'When we are playing at our best, it's very difficult to beat us.'
Praneeth said he needs to work on his fitness to trouble big players such as two-time world champion Kento Momota.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu avenged her heart-breaking loss at the Rio Games to two-time World Champion Carolina Marin with a thrilling straight-game victory in a do-or-die, women's singles Group B contest and sealed her place at the semi-finals of the BWF World Super Series Finals in Dubai on Friday.
The SAI has formulated a detailed draft of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be followed before reopening of its training centres by the end of this month, as suggested by Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju but subject to clearance from the Health and Home ministry.
Top shuttlers, including Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain and Rio silver medallists P V Sindhu, will be for grabs when the high-profile Players' Auction for the lucrative Premier Badminton League (PBL) gets underway in New Delhi on Wednesday. Besides Marin and Sindhu, Olympic bronze winner Viktor Axelsen of Denmark will be among the 16 Olympic medallists who have confirmed their participation at the second edition of the event to be held from January 1 to 14.
India's trailblazing gymnast Dipa Karmakar on Thursday denied reports that she was returning the BMW car presented to her by cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar for her historic performance at the Rio Olympic Games.
When Pusarla Sindhu won a gold medal at the 2012 Asian junior badminton championships, her cricketing hero Sachin Tendulkar presented her with a car. One can only guess at the reception the 21-year-old player will receive when she returns into the arms of 1.3 billion Indians after becoming the country's most successful female Olympian with her silver-medal performance in Rio. The fact that she had been beaten 19-21 21-12 21-15 by Spanish world number one Carolina Marin in the final mattered little for a country that until Friday had won a solitary bronze at these Games.
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.
A day after Sania Mirza was accused of not attending Madhya Pradesh awards ceremony owing to her unacceptable demands, the agency which looks after the tennis star issued a statement saying that she didn't ask for any money to attend the event. The Indian Express reported on Wednesday that after Sania had accepted the invitation, her personal assistant made demands of a make-up kit worth Rs 75,000 and a chartered plane.
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.
'They want us to win in every match, like in cricket.' 'It's so tough to play every tournament and win.'
A fairytale ending eluded him as Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram's rampaging run was brought to a halt by defending champion and World No 1 Chen Long of China in the final of the $ 600,000 Korea Open Super Series event, in Seoul, on Sunday.
Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal said the triumph at the China Open Super Series Premier was one of her "toughest" and it showed that the hard work was paying off.
Part of an eight-member team of elite sportspersons to identify and help prospective medal winners from across the country for the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, the former India cricket captain was optimistic about Indian sport moving in the right direction.
If Sindhu and Saina win their respective second round matches, they will face each other in the quarter-finals.
IPL can be truly said to have come of age. It is now more Indian than ever before. Teams often fielded fewer than the four allowed foreign players. Indian batters and bowlers were simply better in performance, consistency and reliability, points out Shreekant Sambrani.
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.
Thank you, Sindhu, for inspiring us with your passion.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu says losing close matches from advantageous position dealt a blow to her confidence and she is looking to overcome it by working on the mental aspect of her game.
None of the other three quarters boast of such a strong star cast but there would be a few mouth-watering opening round clashes to look forward to.
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.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap speaks to Harish Kotian/Rediff.com about his recent triumph over world No. 1 Chen Long of China and why he wants the Indian Badminton League to be revived.
Services remained on top of the medal table with 41 gold, 28 silver and 26 bronze for a total of 95. Haryana won four of the five gold medals in archery to consolidate their second place with 29 gold.
Two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu stormed into the second round of the women's singles in the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament after a dominating victory over compatriot Tanya Hemanth, in Lucknow, on Wednesday.
Recovering from an ankle injury, star India shuttler Saina Nehwal said she will look to get back to her full fitness during the three weeks break after the India Open next month.
The Indian men's team beat a depleted China 3-2 at the Badminton Asia Team Championships at the Gachibowli indoor stadium in Hyderabad
P V Sindhu cemented her position as a dominant force on the world stage with an Olympic silver medal while Saina Nehwal continued to battle with injuries in a year, which saw Indian badminton take giant strides at the global platform. It turned out to be a watershed year for Sindhu, who reached the upper echelons of world badminton with a silver medal at Rio Games -- an achievement also for her mentor and chief coach Pullela Gopichand, who became the only Indian coach to produce two Olympic medallists. On the other hand, for the first part of the year, it was Saina's battle with injuries which dominated the headlines even though she was considered to be the best bet for India at Rio. The Indian ace fought against time to recover from an Achilles tendons and went on to win the Australian Super Series.
For India to send two shuttlers in Tokyo Olympics women's singles, both of them will have to be inside top 16 in the world rankings which will be released after the end of qualification period, on April 30, 2020.
Upbeat over winning the China Open and moving up to the fourth spot in the latest BWF rankings, star shuttler Saina Nehwal says she is working on becoming the best in the world.
Jwala Gutta launched a verbal tirade against the Badminton Association of India on Friday, saying the decision to recommend a life ban on her has only made it a laughing stock.
Behind sprinter Dutee Chand's rise is a hidden journey filled with pain and hardship.
After losing seven successive finals, PV Sindhu finally redeemed herself with the gold medal at the World Tour Finals.
Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal was the only bright spot in what turned out to be a dismal day for the Indian badminton team as it crashed out of the prestigious Sudirman Cup after a 1-4 loss to three-time champions Korea in a Group 1D tie, in Dongguan China, on Wednesday.
Director Praveen Sattaru talks about his National Award winning movie Chandamama Kathalu.
Carolina Marin became the first Spaniard to win the All-England badminton championship when she defeated India's Saina Nehwal 16-21, 21-14, 21-7 in Birmingham on Sunday.
'I have certainly gained the respect of my rivals by consistently maintaining my ranking inside the top-10 mark.' 'I have beaten all these top players at least once and there will be no fear factor when I face them at Rio.'
Memories of a path-breaking gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games are still fresh in her mind as Saina Nehwal embarks on a quest to regain the title at the Gold Coast Games starting next week.
'Head out!' 'It has been a long time that we have not met family and friends.'
And, run to the court.'
PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth advanced into the second round while Saina Nehwal and Sai Praneeth made first-round exits at the All England Open Badminton Championships in Birmingham on Wednesday.
A summary of Indian athletes showing on Friday, Day 8 of the Commonwealth Games.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances