Saina, who had won a silver medal two years ago at Jakarta, gave everything in a battle of attrition but Okuhara's never-say-die attitude helped her to outmanoeuvre the Indian in an energy-sapping sem-ifinal clash at the Emirates Arena.
Sindhu and Saina will once again be India's best bet as they look to put up a good show this week.
Star shuttler H S Prannoy has credited top women shuttlers P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal for the positive change in mindset of other players while facing tougher opponents.
PV Sindhu will open her campaign against South Korea's Sung Ji Hyun, while Saina Nehwal takes on Scotland's Kristy Gilmour in the first round.
Lakshya had struggled through much of 2023 and early part of 2024. He fell behind in the qualification race but turned things around in time with two semi-final finishes at the All England Championship and the French Open to seal his place in the Olympics.
Star Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal sailed into the second round of the Singapore Open with straight-game wins over their respective rivals in the women's singles event on Wednesday.
Shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa believes that the Indian contingent has a strong shot at changing the colour of the medal in the upcoming Paris Olympics.
His backhand blocks and forehand low returns reaped dividends but an alert Gemke managed to grab a four-point cushion at the interval.
Former World No 1 Saina Nehwal stayed on course for the women's singles title at the season-opening Malaysia Masters after she advanced to the semi-finals of the $US 120,000 Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Sarawak, Malaysia.
Saina Nehwal dug deep for a fighting win over Thai rival Ratchanok Intanon while Kidambi Srikanth too continued his good run to make the semifinals of the $ 750,000 Australian Super Series Badminton tournament.
Tata group has been a constant in India's sporting landscape and the conglomerate's involvement only grew under Ratan Tata.
Badminton player Saina Nehwal was 'cancelled' on Twitter for praising PM Modi's speech.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal crashed out of the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton tournament in Basel.
The Indian men's team, led by Srikanth, had beaten powerhouse and 14-time champions Indonesia in the final to win the country's maiden Thomas Cup title on Sunday.
The London Olympics bronze medallist was trailing 4-10 in the opening game when Marin decided to withdraw from the contest.
Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Saina Nehwal continued her impressive run, progressing into the women's singles semi-finals with a straight-game win over unseeded Korean Lee Jang Mi at the Asia Badminton Championship in Wuhan, on Friday.
Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal is currently in a tight spot in her bid for a Tokyo Olympics singles berth but a couple of good performances in the coming weeks can put her back in contention, her mentor Parupalli Kashyap said on Friday. Saina, a 2015 World Championship silver medallist and two-time Commonwealth Games champion, is racing against time to make the cut for her fourth successive Olympics.
Saina, who was looking good at the start of the season, was diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis with mild pancreatitis which affected her performance at the All England Championship.
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.
Three-time champion Saina Nehwal staved off a challenge from a lower-ranked Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei to make a positive start to her women's singles campaign at the $900,000 Indonesia Super Series Premier badminton tournament in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The first Indian woman to clinch a silver medal at the World Championship in the 2015 edition at Jakarta, Saina has been struggling ever since, limping out of the Olympics last year with a knee injury.
India's leading shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the second round of the French Open with straight-game wins, but it was curtains for Sameer Verma at the US $750,000 BWF event, in Paris, on Wednesday.
Up against Shruti Mundada in the pre-quarters, Saina had a look at the surface and immediately made it clear that she won't risk playing on it given that the All England Championships are around the corner.
Saina Nehwal went down fighting against former world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the quarter-finals to draw curtains on India's campaign at the Korea Open World Tour Super 500 tournament, on Seoul, on Friday.
Saina will next face either Thailand's fourth seed Ratchanok Intanon or Korea's Sung Ji Hyun, while Sindhu will take on the winner of the match between Sri Lanka's Kavidi Sirimannage and Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol.
Saina squandered a game advantage to lose 21-16, 11-21, 14-21 against Takahashi
On a recovery path after her recent knee surgery, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal visited the Film Nagar Temple in Hyderabad. Saina is out of action following her surgery in Mumbai which was conducted few days after her second round exit from Rio Olympics. The Hyderabad-based shuttler bowed out to 61st ranked Maria Ulitina of Ukraine in Rio.
Saina Nehwal continued her irresistible form to claim her third straight title in as many weeks. The Indian ace won the Indonesia Open badminton Super Series in Jakarta on Sunday, beating Japan's Sayaka Sato 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 in the final. Join us in congratulating the rising star of Indian sport.
Congratulate Saina Nehwal on her success at Singapore.
In a shock for Indian fans, star shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap fell by the wayside after losing their respective singles matches at the 17th Asian Games on Friday.
Saina Nehwal has claimed that her father Harvir's name has been removed from the Indian team official's list for the Commonwealth Games, leaving her frustrated just before the start of the mega event.
The Indian challenge at the Australian Open Super Series badminton ended as Saina Nehwal was sent packing by China's Shixian Wang in the women's singles quarter-finals, in Sydney, on Friday. The world No 1 was beaten by the two-time All England champion and fifth seed 15-21, 13-21 in 41 minutes.
Ace Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal on Thursday stormed into the quarter-finals of the All England Open Badminton Championships after their straight-game victories over their respective opponents in the women's singles event in Birmingham.
Saina Nehwal was the lone Indian left in the Australian Open Super Series badminton tournament after a hard-fought victory over China's Sun Yu in Sydney on Thursday. The world No 1 overcame a stiff challenge from Yu, ranked No 9, winning 21-19, 19-21, 21-14 in 78 minutes.
India's badminton ace Saina Nehwal tied the knot with fellow badminton player and long time partner Parupalli Kashyap in Hyderabad on Friday.
'Saina and Sindhu are top contenders, but they will have to beat players who are playing solid badminton at this juncture.'
Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal notched up her first title after a career-threatening injury by claiming the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold with a hard-fought victory in the summit clash in Sarawak, Malaysia, on Sunday.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth's wretched run continued as he went down 6-21, 17-21 to fellow-Indian Ajay Jayaram, diminishing his hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Games.
Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu remained in the hunt for a historic Asian Games gold medal after a tense win but Saina Nehwal settled for a bronze following her 10th straight defeat against World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying.
In a rare honour for an Indian sportsperson, Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has been appointed a member of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Athletes' Commission.
