Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Gopichand also wondered to why the legendary Padukone, India's first badminton superstar 'never had anything positive to say about him'.
Wimbledon finalists Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are on a semi-final collision course at the US Open after they were placed in the same half of the draw.
Kidambi Srikanth is against any drastic changes in the scoring system being contemplated by the world body.
Heavier balls to blame for slower game: Nadal
Andy Murray returned to the All England Club in the men's doubles on Thursday and eased into the second round with French partner Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
The German fifth seed kicks off her campaign against compatriot Tatjana Maria on Tuesday, but could potentially face three former champions in Serena Williams, Garbine Muguruza and Maria Sharapova if she goes deep into the tournament.
The Indian challenge ended at the $1,250,000 Indonesian Open after PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy suffered straight-game quarter-final defeats to crash out of the BWF World Super 1000 tournament in Jakarta.
The Swiss champion was at his breath-taking best as he crafted 48 exquisite winners during a 90-minute match that seemed more an exhibition of his shot-making than a charge towards a record ninth Wimbledon title.
Serena's coach said it had been a winding road following the birth of her daughter in 2017 to the kind of peak performance that brought her US Open success in the past.
The world body has so far maintained that it has no plans to make any adjustments to the regulations related to the Tokyo Games qualification period and that other events will go as per schedule.
'Last year I was one point away to the final. I felt competitive last couple of years, so why do I need to change that?'
Pusarla Sindhu romped into the final of the World Badminton Championships, trouncing China's Chen Yu Fei 21-7, 21-14 in semi-finals, in Basel, on Saturday.
More than 8 million people in Britain tuned in to watch England win
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.
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.
It is not the first time Tomic has been in trouble for not trying.
When you can travel globally is when tennis can come back, from a pro level. From a local level, we can start right away and that's what we would be focused on at the beginning, says Tennis Australia head Craig Tiley.
Serena Williams has clicked into gear so quickly on her Wimbledon return it is hard to believe she has played only a handful of matches
Wimbledon's courts are playing as well as ever and there is nothing unusual in the slipping and sliding that disrupted some matches in the tournament's first week, the head of All England Lawn Tennis Club said on Monday.
Wimbledon will introduce a final set tiebreak starting from next year's Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), organisers said on Friday.
Can World No. 1 Simona Halep thrive at the All England Club? Or will Serena Williams add to her seven Wimbledon titles?
Sindhu, seeded second, defeated local favourite Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 23-21, 21-7 in 37 minutes to make the last-eight stage of her season-opener, while eighth seed Srikanth recorded a clinical 21-14, 21-9 win over Japan's Asian Games bronze medallist Kenta Nishimoto.
Kim Ji Hyun was handed the responsibility to sharpen the skills of former World No. 2 PV Sindhu with the World Championships and Olympics in mind.
Andy Murray will begin the defence of his Wimbledon title against a qualifier after the draw was made at the All England Club on Friday.
Former Wimbledon champion, Goran Ivanisevic, former Britain No 1, Tim Henman and Dan Bloxham, Head Coach at The All England Lawn tennis Club, Wimbledon, mentored a group of 25 budding tennis talents at a coaching camp in New Delhi on Thursday.
Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu will be the cynosure of all eyes when the seventh India Super Series badminton tournament gets underway with the qualifiers in New Delhi on Tuesday.
An inspired Halep took full advantage of an error-strewn display by seven-time champion Williams to become the first Romanian to win the Wimbledon title.
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.
Star shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was disappointed after being called for a series of what he termed "ridiculous" service faults during his pre-quarterfinal match against China's Huang Yuxiang at the All England Championship.
She might have won almost all big events in a short span of her international career but Olympic champion and World No. 1 Carolina Marin of Spain says she is still hungry for titles.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal entered the pre-quarterfinals but it turned out to be a disastrous day for the men with all of them, including reigning champion K Srikanth, failing to cross the opening hurdle at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super Series badminton.
IMAGES from the matches played during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, at Wimbledon in London on Thursday
Sloane Stephens said she is ready to turn the page on a disappointing 2019 and shift her focus to climbing the world tennis rankings to qualify for next year's Tokyo Olympics.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has been nominated for the Woman Player of the Year Award of the Badminton World Federation after a consistent season which saw her occupy the world number one spot for a brief period.
World number four Stan Wawrinka has withdrawn from this month's Rogers Cup in Montreal and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati due to a knee injury, the Swiss said on Wednesday.
The novel coronavirus outbreak has affected their Olympic preparations but India's top athletes like P V Sindhu and Bajrang Punia say they are optimistic about the quadrennial event going ahead as scheduled despite the current health crisis. Olympic silver-medallist Sindhu says she can understand the apprehensions of fellow shuttlers, including compatriot Sania Nehwal, who is racing against time to qualify for the Games due to the cancellation of tournaments in the wake of the outbreak. The Olympic Games are scheduled to start in Tokyo, from July 24.
Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal is currently in a tight spot in her bid for a Tokyo Olympics singles berth but a couple of good performances in the coming weeks can put her back in contention, her mentor Parupalli Kashyap said on Friday. Saina, a 2015 World Championship silver medallist and two-time Commonwealth Games champion, is racing against time to make the cut for her fourth successive Olympics.
The 23-year-old, who this week became the first Australian woman to reach the top of the rankings since 1976, must survive a rough-looking path if she is to claim back-to-back Grand Slams having won her first at this month's French Open.
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