Saina Nehwal, who was forced to skip the National Badminton Championships because of a shoulder injury, is hoping to be back on court at the All England Super Series, from March 3 to 8.
Ten years ago, Prakash Padukone had predicted the rise of Lakshya Sen.
All eyes will be on Indian ace Saina Nehwal when she returns to the court after an injury lay-off at the All England Championship, hoping to better last year's runner-up finish at the prestigious event which begins with the qualifiers in Birmingham.
Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to reach the semi-finals of the All England Super Series badminton championship when she defeated German Juliane Schenk in straight games in the quarter-finals in London.
In a nail-biting semi-final, fourth seed Sindhu went down fighting 21-19, 19-21, 18-21 to Yamaguchi after battling for an hour and 19 minutes on Saturday.
Coach Vimal Kumar compared this triumph to India's 1983 Cricket World Cup win, hoping it will spur the popularity of badminton.
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.
World No 17 Sen, started strongly and took the first game 21-15. But Lin, bounced back to claim the second 21-17.
India made a resounding start to their campaign at the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold with four Indian shuttlers advancing to the second round of the men's singles competition, in Basel, on Wednesday.
Satwik and Chirag will next face third-seeds Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik of Malaysia.
Star Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will look to gather some valuable experience for London Olympics preparation when she starts her campaign at the All England Championship, which begins with the qualifiers in Birmingham on Tuesday.
But former national champions Abhinn Shyam Gupta and Chetan Anand crashed out in the first round.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF), in a statement, said the escalation of the COVID-19 outbreak globally forced it to cancel or postpone all tournaments from March 16 to April 12.
Sen became only the third men's singles player after Prakash Padukone and Pullela Gopichand to reach the final
Tan Kim Her's voice was tinged with emotion as he reflected on the journey of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the two men he paired and who fondly call him "Daddy".
Injured HS Prannoy's absence hurt India as they went down fighting 2-3 against badminton powerhouse China
Top Indian shuttler P V Sindhu will not be shaking hands during next week's All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham and use the traditional 'Namaste' greeting instead following the coronavirus outbreak, the 24-year-old said. Seven Indian badminton players have pulled out of the Birmingham tournament over coronavirus fears.
Just 18 months after pairing up, the young mixed doubles pair of Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath rise to World No 33.
Rasmussen is the second big name missing from the five-day tournament, held a month earlier than usual this year to dovetail with the world championships being staged at the same National Indoor Arena venue in May.
India's shuttlers, including London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, expressed shock after reports emerged that a sparring partner of the Taiwanese national team, who was in Birmingham during the All England Championship, tested positive for the coronavirus.
World champion P V Sindhu was on Friday ousted from the All England Championship after being outplayed by a determined Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, who rallied her way to a thrilling three-game win in the quarter-final of the women's singles in Birmingham. Sindhu's defeat ended India's campaign at the Super 1000 tournament.
But Saina, who had lost in the quarter-finals last year, is set to gain 3600 points having made it to the World Championships final this year. Saina will therefore, now have 82, 792 points to her tally, giving her the World No 1 title again.
Join us in congratulating Sindhu on her historic achievement.
The Rio Olympics gold medallist had withdrawn from the All England Championships this year after suffering the injury during the Swiss Open.
Natekar, who was considered one of most popular sportspersons of his time, was also a former World number three.
Olympic and World Championship silver medallist P V Sindhu feels the experimental service law in badminton could have come at a better time.
Facing criticism for packing 22 tournaments in five months in its revised calendar, the Badminton World Federation on Wednesday said the disrupted Olympic qualification process will restart only next year with players having the benefit of holding on to the ranking points they have already secured.
'Well, I think every year, in the last few years, has been better than the previous one'
Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat said the game was only about Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan at the moment.
The Indian will have yet another uphill task at hand when he takes on Axelsen, the baby-faced badminton giant, who has terrorised his opponents in the last few years.
The parents of P V Sindhu, who became the first Indian woman singles player on Friday to ensure a medal at the ongoing World Badminton Championships, attributed their daughter's success to hard work and determination.
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.
Earlier, BWF and Badminton England had delayed the start of the event by a couple of hours following a 'significant number' of inconclusive COVID-19 test results.
This year's All-England Championships is likely to mark the final appearance of five-time champion Lin Dan at the sport's oldest event, as the garlanded Chinese player bids for a berth at the Rio Olympics before a possible retirement.
India's badminton ace Saina Nehwal accused the sport's administrators of placing money above players' safety by continuing last week's All England Championships despite the coronavirus pandemic. The 30-year-old lost in the opening round of the marquee event, which was among a handful which continued even as the bulk of global sporting calendar was either postponed or cancelled.
Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal emerged the lone survivor at the US $400,000 All England Championship, thrashing Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour in straight-games to reach the second round even as compatriot PV Sindhu fell by the wayside in Birmingham.
The emotional and financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic is weighing on Indian shuttler HS Prannoy's mind and he believes that the already "bleak" scenario would only get worse if things don't take a turn for the better in one and a half month's time. The coronavirus outbreak, which has killed over 40,000 globally, has put countries in lockdown and halted sports, including badminton, across the world. It has also triggered financial and mental woes across the world.
For all her achievements, says Bikash Mohapatra, Saina is yet to win either the Worlds, Olympics or All England, badminton's flagship events.
Padukone attributed Sindhu and Saina's success to their physical abilities.
