Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
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.
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.
Srikanth spent the early part of the lockdown in his home town, where he was unable to train at his normal level. It was an opportunity for him to reflect on life outside badminton.
India will enter 15 shuttlers -- eight men and seven women -- for the regional sporting event.
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.
A team mate of Japanese badminton Olympic medal hope Kento Momota on Friday confessed to taking the world number two-ranked player to an illegal casino and tearfully begged officials to allow the star to compete at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
Saina Nehwal, a bronze medallist in 2012 London Olympics, dropped a place to be at ninth position, while P V Sindhu retained her 11th spot in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings issued on Thursday.
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.
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.
Former badminton No 1 Lee Chong Wei returned home to Malaysia and said he faced a three-week wait for the verdict from his doping hearing.
Badminton world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia has been provisionally suspended for an "apparent" anti-doping violation, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said on Tuesday.
Indian Women's Hockey team leaves for Argentina tour.
World No.3 Roger Federer was knocked out of Wimbledon semifinal by sixth seeded Milos Raonic. The 17-time Grand Slam winner Federer, who last won a major title way back at 2012 Wimbledon, missed out on a golden chance to claim his record eight title at the SW19 with nemesis and world No.1 Novak Djokovic also ousted in the earlier round. Reactions soon started pouring in after Federer's heartbreaking defeat with some hailing the fighting spirit of the Swiss legend.
The 2021 All England Open will be the second tournament this year to offer ranking points to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, after the Swiss Open.
The lack of competitions before the Olympics is a major concern for Indian shuttlers but not so much for PV Sindhu, who trusts her Korean coach Park Tae Sang to create match situations for her in training itself.
'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.'
Thai shuttler Bodin Issara has been suspended by his club Granular until the end of the year for his on-court punch-up with former doubles partner Maneepong Jongjit during Sunday's Canada Open final, local media reported on Saturday.
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.
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.
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) shut down the world tour and other sanctioned tournaments following the completion of the All-England in March due to the global health crisis.
ATP, WTA cancel China events, including Shenzen Finals
Praggnanandhaa said just talking to the Indian chess wizard (Anand) boosts his confidence.
Saina Nehwal has gained a place to be fifth in the latest Badminton World Federation women's singles rankings released on Thursday.
It is a pity that he does not take his youth influencer role more seriously and align his brand endorsements more responsibly, notes Kanika Datta.
Far from mourning the end of her brief reign as the world number one, shuttler Saina Nehwal is happy that she at least made it to where no other non-Chinese could reach in the last four years.
More sporting bodies sanctioned Russian and Belarusian athletes on Tuesday over Russia's invasion of Ukraine
The list of international sporting events affected by a new virus outbreak in China grew on Wednesday with skiing World Cup races in Yanqing cancelled and Olympic women's football in Australia in doubt over concerns about athletes' safety. Badminton, tennis and basketball were among other sports whose governing bodies were rearranging events, weighing possible changes or monitoring the implications of the outbreak.
India's chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand believes the Tokyo Olympics should be postponed given the unprecedented crisis that the world is facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Riding on her stupendous performance at the prestigious All England Championship, India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal has regained the world number two spot again in the latest rankings released by the Badminton World Federation.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected over 30 lakh people worldwide, has halted all sports, including badminton, across the globe with even the Tokyo Olympics being pushed to next year. Tennis star Novak Djokovic had recently said he is opposed to a compulsory coronavirus vaccination.
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.
Thai shuttler Bodin Issara, banned for two years for physically assaulting former doubles partner Maneepong Jongjit, has asked authorities to cut his opponent's suspension for the on-court brawl so that he can play in the World Championships.
Commonwealth Games silver medallist Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa suffered a loss in the second round, going down fighting 23-21, 8-21, 17-21 to sixth seeded Indonesian pair of Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Greysia Polii.
Far from mourning the end of her brief reign as the World No 1, shuttler Saina Nehwal is happy.
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.
On March 11, the government issued a revised travel advisory, cancelling all visas till April 15 and making it clear that Indian nationals returning to the country from affected countries would be quarantined for 14 days. England is among the most-affected by coronavirus outbreak. P V Sindhu was given the choice of pulling out of All England Championships after the Indian government's travel restrictions came into force but the Olympic silver-medallist decided to play on
Here is the current state of play among the 28 Olympic sports.
The apex body also advised "teams and participants entering tournaments during the European and Asian legs" to "not return to their home countries as many would then have to undergo a 14-day quarantine period upon their return."
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
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