P Kashyap insisted that he too has an outside chance of qualifying for the Tokyo Games but he has no way to pursue it as he can't train at the camp.
Eight seeded Saina defetaed Okuhara 21-15, 21-14 late last night to improve her head-to-head record to 6-1 against her Japanese opponent.
The 26-year-old is now the lone Indian survivor in the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament.
Sindhu and Saina will once again be India's best bet as they look to put up a good show this week.
India ace Kidambi Srikanth was rewarded for his sensational run this season as he grabbed a career-best ranking of World No. 2 after jumping two places in the latest BWF ranking released on Thursday.
Saina Nehwal breezed into the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open, scoring a 21-15, 21-17 victory over Japan's world No. 2-ramked Akane Yamaguchi on Thursday.
Star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra is among the 20 sportspersons picked for the Arjuna Awards, who will be honoured by President Ram Nath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Star India shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth notched up comfortable victories but it was young Mumbai player Harsheel Dani who hogged the limelight at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold when he stunned H S Prannoy in straight games to storm into the quarter-finals in Lucknow on Thursday.
Indian mixed doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa shocked Commonwealth Games silver medallists England's Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the $ 1 million China Open
World champion PV Sindhu made an early exit from the China Open but B Sai Praneeth kept the Indian flag fluttering with a hard-fought straight-game win to reach the men's singles quarter-finals.
Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap and young H S Prannoy registered contrasting wins in the men's singles to enter the second round of the Singapore Open Super Series badminton tournament.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt and young B Sai Praneeth advanced to the main draw of Singapore Open Super Series.
The unseeded Indian beat the 11th seed 21-11, 13-21, 21-7 in a second round match that lasted an hour and two minutes.
Sindhu suffered a shock defeat to lower-ranked Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei
Sameer Verma stayed on course for his title defence while three-time former champion Saina Nehwal too reached the semifinals with an easy win
Saina, who has been battling illness and injuries, is going through a bad patch, having lost six times in the first round this season.
H S Prannoy outwitted World No 2 and title favourite Kidambi Srikanth in a thrilling final to win the men's singles title at the 82nd Senior National Championship, in Nagpur on Wednesday.
Kashyap, a Commonwealth Games champion, was trailing 8-14 in the third game when he chose to retire after pulling his calf muscle.
Top Indian shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and H S Prannoy were knocked out of the 18th Asian Games after suffering shock defeats in the second round of the men's singles competition, in Jakarta, on Friday.
Returning to action after nearly two months, Saina, who made last-minute withdrawals from Indonesia Open and last week's Japan Open because of injuries, got past Chaiwan 21-17, 21-19 in her opening round contest.
It is Sindhu's second semifinal of the season, following a last-four finish at the India Open last month.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Indian women shuttlers advanced to the Badminton Asia Team Championship quarter-finals despite a 1-4 loss to Japan in which P V Sindhu notched the country's only win Alor Setar, Malaysia, on Thursday.
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.
Pune Pistons secured a close 3-2 victory after icon player Ashwini Ponnappa and Fischer Nielsen Joachim won the deciding mixed doubles match.
Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram, R M V Gurusaidutt and Sai Praneeth entered the pre-quarterfinals of the men's singles event at the $120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament after victories over their respective opponents.
Indian women's badminton team assured itself of at least a bronze medal after notching a comfortable 3-1 win over Thailand in the quarter-finals of the Uber Cup, in Kunshan, on Thursday.
Indian women made a stupendous start to their campaign at the Uber Cup badminton tournament by thrashing Australia 5-0, in Kunshan, on Monday.
Jwala Gutta said that before comparing ourselves to badminton giants like China and Japan, India should look to improve the quality of doubles' players. Jwala also questioned the logic of holding the national camp only at the Gopichand academy.
'I think Sindhu could have won. We had our chances in women's singles, men's doubles and women's doubles yesterday and they could have pulled through. I think Kashyap also has had a good run. He has had a good tournament. Considering what has happened in the last year with him, it has been a good comeback'
India's campaign at the Singapore Open Super Series ended on Thursday after P V Sindhu in the women's singles as well as the men's and mixed doubles pairs lost their respective second round matches to crash out of the tournament.
Saina Nehwal and reigning champion Sameer Verma were a step away from clinching the men's and women's singles titles respectively
India has been battling a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic that has forced many countries to ban travellers from India.
Former India badminton coach Vimal Kumar on Tuesday blamed the withdrawals by Asian nations for the postponement of the Thomas and Uber Cup Final, calling it a "big setback" for the sport.
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.
In the men's draw, HS Prannoy, went down to giant-killer Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and newly-crowned world No 1 Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the final in women's and men's singles badminton respectively at the 21st Commonwealth Games on Saturday.
India's shuttlers made it to the mixed team semi-finals after a resounding 3-0 victory over Mauritus at the Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast, on Saturday.
Former champions P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth stayed on course to reclaim titles while a vintage Parupalli Kashyap too regained some form to seal places in the men's singles semi-finals of the US $350,000 India Open badminton, in Delhi, on Friday.
Defending champion H S Prannoy eked out a thrilling win over China's Qiao Bin to advance to the quarterfinals of the $120,000 Swiss Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament, in Basel on Thursday.
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