In a body blow to India's medal prospects in the Commonwealth Games, key sports such as hockey, badminton, wrestling, cricket and shooting have been dropped from the 2026 edition by host city Glasgow, which unveiled a pruned roster of 10 disciplines to keep the event budget-friendly.
As the National Sports Governance Bill is set to become a law, the country's national federations and Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President P T Usha on Tuesday welcomed the landmark policy, calling it a step in the right direction as India gears up to bid for the 2036 Olympics.
Padukone said it's high time that players learn to withstand pressure, take responsibility, and deliver results after receiving significant support from the government.
The apex body had also announced that ranking points earned at tournaments during the original qualification phase will be maintained.
Apple CEO Tim Cook enjoyed a game of badminton with Saina Nehwal, Chirag Shetty, Srikanth Kidambi and Parupalli Kashyap.
Former World No 1 doubles shuttler Chirag Shetty termed the exclusion of badminton from the 2026 Commonwealth Games curriculum a wrong decision.
India has proposed to conduct all those disciplines that were axed from the 2026 Commonwealth Games to ensure that the country's medal tally is not affected when the event is held in Glasgow.
Two players withdrawn from India Open due to COVID-19
The Mission Olympic Cell is also considering higher incentives for retired Olympians and world-class players who want to take up coaching, in an effort to retain top talent within India.
Bhupathi also spoke about young up-and-coming tennis star Maaya Rajeshwaran, who is shaping up to be the next big star from India in the sport.
India on Sunday dethroned defending champions and 14-time winners Indonesia
The India Open badminton tournament, which was scheduled for May 11-16 in New Delhi, has been postponed due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in the country's capital, Badminton Association of India (BAI) said on Monday.
Thomas Cup final: India vs Indonesia
Besides Srikanth, the other players withdrawn are Ashwini Ponnappa, Ritika Rahul Thkar, Treesa Jolly, Mithun Manjunath, Simran Aman Singh and Khushi Gupta.
Ministry mulls graded funding for sports federations
The Badminton World Federation (BWF), in a statement, said the escalation of the COVID-19 outbreak globally forced it to cancel or postpone all tournaments from March 16 to April 12.
Rani Rampal believes the Asian Champions Trophy title was an important feat for the Indian women's hockey team as it kick started its preparation for the Los Angeles Olympics
'You can't just have one single player who is individually doing well and be able to win the World Championship or the Olympics.' 'In the Thomas Cup, you need a group of players performing at the same time at their highest level.' 'So that shows how difficult it is, and what a great achievement that is for a country like India to be able to win it.'
Paralympic star Kumar Nitesh cites BAI apathy, wants badminton to be placed under PCI as para shuttlers needed to be treated on par with their able-bodied counterparts.
Besides, the BAI also recommended renowned National Institute of Sports (NIS)-certified coaches -- S Murlidharan and Bhaskar Babu -- for the Dronacharya Award.
Lakshya Sen, his father and physio reached Bangalore, Dey and Jayaram took a flight from Frankfurt to Delhi.
Shocked at the way Lakshya Sen succumbed to pressure in the men's singles badminton bronze medal play-off at the Paris Olympics, the legendary Prakash Padukone said it's high time players learn to withstand pressure, become accountable and start delivering results after receiving support.
Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha feels the axing of medal-yielding sports such as wrestling, hockey and badminton from the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games programme is "disappointing" for the country but the approach to reduce cost would ensure that the event continues to find hosts in future.
India's medal prospects took a hit with the exclusion of hockey, shooting, cricket, badminton and wrestling from the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
A chunk of athletes, including Asian Games medallist Kiran and badminton player Krishna Prasad Garaga have been suspended by NADA
Bhagat is suspended from all badminton-related activities until September 1, 2025. As a result, he won't have the opportunity to defend his title and will miss the marquee event in Paris.
Meet India's top athletes at Olympics 2024.
India's national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand wants Badminton World Federation (BWF) to come up with "radical" solutions to restart the sport smoothly in a post coronavirus world, suggesting that conducting more tournaments at a single venue could be the way forward. The coronavirus outbreak, which has so far infected over 41 lakh people and caused close to 3 lakh deaths worldwide, forced BWF to suspend all events, including the Olympic qualifiers, till end of July.
Tokyo gold medallist para shuttler Pramod Bhagat will not be able to defend his title at the Paris Paralympics after he was handed a 18-month suspension for breaching BWF's anti-doping whereabouts clause.
Defending champion Lakshya Sen pulled out of the SaarLorLux Open Super 100 tournament after his father-cum-coach D K Sen tested positive for COVID-19 in Saarbrucken.
India's Tokyo Paralympics gold winner Pramod Bhagat was on Thursday named among six shuttlers for the Male Para Badminton Player of the Year by the sport's world body but none of his compatriots featured in the able-bodied awards' categories.
The All India Tennis Association claimed that Sumit Nagal demanded an annual fee of $50,000 to play Davis Cup ties for India.
'The league will begin as a city-based franchise setup, starting with six cities.'
Sindhu will play her opening match on Sunday, while B Sai Praneeth and the men's pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will be in action on Saturday.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy have been handed relatively easy groups for the Paris Games, which begin on July 26.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have regained their top spot following their Thailand Open title triumph on Sunday.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu will spearhead the women's challenge in both the Commonwealth and Asian Games while London Olympics bronze winner Saina Nehwal did not expectedly feature in the squads.
Three years ago, India returned from Tokyo with seven medals, and it is only natural that a double-digit performance is now desired in Paris.
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