Sankar's father Subramanian encouraged him to drop out of the schooling system at an early age and pushed him to play in the upper age groups and senior circuits.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi are not in favour of more Indians choosing doubles over singles.
After bringing home just two medals from the Rio Olympics, India needs to be realistic in its preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Games and should narrow its focus to a handful of sports, says former All England badminton champion Prakash Padukone. P.V. Sindhu's silver medal in the badminton women's singles and a bronze from wrestler Sakshi Malik at the Rio Games was considered a sorry return for a nation of 1.3 billion people. India have won a total of 28 medals since first competing at the Olympics in 1900 but a government think tank has come up with a strategy it hopes will help the country to 50 medals in 2024, including prioritising 10 sports.
Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal clarified that his ministry received the letter of nomination of badminton star Saina Nehwal for the Padma Bhushan on Saturday.
Indian badminton star and Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal was Thursday ruled out along withParupalli Kashyap from the 12th South Asian Games due to injury concerns, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) informed the local organisers in Shillong. "We've received a communication from BAI stating that the entire badminton squad except for Saina and Kashyap is arriving on Friday afternoon," SAG (Shillong) joint CEO FR Kharkongor told PTI. Saina and Kashyap are two of the top badminton athletes for the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio. Jwala Gutta has been confirmed as the captain of the Indian team by BAI President Akhilesh Das Gupta.
It has emerged now that Prannoy's name was recommended by Gopichand on June 3 in his capacity as a Khel Ratna Award recipient.
India's chances in the Thomas and Uber Cup qualifiers later this month were dealt a blow after the national camp, scheduled to begin in Goa on Thursday, was called off due to unavailability of shuttlecocks.
Former India badminton coach Vimal Kumar on Tuesday blamed the withdrawals by Asian nations for the postponement of the Thomas and Uber Cup Final, calling it a "big setback" for the sport.
They won the men's and women's singles titles respectively in the National Badminton Championships.
'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 year ago, following the World Championships, Sen underwent nasal surgery to treat a deviated septum. What followed was an extended recovery process that took eight months.
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.
Former India cricket captain Mohammed Azharuddin's bid to unseat Badminton Association of India's long-standing president V K Verma received a setback on Friday after an Andhra Pradesh court refused to grant a stay on BAI's election in Chennai on Sunday.
The legendary PT Usha will be officially elected as the first woman president of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) during the governing body's polls on Saturday, ushering in a new era in country's sports administration.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has amended its constitution to align itself in accordance with the Government's Sports Code by fixing the age and tenure limitation of its office bearers.
BAI has confirmed the services of Tan Kim, who will be joining the Indian team by the end of September to work with the top doubles players.
It is a pity that he does not take his youth influencer role more seriously and align his brand endorsements more responsibly, notes Kanika Datta.
The national women's champion has been top seeded for the Asian Satellite Badminton Championship in Jaipur..
The Andhra lass easily beat Maharashtra's Sonal More in the final of the All India junior ranking badminton tournament.
Sen will now face the winner of the other quarter-final match between Olympic champion and top seed Viktor Axelsen and India's Kidambi Srikanth on Saturday.
Sporting fraternity hails Sindhu's historic World C'ships gold
The top Indian players, including Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Srikanth have failed to lift the prestigious trophy
BAI cancels preparatory camp.
It was yet another forgettable outing in Tokyo for Praneeth, following his struggles at last year's Olympic Games where he participated without a proper coach or physio to eventually bow out early.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in hailing PV Sindhu's awe-inspiring performance at the World Championship, where she ended a silver-medallist after losing a breathtaking final.
BAI General Secretary Ajay Singhania said that BAI is in receipt of the letter from the shuttler.
V K Vismaya stunned her fancied opponents, M R Poovamma and Hima Das, to win the gold medal in the women's 400m race at the Indian Grand Prix-3, in Sangrur, on Saturday.
Rising Indian shuttler P V Sindhu continued her giant-killing run in the Li Ning China Masters Super Series, shocking London Olympics gold medallist Li Xuerui of China, to storm into the women's singles semi-finals on Friday.
The panel, investigating BAI secretary general Vijai Sinha's alleged financial irregularities has recommended disciplinary actions against him, sources said.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar said he welcomed the Sports Ministry's decision to recommend Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal's name for the Padma Bhushan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ace shuttler Saina Nehwal for winning the Australian Open Super Series event in Sydney, on Sunday.
A 13-member team, comprising seven men and six women, was on Wednesday selected by the Badminton Association of India to participate in the Li Ning China Masters Super Series tournament to be held in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China from September 13-18.
Indian Olympic Association's acting president Anil Khanna called it a 'gender-neutral contingent' with 108 men and 107 women being part of the touring party.
The Rajasthan High Court has restrained Badminton Association of India president VK Verma from taking any decision as head of the sports body without its prior permission till the next hearing on August 17.
Projected as an outsider by the ruling camp, cricketer-turned-politician Mohammad Azharuddin on Thursday fired a salvo at Badminton Association of India president VK Verma, saying the BAI chief is not eligible for re-election and should gracefully walk after having played a "long innings".
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, earlier addressed the frenzied media at the Indira Gandhi InternationalAirport in New Delhi on Monday
Lakshya Sen continued his rich vein of form as he sent the world No. 1 and top-seed Axelsen packing
All these male politicians are unlikely to risk their sinecures to speak up in support of a bunch of women wrestlers who have chosen to challenge a politician who appears to have the ruling regime in a stranglehold, points out Kanika Datta.
PV Sindhu had burst onto the scene when as a 16-year-old she had stunned London Olympics gold medallist Li in the quarterfinals of China Masters.
Badminton Association of India (BAI) President Dr. Akhilesh Das Gupta announced a reward of Rs. 50 lakhs for P V Sindhu after she settled for a historic silver medal at the Rio Olympics. BAI also announced a reward of Rs. 10 lakhs for Dronacharya awardee coach Pullella Gopichand who trained Sindhu to achieve this feat. The World No. 10 lost to Spain's Carolina Marin by 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 in the thrilling final match held at Riocentro. This is India's first silver Medal in Badminton.
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