But the Indian mixed doubles pair of Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan suffered a close 18-21, 21-10, 22-24, loss to Russian pair of Evgenij Dremin and Evgenia Dimova, while another pair of Tarun Kona and Sikki N Reddy too went down 13-21, 17-21 against Liao Min Chun and Chen Hsiao Huan of Chinese Taipei.
Tennis Grand Slam champions Serena, Osaka and Kerber are top 3 in the famed list
India has just 28 Olympic medals to its credit since making a debut back in 1900.
"It is a great win and a fantastic start to the season for me. I have been playing well and I was confident of winning ahead of the final," said PV Sindhu.
In a men's singles quarter-final match earlier in the day, Sameer Verma too was shown the door after he suffered a 10-21, 12-21 loss to second seed Shi Yuqi of China.
H S Prannoy had things his way as he beat Denmark's Hans-Kristian Vittinghus in straight games to progress to the men's singles quarter-finals at the French Open Super Series badminton tournament, in Paris, on Friday.
India's campaign came to a premature halt in the All-England Badminton Championship when ace shuttler Saina Nehwal was thrashed by Chinese Shixian Wang in the quarter-finals of the women's singles in Birmingham on Friday.
Top seed K Srikanth advanced to the semi-finals in the men's singles but P V Sindhu suffered heartbreak as she bowed out of the women's singles, at the US $120,000 Indonesia Masters Grand Prix Gold tournament, in Malang, on Friday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, on Sunday, congratulated star India shuttler P V Sindhu for winning the Korea Open Super Series title in Seoul.
Sindhu, Sameer progress to quarters, Kashyap ousted
Top seed K Srikanth suffered a straight-games defeat, but three other Indians, including Ajay Jayaram and H S Prannoy, advanced to the second round of the US $120,000 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold on Tuesday.
Indian campaign in the Denmark Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament ended with Parupalli Kashyap suffering a straight-game defeat at the hands of second seed Chen Long of China in the men's singles semi-finals in Odense (Denmark).
The 28-year-old from Hyderabad, a winner of the Indonesia Masters, semi-finalist at Malaysia Masters and quarter-finalist at the All England Championship, saw US$36,825 added to her career earnings.
Sindhu, who had finished runners-up at the last edition in Dubai, will have a tough task at hand as she has been clubbed with defending champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, World No 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei and USAs' Beiwen Zhang in Group A.
Saina Nehwal, a bronze medallist in 2012 London Olympics, dropped a place to be at ninth position, while P V Sindhu retained her 11th spot in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings issued on Thursday.
PV Sindhu, on Tuesday, said she wants to change the colour of her Olympic medal from silver to gold at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
Rediff.com introduces you to the athletes who have brought India glory in Birmingham.
Saina, who has been battling illness and injuries, is going through a bad patch, having lost six times in the first round this season.
India might be medal-less in the ongoing Olympics so far, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the athletes competing in Rio should not get disheartened as 'victory and setbacks are all a part of life'.
Nehwal has had a troubled run in this year as she has now faced exits from a tournament in the first round five times.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Young men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty too entered the quarter-finals after getting past Chinese Taipei's Liao Min Chun and Su Ching Heng 21-17, 21-16 in the second round.
The World No 25 pair of Satwiksairaj and Chirag put a gallant fight in the second game but couldn't stop the two-time All England Champions from Indonesia, going down 12-21, 24-26 in a 42-minute match.
India were on Friday drawn with two-time champions Ghana, United States and Colombia in a tough Group A of the FIFA Under 17 World Cup.
Making a comeback after a three-month injury lay-off, Saina Nehwal struggled to make an impression as she went down to Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk in the first round of the China Open Super Series.
Sania Mirza reacted with delight at her being recommended for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, describing it as the "most amazing" development.
Top Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Ajay Jayaram notched up contrasting victories in the women's and men's singles competition respectively to reach the semi-finals of the $120,000 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold, in Kuching.
'Everyone wants to get involved when there is success.' 'But what about guaranteeing it?' 'Making sure girls have the opportunity to succeed all the time?'
Pullela Gopichand, India's chief badminton coach, shares his views on the country's leading female players with Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com.
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.
'I have certainly gained the respect of my rivals by consistently maintaining my ranking inside the top-10 mark.' 'I have beaten all these top players at least once and there will be no fear factor when I face them at Rio.'
It is Sindhu's second semifinal of the season, following a last-four finish at the India Open last month.
It turned out to be a disastrous day for Indian shuttlers at the Hong Kong Open as P V Sindhu, K Srikanth and Ajay Jayaram crashed out of the $ 350,000 Super Series event in the opening round, in Hong Kong, on Wednesday.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) shut down the world tour and other sanctioned tournaments following the completion of the All-England in March due to the global health crisis.
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.
The NITI Aayog has big plans for Indian sport.
Saina Nehwal, who underwent a knee surgery at a Mumbai hospital, is likely to be out of action for four months in a big setback for the badminton star, her father Harvir Singh said on Saturday.
Path-breaking tennis ace Sania Mirza takes pride in the fact that many of India's sporting stars, outside cricket, are women even though she believes that it will take a few more generations before being a sportswoman is seen as a natural career choice in the country. The winner of six Grand Slam titles, spoke on a range of issues including the role of parents and attitude of coaches towards women players during a webinar organised by the All India Tennis Association and the Sports Authority of India (SAI).
The shuttlers led by Saina Nehwal will make their first appearance in the Olympic Games on Thursday along with men golfers as India still waits for its first medal after five days of fruitless labour in this Brazilian city.
Two-time champion and top seed Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu reached the pre-quarterfinals of the $ 120,000 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold in Basel.
