Lakshya Sen moved a place to world number 17, despite not competing in the last two weeks.
Indian shuttler H S Prannoy continued his giant-killing spree to stun World and Olympic Champion Chen Long of China to enter the semi-finals of the Indonesia Super Series Premier along with Kidambi Srikanth, in Jakarta, on Friday.
Olympic medallist P V Sindhu is also missing in action as she recovers from an injury.
Saina squandered a game advantage to lose 21-16, 11-21, 14-21 against Takahashi
Kidambi Srikanth rallied his way to a thrilling win in a tense decider as India kept alive their hopes of winning a first-ever gold medal at the Asian Games.
World No. 3 Sindhu thrashed Yamaguchi 21-9, 21-13 in just 36 minutes to top Group A in women's singles at the Sheikh Hamdan Indoor Stadium. This was her last group stage match.
Defending champion P Kashyap bowed out while top seed K Srikanth entered the semi-finals but it was the stunning win of doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar over their World No 8 opponents from Denmark that was the highlight of the day at Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament, in Lucknow, on Friday.
India's women shuttlers assured themselves of a maiden Badminton Asia Team Championships medal by cruising to a 3-0 win over Hong Kong in the quarter-finals.
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.
India's shuttlers enjoyed a mixed day at the Australian Open Super Series as Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, P V Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth progressed to the second round but four others were knocked out in the first round itself, in Sydney, on Wednesday.
Saina Nehwal, who won a bronze at the World Championship, jumped four rungs to be placed at the 12th spot, while Kidambi Srikanth also improved two positions in the latest BWF World ranking.
Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri and Gayatri Gopichand also improved two spots to the 17th position.
However, Srikanth squandered a one-game advantage to go down 23-21, 16-21, 17-21 to fourth seed Korean Son Wan Ho in the men's singles quarter-finals that lasted an hour and 12 minutes.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, on Saturday, felicitated 2018 Commonwealth Games medallists Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu among others at Pragathi Bhavan.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
'I think it was a fantastic game for me. I started off really well in the first game but he was playing well in the second game, leading 11-6 at the break and fighting it out. But overall, I think my game was going great, my attack was going well for me'
In what was India's first-ever appearance in the tournament finale, they defeated the record 14-time champions Indonesia 3-0 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand to lift the Thomas Cup 2022 title.
Parupalli Kashyap entered the quarterfinals after top seed and Olympic champion Axelsen gave a walkover.
Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma also advanced to the second round of the $550,000 tournament at the Barclaycard Arena.
H S Prannoy scored his second successive victory over three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei, while Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth also registered contrasting wins to advance to the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open Super Series Premier, in Odense, on Thursday.
HS Prannoy climbed up two spots to achieve a career-best world number seven
The dream run of top shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth came to an end in World Super Series Finals badminton tournament.
Thomas Cup final: India vs Indonesia
It is Sindhu's second semifinal of the season, following a last-four finish at the India Open last month.
Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu suffered a three-game defeat to much lower-ranked Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the second round of $350,000 Hong Kong Super Series, in Kowloon, on Thursday. However, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth scored contrasting victories to enter the quarter-finals of the women's and men's singles respectively.
Lakshya's Paris hopes brighten, enters No.15 in Olympic Games qualification
Indian challenge ended at the Hong Kong Open World Tour Super 500 tournament after Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma lost their respective men's singles quarterfinal matches on Friday.
Saina Nehwal defeated 2011 World champion and 2012 Olympic silver medallist Yihan Wang 21-8, 21-12 in just over half an hour in the semi-finals.
Kidambi Srikanth and H S Prannoy sailed into the pre-quarter-finals, but it was heartbreak for Parupalli Kashyap in the men's singles at the World Badminton Championships in Jakarta on Wednesday.
Two-time bronze medallist, P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth started their campaign at the World Badminton Champion with contrasting victories in the women's and men's singles competition respectively in Jakarta.
A recap of the performance by Indian athletes on Day 10 at the Rio Olympics on Monday
The defence of four Super Series titles this season is not bothering Kidambi Srikanth as the ace shuttler is focussed on staying injury-free and winning a gold medal at the upcoming Asian Games.
The Infosys Foundation will provide a fund of Rs 16 crore, which will be spent for the next five years.
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.
Shooter Bhowneesh Mendiratta's proposal for financial assistance towards a week-long training camp with foreign coach Daniele Di Spigno has also been approved.
Srikanth credits Gopichand for all recent success - the two back-to-back Super Series titles and says, 'My focus is on World Championships, not thinking of rankings'
Two-time silver medallist P V Sindhu produced yet another commanding performance as she demolished Beiwen Zhang of United States in straight games to advance to the quarter-finals of the BWF Badminton World Championships.
In the men's draw, HS Prannoy, went down to giant-killer Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.
Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu sailed into the women's singles quarter-finals with straight-game wins but it was curtains for Kidambi Srikanth at the BWF Badminton World Championships, in Nanjing, China on Thursday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
