Expectations from the Indian male shuttlers will also be high, given their exploits in recent months.
There was ecstasy and agony in equal measure for the Indian contingent on Friday.
Her frequent losses in the finals and the accompanying criticism does not affect ace shuttler PV Sindhu, who, on Saturday, said playing in the summit showdown of a tournament itself is 'a big achievement'.
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.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
His repeated requests for rehabilitation ignored, Commonwealth Games gold-medallist Parupalli Kashyap is flummoxed after being sent air tickets to join the Indian badminton squad at the South Asian Games despite being laid low by an abdominal strain.
Top stars Saina Nehwal and Lee Chong Wei were the costliest buys, fetching the maximum prize of 100,000$, while Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth were bought for a whopping 95,000$ and 80,000$ respectively at the rechristened Premier Badminton League (PBL) players' auction on Monday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
'It is great news (cricket in Olympics) if you are a business-person. America has a large section of Asian expats, who are crazy about cricket and they will fill the stadium and of course will follow the game on TV or streaming apps.'
A relay gold medallist at the 2014 Commonwealths in Glasgow, the Jamaican said he was busier than ever after last year's retirement and focused, in the sporting arena at least, entirely on his nascent career as a footballer.
Legendary Prakash Padukone was revered as the world number one player during his hey days before the modern day computerised ranking system was introduced.
Harendra Singh has a penchant for delivering results whenever entrusted with an assignment and has now set his sights at bigger goals after guiding the Indian women's team to Asia Cup triumph
As another eventful year draws to a close, Rediff.com gives you a pictorial look back at the best and worst moments that shaped the sports stories this year.
The study estimates that the risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant is 5.4 times greater than that of the Delta variant.
India dominated the range and the ring as Shreyasi Singh's double trap gold shored up the medal tally while the entire men's Indian boxing contingent made the semi-finals to be assured of podium finishes in an unprecedented performance on Day 7 of the 21st Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast on Wednesday.
Now all eyes are on the two Super 1000 events -- Yonex Thailand Open (January 12-17) and Toyota Thailand Open (January 19-24) as the world's best return to action following a prolonged break.
The refurbished Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera is now renamed Narendra Modi Stadium.
The focus is firmly trained on teen sensation Manu Bhaker as the fancied Indian shooting team eyes a head start at the 21st Commonwealth Games
The 26-year-old artistic gymnast was included in India's CWG squad after he filed a writ petition in the Delhi High Court when his name was initially omitted owing to a tussle between the Gymnastics federation and the Indian Olympic Association.
A ball-tampering scandal that devastated Australia cast a dark cloud over a dramatic cricketing year
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
A look back at many memorable moments in his life as Prince Charles.
M C Mary Kom managed to surpass even herself, obliterating everyone and everything else along the way in a tumultuous year for the sport.
The ICC Board, at its first meeting of 2016 in Dubai on Wednesday, considered amendments made to the ICC's constitution in 2014 and agreed that, in order to avoid any potential conflicts of interest and follow best practice principles of good governance, it will seek to re-establish as quickly as possible the 'independent' position of ICC chairman.
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.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday
P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth continued their impressive run at the Malaysia Open, progressing to the semi-finals of the women's and men's singles competition with a straight-game wins in the US$ 700,000 world tour super 750 tournament, in Kuala Lumpur.
The National Associations of Australia, England, India, Malaysia, and New Zealand have all put up extremely strong cases in an attempt to lure the sport's top properties to their territory, the FIH said.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
The administrators are busy thrashing out resumption plans but with the COVID-19 pandemic showing no signs of slowing down, India's sportsperson are pleading for caution as discussion rages on whether competitions can resume by August. Top stars from various disciplines want the waiting period to continue, while others pointed out at the loss it would cause in terms of fitness and readiness.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
Rediff.com brings a list of sportsmen who got hitched this year...
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
V K Vismaya stunned her fancied opponents, M R Poovamma and Hima Das, to win the gold medal in the women's 400m race at the Indian Grand Prix-3, in Sangrur, on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Men could extend their reign for the second successive time after annexing the title in the previous edition at Surat in 2015. The Indian men had won their first crown in Kuala Lumpur in 2004.
The ICC at its annual conference in Barbados has revived the task team for Pakistan cricket after the PCB showed a documentary on the security measures adopted for Zimbabwe's tour to the strife-torn nation last month.
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