Defending champion Lakshya Sen looked in fine fettle as he registered a straight-game win over compatriot H S Prannoy to make a winning start to his title defence at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750 badminton tournament, in Delhi, on Tuesday.
World champion P V Sindhu remains India's best Olympic medal prospect but she has to give more attention to her recovery process between matches to achieve the feat at the Tokyo Olympic Games, said former India badminton coach Vimal Kumar.
Indian contingent has an opportunity to go deep in the draw and recapture the trophy which has been won by just two Indians so far -- the legendary Prakash Padukone (1980) and P Gopichand (2001).
P V Sindhu became the country's first-ever woman silver medal winner in the Olympic Games after coming second best against world champion Carolina Marin of Spain in a pulsating clash for the gold in the badminton singles on Day 14 of competition.
Showering praise on Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said these "daughters" were the saving grace of India at the Rio Games. Speaking at the inaugural function of Sauni irrigation project in Sanosara (Gujarat), Modi touched upon several social issues plaguing the country including gender-based discrimination.
World Badminton Championships silver medallist Saina Nehwal feels her decision to shift base to Bangalore and train under Vimal Kumar turned out to be a masterstroke.
The other Indian shuttlers who participated in the singles events of the Super 1000 tournament have already left Thailand while the doubles players will fly out on Monday.
'I didn't know I had a major injury. The belief of my parents and coach helped me get back'
Sourabh Verma and Ajay Jayram also entered the second round
PV Sindhu, who also won a silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics, admitted that she felt bad when people said she has a 'final phobia'. She was desperate to win the World Championships title last year after a string of runner-up finishes
The Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty's glorious run at the French Open Super 750 badminton ended tamely after they were beaten by top seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia 18-21, 16-21 in the final, in Paris, on Sunday.
Three-time champion Lee Chong Wei was sensationally beaten by India's B Sai Praneeth in the first round of the All-England Championships on Wednesday, putting a firm dent into his preparations ahead of the Rio Olympics . The Malaysian second seed was beaten 24-22 22-20, which ended a promising few months where he had won his last four events. "I can't believe I lost in the first round," Lee told reporters. "I had pressure to win but I made mistakes and I'm shocked at how well he played. "This is a real learning curve for me." Lee, the former world number one, was playing his first All-England since 2014 following his eight-month drug suspension ended last year. Praneeth, however, clawed his way back from 11-3 and 15-7 deficits in the first game to take control of the match and hailed the win as his best result. "It is a big shock for me too and after the last rally I cannot believe that I won," said Praneeth, who set up a last 16 clash with Denmark's Hans-Kristian Vittinghus.
Pullela Gopichand salutes P V Sindhu on her superb showing that saw her return with a silver medal from the Rio Olympics.
Sindhu said she has to watch out for the Chinese players as well since they have been missing from the circuit for some time.
Country's largest paramilitary force CRPF has decided to appoint Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu as it's brand ambassador and bestow the honorary rank of Commandant on the ace badminton player. Official sources said the force has moved a formal proposal in this regard to the Union Home Ministry and after getting required sanctions, Sindhu will be honoured and presented the rank badges and camouflage combat fatigues of the CRPF at a ceremonial event.
In a faux pas, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar forgot Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu's full name and also wrongly called her from Karnataka. "It's a proud moment for us that two of our daughters won medals on Raksha Bandhan festival. Sakshi Malik from Haryana and Sindhu (asks others what is her name) ... P V Sindhu from Karnataka (Sindhu is from Hyderabad)," he said. Khattar was addressing a huge gathering during the reception which was accorded by the Haryana government to the Olympic bronze medallist Sakshi Malik in Bahadurgarh town near Rohtak after she arrived this morning from Rio de Janeiro.
Sindhu and Saina will once again be India's best bet as they look to put up a good show this week.
The 28-year-old from Hyderabad, a winner of the Indonesia Masters, semi-finalist at Malaysia Masters and quarter-finalist at the All England Championship, saw US$36,825 added to her career earnings.
India's P V Sindhu came into the semi-final contest with an overwhelming 4-1 head-to-head lead over Thailand's Chochuwong, but wasn't at her best.
A lady in a white salwar suit leads the chants of people holding both Indian and US flags.
The biggest upset of the day was produced by Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi, who knocked out Olympic champion and last year's finalist Carolina Marin 21-12, 21-19, in a 48-minute clash.
Sindhu has said while there will be a lot of expectations on her going into the Tokyo Olympics
Staley watched Griner grow from a first-overall WNBA draft pick in 2013 to one of the dominant forces in the league and an American superstar who collected two World Cup golds on top of her Olympic titles.
When it boils down to matters of discipline, Pullela Gopichand has no peers with PV Sindhu learning it the hard way since her formative years at the legendary coach's academy.
Olympic and World Championship silver medallist P V Sindhu feels the experimental service law in badminton could have come at a better time.
Sachin Tendulkar and other eminent sporting stars congratulated Saina Nehwal on becoming the first Indian woman shuttler to attain the world number one ranking in badminton.
Olympic medallist PV Sindhu yet again finished second-best in a major final but grabbed a historic individual silver medal at the Asian Games after losing the women's singles title clash to world number one Tai Tzu-Ying in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Adapting quickly to playing conditions at the Rio Olympics will pose the biggest challenge for players, says Saina Nehwal, who is aiming to better the badminton bronze she won in London four years ago.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal inched closer to retaining her women's singles title, while other top Indian shuttlers, including P V Sindhu, also made it to the semi-finals of the $120,000 Syed Modi International Badminton tournament.
P V Sindhu said she still has lots to learn and needs to add a few more shots to her repertoire to dominate world badminton.
India's chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand says the draw hardly matters if the shuttlers are focused on gunning for a medal at the Olympics. He believes that it will boil down to two good back-to-back matches under pressure to earn a medal at the Rio Games, starting August 5.
In sizzling form after clinching the China Open and finishing runners-up at Hong Kong, Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu will look to sign off the year with another crown when she competes in the season-ending World Superseries Finals starting in Dubai from Wednesday. In Rio de Janeiro, Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win an Olympics silver medal in August, but qualifying for the Dubai World Super Series final still was a far cry as she was placed at 16th in the Destination Dubai Rankings with just two events -- China Open and Hong Kong Open -- remaining.
PV Sindhu will open her campaign against South Korea's Sung Ji Hyun, while Saina Nehwal takes on Scotland's Kristy Gilmour in the first round.
Four years after a bronze at London Games made her the toast of the nation, Saina Nehwal will once again carry a billion hopes when she along with the other six shuttlers, including doubles exponent Jwala Gutta, begin their campaign at the Rio Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, on Thursday.
Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu continued their winning run at the Malaysia Open notching up contrasting victories to reach the quarter-finals of the women's singles competition at the USD 550,000 Super Series Premier tournament.
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.
Banga Beats' hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the Indian Badminton League went up in smoke after they lost their must-win match against hosts Pune Pistons 4-1 at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi in Pune.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal says the Glasgow World Championship made her realise that she needs to work harder on her stamina and beat tougher players to regain her place among badminton's top-10.
Set to return to the international circuit at Denmark Open, India ace shuttler P V Sindhu, on Friday, said winning the silver medal at Rio Olympics has given her a lot of confidence and she would look to play without any pressure in the upcoming events.
Asked about Saina Nehwal, whose 2012 London Games bronze medal winning show was a path breaker for Indian women's badminton, Padukone is confident that the 26-year-old former World number one will be regain her best form.
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