Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu continued her unbeaten run while debutant Sameer Verma also qualified for the knockout stage with a straight-game win in his last Group B match at the BWF World Tour Finals.
Saina Nehwal made a perfect start to the new season, reaching the women's singles final of the $ 350,000 Indonesia Masters with a thrilling straight-game win over world no 4 Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand in Jakarta, on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
She will meet World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying for the title on Sunday.
Assured of atleast a bronze at the World Badminton Championship, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal described her quarterfinal win as "special" and said patience was the key to her success.
P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth continued their impressive run at the Malaysia Open, progressing to the semi-finals of the women's and men's singles competition with a straight-game wins in the US$ 700,000 world tour super 750 tournament, in Kuala Lumpur.
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.
Twice World Championships bronze medalist P V Sindhu ran out of steam and was beaten by Korea's Sung Ji Hyun in the quarter-finals of badminton's showpiece event, in Jakarta, on Friday. The 20-year-old from Hyderabad, who had beaten Olympic champion and former world No 1 Li Xuerui of China in the previous round on Thursday, lost 17-21, 21-19, 21-16 in 82 minutes.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal sealed a semi-final spot after a hard-fought victory but compatriot P V Sindhu crumbled under pressure to bow out of the women's singles competition at the Malaysia Open Super Series Premier tournament, in Shah Alam, on Friday.
Manjit Singh came from nowhere to snatch the men's 800m gold for the biggest medal of his life but finals continued to be a riddle for P V Sindhu
As the curtains come down at the Tokyo Olympics, here's a glance at the medallists and those who came within touching distance of glory.
World No. 1 Saina Nehwal started her campaign with a hard-fought win, while P V Sindhu eased past her opponent at the $200,000 Badminton Asia Championship.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
The 25-year-old Indian, who clinched the Indonesia Open and Australian Open this year, besides reaching the final of the Singapore Open, defeated Wong 21-18, 21-17 at the Odense Sports Park.
Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu suffered a three-game defeat to much lower-ranked Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the second round of $350,000 Hong Kong Super Series, in Kowloon, on Thursday. However, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth scored contrasting victories to enter the quarter-finals of the women's and men's singles respectively.
Kidambi Srikanth and two-time bronze medallist P V Sindhu will headline a 21-member Indian contingent as they gun for the elusive gold medal at the World Badminton Championships starting in Glasgow on Monday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
London Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal scripted history by reaching the finals of the prestigious All England Badminton Championship with a straight-game victory over Sun Yu of China in the women's singles competition in Birmingham.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Neeraj's gold and three other athletics silver medals, along with Saina Nehwal's badminton singles bronze, propelled India's overall medal count to 41 (8 gold, 13 silver, and 20 bronze).
After losing seven successive finals, PV Sindhu finally redeemed herself with the gold medal at the World Tour Finals.
Sindhu goes down fighting in All England semisSindhu goes down fighting in All England semis
The Rio Olympic silver-medallist knocked out defending champion Nozomi Okuharabeat 21-17, 21-19 to advance.
Hailing Pusarla V Sindhu's excellent show right through 2016 that saw her becoming the first and only Indian shuttler to win a silver medal in the Olympic Games, chief national coach P Gopichand said his lanky ward is capable of scaling greater heights. "I have always maintained that even when she won in 2013 or 2014 (back-to-back world championship singles bronze medals) Sindhu is still some time away from being her best. I maintain that even now that she has the potential to do even better," said the former All-England men's singles champion during an interaction with the media in Mumbai.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Bolstered by Australian Open triumph, India ace shuttler Saina Nehwal says she is now working on her half smashes under the watchful eyes of coach Vimal Kumar to get closer to the goal of winning a gold medal at next month's Rio Olympics. "The victory in Australia came at just the right time. I was really looking forward for some change and nothing boosts confidence like winning. I needed a win to keep believing that I am on the right track," the 26-year-old told PTI.
Virat Kohli? M C Mary Kom? Neeraj Chopra?
H S Prannoy scored his second successive victory over three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei, while Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth also registered contrasting wins to advance to the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open Super Series Premier, in Odense, on Thursday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Indian teen sensation P V Sindhu made sure of a second consecutive bronze medal at the World Badminton Championships, but it was curtains for Saina Nehwal after she was beaten in straight games in the women's singles quarter-finals at the Ballerup Super Arena in Copenhagen on Friday.
A summary of sports events and persons in the news over the weekend.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal upstaged Korea's Sung Ji Hyun to reach the semi-finals but it was curtains for P V Sindhu in the women's singles of the India Open Super Series, in New Delhi, on Friday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
Four years after a bronze at London Games made her the toast of the nation, Saina Nehwal will once again carry a billion hopes when she along with the other six shuttlers, including doubles exponent Jwala Gutta, begin their campaign at the Rio Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, on Thursday.
The dream run of top shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth came to an end in World Super Series Finals badminton tournament.
Sameer Verma stunned World No. 3 Jorgensen to enter the final, while Rio Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu brushed aside local shuttler Cheung Ngan Yi's challenge to make the title round, her second final seven days.
Pullela Gopichand salutes P V Sindhu on her superb showing that saw her return with a silver medal from the Rio Olympics.
When it boils down to matters of discipline, Pullela Gopichand has no peers with PV Sindhu learning it the hard way since her formative years at the legendary coach's academy.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Sunday
Saina Nehwal's wish to be in her home team came true as Hyderabad Hotshots bought the Indian star for USD 120,000 but world number one Lee Chong Wei proved to be the costliest, going to Mumbai Masters for USD 135,000 in the inaugural Indian Badminton League's players auction on Monday.
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