Saina Nehwal endured a frustrating title drought but Indian badminton continued to move forward with the emergence of P V Sindhu as the next big sensation and the introduction of the ambitious Indian Badminton League this year.
P V Sindhu became the first Indian shuttler to reach the final at the Olympics when she shocked Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in straight games in the women's singles at the Rio Games on Thursday. The two-time World Championships bronze medallist scored a sensational 21-19, 21-10 victory over the All England champion in 49 minutes.
India's challenge at the Japan Open ended with Sai Praneeth's losing to top seed and home hero Kento Momota in the semi-finals, in Tokyo, on Saturday. The Indian lost 18-21, 12-21 in 45 minutes.
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.
Fourth seeded Sindhu took 39 minutes to get the better of World No 22 Mia 21-13, 21-19, her second straight win over the Dane.
The third seeded Indian will face the winner of the other semi-final, between Japan's Aya Ohori and China's Wang Zhi Yi, on Sunday.
The deadline to file nomination papers for the IOA elections ends on Sunday. According to IOA elections returning officer Umesh Sinha no nomination has been filed for any post so far since the process began on Friday.
India's P V Sindhu came into the semi-final contest with an overwhelming 4-1 head-to-head lead over Thailand's Chochuwong, but wasn't at her best.
Sindhu assured herself of a medal in the Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu eked out a thrilling win over China's He Bing Jiao to enter the singles semi-finals of the Badminton Asia Championships in Manila on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded India's athletes for their spectacular showing at the Tokyo Olympics, saying their tremendous show has inspired the youth of the country.
A two-time bronze medallist at the World Championships, Sindhu has risen rapidly up the rankings since becoming the first Indian woman to win an Olympic silver medal, at the Rio Games last year.
Former India skipper Virat Kohli, four-time grand slam winner Naomi Osaka of Japan and decorated gymnast Simon Biles of the USA, are some of the star athletes who have been candid about their struggles with mental health.
The land is located in Shaikpet village of Hyderabad district.
Third seed Sindhu beat Indonesia's Lindaweni Fanetri while Srikanth accounted for China's Huang Yuxiang.
Star India shuttler P V Sindhu made an exit from Thailand Open after going down in straight games to Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei in the semi-finals in Bangkok on Saturday.
P V Sindhu and Anand Pawar kept India's hopes alive by making it to the semi-finals of the women's and men's singles event of the India Open Super Series Badminton Championship.
India's PV Sindhu went down fighting to Spain's World No 1 Carolina Marin in the women's singles badminton gold medal match at the Rio Olympics on Friday.
Former world No. 1 Saina, who missed a lot of tournaments last year due to multiple injuries, moved to the second round after her opponent, Czech Republic's Tereza Svabikova, suffered a back injury and retired mid-way while trailing 20-22, 0-1 in an opening round match.
Two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu hopes the Commonwealth Games will serve as a perfect launchpad in her quest to regain the World Championships crown next month.
Fifth seed Sindhu will now look to avenge her All England loss against Korea's Sung Ji Hyun, whom she faces next, while Srikanth will meet Thailand's Khosit Phetpradab on Thursday.
Sindhu posted this cute picture with her nephew saying, "I used to just be the cool sister . Now Im also the cool aunt. #nephew#cutiepie#babyboy#"
India have been drawn with top seeds and defending champions China, Thailand and hosts Finland for the upcoming Sudirman Cup badminton tournament, making it a tough Group A for the side to negotiate.
Returning to action after a break, double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu saw off Turkey's Neslihan Yigit in straight games to join compatriots Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma in the second round of the Denmark Open in Odense on Tuesday.
Rediff.com gives you a glimpse of the personalities that graced the event:
India's top shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the semi-finals of the Korea Open Super 500 badminton tournament with contrasting wins in Suncheon on Friday.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu continued to reach new heights as she became the second Indian woman to break into the top 5 in the latest BWF World Rankings.
Besides Srikanth, the other players withdrawn are Ashwini Ponnappa, Ritika Rahul Thkar, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Aman Singh and Khushi Gupta.
In a faux pas, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar forgot Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu's full name and also wrongly called her from Karnataka. "It's a proud moment for us that two of our daughters won medals on Raksha Bandhan festival. Sakshi Malik from Haryana and Sindhu (asks others what is her name) ... P V Sindhu from Karnataka (Sindhu is from Hyderabad)," he said. Khattar was addressing a huge gathering during the reception which was accorded by the Haryana government to the Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik in Bahadurgarh town near Rohtak after she arrived this morning from Rio de Janeiro.
P V Sindhu said she is happy to win a silver in the women's singles badminton event after her gallant attempt to win a coveted gold for India ended in heart-break at the Rio Olympics. "I ended up with silver medal but am really happy," said Sindhu moments after losing her final clash 21-19 12-21 15-21 against two-time World Championship Marin. "I'm really proud about it. I'm really happy. I could not win the gold. But I really worked hard. It was anybody's game.
Saina Nehwal said she has no regrets about 'standing up for her father' in the athletes village accommodation controversy
Reigning World champion and title favourite P V Sindhu sailed into the pre-quarter-finals at the China Open Super 1000 tournament with a convincing straight-games victory over former Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui, in Changzhou, on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old from Hyderabad lost her momentum after that incident, losing 21-13, 19-21, 16-21 to eventually sign off with a bronze medal, her second in the continental individual championship.
The Rio Olympics gold medal contest in badminton women's singles between India's P V Sindhu and Spain's Carolina Marin attracted 17.2 million TV viewers, according to the broadcasters.
India's decision to field World No 13 Sameer instead of Kidambi Srikanth in men's singles backfired as the former couldn't get going against Lee Zii Jia, losing 13-21, 15-21 in 48 minutes to allow Malaysia level the scores 1-1 after getting the lead with a win the mixed doubles.
The note, posted on her Twitter handle, took her fans by surprise but that was only one part of the whole message she was trying to make.
India's sports stars including badminton P V Sindhu was conferred the Padma Bhushan -- the country's third-highest civilian award, while women's football icon Bembem Devi, archer Tarundeep Rai and women's hockey captain Rani Rampal were conferred with the Padma Shri.
Norma Godinho challenges sporting know-it-alls.
The Indian women's team went down to Indonesia 1-3 for its second loss in the Badminton Asia Team Championships in, Alor Setar, on Friday.
Sindhu ended a rally with a forehand smash on Goh's left to make it 21-20 before the Malaysian netted a return.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu was the only bright spot on a dismal day for Indian badminton as she progressed to the quarter-finals with a straight-game win at the US $350,000 Thailand Open World Super 500 tournament in Bangkok on Thursday.
