Lee Chong Wei's indefinite suspension for a doping violation will cost the Malaysian his top ranking with Chinese world champion Chen Long set to take over on Thursday.
The new BWF rule which makes wearing skirts on court mandatory for female shuttlers from May 1 is something that the Indian eves are finding it a bit uncomfortable.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
The Indian ace, who attained a career-best No 1 after winning the India Open at the end of March, dropped a rung in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings, released on Thursday. Defeat in the semi-finals of the Malaysia Open Super Series Premier to reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China saw the London Olympics bronze medallist drop to No 2.
For seven years, Lee Chong Wei, one of badminton's finest athletes, took cordyceps tablets from unmarked containers on the advice of a mysterious friend without any knowledge of how they were capsulated or stored.
Rankireddy and Shetty, who created history on Sunday by becoming the first Indian men's doubles pair to win a BWF Super 500 tournament, are placed ninth in the men's doubles rankings issued on Tuesday.
The lack of competitions before the Olympics is a major concern for Indian shuttlers but not so much for PV Sindhu, who trusts her Korean coach Park Tae Sang to create match situations for her in training itself.
PV Sindhu recorded a consolation win over China's He Bingjiao in the third Group A match to end her campaign on a positive note
Sindhu dished out a compact game to outwit Sayaka 21-17, 21-16 in a second round match on Thursday to set up a clash with seventh seeded Chinese He Bingjiao.
Praneeth said he needs to work on his fitness to trouble big players such as two-time world champion Kento Momota.
Kidambi Srikanth entered the men's singles semi-finals at the Hong Kong Open after fifth seed Chen Long of China decided to quit the contest owing to an injury, in Hong Kong, on Friday.
Srikanth had last reached the quarterfinals at the Singapore Open in April.
Star India shuttler PV Sindhu was stunned by North Eastern Warriors' Michelle Li in straight games as former champions Hyderabad Hunters' made a disappointing start to its home leg of the Premier Badminton League in Hyderabad on Wednesday. World champion Sindhu suffered an 8-15, 9-15 defeat against World No 10 Canadian Li in a lop-sided women's singles contest.
Thai shuttler Bodin Issara has been suspended by his club Granular until the end of the year for his on-court punch-up with former doubles partner Maneepong Jongjit during Sunday's Canada Open final, local media reported on Saturday.
Bodin Issara was banned for two years by the Badminton Association of Thailand (BAT) for physical assault after his ugly on-court brawl with former doubles partner Maneepong Jongjit during the final of the Canada Open last week.
India's chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand admitted to crammed BWF itinerary causing a problem but at the same time believes that onus is on a player of PV Sindhu's calibre to adapt to the calendar instead of complaining about it. Apart from the World Championships gold, Sindhu failed to win any other tournament last year.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju said the academic training at the National Centre of Excellence and Sports Auhtority of India Training Centres will also be suspended.
Sindhu went down 15-21, 16-21 to the fourth seed
Verma who had shocked Malaysia's eighth seed Lee Zii Jia in the opening round, needed just 39 minutes to see off Gemke
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.
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.
The London Olympics bronze medallist was trailing 4-10 in the opening game when Marin decided to withdraw from the contest.
Srikanth spent the early part of the lockdown in his home town, where he was unable to train at his normal level. It was an opportunity for him to reflect on life outside badminton.
Reigning World champion Pramod Bhagat continued India's fine showing at the Tokyo Paralympics with a gold medal in the badminton SL3 class event, in Tokyo, on Saturday. The 33-year-old Bhagat, who is also the world No. 1 and current Asian champion, scored a 21-11, 21-16 win over Japan's Daisuke Fujihara in the first SL3 class semi-final, which lasted 36 minutes.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty became the first Indian pair to win a BWF Super 500 badminton tournament with a hard-fought victory over Li Jun Hui and Liu Yu Chen of China in the final of Thailand Open.
It is first final of the 2019 season for Rankireddy and Shetty, the men's doubles silver medallist at 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Saina Nehwal underwent a scan to diagnose her Achilles tendon problems and has been prescribed rest for a couple of weeks.
Recovering from an ankle injury, star India shuttler Saina Nehwal said she will look to get back to her full fitness during the three weeks break after the India Open next month.
Shuttler N Sikki Reddy and physiotherapist Kiran C have tested positive for COVID-19 at the ongoing national camp, forcing the closure of the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad for sanitisation.
Star shuttler Saina Nehwal will donate Rs 2 lakh for the people affected by the heavy rains and flood in Tamil Nadu.
Srikanth had entered the finals of Commonwealth Games last year but he failed to reach the summit clash in any BWF superseries or BWF World Tour tournament since his French Open win in October, 2017.
The Indian ace will be looking to get the better off the Spaniard in Japan Super Series, starting next week, and avenge her recent defeat at the World Championships.
Prannoy took to Twitter to express his displeasure.
Srikanth showed great determination to outwit Korea's World No 25 Lee Dong Keun 12-21, 21-16, 21-18 in a second-round clash that clocked an hour and 13 minutes. The Indian had lost twice to the 27-year-old Korean in the past two meetings.
For all her achievements, says Bikash Mohapatra, Saina is yet to win either the Worlds, Olympics or All England, badminton's flagship events.
Star Indian shuttler P V Sindhu cruised into the quarter-finals of the All England Championships women's singles with a straight-game win over Sung Ji Hyun of Korea, in Birmingham, on Thursday.Rising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen was knocked out after losing in straight games to Victor Axelsen.
Rio Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu jumped two places to achieve her career-best ranking of seven, while Saina Nehwal was also back in the top 10, in the latest BWF World Ranking.
Former badminton No 1 Lee Chong Wei returned home to Malaysia and said he faced a three-week wait for the verdict from his doping hearing.
P V Sindhu won the ESPN's 'Female Sportsperson of the Year' award while young shooter Saurabh Chaudhary bagged the honour in the male category.
