21-19 to clinch her second Australian Open Grand Prix Gold title.
Though Sindhu decided against travelling to Denmark, she plans to participate in the Asia Open-I and Asia Open-II scheduled to be held in November.
Saina Nehwal's comeback may have ended with a gruelling opening round loss at the China Super Series Premier in Fuzhou but the London Olympics bronze medallist said she was satisfied with the way she played.
Indians made a solid start to their campaign in the Singapore Open badminton tournament, the trio of Saina Nehwal, Arvind Bhat and Anup Sridhar winning their qualifying openers of the Super Series event.
India's two top women's singles shuttlers, Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu, have decided to skip the upcoming China Masters Super Series to be held from September 10-15.
Kidambi Srikanth's experience at the Thailand tour has been far from pleasant
14-year-old squash sensation Anahat Singh, among the youngest to represent India at the upcoming 2022 Commonwealth Games, hopes to bump into her role model P V Sindhu over the course of her stay in Birmingham.
Namrata Thakker takes a peek into her amazing starry life, through her Instagram feed.
Sindhu now leads 3-0 against the Chinese on head-to-head.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances