Top Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth have sealed their spots at the prestigious BWF World Superseries Finals for the second successive time.
Fourth seeded Sindhu took 39 minutes to get the better of World No 22 Mia 21-13, 21-19, her second straight win over the Dane.
Placed 22nd in the world rankings P Kashyap is aware of the tough challenge that awaits him in the upcoming Olympics, but the ace Indian shuttler still feels he has a good chance of finishing on the podium in London, courtesy his recent good showings on international stage.
Olympics-bound Parupalli Kashyap lost in the first round, as Indian shuttlers endured a mixed opening day at the Singapore Open, on Wednesday. Kashyap, who shocked top seed Chen Long of China in straight games to make the last eight of the Indonesia Super Series before losing in the semis, was beaten 12-21, 18-21 by second seed Hyun Il Lee of Korea in 37 minutes.
Leverdez, the world number 31, scored only his second win over Lee in nine matches and said playing without fear helped him in the 75-minute contest at the Emirates Arena.
Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei set up a chance for redemption and a re-match with Beijing Games nemesis Lin Dan at the London Olympics badminton tournament on Friday. Top seed Lee crushed third-seeded Chinese Chen Long 20-13, 20-14 while reigning champion Lin, who thrashed Lee for the gold medal in an emotional victory at his home Games, beat South Korea's Lee Hyun-il 21-12, 21-10 in the second semi-final.
An ailing Lee Chong Wei suffered a shock loss to China's Chen Long in the first round of the Indian Open in Hyderabad on Wednesday. The Malaysian world number one went down 21-7, 16-21, 18-21 in 50 minutes to the Chinese world number 147, blaming an upset stomach for his defeat.
Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George won their respective men's singles round-of 16 matches to advance to the quarterfinals late on Thursday night.
India's star women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashiwini Ponnappa also made the last eight stage, but it was curtains for the men's doubles duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar.
In mixed doubles, K Sai Pratheek and Tanisha Crasto prevailed 21-18, 21-14 over Macau's Leong Iok Chong and Weng Chi NG to make a winning start.
Four-times winner Lin Dan of China ended the brave run of Germany's Marc Zwiebler on Saturday to set up a repeat of the 2009 final he won against holder and world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.
The sixth seed and world No. 6 Indian needed 42 minutes to get the better of Beiwin Zhang of the United States, ranked eight places below her, 21-14, 21-17.
Reigning World champion P V Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth were handed easy group stage outings in the badminton draws unveiled on Thursday for the Tokyo Olympics, starting on July 23.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu survived some tense moments before progressing to the women's singles second round, but it was curtains for Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth in the men's singles at the Badminton Asia Championships, in Ningbo, China, on Wednesday.
Saina Nehwal remained static at second position while Kidambi Srikanth dropped a place to be at ninth spot in the world badminton rankings released on Thursday.
Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram disposed off Netherland's Mark Caljouw in straight games to advance to the pre-quarterfinals but it was curtains for Sameer Verma and Rituparna Das at the World Championship in Glasgow.
China draws blank in Asiad badminton singles as rivals improve
Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei shrugged off eight years of Olympic heartbreak on Friday to defeat his nemesis Lin Dan 15-21, 21-11, 22-20 and reach the final of the men's badminton after another classic encounter.
Defending champion Lee Chong Wei produced one of his finest performances to retain the men's singles title with a straight-game victory over familiar foe Chen Long of China in the final of the US $250,000 Yonex Sunrise Metlife India Super Series in Delhi on Sunday. In an all-Chinese women's singles final, All-England champion Shixian Wang, seeded second, kept her cool at crucial moments to overcome Olympic champion and top seed Li Xuerui 22-20, 21-19 in 47 minutes.
Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Monday singled out world number one doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as favourites for an Olympic medal and said two-time medallist PV Sindhu too is on the right path and can deliver once again at the Paris Games.
Former badminton World No 1 Lee Chong Wei has been nominated for Malaysia's 2014 sportsman of the year award.
India's HS Prannoy showed nerves of steel, advancing to his third successive quarterfinals at the World Championships.
More than a year after recovering from a shoulder injury, Ajay Jayaram earned a final appearance at the Korea Open last week and the Indian shuttler said it was a big moment for him after enduring a challenging seven-month layoff.
Rising Indian midfielder Manpreet Singh was named the 'Junior Player of the Year' by the Asian Hockey Federation in its Congress held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram continued his rampaging run at the Korea Open notching up a sensational straight-game upset victory over world No 7 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei to storm into the finals of the $ 600,000 Super Series event, in Seoul, on Saturday.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap speaks to Harish Kotian/Rediff.com about his recent triumph over world No. 1 Chen Long of China and why he wants the Indian Badminton League to be revived.
This was Sameer's fifth loss to Lee in seven meetings.
All-England and World champion Carolina Marin beat Indian ace Saina Nehwal to win the 'Female Player of the Year' award in Dubai on Monday night. Besides, Saina, Marin, who won five World Superseries titles, held off competition from China's Zhao Yunlei and Bao Yixin.
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.
Parupalli Kashyap surprised world No. 5 Son Wan Ho in straight games to enter the men's singles quarter-finals at the Indonesian Open Super Series, but Kidambi Srikanth bowed out after losing to a lower-ranked opponent, in Jakarta, on Thursday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday congratulated shuttler Kidambi Srikanth after he clinched his second Super Series Premier title by lifting the Indonesia Open men's singles trophy in Jakarta.
Satwik has been working with sport & performance psychologist Shree Advani
Lakshya Sen upset World No 4 Loh Kean Yew of Singapore in the round of 32 match at the Malaysia Masters.
The Indian challenge ended at the Asia Badminton Championship after Saina Nehwal and H S Prannoy went down fighting in the singles semi-finals, in Wuhan, on Saturday.
Parupalli Kashyap regained his place inside the top 10 in the latest BWF's world ranking, release on Thurday.
HS Prannoy playws a pivotal role in India's epic triumph by winning the decisive third singles against Malaysia and Denmark
Pakistan and Japan gave it their all in the Asian Champions Trophy round-robin match before settling for a thrilling 3-3 draw in Chennai on Sunday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday.
HS Prannoy went down fighting to World No 7 Japanese Kodai Naraoka in a thrilling quarter-final at the Malaysia Open Super 750 badminton tournament.
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