2023 was marked by outstanding sporting achievements, shattered records, and the crowning of new champions, all captured by photographers documenting every significant twist and turn.
After Indonesia and South Korea on Friday joined Thailand, Australia, Chinese Taipei and Algeria in pulling out due to the dreaded disease
India signed off in 12th place in the last edition in 2019, with the country's best result being a fourth-place finish in the 2008 edition.
Lakshya Sen suffered a stunning first round exit as India's challenge came to an end in the German Open.
Satwik and Chirag, ranked sixth in the world, will face the winner of the other semi-final between Indonesia's Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan and second seeds Aaron Chia and Wooi Yik Soh of Malaysia in their maiden World Tour Super 1000 final.
Kiran George wins Indonesia Masters to grab second super 100 title
India's Tokyo Paralympics gold winner Pramod Bhagat was on Thursday named among six shuttlers for the Male Para Badminton Player of the Year by the sport's world body but none of his compatriots featured in the able-bodied awards' categories.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
'Both Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy have been cleared to participate in the ongoing Yonex Thailand Open after the fourth-round tests reports confirmed that both shuttlers have been tested negative for COVID-19.'
A weak return from Prannoy was disposed off quickly as Ka Long lead 17-8. Prannoy tried to up the pace only to falter at the net.
The Badminton World Federation has postponed the Thomas and Uber Cup, the premier global men's and women's team championship, to be held in Denmark for three months from the earlier scheduled date in May in view of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In other India-related results, it was curtains for Ashmita Chaliha, who lost 17-21, 16-21 to Indonesia's world no. 7 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in 35 minutes. Both teams had received a bye in their opening match.
Chirag said "it is difficult to stay motivated" in such uncertain times.
The Hyderabad Open badminton tournament, scheduled to be held from August 11 to 16, was on Thursday cancelled by the world body BWF in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The event was part of the BWF's revised calendar to restart the sport after the pandemic-forced cancellations since March.
Nozomi Okuhara's harrowing experience after her touchdown in India was 'unfortunate and won't happen in future'
P V Sindhu sought the help of the legendary Prakash Padukone and trained at his academy in Bengaluru last week.
In an open letter, BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said the decision to go ahead with the All England Championships was made based on the best advice at that time. "It has been very disappointing to see some members of the badminton community speculate on the sincerity and motives of the BWF in this time of crisis," Lund wrote.
Lakshya Sen said the win against reigning All England Champion Li Shi Feng gives him confidence and belief in the Olympic qualification year.
F1 winner from 1950s, Brooks dies aged 90
Tasnim Mir, who earlier this month became the first Indian to claim world number one status in the U-19 category, beat Keyura Mopati 13-21, 21-14, 21-19 to set up a second round clash against Malvika Bansod.
Saina Nehwal produced a fine performance to kick-off her BWF World Championships campaign with a straight game win over Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi.
Lakshya Sen's woeful run continued as he made a first round exit
Kidambi Srikanth made a winning start but PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy were ousted
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty earned India's first-ever badminton gold medal at the Asian Games
An unnamed Indian woman shuttler was on Tuesday forced to withdraw from the Orleans Masters after a team entourage member tested positive for COVID-19 and she was identified as a close contact.
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.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced a new 2020 tournaments calendar on Friday with the World Tour set to return with the Taipei Open from Sept. 1-6.
Badminton's Tokyo rankings frozen as BWF rules out any more qualifying tournaments.
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.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Wednesday said it might freeze the world rankings for a while as it works on a "fair solution" to the Olympic qualification process after the coronavirus pandemic forced a postponement of the Tokyo Games to 2021. There have been growing calls to freeze the world rankings after cancellations and postponements wrecked the sport's calendar. Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, B Sai Praneeth, Parupalli Kashyap and H S Prannoy have been leading the way in expressing concerns.
Doubles specialist Markis Kido won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics partnering Hendra Setiawan, a year after the pair won the men's doubles title at the world championship in Kuala Lumpur.
Rankireddy and Shetty, who had arrived in Madrid after winning the Swiss Open Super 300 last week, retired from their first-round match
Besides Srikanth, the other players withdrawn are Ashwini Ponnappa, Ritika Rahul Thkar, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Aman Singh and Khushi Gupta.
This is the second time in her career, after April 6 this year that Rio Olympics silver medallist Sindhu has occupied the second spot on the leaderboard.
The world number 18 Indian will now take on former world champion, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew in the second round.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) has said that it will not restrict Chinese players from participating in international competitions due to the coronavirus epidemic. Over 550 people have died in mainland China due to the flu-like virus after it first emerged in Wuhan, Hubei province, late last year and it has also shut down Chinese cities and forced thousands more into quarantine around the world.
World champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn crashed out of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament
It's going to be a hell of journey, says Sindhu welcoming new coach Hafiz Hashim
Manjunath will play Taipei's Yu Jen, who was lucky to progress after fifth seed Rasmus Gemke retired in the second game after pocketing the first.
Two players withdrawn from India Open due to COVID-19
