Saina Nehwal advanced to the second round with an easy victory, but it was a disappointing day for Indians overall, as Parupalli Kashyap and P V Sindhu failed to cross the opening round in the Hong Kong Super Series on Wednesday. Looking for her first title this season, world No 7 Saina hardly broke a sweat as she outplayed Indonesia's Bellaetrix Manuputty 21-14, 21-16 in 34 minutes.
It was double bonanza for India at the Canada Open as B Sai Praneeth and Rio-bound men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy clinched twin crowns after winning their respective title clash at the $ 55,000 Grand Prix badminton tournament, in Calgary, Canada.
Prannoy took to Twitter to express his displeasure.
Saina Nehwal guided the Indian women's team to a crushing 5-0 win over Canada to launch their Uber Cup campaign in style but their men's counterpart came a cropper against former champions Malaysia as they suffered a crushing 1-4 defeat in Thomas Cup in New Delhi.
Marin retained the world title with a 21-16, 21-19 win over the Indian ace.
Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu continued their winning run at the Malaysia Open notching up contrasting victories to reach the quarter-finals of the women's singles competition at the USD 550,000 Super Series Premier tournament.
Srikanth blew two game points in the second game to lose 7-21, 20-22 to Axelsen in the men's singles summit clash.
This year's All-England Championships is likely to mark the final appearance of five-time champion Lin Dan at the sport's oldest event, as the garlanded Chinese player bids for a berth at the Rio Olympics before a possible retirement.
India's H S Prannoy described his stunning win over Olympic champion Chen Long as one of the best of his career and credited his better fitness.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Focus on nutrition, tailor-made training for specific opponents key to Prannoy's success.
In a shock for Indian fans, star shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap fell by the wayside after losing their respective singles matches at the 17th Asian Games on Friday.
Star shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was disappointed after being called for a series of what he termed "ridiculous" service faults during his pre-quarterfinal match against China's Huang Yuxiang at the All England Championship.
HS Prannoy playws a pivotal role in India's epic triumph by winning the decisive third singles against Malaysia and Denmark
Indian shuttlers continued their impressive show with top stars P V Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth progressing to the semifinals of their respective events in the 21st Commonwealth Games' badminton competition, in Gold Coast, on Friday.
Legendary Prakash Padukone was revered as the world number one player during his hey days before the modern day computerised ranking system was introduced.
P V Sindhu and K Srikanth have been given the top billing in the respective women's and men's singles badminton competitions of the Commonwealth Games
It was day of mixed results for India at the US$750,000 Denmark Open Super Series in in Odense on Friday, as Kidambi Srikanth fought back brilliantly to shock World No 1 Victor Axelsen and enter the semis after Saina Nehwal crashed out of the event following her quarter-final loss to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi.
Indian shuttler H S Prannoy continued his giant-killing spree to stun World and Olympic Champion Chen Long of China to enter the semi-finals of the Indonesia Super Series Premier along with Kidambi Srikanth, in Jakarta, on Friday.
Star Indian shuttler H S Prannoy produced a gallant fight before going down narrowly to China's Huang Yuxiang in the men singles quarter-finals of the All England Championship in Birmingham.
Athletes to watch at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games:
Star shuttlers, including P V Sindhu, will chase individual gold medals but doubles would also under the spotlight as India would aim to retain the mixed team title and continue their consistent run at the Commonwealth Games.
Kidambi Srikanth and two-time bronze medallist P V Sindhu will headline a 21-member Indian contingent as they gun for the elusive gold medal at the World Badminton Championships starting in Glasgow on Monday.
Kidambi Srikanth is against any drastic changes in the scoring system being contemplated by the world body.
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.
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.
Indian shuttler K Srikanth dished out a gritty performance to stun world No.1 Korean Son Wan Ho to reach the finals of the $ 1,000,000 Indonesia Super Series Premier in Jakarta on Sunday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
He was hailed as the next big thing when he shocked five-time world and two-time Olympic champion, Lin Dan in the final of China Open Super Series Premier event, a performance that also held out promise of a medal at the Rio Olympics.
Saina Nehwal is better equipped to win a medal in Rio in August than the Indian shuttler was when she claimed a bronze at the London Olympics four years ago, former All England champion Prakash Padukone said.
Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore's founding father and first prime minister, died on Monday at the age of 91 of severe pneumonia.
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'.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
For the first time in the history of badminton, two Indians will clash in a Super Series final with Kidambi Srikanth taking on B Sai Praneeth at the Singapore Open, in Singapore, on Sunday.
Kidambi Srikanth might be inching towards the coveted World No 1 ranking after his record-equalling Super Series win in Paris but he says he does not want to lose sleep over chasing it.
Saina Nehwal finally broke her jinx at the $250,000 Indian Open Super Series badminton, storming into the quarter-finals of the women's singles with a straight-game victory over Thailand's Natcha Saengchote, in Delhi, on Thursday. The world No 8 Indian did not go beyond the second round in the last three editions of the Open and broke the hoodoo when she thrashed Natcha 21-15, 21-12 in just 35 minutes at the Siri Fort Sports complex. Parupalli Kashyap also continued his good run to reach the quarter-finals. He prevailed over his training partner, R M V Gurusaidutt, 21-15, 16-21, 21-11 in the men's singles.
HS Prannoy notched up a thrilling three-game win over Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap in an all-Indian final to clinch the $ 120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold in Anaheim, California.
India's Kidambi Srikanth played his heart out before going down fighting against two-time defending champion Lin Dan in the quarterfinals of the men's singles badminton event at the Rio Olympics on Wednesday. The 21-year-old from Guntur, who had beaten the five-time World Champion from China in the 2014 China Open final, suffered a 6-21 21-11 21-18 loss against the World No. 3 Chinese in a nerve-wrecking match that lasted for an hour and four minutes.
The revamped Premier Badminton League (PBL), commencing here tomorrow with hosts Mumbai Rockets taking on the Saina Nehwal-spearheaded Awadhe Warriors, is to experiment with a new concept - Trump match - that's expected to keep the interest till the end of a tie.
Caught in the dope net, Asian Games bronze-medallist javelin thrower Davinder Singh Kang on Sunday said the failed result is because of a declared medication he took for sore throat and he is confident of being cleared in the disciplinary hearing.