'I have funded myself for tournaments until Nov last year, after which I was sent with the Indian team for tournaments as I met the selection criteria to make the team. I was included as part of TOPS scheme only after qualifying for the Paris 2024 Games till the Olympic Games, that's it.'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday hailed Kidambi Srikanth's silver medal win in the World Badminton Championships, saying it will inspire several sportspersons and further interest in badminton.
'If I want to achieve something -- and my aim is to achieve the Olympic gold -- then I would do anything for it. It means everything to me.'
Asked about Saina Nehwal, whose 2012 London Games bronze medal winning show was a path breaker for Indian women's badminton, Padukone is confident that the 26-year-old former World number one will be regain her best form.
In mixed doubles, Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila advanced to the second round with a 8-21, 21-19, 21-17 victory over Chinese Taipei's Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui.
PV Sindhu says if she remains injury-free and in peak physical condition, she will aim for a third medal.
Love isn't just in the air; it's in every snap.
India's Lakshya Sen got off the a rousing start at the Olympics, beating Guatemala's Kevin Cordon 21-8, 22-20 in the men's singles badminton competition on Saturday.
'It was tough financially for the first few years but my friends and family supported me and once he did well at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, there was no looking back.'
Set to return after an injury-induced break, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu is aware the road to Paris will be "challenging" and she needs to be "smarter" in her pursuit of coveted gold medal in the French capital.
Former All England champion Prakash Padukone tipped PV Sindhu to be the world number one in the near future, but Saina Nehwal's coach Vimal Kumar was of the view that both the Olympic medallists could dominate world badminton in the next 5-7 years. While Saina became the first Indian shuttler to win an Olympic medal - a bronze - at 2012 London Olympics, Sindhu did one better by winning a historic silver at the Rio Games this year. "Definitely, Sindhu is capable of reaching the number one place," Padukone told reporters at the Olympic Gold Quest workshop for junior athletes in Bengaluru.
The Stars emerge and Rediff.com's Contributing Photographer Pradeep Bandekar is there!
The official said the NCB might also summon actors Rakul Preet Singh and Sara Ali Khan, and designer Simone Khambatta this week.
Asked if the cancellation of the first match's result had any impact on him, Sen said, "I just took it as a practice match; now it is time for me to just focus on one match at a time. I will rest, recover and try to be at my best against Christie.
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Somappa Bommai was quick to felicitate the 20-year-old native of Almora in Uttarkhand who is now based in Bengaluru where he trains at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy.
Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone has joined in the Bharat Ratna debate saying her father and former India badminton star Prakash Padukone deserves the highest civilian award.
Prakash Padukone backed Sindhu to win the World Championship crown soon after two consecutive silver medal performances in the prestigious event.
Sukanya Verma quizzes you to find out just how much you know about the movies.
Top Indian shuttler PV Sindhu says she will take home a lot of positives and confidence despite losing the Malaysia Masters summit clash to China's world No. 7 Wang Zhi Yi in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.
Just how did Ranveer Singh celebrate his 37th birthday on July 6 with wife Deepika Padukone?
On her first visit to any state in the Indian Union after being sworn in as President of the Republic, Rashtrapati Droupadi Murmu was felicitated in Bengaluru by some of that city's luminaries.
P V Sindhu has no regrets about her preparation for the Paris Olympics, saying she did everything she could to be in the best shape but her defence let her down in the women's singles pre-quarter-final against China's He Bing Jiao, in Paris, on Thursday.
PV Sindhu still has the hunger to succeed, and the primary aim is to help her regain consistency, says her new coach Anup Sridhar, who has been roped in by the two-time Olympic medallist on a trial basis following the Paris Games.
The FIR, filed on Thursday by M Goviappa Nagaraja, alleged that the 21-year-old reigning Commonwealth Games champion, along with his brother Chirag Sen, had fudged their age to get into playing age-group tournaments since 2010.
Saina offered her support to PV Sindhu's decision to seek a change in her training approach.
Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen will have a new coach after the Paris Olympics, said his mentor and former India coach Vimal Kumar, who has taken over the duties till the Summer Games.
The Indian badminton team returned empty-handed from the Olympics for the first time in over a decade.
No question of going back on IOA CEO's appointment, says PT Usha
Lakshya Sen and Kiran George advanced to the second round but HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth made early exits after suffering narrow losses in their respective opening matches at the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Lakshya Sen shrugged off the cancellation of his opening match win and defeated Julien Carraggi of Belgium in straight games
'To see India being recognized at a global level at a platform like this... 'I think it says a lot about where we are as a nation and the road ahead for us as a nation.'
The women's doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly bowed out of the All-England Badminton Championships, losing in the semi-finals, at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, on Saturday. Playing on court No. 6, the Indian duo lost to China's Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu 21-17, 21-16, in 51 minutes.
On Sunday, Aamir Khan and Deepika Padukone played a doubles badminton match against each other.
Overall, Anupama is only the sixth Indian shuttler to top the junior rankings.
Kiran George wins Indonesia Masters to grab second super 100 title
PV Sindhu stormed into the pre-quarterfinals of the Olympic Games' women's singles competition
A look at how India's athletes fared on Day 2, on Sunday, July 28, 2024:
Rediff.com Contributing Photographer Pradeep Bandekar met these stars over the weekend.
Many interesting films with A-Listers line up for release in June.
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