'Saina and Sindhu are top contenders, but they will have to beat players who are playing solid badminton at this juncture.'
Vidarbha opener Atharva Taide struck his third first-class century and his second of the ongoing Ranji Trophy season
Former All England champion Prakash Padukone tipped PV Sindhu to be the world number one in the near future, but Saina Nehwal's coach Vimal Kumar was of the view that both the Olympic medallists could dominate world badminton in the next 5-7 years. While Saina became the first Indian shuttler to win an Olympic medal - a bronze - at 2012 London Olympics, Sindhu did one better by winning a historic silver at the Rio Games this year. "Definitely, Sindhu is capable of reaching the number one place," Padukone told reporters at the Olympic Gold Quest workshop for junior athletes in Bengaluru.
Top shuttlers Ashwini Ponnappa and Lakshya Sen are among 20-odd Indian players who have started training at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy (PPBA) in Bengaluru as the sport took its first step towards resumption after the COVID-19 hiatus. Confined to their homes for more than two months due to the nationwide lockdown to contain the health crisis, the shuttlers started training at PPBA after the Sports Authority of India (SAI) laid down rules for resumption of training late last month.
Pullela Gopichand, India's chief badminton coach, shares his views on the country's leading female players with Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated ace shuttler Saina Nehwal for winning the Australian Open Super Series event in Sydney, on Sunday.
Former India badminton coach Vimal Kumar on Tuesday blamed the withdrawals by Asian nations for the postponement of the Thomas and Uber Cup Final, calling it a "big setback" for the sport.
The committee also picked 19 sportspersons for the Arjuna Award, including the likes of cricketers Ravindra Jadeja and Poonam Yadav, track and field stars Tejinder Pal Singh Toor, Mohammed Anas and Swapna Barman.
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.
With the coronavirus pandemic halting all sport activities, India's former chief badminton coach Vimal Kumar on Tuesday urged the government to allow the Olympic-bound athletes to continue their training after conducting the required tests. Following the respective directives of the Talengana and Karnataka governments, the Pullela Gopichand academy in Hyderbad and Prakash Padukone Academy in Bangalore have been shut down for two weeks.
National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand remained tightlipped about his split with Saina Nehwal, saying he doesn't want to talk about the issue as the Asian Games is just round the corner.
The Badminton World Federation's proposal to reduce on-court coaching and tweak the scoring system has left international coaches a confused lot with the likes of Pullela Gopichand and Kenneth Jonassen questioning the very logic of such a move.
If you don't produce quality coaches, you cannot produce next level of players, says Indian national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand.
According to a source in Sports Authority of India (SAI), Rana also had to pay the price for disciplinary issues after not being present during Manu's 25m pistol final at the Munich World Cup in May this year.
Additional Sessions Judge Vimal Kumar Yadav allowed the bail application of Tomar after imposing several conditions, including a bar on his travel outside the national capital without prior permission from the court and joining the investigation as and when required.
The protesters have been demanding their relocation to safe environments in the wake of a spurt in the attacks on the minority community members in the valley.
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.
A Delhi court deferred for January 13 its order on framing of charges against sacked Uttarakhand minorities panel chief S S Namdhari and 21 others, arrested in connection with the killing of liquor baron Ponty Chadha and his brother Hardeep in a shootout last year.
Former Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar's lawyer on Tuesday withdrew the bail application after the Aam Aadmi Party leader was sent to police custody remand for four days.
Sachin Tendulkar and other eminent sporting stars congratulated Saina Nehwal on becoming the first Indian woman shuttler to attain the world number one ranking in badminton.
The judge gave the directions after Vimal Kumar Srivastava and Manish Tripathi, representing the six accused, moved an application seeking their exemption from personal appearance for Friday only on the ground they had prior commitment.
Star India shuttler Saina Nehwal, who has recovered from a serious knee injury sustained during the Rio Olympics in August and is back on the international circuit, is still not at her physical best and needs more time to reach that high level, feels her coach Vimal Kumar.
Dubai Police authorities said that there are still some unidentified bodies and the number of Indians who died in the accident could rise further.
The arrested belong to an outfit called the 'Hindu Yodha Sangathan', and the leader of the group is a history-sheeter with four criminal cases registered against him, police said.
Readers have responded resoundingly to our invitation to congratulate the ISRO team for Chandrayaan-3's successful Moon landing.
Age-fudging has been a big problem in Indian sports
World Championship silver-medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal is aiming to remain injury-free and excel in all the Super Series tournaments in the run up to next year's Rio Olympics.
Defending champion Lakshya Sen pulled out of the SaarLorLux Open Super 100 tournament after his father-cum-coach D K Sen tested positive for COVID-19 in Saarbrucken.
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Former Punjab and Haryana high court Judge Nirmal Yadav faces trial in the infamous 2008 cash-at-judge's door scam after a special CBI court in Chandigarh on Saturday framed charges against her in the case.
'The ladies, Maya Govind and Rani Malik, were criticised for writing sexist, crass or vulgar songs.'
Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu are training at separate academies of national coach Pullela Gopichand ever since their epic Commonwealth Games summit clash
She clinched three individual titles and a couple of bronze medals at prestigious team events this season but far from satiated, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal feels she could have garnered more trophies had it not been for some missed opportunities.
Crowned the world number one, Saina Nehwal celebrated her numero uno status with a straight-game demolition of Japanese Yui Hashimoto, while Kidambi Srikanth too saw off Xue Song of China to reach their maiden finals at the Yonex Sunrise India Super Series.
I am overwhelmed and humbled with all the love and support I have received from so many fans in India and all over the world and just wanted to say a big 'Thank You' to everyone," said the 20-year-old from Almora.
Sports Minister Jitendra Singh responded to his senior colleague in the government Veerappa Moily's letter to him in connection with Jwala Gutta's ongoing impasse with the BAI, saying that he will examine her case and see how he can extend support to her.
'Well, I think every year, in the last few years, has been better than the previous one'
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Still recovering from a foot injury and a recurring fever, defending champion Saina Nehwal has pulled out of the women's singles competition at the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Lucknow.
Take a look at what fit-again Saina needs to do before going into the Olympic Games in August this year.
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