Pullela Gopichand called P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal -- his two most successful pupils -- as 'precious diamonds'.
The Indian was ousted in straight games as she suffered a 21-16, 21-13 defeat in 40 minutes.
Top shuttlers, including Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth, are likely to leave for Malaysia and Singapore via Doha to participate in the last two Olympic qualifiers next month due to travel bans imposed by the two countries in the wake of unprecedented spike in COVID-19 cases in India.
Saina facing visa issues for Denmark Open, seeks help from External Affairs Ministry
Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu are on a collision course at next week's World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, as they have been placed in the same half after the world governing body re-conducted the women's singles draw.
H S Prannoy stunned World No 10 Kanta Tsuneyama while ace Indian women shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal also sailed into the second round of the Malaysia Masters, in Kuala Lumpur, on Wednesday. World Championships bronze-medallist B Sai Praneeth and the seasoned Kidambi Srikanth, though, bowed out of the men's singles events.
The Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy clarified that it played no role in Saina Nehwal shifting from the Gopichand Academy in Hyderabad to Bengaluru to train under Vimal Kumar ahead of the Rio Olympics, saying the move was the "sole decision" of the ace shuttler.
Two-time Olympics medallist P V Sindhu opted out citing post-Olympics recovery.
Saina lost 9-21, 12-21 in the women's singles clash that lasted just 24 minutes
India's chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Friday admitted that it was tough for him to manage two of his illustrious wards Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu together, saying he could never pick a favourite between the two. Gopichand said he always saw the duo as his kids and felt bitter when Saina left his academy to join Prakash Padukone's academy.
Saina had pulled out of the opening round of All England Open Championships last week after suffering a thigh injury.
Kashyap, a Commonwealth Games champion, was trailing 8-14 in the third game when he chose to retire after pulling his calf muscle.
It was a quiet birthday for India's badminton ace Saina Nehwal, who celebrated the special day in 'isolation' with her husband Parupalli Kashyap at her home in Hyderabad, on Tuesday.
Saina lost 15-21, 21-23 in the women's singles match that lasted 37 minutes to crash out
Saina Nehwal suffered her seventh straight defeat to world No 1 and old nemesis Tai Tzu Ying, going down in the summit clash of the $ 350,000 Indonesia Masters in Jakarta on Sunday.
Trailblazing Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal feels that she may have excelled more as a sportsperson if she had pursued tennis instead of badminton.
London Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal has pulled out of the US$350,000 Singapore Super Series to spend more time in training to improve her game ahead of the hectic international circuit.
Saina Nehwal is looking forward to her biopic and the ace shuttler says actor Shraddha Kapoor, who will be playing her role in the movie, has worked hard on the project.
'Taare Zameen Par' director Amole Gupte will be making a biopic on the world's leading badminton player Saina Nehwal, the shooting for which will begin next year.
It was Saina Nehwal's 13th straight defeat against the World No 1 Taiwanese, whom she has not beaten since 2015.
Former national badminton coach Vimal Kumar lauded Saina Nehwal for not letting her relationship with fellow shuttler Parupalli Kashyap affect her game.
The couple invited superstar Chiranjeevi for their wedding ceremony.
This was Sindhu's second consecutive loss to Tzu Ying. Saina was no match for Carolina Marin, who took exactly half-an-hour to dispose of the Indian's challenge, beating her 8-21, 7-21.
In a tweet on Saturday night, Nehwal, who is a member of the BJP wrote, "Hearty congratulations for thumping victory in Zila Panchayat Chairperson election in UP @myogiadityanath sir."
Srikanth showed great determination to outwit Korea's World No 25 Lee Dong Keun 12-21, 21-16, 21-18 in a second-round clash that clocked an hour and 13 minutes. The Indian had lost twice to the 27-year-old Korean in the past two meetings.
By understanding the elements that rule your birth number, you can learn how to enhance your professional journey, improve your work life and grow in your career.
Saina Nehwal has once again resumed her partnership with long-time mentor and former coach Pullela Gopichand and would be starting her training at his academy in Hyderabad after recovering from a thigh strain.
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu stormed into the women's singles second round at the Swiss Open with a straight-game win over Denmark's Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt in Basel.
India's batting great Sachin Tendulkar celebrated Diwali at his home in Mumbai on Saturday, while Olympic medallists like Saina Nehwal and MC Mary Kom took to social media to wish their fans.
The Indian challenge ended at the Asia Badminton Championship after Saina Nehwal and H S Prannoy went down fighting in the singles semi-finals, in Wuhan, on Saturday.
The 28-year-old from Hyderabad, a winner of the Indonesia Masters, semi-finalist at Malaysia Masters and quarter-finalist at the All England Championship, saw US$36,825 added to her career earnings.
India's Saina Nehwal on Saturday crashed out of the Orleans Masters after losing in the semi-final against Denmark's Line Christophersen, in Paris on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Saina Nehwal's aggression and intensity quite literally wilted P V sindhu as she picked up the women's singles Commonwealth Games gold medal with exhilarating triumph in the final, in Gold Coast, on Sunday.
Three-time champion Saina Nehwal registered a 21-18, 21-15 win against PV Sindhu, a two-time winner, in the summit clash.
In a startling disclosure, India's badminton ace Saina Nehwal revealed that she had to initially hide her relationship with husband Parupalli Kashyap because of 'societal barriers'.
Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki N Reddy also won their mixed doubles first round match, beating Denmark's Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje 10-21, 21-16, 21-17.
India's badminton ace Saina Nehwal accused the sport's administrators of placing money above players' safety by continuing last week's All England Championships despite the coronavirus pandemic. The 30-year-old lost in the opening round of the marquee event, which was among a handful which continued even as the bulk of global sporting calendar was either postponed or cancelled.
India ace Saina Nehwal was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad to undergo treatment for her knee injury which affected her progress in the badminton event of the Rio Olympics.
Gopichand also wondered to why the legendary Padukone, India's first badminton superstar 'never had anything positive to say about him'.
