Former World No. 1 Saina Nehwal will miss the World Championships for the first time in her international career due to multiple injuries that have derailed her season.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal sailed into the second round of Malaysia Open after a straight games victory over Singapore's Gu Juan in the women's singles, in Kuala Lumpur, on Wednesday. However, India's rising star PV Sindhu went down fighting to higher-ranked Tine Baun of Denmark in the first round.
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki was named top seed of a grand slam tournament for the first time on Tuesday for the US Open starting next Monday.
List of French Open women's singles champions:
Guardiola will not take his opponents lightly despite Copenhagen, the Danish champions, languishing in sixth place in the league, forcing them to replace manager Jess Thorup with Jacob Neestrup last month.
Olympics Bronze medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal failed to clinch back-to-back title as she suffered a shock straight-game defeat to Japanese Minatsu Mitani in the summit clash of the French Open Super Series in Paris on Sunday.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy scored a stunning straight games victory over world No. 18 Li Wenmei and Zheng Yu to make it to the second round in the women's doubles at the US $350,000 India Open, in Delhi, on Tuesday.
Eriksen collapsed just before halftime and was taken to hospital after receiving CPR on the pitch
I want a room full of medals before retiring, says Chirag Shetty
'I think Sindhu could have won. We had our chances in women's singles, men's doubles and women's doubles yesterday and they could have pulled through. I think Kashyap also has had a good run. He has had a good tournament. Considering what has happened in the last year with him, it has been a good comeback'
The Tunisian captain's goal mobilised the French into action, with Deschamps bringing in stars like Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann to jump-start an attack that had so far been tepid.
The World Cup began with 32 teams competing in a group stage, with teams divided into eight groups of four.
The fifth seeded Indian will face Indonesian Fitriani Fitriani next.
Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki said nerves and a slow start cost her any chance of beating Serena Williams in the US Open final on Sunday.
While several top seeds will have their say, a look at some emerging players who could be serious contenders.
Eriksen's agent said the player is undergoing detailed examinations after the Denmark international collapsed with a cardiac arrest during his side's Euro 2020 opening match against Finland on Saturday.
Saina Nehwal fought her way back from a game down to win her opening round match while compatriot P V Sindhu crushed her opponent to storm into the second round of the French Super Series in Paris, on Wednesday.
Saina had pulled out of the opening round of All England Open Championships last week after suffering a thigh injury.
India's star shuttler H S Prannoy doesn't want to think about Paris right now and is instead focussing on "short-term targets" like breaking into the world's top three.
Athletes Village opens officially, on Sunday, meaning 10,500 athletes and another 7,000 staff members will start trickling into the luxurious layout.
The Indian ace was beaten by top seed Peter Gade of Denmark in the second round of the tournament.
Thomas Cup final: India vs Indonesia
The 24-year-old from Hyderabad will begin her campaign against China's Li Xuerui, a former Olympic gold medallist and World No 1.
'There is so much excitement brewing about Wednesday's Alcaraz and Rune quarter-finals showdown -- it could well be a juicy foretaste of things to come.'
Denmark's Christian Eriksen received life-saving cardiac massage treatment on the pitch after collapsing on Saturday in his side's Euro 2020 opening match with Finland but was able to speak before being taken to hospital, team doctor Morten Boesen said.
Indian Wells champions Carlos Alcaraz and Elena Rybakina stayed on course to complete the 'Sunshine Double' at the Miami Open.
Defending champion Ajay Jayaram and Commonwealth bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the Dutch Open Grand Prix after notching up srRound.
Defending champion H S Prannoy eked out a thrilling win over China's Qiao Bin to advance to the quarterfinals of the $120,000 Swiss Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament, in Basel on Thursday.
A year ago, following the World Championships, Sen underwent nasal surgery to treat a deviated septum. What followed was an extended recovery process that took eight months.
Sanjay Sharma of St. George's University of London, the playmaker's cardiologist at former club Tottenham Hotspur, said Eriksen had no prior heart issues during his time with the Premier League side.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, among others, lavished praise on Kidami Srikanth for claiming the Australian Open title with a stunning win over reigning Olympic and world champion Chen Long.
Olympian Anup Sridhar's challenge fizzled out but Anand Pawar survived a stiff one to emerge the lone Indian qualifier to reach the main draw at the Indonesian Open Super Series badminton tournament in Jakarta on Tuesday.
India's HS Prannoy showed nerves of steel, advancing to his third successive quarterfinals at the World Championships.
Abhinn Shyam Gupta went down to Neils Christian Kaldau of Denmark in the first round of the Thailand Open Badminton Championship.
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki continued her revival by brushing aside Japanese teenager Naomi Osaka 7-5, 6-3 on Sunday to win the Pan Pacific Open for the second time and secure her first title of the year.
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.
Ten years ago, Prakash Padukone had predicted the rise of Lakshya Sen.
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.
National champion Chetan Anand, Ajay Jayaram and Aditi Mutatkar posted fluent victories to make it to the last eight stage in the Toulouse Open badminton championships in Toulouse, France.
