It was double delight for India as crowd favourites Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth clinched their maiden women and men's singles titles at the India Open Super Series badminton tournament in New Delhi.
Saina Nehwal's quarter-final jinx at the World Badminton Championships continued, as the ace Indian shuttler suffered a straight-games defeat to world No 3 Wang Xin and bowed out of the women's singles at Wembley Arena, London, on Friday. Jwala Gutta and Ashiwni Ponnappa, however, scripted history, becoming India's first-ever women's doubles pair to make it to the semi-finals of a World Championships.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal inched closer to retaining her women's singles title, while other top Indian shuttlers, including P V Sindhu, also made it to the semi-finals of the $120,000 Syed Modi International Badminton tournament.
Pullela Gopichand expects Indian athletes to claim an unparalleled double digit medal haul at the Olympics
H S Prannoy lost in the opening round even as compatriots Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu entered the second round of the $ 350,000 India Open Super 500 tournament, in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Olympic gold medallist shooter Abhinav Bindra, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal and boxing hero Vijender Singh are among six sportspersons who were named brand ambassadors on Tuesday for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal entered her first semi-final of the new season, scoring a hard-fought victory over Tine Baun of Denmark at the Malaysian Super Series in Kuala Lumpur, on Friday. The world No 4 Indian had to toil before prevailing over two-time All England champion Tine 21-13, 21-23, 21-13 in a women singles quarter-final that lasted a little less than an hour.
Indian ace Saina Nehwal hardly broke sweat in a straight games victory over Chinese Taipei's Shao Chieh Cheng, which gave her a berth in the women's singles quarter-finals of the Malaysian Super Series badminton, in Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday. The fourth seed rode on her smashes and better net play to outwit Cheng 21-19, 21-8 in 31 minutes.
After a quarter-final finish at Korea last week, India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal will now set her sights on the Malaysia Super Series, which begins with the qualifiers in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Indian ace Saina Nehwal's poor form in the international arena continued as she lost to Japan's Minatsu Mitani 21-19, 22-24, 19-21 in a hard-fought three-game battle in her opening match of the BWF Superseries Finals in Kuala Lumpur.
In the absence of Saina Nehwal, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist P Kashyap will spearhead India's challenge in the season-opening Malaysian Open Super Series badminton tournament starting in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal created history on Saturday by becoming the first Indian singles player to reach the summit clash of the BWF Super Series Finals after defeating Tine Baun of Denmark during the semi-finals in Liuzhou in China.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal turned in a superb display to stun world No 3 Xin Wang in the last Group B match of the BWF Super Series Finals in Liuzhou, China, on Friday. The world No 4, who had already qualified for the semi-finals, won 21-17, 22-20 in 39 minutes.
India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal stormed into the elimination round of the BWF Super Series Finals with a straight-game victory over Sayaka Sato of Japan in the women's singles in Liuzhou, China, on Thursday.
Saina Nehwal, who has been struggling to replicate her superb run of 2010 when she won three Super Series women's singles crowns as well as the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games, seems fractionally slower on her feet this year, feels former badminton ace PrakashPadukone.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal inched closer to a third successive Indonesian Open Super Series badminton title after advancing to the finals with a three-game triumph over Chinese Taipei's Shao Chieh Cheng in Jakarta on Saturday.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal advanced to the quarter-finals of the Indonesian Open Super Series after registering a straight-game victory over Petya Nedelcheva in the second round in Jakarta on Thursday. The fourth seeded Indian needed just 31 minutes to dispose off Petya, winning 21-18, 21-9.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal got off to a flying start at the Indonesian Open Super Series, beating Bulgaria's Linda Zecheri in straight games, in Jakarta, on Wednesday. The fourth seeded Indian took just 29 minutes to get past the unseeded Zechiri, winning 21-12, 21-10.
Srikanth fought better in the second, but Yew was too good on the day, to emerge triumphant.
Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap advanced to the second round of the China Super Series Premier after straight-game victories in the women's and men's singles respectively, in Shanghai, on Wednesday.
Fourth seed Saina Nehwal made a shock first round exit from the China Open as Indian challenge ended in the singles events of the prestigious badminton tournament, in Shanghai, on Wednesday.
After losing seven successive finals, PV Sindhu finally redeemed herself with the gold medal at the World Tour Finals.
You need look no further for that wedding look full of oomph!
Defending champion Saina Nehwal reached the quarterfinals without breaking much sweat but it was RMV Gurusaidutt who made heads turn, on Thursday, as he stunned World No. 9 Pengyu Du of China in a thrilling three-game match in the Hong Kong Super Series.
World No 34 Ajay Jayaram beat world No 6 Sho Sasaki in his opening match of the men's singles at the Hong Kong Open Super Series. In the women's singles, defending champion Saina Nehwal thrashed local girl Tsz Ka Chan.
A year ago, Saina Nehwal had capped a hat-trick of Super Series titles with a triumph in Delhi, but the Indian ace now faces the task of overcoming a recent dip in form to defend her crown at the Hong Kong Open, which starts with the qualifiers on Tuesday.
Saina Nehwal has set such high standards that even a minor dip in form raises concerns, according to badminton legend Prakash Padukone, who believes the Indian shuttler will soon be back to her winning ways.
India ended their campaign at the Sudirman Cup badminton tournament on a disappointing note with a 1-3 defeat at the hands of rampaging China in the quarter-finals at Qingdao, China on Thursday.
Saina Nehwal suffered a shock defeat to Inthanon Ratchanok, but a determined India rode on P Kashyap and the pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa's stunning victories to enter the quarter-finals of the Sudirman Cup, after a 3-2 victory over Thailand in the second match of Group C in Qingdao, China, on Monday.
India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal played her heart out but went down to Xuerui Li of China 18-21, 29-30 at the French Open Super Series in Paris on Thursday.
Indian ace Saina Nehwal started her campaign at the French Open Super Series on a positive note, thrashing Jie Yao of Holland in straight-games to reach the second round of the women's singles event at Paris on Wednesday.
Still smarting from her second-round exit in Denmark last week, Saina Nehwal will seek redemption when she starts her campaign at the French Open Super series, which begins with the qualifiers at Paris on Tuesday.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal suffered a straight-game 19-21, 13-21 defeat to Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei in the second round and crashed out of the Denmark Open Super Series, at Odense, on Thursday. However, Jwala Gutta and V Diju kept the tri-colour fluttering after a 21-16, 21-19 victory over Chris Adcock and Imogen Bankier of England in the second round of the mixed doubles.
Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Anand Pawar advanced to the second round of the Denmark Open Super Series after contrasting victories in the opening round of the main draw at Odense on Wednesday. Fourth seed Saina beat Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand 21-16, 21-8 in a 31-minute clash in the women's singles, while Anand saw off Pablo Abian 21-11, 21-12 in the men's singles.
Terming the Siri Fort stadium as her happy hunting ground, World No 3 Saina Nehwal expressed confidence of putting up a good show in the upcoming Indian Open Super Series, which begins on Tuesday.
Noted industrialist and diversified business conglomerate Mahindra Group Chairman, Anand Mahindra on Sunday said he would 'personally' hand over a TUV300 to shuttler Kidambi Srikanth for winning the Australian Open Super Series title.
Indian shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal may have hit global headlines with their big wins against China's superstars of badminton but sadly they have not made it into the state-run Chinese media, which played down their herculean achievement.
Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal clinched the $700,000 China Open Super Series Premier tournament after beating young Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the summit clash, in Fuzhou, China, on Sunday.
National coach Pullela Gopichand, on Saturday, said that the loss of form of ace shuttler Saina Nehwal, whose campaign in the Japan Open Super Series ended in semi-finals, was not a cause of concern.
Saina Nehwal was stunned by Germany's Juliane Schenk in the women's singles semifinals, as India's campaign came to an end in the Japan Open Super Series badminton tournament in Tokyo on Saturday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances