A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
'I think for the next generation to come up, we need to put a system in place which actually identifies and nurtures talent. We have grown exponentially but there is lot more which needs to be done' 'It's not only my academy, all academies across the country are running full. There are many, many parents who want their kids to give up everything and concentrate on badminton'
Sindhu suffered a shock defeat to lower-ranked Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei
Confident about their preparation for the upcoming World Championships, India's chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand said the home shuttlers have the best chance of winning multiple medals at the prestigious tournament next month.
National badminton coach, Pullela Gopichand, on Wednesday expressed happiness at the performance this year of Indian shuttlers and termed Kidambi Srikanth's feat of winning four Super Series titles as 'phenomenal'.
Saina, who has been battling illness and injuries, is going through a bad patch, having lost six times in the first round this season.
Fifth seeded Sindhu, who made early exits from China and Korea last month, has been pitted against Michelle Li, who remains a tricky customer despite the fact that Sindhu has a 5-2 head-to-head record against the world no 9 Canadian.
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).
Saina, who was looking good at the start of the season, was diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis with mild pancreatitis which affected her performance at the All England Championship.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Indian women's badminton star Saina Nehwal crashed out of the women's singles competition in the first round after a loss to China's Zhang Yiman. She lost the match 17-21, 21-19,11-21. After being a game down, Nehwal made a comeback in the second game but lost the final one.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Indian women's team had won a bronze medal at Incheon four years ago and Sindhu hoped they can change the colour of the medal this time when the multi-sport event gets underway on August 18.
Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk produced a superb comeback against Ajay Jayaram in the deciding fifth rubber to help Chennai Smashers edge out Mumbai Rockets 4-3 in a thrilling final to clinch the Premier Badminton League season 2 title.
India's ace shuttler P V Sindhu did the star turn, winning two matches as Chennai Smashers outclassed Ahmedabad Smash Masters 2-1 in the Premier Badminton League in Chennai, on Saturday.
Pune Pistons rode in their mixed doubles combination to beat Delhi Smashers 3-2 in the opening match of the inaugural Indian Badminton League, in Delhi, on Wednesday.
A profligate P V Sindhu was, on Wednesday, knocked out of the All England Championship by an industrious Sung Ji Hyun of Korea in the women's singles opening round in Birmingham.
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.
Led by young flag-bearer Javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, the athletes, clad in blue suits, waved to the crowd with small flags in their hands.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
A rematch of the All England final between India's Saina Nehwal and world champion Carolina Marin is on the cards with the two stars given first and second seeding in the Yonex Sunrise India Open Superseries to be played from March 24.
Check out India's schedule on Day 7 of the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, on Wednesday.
Airbadminton was globally launched at Guangzhou last week by the Badminton World Federation
India began their campaign Badminton Asia Team Championships in style with both men's and women's teams posting victories against their Singapore rivals to make it to the quarterfinals. Indian men made a clean sweep of their five-match tie against Singapore, who had lost to China two days ago. India, China and Singapore are part of Group A. Despite the absence of star player Saina Nehwal, the Indian women registered a comprehensive 5-0 win against Singapore and also entered the quarter finals as the Singapore team lost to Japan earlier. Each tie comprises three singles and two doubles matches. India's rising shuttler Srikanth scored a comfortable 21-16, 12-21, 21-13 win over his Singapore rival Zi Liang Derek Wong in the first Singles match. The Singaporean tried to make matters difficult for Srikanth, but the world number nine bounced back to have the last laugh.
PV Sindhu finally fetched India its first ever World Championships gold in the sport but spent rest of the year struggling for form.
After launching the new season with an emphatic title win at the just-concluded Syed Modi International tournament, India's top shuttler Parupalli Kashyap said he needed this victory to silent the critics after been "written off".
Check out India's schedule on Day 8 of the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, on Thursday.
India will be sending full teams for the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold (May 30-June 4), Indonesia Open Super Series (June 12-18) and Australian Open Super Series (June 20-25).
The Birmingham showpiece will be held from July 28 to August 8.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
The Indian men's team beat a depleted China 3-2 at the Badminton Asia Team Championships at the Gachibowli indoor stadium in Hyderabad
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
PM Modi met in person and interacted with the badminton squad
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
India's highest ranked male shutter, Kidambi Srikanth, pulled off an upset victory over former world No 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia, but his team Bengaluru Hot Guns went down 2-3 to Hyderabad Hunters in the Premier Badminton League clash in Mumbai on Sunday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
P V Sindhu, will have to punch above its weight to salvage any hopes of a medal after being handed a tough draw in the badminton event at the 18th Asian Games.
Asian Games will be a reality check for India's athletes after the Commonwealth Games high
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday