The Badminton Association of India is optimistic about China's participation in next month's India Open despite fears surrounding the deadly coronavirus as Chinese shuttlers are in quarantine for almost a fortnight in Europe.
India's badminton great Prakash Padukone will receive the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award this year from the Badminton World Federation (BWF).
Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat, Sarita Mor and Sakshi Malik, who staged a sit-in protest at Jantar Mantar for three days demanding the sacking of the WFI president, posted identical tweets on the micro-blogging site, expressing their dismay.
Earlier this month, Sindhu had attained her career-best world number two ranking after clinching her maiden India Open Super Series title.
The BWF also shared its Standard Operation Procedure with member associations, saying any breach "can result in accreditation being revoked and participants not permitted to enter the venue."
Team India will compete in 15 sporting disciplines as well as four disciplines in the para sports category.
Brimming with confidence, India will again look to punch above their weight when they run into 14-time winners Indonesia in the final of Thomas Cup in Bangkok on Sunday, seeking to create history one more time.
'We told them we are ready to conduct the India Open in December or January but it all depends on how this global health crisis comes under control and if we get the government approval'
This was the third title for the Indian duo -- they had clinched the Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100 and Nantes International Challenge this year.
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 Indians, who were also Asian champions, defeated the current world champions in 43 minutes.
Praggnanandhaa said just talking to the Indian chess wizard (Anand) boosts his confidence.
India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal on Monday stressed on the importance of taking necessary precautions in the next two weeks to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has created a global upheaval. Former World No 1 Kidambi Srikanth also took to twitter, urging people to help each other instead of panicking.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Ms Usha may soon discover that winning four gold medals at the Asian Games and qualifying for the Los Angeles Olympics is a walk in the park compared with the challenges of stabilising governance at the IOA, observes Kanika Datta.
World number 14 Kidambi Srikanth has also withdrawn from the tournament and is in quarantine due to his close contact with Sai Praneeth, BWF said. Srikanth had returned a negative result on Monday.
Indian tennis ace Leander Paes is not at all surprised with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer dominating once again, saying the ageing duo continue to 'reinvent' themselves.
The former world number one said she tried contacting the BWF, but got no response from the badminton world body.
This year's All-England Championships is likely to mark the final appearance of five-time champion Lin Dan at the sport's oldest event, as the garlanded Chinese player bids for a berth at the Rio Olympics before a possible retirement.
Scheduled to be held in Denmark from October 3 to 11, the Thomas and Uber Cup will mark the resumption of international badminton after it was brought to a halt in March because of the dreaded virus.
The government is unhappy with the wrestlers' behaviour and will not reconstitute the oversight committee formed to probe the sexual harassment charges against WFI president Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy said the mentality of not giving up without a fight kept him motivated during the epic victory over Denmark in the Thomas Cup semi-finals on Friday.
IOA wants flexibility with calendars
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has urged its players and officials to "keep a positive frame of mind" and "stay home" to contribute in the fight against the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in a nationwide lockdown.
Chess champion Koneru Humpy has been nominated for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
No Indians featured in the women's doubles and mixed doubles rankings.
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.
Wrestlers threaten Supreme COurt action over sexual harassment allegations against WFI President
Earlier, BWF and Badminton England had delayed the start of the event by a couple of hours following a 'significant number' of inconclusive COVID-19 test results.
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.
Denmark's 2017 World Champion Viktor Axelsen and home favourite Okuhara Nozomi, who won bronze at Rio 2016, are also among the star names.
'Although a Commonwealth Shooting Championships is amongst one of several ideas being discussed with the ISSF, nothing has been formally proposed, let alone agreed upon'
Badminton's Tokyo rankings frozen as BWF rules out any more qualifying tournaments.
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.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
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.
Will India finally reach the elusive double-digit mark? Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry, for one, is willing to stick his neck out on the possibility.
India's top-five finish not a given this time
For the first time India will play host to the final rounds of the prestigious Thomas and Uber Cup championship next year after the Badminton World Federation (BWF) officially awarded the hosting rights to the country.
After Indonesia and South Korea on Friday joined Thailand, Australia, Chinese Taipei and Algeria in pulling out due to the dreaded disease
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