Expectations from the Indian male shuttlers will also be high, given their exploits in recent months.
South Korea ended their 12-year wait for an Uber Cup title with a 3-2 upset of defending champions China that was only decided in the last singles match of the final in Bangkok, Thailand on Saturday.
Former India badminton coach Vimal Kumar reckons a tough journey awaits Saina Nehwal, who will need to target specific tournaments to prolong her career after the COVID-19 pandemic shattered her Tokyo Olympics dreams.
Lakshya Sen said the win against reigning All England Champion Li Shi Feng gives him confidence and belief in the Olympic qualification year.
India's H S Prannoy faced stiff resistance before prevailing against local hero Daren Liew to advance to the second round of the Malaysia Open, in Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday.
The Rio Olympics gold medallist had withdrawn from the All England Championships this year after suffering the injury during the Swiss Open.
Vishnu Vishal is his name. And he used to be a cricketer before he became an actor.
Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu wished Spain's Carolina Marin a speedy recovery after she was forced out of the Tokyo Games due to a freak knee injury and said she will miss the reigning Olympic champion at the quadrennial event.
Sindhu has agreed to compete in next month's Thomas and Uber Cup after deciding to pull out of the event earlier due to personal reasons
Riding on her stupendous performance at the Australian Open Super Series, Indian ace Saina Nehwal jumped two places to reach the World No. six in the latest BWF ranking released on Thursday. The 26-year-old from Hyderabad, who clinched the Australian Open title -- her first of the season - last Sunday, now has 75,369 points in her kitty.
In hockey, the women's team continued its inspiring run with a silver medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
'By the time Parineeti comes to Saina, the audience would be suffering from an overdose.'
PV Sindhu advanced to the quarterfinals of Badminton Asia Championships
A quarterfinal loss at the All England Championship saw Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal slip three places down the rung to the sixth spot in the latest BWF world ranking on Thursday. Saina, who turned 26, went through injuries last year and missed out on a few tournaments this season, including the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and South Asian Games in January and February respectively. The Olympic bronze medallist, who had finished runners-up at the 2015 All England Championship, lost to Tai Tzu Ying in straight games in the quarterfinals. The Indian now has 73,222 points. Two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, P V Sindhu improved a place to reach the 11th spot.
HS Prannoy playws a pivotal role in India's epic triumph by winning the decisive third singles against Malaysia and Denmark
India had won the mixed team gold at 2018 CWG for the first time and Chirag feels they can repeat the performance this year too.
'I try to do my own stunts as much as possible.' 'I tried this stunt for Saaho and my foot got stuck. My other leg was stretched in the air.' 'If it had stretched two more inches, there could have been a tear.' 'I was limping for a while, but thankfully, because I have been physically training for Saina, my body is warm all the time.'
Prannoy and Sen played five times in 2022 with Sen coming into the match with a slender 3-2 advantage.
The absence of double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu, London Games bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and men's doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also hurt India's prospect as the team cut a sorry figure at the team-tournament.
A former world champion, Sindhu is one of the favourites to win the women's singles gold medal in Birmingham, having won the silver and bronze in the last two editions at Gold Coast and Glasgow.
World champion P V Sindhu remains India's best Olympic medal prospect but she has to give more attention to her recovery process between matches to achieve the feat at the Tokyo Olympic Games, said former India badminton coach Vimal Kumar.
India has entered the final of the Thomas Cup for the first time since the tournament began 73 years back.
Defending champion Lee Chong Wei produced one of his finest performances to retain the men's singles title with a straight-game victory over familiar foe Chen Long of China in the final of the US $250,000 Yonex Sunrise Metlife India Super Series in Delhi on Sunday. In an all-Chinese women's singles final, All-England champion Shixian Wang, seeded second, kept her cool at crucial moments to overcome Olympic champion and top seed Li Xuerui 22-20, 21-19 in 47 minutes.
India's Lakshya Sen on Thursday progressed to the quarter-finals of the All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham, while HS Prannoy crashed out in the second round.
Indian badminton stalwarts P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal suffered contrasting fortunes at the Malaysia Open Super 750 tournament, the former progressing to the second round and the latter bowing out after losing her opener in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday.
Despite clinching the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold title last week, Indian shuttler H S Prannoy slipped three places to World No 27 in the latest BWF rankings released on Thursday.
In other India-related news, Manish Kaurav (KL3 men 200m) and Manjeet Singh (VL2 men 200m) made it to the finals of their respective events for the first time in the history of the tournament.
Star shuttlers, including P V Sindhu, will chase individual gold medals but doubles would also under the spotlight as India would aim to retain the mixed team title and continue their consistent run at the Commonwealth Games.
Young men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty too entered the quarter-finals after getting past Chinese Taipei's Liao Min Chun and Su Ching Heng 21-17, 21-16 in the second round.
P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen sailed into the second round but it was curtains for Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth on a mixed day for India at the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Paris on Wednesday.
Spearheading India's challenge at the World Championships, Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu says she is in good form and vowed to better the colour of her past two bronze medals.
The COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected over 30 lakh people worldwide, has halted all sports, including badminton, across the globe with even the Tokyo Olympics being pushed to next year. Tennis star Novak Djokovic had recently said he is opposed to a compulsory coronavirus vaccination.
'I never imagined that a doll would be made on me. It feels great to be recognised by Barbie,' says the World Para-badminton champion who was also honoured by Time magazine.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday.
Top shuttler P V Sindhu has recovered to be fit for the singles event of the ongoing Commonwealth Games, national coach Pullela Gopichand said.
Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal is placed fourth in the list headed by American tennis legend Serena Williams followed by Maria Sharapova and elder sister Venus.
Three-time champion Saina Nehwal registered a 21-18, 21-15 win against PV Sindhu, a two-time winner, in the summit clash.
Sindhu was "angry and sad" after being criticised for not finishing on top in the last two World Championship finals and the gold medal in the 2019 edition was her answer to all her critics.
The top Indian players, including Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Srikanth have failed to lift the prestigious trophy
India ace Saina Nehwal was admitted to a hospital in Hyderabad to undergo treatment for her knee injury which affected her progress in the badminton event of the Rio Olympics.
