Rio-bound Indian women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will look to boost their confidence ahead of the Olympic Games when they start their title defence at the Canada Open badminton tournament, starting in Calgary on Tuesday. 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallists, Jwala and Ashwini didn't have the best results in the run up to the Rio Olympics and the duo will look to put their best foot forward when they take the court here with just a little more than a month to go for the Games.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
London Olympics bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal resumed training at a separate facility in Hyderabad after the COVID-19-induced break and is likely to join the national camp at the Sports Authority of India-Pullela Gopichand Academy in a couple of weeks.
Saina Nehwal sailed past Indonesia's Hana Ramadhini 21-15, 21-12 for her maiden entry into the semi-finals at the India Open Super Series, while giant-killer H S Prannoy and RMV Gurusaidutt went down fighting in the quarter-finals at the Siri Fort Sports Complex, in Delhi, on Friday.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal and World number five Kidambi Srikanth were among the nine Indian shuttlers who entered the quarter-finals of the singles events at the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Lucknow.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal advanced to the quarter-finals of the Denmark Super Series Premier with a straight-game thrashing of Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour in the second round of the women's singles.
Home-grown icons Saina Nehwal and P Kashyap, along with some international stars such as Lee Chong Wei, would be the top draws at the Indian Badminton League's players' auction to be held in New Delhi on Monday.
When Bollywood star Akshay Kumar joined hands with Premier Badminton League (PBL), only entertainment was expected.
Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram notched up a superb straight-game win over Estonia's Raul Must in the finals to defend his men's singles title at the Dutch Open Grand Prix in Almere, The Netherlands on Sunday.
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.
A high-intensity training for last three weeks has boosted his confidence and Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap says he is looking to maintain the rhythm as he sets out to achieve his dream of winning an Asian Games medal in Incheon.
After missing out on Rio Olympics last year due to a knee surgery, a fit-again Parupalli Kashyap is racing against time to regain his place in the Indian team and defend his title at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
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".
Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram, R M V Gurusaidutt and Sai Praneeth entered the pre-quarterfinals of the men's singles event at the $120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament after victories over their respective opponents.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
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.
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.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
Rising shuttlers PV Sindhu and K Srikanth lead the way for Awadhe Warriors as they crushed Krrish Delhi Smashers 4-1 in the inaugural Indian Badminton League (IBL) in Pune.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
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