India rode on Sayali Gokhale's stunning victory to enter the semi-finals of the Uber Cup Asia Zone qualifier, but it was curtains for them in the Thomas Cup in Nakornratchasima, Thailand, on Friday. Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal set the ball rolling, but it was Sayali who was India's star performer as she won a crucial match to give India a 3-2 victory over Chinese Taipei 3-2 and enter the last four stage.
But the Indian mixed doubles pair of Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan suffered a close 18-21, 21-10, 22-24, loss to Russian pair of Evgenij Dremin and Evgenia Dimova, while another pair of Tarun Kona and Sikki N Reddy too went down 13-21, 17-21 against Liao Min Chun and Chen Hsiao Huan of Chinese Taipei.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal started her season on a winning note, dispatching little known German Nicole Grether in straight games to enter the second round of Malaysian Super Series badminton tournament in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
Saina Nehwal staged a splendid recovery to enter the third round of the World Badminton Championships at the Pierre de Coubertin stadium in Paris on Wednesday. The world No 2 Indian ace, seeded second, got the better of Hsiao Huan Chen of Chinese Taipei 20-22, 21-15, 21-8.
Saina Nehwal staved off the challenge from Hsiao Huan Chen of Chinese Taipei in an edge-of-the-seat second round match to enter the quarter-final of the Malaysian Super Series in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.
Saina Nehwal will carry a billion hopes when she takes the court in the World badminton Championship but the ace India shuttler remains quietly confident about her chances in the event which gets underway in Paris on Monday.
Ajay Jayaram got off to a rousing start in the men's singles at the World Badminton Championships, shocking higher-ranked Wing Ki Wong of Hong Kong, in Guangzhou, China, on Monday. The 25-year-old Indian, ranked No 24, beat the world No 12 22-20, 17-21, 21-15 in 64 minutes, at the Tianhe Indoor stadium.
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