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.
Dutch speed skater Lara van Ruijven died after battling with an autoimmune disorder.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Kashyap, a Commonwealth Games champion, was trailing 8-14 in the third game when he chose to retire after pulling his calf muscle.
After breaking into the elite zone of top-10 players, ace shuttler Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman shuttler to be named most promising player of the year by the Badminton World Federation.
Indian shuttlers and officials welcomed the Badminton World Federation's decision to defer the controversial mandatory skirt rule till December and expressed hope that the body would come up with a better regulation after fresh deliberations.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) have opted against giving twice Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei a wildcard for the world championship, leaving Malaysia in an awkward selection position.
Kim Ji Hyun was handed the responsibility to sharpen the skills of former World No. 2 PV Sindhu with the World Championships and Olympics in mind.
The Indians, who were also Asian champions, defeated the current world champions in 43 minutes.
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.
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.
India coach Pullella Gopichand on Wednesday accused Japanese badminton pair Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa of "wanting to lose" their group match after his women's doubles team Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa failed to qualify for the knockout stage in Group B amid allegations of match-throwing, at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Now all eyes are on the two Super 1000 events -- Yonex Thailand Open (January 12-17) and Toyota Thailand Open (January 19-24) as the world's best return to action following a prolonged break.
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.
Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei was a relieved man on Monday after being handed a backdated eight-month ban for doping by the Badminton World Federation, leaving him free to go for gold at the Rio Olympics next year.
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.
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.
Denmark's 2017 World Champion Viktor Axelsen and home favourite Okuhara Nozomi, who won bronze at Rio 2016, are also among the star names.
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.
Chirag said "it is difficult to stay motivated" in such uncertain times.
Anup Sridhar, India's top singles player, attained a career best ranking of 25, according to the latest Badminton World Federation's (BWF) ranking list.
This was the third title for the Indian duo -- they had clinched the Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100 and Nantes International Challenge this year.
Shuttlers in the singles competition have to be inside top-16 of world rankings to qualify for the Olympics. The cut-off for doubles is also top-16.
Early exits at Japan Open and Denmark Open proved costly for ace India shuttler Saina Nehwal as she lost her World No.1 crown to All England and World champion Carolina Marin of Spain.
China's badminton superstar Lin Dan said he hopes world number one Lee Chong Wei, who is embroiled in a doping scandal, is able to return to the sport soon, state media reported.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has been nominated for the 2012 Female Player of the Year Award of the Badminton World Federation on the back of an impressive performance in the season which had seen her win a bronze medal in London Olympics.
Badminton's Tokyo rankings frozen as BWF rules out any more qualifying tournaments.
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.
Airbadminton was globally launched at Guangzhou last week by the Badminton World Federation
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has been nominated for the Woman Player of the Year Award of the Badminton World Federation after a consistent season which saw her occupy the world number one spot for a brief period.
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 BWF said that it was also looking at options to host its annual general meeting and members' forum which were due to take place in Aarhus in August.
India's ace shuttler Parupalli Kashyap, who recently triumphed in the Syed Modi International India Grand Prix, made a leap of six places to reach a career-best ranking of 14th in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday.
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'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.
The All India Tennis Association claimed that Sumit Nagal demanded an annual fee of $50,000 to play Davis Cup ties for India.
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.
Meet India's top athletes at Olympics 2024.
For India to send two shuttlers in Tokyo Olympics women's singles, both of them will have to be inside top 16 in the world rankings which will be released after the end of qualification period, on April 30, 2020.
The new BWF rule which makes wearing skirts on court mandatory for female shuttlers from May 1 is something that the Indian eves are finding it a bit uncomfortable.
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