Leverdez, the world number 31, scored only his second win over Lee in nine matches and said playing without fear helped him in the 75-minute contest at the Emirates Arena.
A quarterfinal loss at the All England Championship saw Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal slip three places down the rung to the sixth spot in the latest BWF world ranking on Thursday. Saina, who turned 26, went through injuries last year and missed out on a few tournaments this season, including the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and South Asian Games in January and February respectively. The Olympic bronze medallist, who had finished runners-up at the 2015 All England Championship, lost to Tai Tzu Ying in straight games in the quarterfinals. The Indian now has 73,222 points. Two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, P V Sindhu improved a place to reach the 11th spot.
Parupalli Kashyap regained his place inside the top 10 in the latest BWF's world ranking, release on Thurday.
Back in action after recovering from a knee injury, star shuttler Saina Nehwal says she needs good match practice to be at her best in the prestigious All England Championship in March. "I am happy with my improvement. My movements are still sluggish. I still need good match practice," she told reporters here late last night after losing to top-ranked shuttler Carolina Marin in a Premier Badminton League (PBL) match. Saina had sustained an intra-articular injury (inside the joint) in her right knee and had lost in the group stage in the Rio Olympics. She later underwent a surgery and was on rehab.
India's campaign in the Hong Kong Super Series came to an end after young shuttler Kidambi Srikanth suffered a three-game loss to top seed Chen Long of China in the semifinals of the men's singles event of the $ 350,000 event, in Hong Kong on Saturday.
India's Siril Verma climbed a whopping 11 rungs to take the number one spot in the junior men's singles category of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings on Thursday.
Chen Jin has set his sights on dethroning compatriot Lin Dan as China's number one player.
Top seed K Srikanth advanced to the semi-finals in the men's singles but P V Sindhu suffered heartbreak as she bowed out of the women's singles, at the US $120,000 Indonesia Masters Grand Prix Gold tournament, in Malang, on Friday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
The Olympic silver-medallist, who out-played Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in a lop-sided final in Basel, Switzerland on Sunday, was mobbed at the airport after she touched down, with national coach Pullela Gopichand by her side, late on Monday.
In the men's draw, HS Prannoy, went down to giant-killer Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
As the Indian national anthem reverberated across the St Jakobshalle stadium, Sindhu stood at the podium with moist eyes.
With Marin suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) -- the ligament that stabilizes the knee -- and world no 1 Tai Tzu Ying also recuperating from a wrist injury, Vimal feels Indian duo of Saina and P V Sindhu will have a great chance to end India's wait for an All England title.
Two-time silver medallist P V Sindhu produced yet another commanding performance as she demolished Beiwen Zhang of United States in straight games to advance to the quarter-finals of the BWF Badminton World Championships.
India's No 1 shuttler Saina Nehwal has been seeded fifth and compatriot P V Sindhu ninth in the women's singles at the upcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. In the men's draw, Kidambi Srikanth, who is ranked world No 11, is seeded ninth.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth moved into the quarter-finals of Japan Open badminton tournament after registering contrasting wins but it was curtains for H S Prannoy.
Anup Sridhar, India's top singles player, attained a career best ranking of 25, according to the latest Badminton World Federation's (BWF) ranking list.
The administrators are busy thrashing out resumption plans but with the COVID-19 pandemic showing no signs of slowing down, India's sportsperson are pleading for caution as discussion rages on whether competitions can resume by August. Top stars from various disciplines want the waiting period to continue, while others pointed out at the loss it would cause in terms of fitness and readiness.
Besides the duo, 2017 World Weightlifting Champion in the 48kg category, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and former Asian Games gold medallist tennis player Somdev Devvarman were conferred with the Padma Shri award.
Olympic and World Championship silver medallist P V Sindhu feels the experimental service law in badminton could have come at a better time.
China's badminton superstar Lin Dan said he hopes world number one Lee Chong Wei, who is embroiled in a doping scandal, is able to return to the sport soon, state media reported.
She clinched three individual titles and a couple of bronze medals at prestigious team events this season but far from satiated, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal feels she could have garnered more trophies had it not been for some missed opportunities.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Former badminton world number one Lee Chong Wei is hoping to be back on court for the start of the 2016 Olympic qualifiers in May after finally being given an April date for a hearing into his failed dope test.
After Srikanth was ousted 9-21, 11-21 by reigning world champion Kento Momota of Japan, third seed Sindhu went down fighting 11-21, 21-11, 15-21 to World No. 6 Chen Yufei of China in a hard-fought contest, which lasted 52 minutes.
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.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Disappointing the spectators at the Sardar Patel NSCI Stadium, Saina Nehwal pulled out of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) opener between Awadhe Warriors and Mumbai Rockets, citing a foot injury.
The London Olympics bronze medallist displaced Spain's Carolina Marin, who defeated her in the women's final of the World Championships in Jakarta last Sunday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
In women's singles, both Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu climbed up the ladder despite not playing in any recent tournaments.
'Head out!' 'It has been a long time that we have not met family and friends.'
And, run to the court.'
Ace Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy crashed out in the second round of the China Open Super Series after suffering straight game defeats in their respective events.
Legendary Prakash Padukone was revered as the world number one player during his hey days before the modern day computerised ranking system was introduced.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Prakash Padukone backed Sindhu to win the World Championship crown soon after two consecutive silver medal performances in the prestigious event.
India's top badminton players Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth took a big step on way to reaching the semi-finals at the World Super Series Finals by securing second consecutive wins in their respective group in Dubai.
'Need a couple of upsets to win medal at Asian Games'
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram notched up the biggest triumph of his career by clinching $50,000 Yonex Dutch Open Grand Prix badminton tournament in Almere.
