India's badminton queen PV Sindhu revealed that working with new coach Kim Ji Hyun along with the guidance from Pullela Gopichand has been instrumental in taking her game to the next level.
P V Sindhu on Sunday said the heart-breaking World Championship final loss was not on her mind when she was plotting the downfall of Japan's Nozomi Okuhara en-route to her Korea Open title in Seoul.
Saina Nehwal squandered four match points in her singles match as a young Indian women team bowed out of the Uber Cup Final after being hammered 0-5 by five-time champions Japan in a Group A match, in Bangkok.
Was it badminton sensation PV Sindhu, who became the first Indian to win the World Championships gold medal? Or is it the young shooting progidy Saurabh Chaudhary? Or his India colleague Elavenil Valarivan, who recently took over as World No 1? What about India's heroes on the cricketing field -- Virat Kohli? Rohit Sharma?
Adapting quickly to playing conditions at the Rio Olympics will pose the biggest challenge for players, says Saina Nehwal, who is aiming to better the badminton bronze she won in London four years ago.
Sindhu said she has to watch out for the Chinese players as well since they have been missing from the circuit for some time.
Sporting fraternity hails Sindhu's historic World C'ships gold
He is known to be a demanding coach but Pullela Gopichand is of the opinion that Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu's odd defeats can't be termed as her failure, not even by a single per cent.
Shuttler P V Sindhu scripted a new chapter in Indian Olympic history with unprecedented feat but the embattled Narsingh Yadav's dreams lay in tatters after being slapped with a four-year doping ban on a bitter-sweet day for the country at the Rio Games.
With this win, she also became the only second Indian to reach the finals of World Championship after Saina.
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.
The London Olympics bronze medallist was trailing 4-10 in the opening game when Marin decided to withdraw from the contest.
Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu sailed into the women's singles quarter-finals with straight-game wins but it was curtains for Kidambi Srikanth at the BWF Badminton World Championships, in Nanjing, China on Thursday.
This year PV Sindhu has reached the summit clash at India Open, the Commonwealth Games and the Thailand Open but failed to cross the final hurdle, prompting many critics to once again describe her as the 'perennial bridesmaid'.
Sindhu says the path to the Tokyo Olympic gold will be a tough one as now her opponents will look to exploit her weaknesses and she will need to add something new to her game to achieve success.
The Olympic silver-medallist, who out-played Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in a lop-sided final in Basel, Switzerland on Sunday, was mobbed at the airport after she touched down, with national coach Pullela Gopichand by her side, late on Monday.
P V Sindhu hoped to regain peak fitness before the start of individual events and assured India will return with multiple medals.
India's Saina Nehwal lost to Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying 21-16, 18-21, 21-14 and was knocked out of the BWF World Superseries Final in Dubai on Friday.
The 24-year-old from Hyderabad will begin her campaign against China's Li Xuerui, a former Olympic gold medallist and World No 1.
Sindhu seeks improvement on fitness, defence in se
P V Sindhu's gallant fight ended in agony as she suffered a second successive loss to World no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei at the summit clash of the Hong Kong Super Series on Sunday.
Newly-crowned Korea Open champion P V Sindhu dished out another splendid performance edging past Japan's Minatsu Mitani for the second time in as many weeks to reach the second round of the women's singles at the Japan Open Super Series, in Tokyo, on Wednesday.
Rising India shuttler P V Sindhu clinched the Asia Youth Under-19 Championship title with a thrilling three-game victory over Japan's Okuhara Nozomi at Gimcheon, Korea on Saturday.
Denmark's 2017 World Champion Viktor Axelsen and home favourite Okuhara Nozomi, who won bronze at Rio 2016, are also among the star names.
Olympic medallists P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal made a resounding start to their women's singles campaign but it was Sameer Verma who hogged the limelight with a stunning straight-game win over Korean Son Wan Ho in men's event in the opening round of the India Super Series in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu will be the cynosure of all eyes when the seventh India Super Series badminton tournament gets underway with the qualifiers in New Delhi on Tuesday.
PV Sindhu, Depika Padukone ensured Indian representation on the global front.
Srikanth or Sindhu? Advani or Kohli? Or will a 21 year old pip the stars? Vote and tell us who your favourite Indian sportsperson of the year is.
The Olympic silver medallist settled for second place yet again following a 19-21, 10-21 loss to Olympic champion Caroline Marin of Spain.
PV Sindhu fought back in the 2nd game to down compatriot Saina Nehwal 21-16, 22-20 and book a berth in the Yonex-Sunrise India Super Series badminton tournament at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi on Friday.
Bolstered by Australian Open triumph, India ace shuttler Saina Nehwal says she is now working on her half smashes under the watchful eyes of coach Vimal Kumar to get closer to the goal of winning a gold medal at next month's Rio Olympics. "The victory in Australia came at just the right time. I was really looking forward for some change and nothing boosts confidence like winning. I needed a win to keep believing that I am on the right track," the 26-year-old told PTI.
The London Olympics bronze medallist will next play seventh seed Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, who knocked out two-time defending champion Spain's Carolina Marin 21-18, 14-21, 21-15 in the other quarter-final.
Take a look at what fit-again Saina needs to do before going into the Olympic Games in August this year.
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.
The third highest paid endorser after Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, Sindhu is the highest paid among woman athletes and non-cricket sportspersons in the country, says Urvi Malvania.
Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal on Sunday headed for a gold medal showdown at the 18th Asian Games after their quarter-final victories ensured India's first ever women's singles medals at the continental event.
'The Chinese will be gunning for revenge now after Sindhu's victory.'
PV Sindhu survived a scare against Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi before prevailing 19-21, 23-21, 21-17 in a thrilling singles match that lasted an hour and 27 minutes.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu progressed to the quarter-finals of the All England Championship with a hard-fought win over Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol in women's singles, in Birmingham.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
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