India's Lakshya Sen on Thursday progressed to the quarter-finals of the All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham, while HS Prannoy crashed out in the second round.
Indian women shuttlers advanced to the Badminton Asia Team Championship quarter-finals despite a 1-4 loss to Japan in which P V Sindhu notched the country's only win Alor Setar, Malaysia, on Thursday.
Indian shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and H S Prannoy advanced to the second round of the men's singles competition at the US$ 1,000,000 Indonesia Super Series Premier in Jakarta, on Wednesday.
Srikanth was to play against Momota in the first round on Wednesday but the Japanese world number one pulled out of the tournament on Tuesday
Saina was awarded a cheque of Rs 25 lakhs for her title-winning performance at the Australia Super Series in 2016, besides becoming the first Indian to become the World No. 1 and reaching the finals at All England champion in 2015.
India's leading shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the second round of the French Open with straight-game wins, but it was curtains for Sameer Verma at the US $750,000 BWF event, in Paris, on Wednesday.
Defending champion Kidambi Srikanth beat compatriot Sameer Verma 22-20, 19-21, 23-21 in an absorbing men's singles quarter-final to enter the semi-finals of the Denmark Open, in Odense, on Friday night. The Indian ace will meet second seeded Japanese and world No 1 Kento Momota, who got the better of Thailand's Khosit Phetpradab 21-13, 21-9 in another quarter-final.
PV Sindhu cruised into the second round but compatriot Saina Nehwal bowed out fighting in the Badminton Asia Championships.
The fifth seeded Indian will face Indonesian Fitriani Fitriani next.
Sindhu progressed to the quarterfinals with an easy straight-game win over Japan's Aya Ohori
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy emerged victorious over the England pair of Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in their final Group A match but still missed out on qualifying for the quarter-finals in the men's doubles badminton at the Tokyo Olympics on Tuesday.
Indian badminton stalwarts P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal suffered contrasting fortunes at the Malaysia Open Super 750 tournament, the former progressing to the second round and the latter bowing out after losing her opener in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday.
India's top shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth registered straight-game victories to make impressive starts to their singles campaigns at the season-ending BWF World Tour Finals in Bali on Wednesday.
Following is the schedule of Indian contingent on the sixth day of the Asian Games.
H S Prannoy stunned two-time defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in a thrilling 68-minute quarter-final to ensure a medal for India.
It was heartbreak for P V Sindhu at the World Badminton Championships. The Indian shuttler had to settle for a second consecutive bronze medal after succumbing to Carolina Marin of Spain in the semi-finals, in Copenhagen, on Saturday.
Seasoned Indian ace Saina Nehwal and the fast-rising H S Prannoy notched up contrasting wins in the women's and men's singles competition respectively to reach the All England badminton championships' second round at Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham.
P V Sindhu eased into the second round with a straight-game win after fellow Indian Lakshya Sen showed his mettle with a stunning victory over world No. 10 Japanese Kanta Tsuneyama on the opening day of Indonesia Masters Super 750 in Bali on Tuesday.
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.
National camp to resume on Monday.
Early exits at Japan Open and Denmark Open proved costly for ace India shuttler Saina Nehwal as she lost her World No.1 crown to All England and World champion Carolina Marin of Spain.
Star India shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth notched up comfortable victories but it was young Mumbai player Harsheel Dani who hogged the limelight at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold when he stunned H S Prannoy in straight games to storm into the quarter-finals in Lucknow on Thursday.
Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty claimed India's first ever medal in men's doubles after settling for a silver at the 21st Commonwealth Games' badminton competition, in Gold Coast, on Sunday.
The London Olympics bronze medallist beat world No. 73 Brazilian Vicente Lohaynny 21-17, 21-17 in 39 minutes, while Sindhu, a two-time World Championships bronze winner, had things her way against Laura Sarosi of Hungary, winning 21-8, 21-9 in 27 minutes.
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.
Saina Nehwal finally broke her jinx at the $250,000 Indian Open Super Series badminton, storming into the quarter-finals of the women's singles with a straight-game victory over Thailand's Natcha Saengchote, in Delhi, on Thursday. The world No 8 Indian did not go beyond the second round in the last three editions of the Open and broke the hoodoo when she thrashed Natcha 21-15, 21-12 in just 35 minutes at the Siri Fort Sports complex. Parupalli Kashyap also continued his good run to reach the quarter-finals. He prevailed over his training partner, R M V Gurusaidutt, 21-15, 16-21, 21-11 in the men's singles.
An unprecedented seven Indian shuttlers are set to qualify for the Olympics Games at Rio de Janeiro when the official BWF rankings are released on Thursday.
Rising Indian doubles duo of Akshay Dewalkar and Pranaav Jerry Chopra stunned World No 7 Koreans Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang in an edge-of-the-seat semifinals to seal their maiden Grand Prix Gold final, while K Srikanth also stormed into the men's singles final at the Syed Modi International, in Lucknow, on Saturday.
Defending champion P Kashyap bowed out while top seed K Srikanth entered the semi-finals but it was the stunning win of doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar over their World No 8 opponents from Denmark that was the highlight of the day at Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament, in Lucknow, on Friday.
India ace Kidambi Srikanth was rewarded for his sensational run this season as he grabbed a career-best ranking of World No. 2 after jumping two places in the latest BWF ranking released on Thursday.
Virushka's wedding was, of course, the biggest Indiansports shaadi of the year, but other athletes too tied the knot this year.
P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen sailed into the second round but it was curtains for Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth on a mixed day for India at the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Paris on Wednesday.
It is "irritating" to be unlucky all the time; perhaps they need some "divine intervention" to win crucial matches, said a frustrated Satwiksairaj Rankireddy after he and Chirag Shetty were beaten in the men's doubles semi-finals at the World Championships, in Tokyo, on Friday.
India should not have split their regular women's doubles pair to accommodate two combinations in Asian Games badminton team event, feels ex-shuttler Uday Pawar.
Prannoy signs off with maiden World Championships bronze medal after losing semifinal to Vitidsarn
The Indian pair had participated in Super 1000 events in 2018 and 2019 but this is the first time it entered the semi-finals.
Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram, R M V Gurusaidutt and Sai Praneeth entered the pre-quarterfinals of the men's singles event at the $120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament after victories over their respective opponents.
Facing a life ban threat from the Badminton Association of India (BAI), embattled shuttler Jwala Gutta vowed to continue her fight against injustice and come back stronger.
London Olympics bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal resumed training at a separate facility in Hyderabad after the COVID-19-induced break and is likely to join the national camp at the Sports Authority of India-Pullela Gopichand Academy in a couple of weeks.
The absence of double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu, London Games bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and men's doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also hurt India's prospect as the team cut a sorry figure at the team-tournament.
