None of the other three quarters boast of such a strong star cast but there would be a few mouth-watering opening round clashes to look forward to.
North Korean shooting double medalist Kim Jong-su has tested positive for a banned substance and been excluded from the Beijing Olympic Games and stripped of his medals, the International Olympic Committee said on Friday. A female Vietnamese artistic gymnast, who finished out of the medals, has also tested positive for a banned substance, an IOC spokeswoman told reporters.
PV Sindhu appears 'vulnerable' on the counter-attack and that is a big factor in her losing many a title clashes, including recent loss to Saina Nehwal in the singles final at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, observed former India coach Vimal Kumar.
Star shuttler Jwala Gutta once again asked the Badminton Association of India to stop the "step-motherly treatment" towards its doubles players, saying its high time the federation changes its attitude. "I've won medals at the highest level but you're still not capitalising on the achievement. The doubles are still being given a step-motherly treatment. You need to change your attitude," a concerned Jwala told PTI in an interview on the sidelines of the 12th South Asian Games here. "After Ashwini and I, there is nobody and that is the plain truth. It's the doubles, I'm more worried about," a three-time medalist in the Commonwealth Games 2006, 2010 and 2014 lamented. "If we want to compete with China, we have to encourage all the events. We can't just bank on singles all the time. Doubles is taken seriously everywhere except India," the ace shuttler said.
Xu Kun snared gold in the men's individual and team 50 metre pistol events, as China's golden shooting spree continued at the Asian Games on Tuesday.
Ecstatic after clinching a maiden Grand Prix title at the Brazil Open, the Indian mixed doubles pairing of N Sikki Reddy and Pranaav Jerry Chopra have set their sights on winning a medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Indian mixed doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa shocked Commonwealth Games silver medallists England's Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the $ 1 million China Open
Star Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal entered the second round of women's singles with a comfortable victory but P V Sindhu suffered an upset defeat in the opening round to crash out of the US $750,000 Australian Open Super Series badminton tournament in Sydney on Wednesday. In men's singles, India's Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma made the second round with contrasting victories, but it was curtains for qualifier R M V Gurusaidutt as he failed to cross the first round hurdle. Saina, who had won the Australian Open title in 2014, hardly broke a sweat in her opening round game as she outplayed Joy Lai of Australia with a dominating 21-10 21-14 win in just 29 minutes. The seventh seeded Indian will clash with Malaysia's Jin Wei Goh in the second round. However, World No. 10 Sindhu was stunned by South Korea's Kim Hyo Min, ranked 40th in the world, 15-21 19-21 after a 55-minute battle.
Take a look at the celebs who wowed at the Harper's Bazaar Icon Party.
'Experience is important. But if you work hard, you can improve faster. There is a three-month gap now and we will look to train harder and improve our fitness for Olympics' 'I think we need to cut down simple errors on court and not give away easy points. We have got to work hard each day without thinking about the results, as giving our best is in our hands'
A day after her World record-equalling feat, Deepika Kumari made a shock quarter-final exit from the individual events of the Archery World Cup, first stage at the Yuanshen Stadium, in Shanghai, on Thursday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Amid rupee sliding below 64 to a dollar, global agency Standard & Poor's on Tuesday said it will maintain negative outlook for the country as currency depreciation is adversely impacting investor confidence.
Presenting some of the good, bad and ugly looks of the week.
'This country's backwardness is exposed when Indians bribe, coax and cajole agents to get back-breaking jobs abroad to save a little money at home,' observes Sunanda K Datta-Ray.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
After much dilly-dallying, the Sports Ministry has included Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa in the 'Target Olympic Podium Scheme' (TOP) scheme, putting an end to the controversy surrounding the doubles duo's complaint of bias against the Ministry and chief national coach Pullela Gopichand.
Can you guess even one of them?
Eating out was never so much fun and seldom so strange.
Here's our weekly round-up that brings you the latest news on models, designers and celebs from the world of glamour and entertainment.
The biggest upset of the day was produced by Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi, who knocked out Olympic champion and last year's finalist Carolina Marin 21-12, 21-19, in a 48-minute clash.
'I don't think we have ever had so many top players either in singles or doubles,' says badminton legend Prakash Padukone.
Indian boxer Pavitra (60kg) advanced to the quarter-finals of the Asian Games after out-classing Pakistan's Rukhsana Perveen in a bout that did not go beyond the opening round, in Jakarta, on Saturday.
