Ministry mulls graded funding for sports federations
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A chunk of athletes, including Asian Games medallist Kiran and badminton player Krishna Prasad Garaga have been suspended by NADA
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.
Asian Para Games bronze medallist Krishna, who had claimed two gold medals at the Dubai Para badminton International Championships in April, was also over the moon to know about his qualification.
Meet India's top athletes at Olympics 2024.
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.
India's medal prospects took a hit with the exclusion of hockey, shooting, cricket, badminton and wrestling from the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
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.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced a new 2020 tournaments calendar on Friday with the World Tour set to return with the Taipei Open from Sept. 1-6.
The All India Tennis Association claimed that Sumit Nagal demanded an annual fee of $50,000 to play Davis Cup ties for India.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have regained their top spot following their Thailand Open title triumph on Sunday.
The Hyderabad Open badminton tournament, scheduled to be held from August 11 to 16, was on Thursday cancelled by the world body BWF in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The event was part of the BWF's revised calendar to restart the sport after the pandemic-forced cancellations since March.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy have been handed relatively easy groups for the Paris Games, which begin on July 26.
National camp to resume on Monday.
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.
BWF said that Finland will host the Sudirman Cup Finals in September-October while the season-ending World Tour Finals will be staged in Indonesia.
'The league will begin as a city-based franchise setup, starting with six cities.'
HS Prannoy, Sameer Verma and Sourabh Verma are the men's singles players who have decided to withdraw while doubles specialists Chirag Shetty, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy have also opted out. Leading Indian women's singles players PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal - both previous Olympic medallists - are making the trip to England, as are their male counterparts Kidambi Srikanth and B Sai Praneeth.
The emotional and financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic is weighing on Indian shuttler HS Prannoy's mind and he believes that the already "bleak" scenario would only get worse if things don't take a turn for the better in one and a half month's time. The coronavirus outbreak, which has killed over 40,000 globally, has put countries in lockdown and halted sports, including badminton, across the world. It has also triggered financial and mental woes across the world.
Marin Carolina has come a long way to be the reigning Olympic and world champion but the Spaniard yearns for more as she continues her journey towards becoming the best-ever in the sport.
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.
The 2020 international calendar concluded with the three tournaments in the Asia leg which was conducted in Bangkok in successive weeks.
Shuttler N Sikki Reddy and physiotherapist Kiran C have tested positive for COVID-19 at the ongoing national camp, forcing the closure of the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Hyderabad for sanitisation.
Afghan B-Girl Manizha Talash, a member of the refugee Olympic team at the Paris Games, was disqualified after displaying the words "Free Afghan Women" on her cape.
Top shuttlers Ashwini Ponnappa and Lakshya Sen are among 20-odd Indian players who have started training at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) in Bengaluru as the sport took its first step towards resumption after the COVID-19 hiatus. Confined to their homes for more than two months due to the nationwide lockdown to contain the health crisis, the shuttlers started training at PPBA after the Sports Authority of India (SAI) laid down rules for resumption of training late last month.
Skirt selection could be as crucial as shot selection for the female shuttlers when they hit the court for this month's India Super Series in New Delhi.
The Badminton Association of India chief is the first Indian to occupy a senior position in the IBF.
The sports ministry cleared the final contingent that also features 140 support staff and officials, of which 72 "have been approved at cost to the Government" to meet the "requirements" of the travelling sportspersons.
India will enter 15 shuttlers -- eight men and seven women -- for the regional sporting event.
Many believe the Thomas Cup victory can do for badminton what the 1983 World Cup triumph did for cricket in India.
The former national champion won a berth following the withdrawal of players in the qualification list.
'Well, I think every year, in the last few years, has been better than the previous one'
'In Parliament, he was the one person who stood for democracy and secularism even when the principal Opposition party was not very forthright in taking on the BJP and RSS.'
