The Rio Olympics silver medallist couldn't hold back her happiness at being re-acquainted with her gym equipment.
The Malaysia Open Super 750 tournament, one of badminton's last two Olympic qualifying events, was on Friday postponed due to a recent COVID-19 surge in the host country, dealing a severe blow to the Tokyo hopes of Indian stars like Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth.
Crowned the world number one, Saina Nehwal celebrated her numero uno status with a straight-game demolition of Japanese Yui Hashimoto, while Kidambi Srikanth too saw off Xue Song of China to reach their maiden finals at the Yonex Sunrise India Super Series.
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.
South Korea ended their 12-year wait for an Uber Cup title with a 3-2 upset of defending champions China that was only decided in the last singles match of the final in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday.
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.
Was it badminton sensation PV Sindhu, who became the first Indian to win the World Championships gold medal? Or is it the young shooting progidy Saurabh Chaudhary? Or his India colleague Elavenil Valarivan, who recently took over as World No 1? What about India's heroes on the cricketing field -- Virat Kohli? Rohit Sharma?
In an official communication to concerned national sports federations, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has informed them about about the staying arrangements and the need to undergo an RT-PCR test for COVID-19 72 hours prior to their arrival in the UK.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed over 6,000 lives and infected close to 160,000 people worldwide, has led to the cancellation or postponement of all sporting events across the globe. ports Minister Kiren Rijiju urged the athletes to not lose spirit and keep working hard to stay battle ready for competitions.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) on Friday recommended Kidambi Srikanth for the Khel Ratna award after the top Indian shuttler apologised for pulling out of a tournament midway and show-caused his teammate H S Prannoy for slamming the federation after not being nominated for the Arjuna honour.
Airbadminton was globally launched at Guangzhou last week by the Badminton World Federation
Chirag said "it is difficult to stay motivated" in such uncertain times.
India's shuttlers, including London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, expressed shock after reports emerged that a sparring partner of the Taiwanese national team, who was in Birmingham during the All England Championship, tested positive for the coronavirus.
Her reluctance to appear for BAI trials could well end her chances of representing the flag
India's badminton doubles specialist N Sikki Reddy on Saturday heaved a sigh of relief after returning negative for COVID-19 barely two days after testing positive for the contagious disease, saying she was "shocked" by the not-so-kind reactions her initial result attracted.
India's badminton ace Saina Nehwal accused the sport's administrators of placing money above players' safety by continuing last week's All England Championships despite the coronavirus pandemic. The 30-year-old lost in the opening round of the marquee event, which was among a handful which continued even as the bulk of global sporting calendar was either postponed or cancelled.
Indian Olympic Association President Narinder Batra today said that the country should aim to win 'double digit' medals at the Tokyo Olympics
Hockey India on Tuesday became the latest sports federation to reject government grant and go ahead with its upcoming elections by defying the Sports Ministry's age limitation guideline.
It's high time we took fashion lessons from her.
Seven Olympic and six Paralympic disciplines were identified for support at a meeting of the Mission Olympic Cell.
'Compared to three or four years back, I have cut down on my time as an active chess player. I have long aspired to come into the chess administration and this opportunity as the deputy president will be a huge learning curve for me'.
Sindhu has agreed to compete in next month's Thomas and Uber Cup after deciding to pull out of the event earlier due to personal reasons
Boxing and weightlifting federations were given 18 months time to set their house in order to be considered for the 2028 Games.
Legendary Prakash Padukone was revered as the world number one player during his hey days before the modern day computerised ranking system was introduced.
On the last day of the competition, Yash Vardhan and Shreya Agrawal bagged three gold medals each.
The prestigious awards recognise the achievements of the elite badminton players
The second edition of the Virat Kohli-backed Indian Sports Honours were held on Friday in Mumbai where the top performers in 17 sporting disciplines were felicitated.
Kashyap, a Commonwealth Games champion, was trailing 8-14 in the third game when he chose to retire after pulling his calf muscle.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
'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.'
The opening ceremony has been created by British screenwriter Steven Knight, who had produced the famous crime drama 'Peaky Blinders'.
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.
The novel coronavirus outbreak has prompted India to withdraw from next month's shooting World Cup in Cyprus, the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) revealed on Friday.
The contingent comprises 277 men and 247 women athletes. In the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, the Indian contingent featured 541 athletes across 28 disciplines.
'Team India's participation in the Olympics couldn't have ended on a sweeter note'
BAI General Secretary Ajay Singhania said that BAI is in receipt of the letter from the shuttler.
With the coronavirus pandemic halting all sport activities, India's former chief badminton coach Vimal Kumar on Tuesday urged the government to allow the Olympic-bound athletes to continue their training after conducting the required tests. Following the respective directives of the Talengana and Karnataka governments, the Pullela Gopichand academy in Hyderbad and Prakash Padukone Academy in Bangalore have been shut down for two weeks.
The committee will also be suggesting measures for making the code acceptable to all the stakeholders so that a balance is struck between autonomy of National Sports Federations.
I don't want to respond to what her father has to say, if Sindhu says something, I will respond, Gopichand retorts to PV Sindhu's father's allegations of unsatisfactory training.
Sanjay Mishra to become new BAI general secretary
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