P V Sindhu and K Srikanth have been given the top billing in the respective women's and men's singles badminton competitions of the Commonwealth Games
Despite clinching the Macau Open title for the third time, India's ace shuttler P V Sindhu remained static at 12th position in the latest BWF world ranking released on Thursday. Saina Nehwal also held on to her number two position but a poor run of form saw K Srikanth lose a spot and slip to World No. 9.
It was double delight for India as crowd favourites Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth clinched their maiden women and men's singles titles at the India Open Super Series badminton tournament in New Delhi.
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.
As Kidambi Srikanth lost his second round match, India's campaign ended at the Singapore Open.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Indian shuttlers had a mixed day in the opening round of the China Open with Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu easing into Round II, while Kidambi Srikanth and Ajay Jayaram making early exits.
Third seed Sindhu beat Indonesia's Lindaweni Fanetri while Srikanth accounted for China's Huang Yuxiang.
Indian Mithun Manjunath stunned fourth seed and world number seven Kean Yew Loh of Singapore in the opening round while PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth secured straight-game wins.
The 27-year-old London Olympics bronze medallist hard broke a sweat as she cruised past her Swiss opponent 21-11, 21-12 in just 33 minutes at the Emirates Arena.
Fourth seeded Sindhu took 39 minutes to get the better of World No 22 Mia 21-13, 21-19, her second straight win over the Dane.
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.
Former champion PV Sindhu progressed to the women's singles second round but Lakshya Sen went down fighting to world number one Viktor Axelsen at the Singapore Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Singapore on Wednesday.
Lakshya's Paris hopes brighten, enters No.15 in Olympic Games qualification
Top seed Kidambi Srikanth stormed into the semi-finals of the US $120,000 Swiss Grand Prix Gold badminton championship after a straight games victory over Takuma Ueda of Japan in the men's singles quarter-finals in Basel on Friday. The Indian beat the eighth seed 21-11, 21-12 in 31 minutes.
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.
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.
Apple CEO Tim Cook enjoyed a game of badminton with Saina Nehwal, Chirag Shetty, Srikanth Kidambi and Parupalli Kashyap.
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'
Young Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth continued his rampaging run in Kowloon and set up a semifinal clash with top seed Chinese Chen Long at the Hong Kong Super Series.
Injured HS Prannoy's absence hurt India as they went down fighting 2-3 against badminton powerhouse China
Saina squandered a game advantage to lose 21-16, 11-21, 14-21 against Takahashi
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Satwiksairaj and Chirag won 21-17, 21-11.
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.
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.
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.
Lakshya Sen moved a place to world number 17, despite not competing in the last two weeks.
Indonesian coach Agus Dwi Santoso has been roped in to guide the singles players -- both men and women -- ahead of Tokyo Olympics. Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary, Ajay Singhania said the visa process has started and Santoso is likely to join the Indian team in the mid of next month.
Having stunned world No. 5 Jan Jorgensen in straight games, Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth said he was well-prepared with his strategy against the Dane that helped him secure a quarter-final spot at the Rio Olympics.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
From a laidback boy with poor dietary habits, Kidambi Srikanth has become an attacking player who can quickly deploy his considerable skills against tough opponents, writes Anand Datla
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.
World number one Saina Nehwal disposed off Nichaon Jindapon's challenge in straight games, but PV Sindhu crashed out of the Indonesian Open Super Series badminton tournament after a close first-round defeat, in Jakarta, on Wednesday. In the men's singles, both the Indians in the fray -- Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth -- advanced to the second round with contrasting victories.
Rising Indian doubles duo of Akshay Dewalkar and Pranaav Jerry Chopra stunned World No 7 Koreans Kim Gi Jung and Kim Sa Rang in an edge-of-the-seat semifinals to seal their maiden Grand Prix Gold final, while K Srikanth also stormed into the men's singles final at the Syed Modi International, in Lucknow, on Saturday.
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.
It was a smooth performance from Sindhu as she was hardly tested by the Taiwanese qualifier
Commonwealth Games champion P Kashyap advanced to the main draw of the men's singles competition of Japan Super Series after registering twin victories in the two rounds of the qualifiers in Tokyo on Tuesday.
It is Sindhu's second semifinal of the season, following a last-four finish at the India Open last month.
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.
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