'I have funded myself for tournaments until Nov last year, after which I was sent with the Indian team for tournaments as I met the selection criteria to make the team. I was included as part of TOPS scheme only after qualifying for the Paris 2024 Games till the Olympic Games, that's it.'
Shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa believes that the Indian contingent has a strong shot at changing the colour of the medal in the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Indian Badminton player Ashwini Ponnappa on Sunday got married to businessman and model Karan Medappa at a ceremony in Karnataka's Coorg.
This was their third semifinal appearance on the BWF Tour this season, having earlier reached the last four at the Singapore Open and India Open.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty assured India of a medal at the World Championships after defeating Malaysia's two-time Olympic medallists Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, in the quarter-finals in Paris.
'Head out!' 'It has been a long time that we have not met family and friends.'
And, run to the court.'
Sindhu, Lakshya to head India's campaign at Asian C'ships
The men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty crashed out in the second round of the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament on Thursday. Sen lost to Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in three games, while Satwik and Chirag lost a close match against Thai combination of Kittinupong Kedren and Dechapol Puavaranukroh.
The top-seeded duo, who also competed at the Paris Olympics, showcased a dominant performance to outclass Li and Wang 21-18, 21-12 in the summit clash that lasted 43 minutes.
India's men's singles campaign suffered a setback as none of the players could make it past the opening round on Day 2 of the India Open in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Ashwini and Tanisha, who won the Guwahati Masters super 100 title, last month will take on Malaysia's Pei Kee Go and Mei Xing Teoh next.
B Sumeeth Reddy, a member of the 2022 Commonwealth Games mixed team silver medal-winning squad, has announced his retirement as an active badminton player to focus entirely on coaching.
The Paris Olympics was a challenging chapter for Tanisha and all other Indian shuttlers as India returned without a medal for the first time in 12-years.
Earlier in the day, the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanshia Crasto squandered an early lead to go down 21-18, 15-21, 19-21 against Malaysia's Pang Ron Hoo and Su Yin Cheng in the second round.
Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila outclassed Adnan Maulana and Indah Cahya Sari Jamil in straight games in the first round match.
Satwik-Chirag had lost each of the two semifinals in straight sets and their aim would be to go the distance in the upcoming tournament.
PV Sindhu is set to make a much-anticipated return to competitive badminton at the India Open Super 750 tournament after missing the season opener in Kuala Lumpur due to her wedding.
While India have never won the gold at the Asia Mixed Team Championships, they did secure mixed team gold and silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022.
Indian badminton stalwart Ashwini Ponnappa broke down in tears, announcing she has played her last Olympics after she and her partner Tanisha Crasto suffered their third straight defeat in the women's doubles competition of the Paris Games.
Double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra is among only three track and field athletes retained in the sports ministry's revamped TOPS core group.
'We both are big foodies. We make it a point to go out and try different food after our matches.'
The seasoned Ashwini Ponnappa and her partner Rohan Kapoor entered the second round in the mixed doubles on the opening day of the Syed Modi India International badminton event in Lucknow on Tuesday.
Lakshya Sen moved a place to world number 17, despite not competing in the last two weeks.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty sailed to the semifinals with a straight-game win over Malaysians Junaidi Arif and Roy King Yap
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty notched up a dominating straight-game win against Indonesian duo of Muhammad Rian Ardianto and Fajar Alfian to top Group C.
The Chirag-Satwik pair won the Thailand Open in May to reclaim the No.1 ranking but suffered loss of form and made a first-round exit from the Singapore Open last month.
Manu Bhaker and partner Sarabjot Singh will compete in the 10m air pistol mixed team bronze medal play-off match on Tuesday.
A look at India's schedule at the Paris Olympics on Monday, July 29, 2024:
A look at India's schedule at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, July 27, 2024:
The Indian badminton team returned empty-handed from the Olympics for the first time in over a decade.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have regained their top spot following their Thailand Open title triumph on Sunday.
PV Sindhu cruised into the women's singles final with a dominating straight-game win over fellow Indian Unnati Hooda in the semis.
Lakshya Sen registered an easy 21-9, 21-15 win over Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in his pre-quarterfinal match.
Priyanshu Rajawat suffered a 13-21, 14-21, loss to Japan's Kanta Tsuneyama, while Aakarshi Kashyap went down 18-21, 10-21 to German Yvonne Li.
Lakshya Sen shrugged off the cancellation of his opening match win and defeated Julien Carraggi of Belgium in straight games
On Friday, Supanida Katethong came out on top against Indian star PV Sindhu in an intense quarter-final battle in which the Thai shuttler emerged 24-26, 21-17, 22-20 winner in one hour and 17 minutes.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy have been handed relatively easy groups for the Paris Games, which begin on July 26.
India's Lakshya Sen got off the a rousing start at the Olympics, beating Guatemala's Kevin Cordon 21-8, 22-20 in the men's singles badminton competition on Saturday.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the second round of French Open Super 750 badminton tournament.
The top-16 in the world by April-end will make the cut for the Olympics.
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