Expectations will be sky-high when Olympic silver-medallist P V Sindhu returns to international circuit this week, spearheading the Indian campaign at Denmark Open Superseries Premier badminton tournament starting in Odense from Tuesday. A slew of felicitation programs kept her busy in the last one and a half month after Sindhu returned from Rio de Janeiro, becoming the first Indian badminton player to win a silver and her legions of fans will expect her to replicate the Olympic success when she competes this week. The sixth-seeded Indian will open her campaign against China's He Bingjiao on Wednesday. Sindhu has been clubbed in the second half of the draw where she might face the likes of second seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, Korean fourth seed Sung Ji Hyun and the tricky Chinese Taipei girl Tai Tzu Ying, seeded fifth.
A fit-again P Kashyap of India resumed his journey in international badminton by notching up a comfortable win, while H S Prannoy and Ajay Jayaram also advanced to the second round of Indonesia Grand Prix Gold in Balikpapan, Indonesia on Wednesday.
Shooter Avani Lekhara crashed out in the qualification round of the mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1 event at the Tokyo Games on Wednesday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
'He has two small children, think of the impact on them.' Mixed emotions in Indian sports fraternity after Sushil's arrest in murder case.
Adapting quickly to playing conditions at the Rio Olympics will pose the biggest challenge for players, says Saina Nehwal, who is aiming to better the badminton bronze she won in London four years ago.
Indian ace Saina Nehwal's ascent to the top of women's badminton was officially confirmed.
In the absence of Saina Nehwal, Commonwealth Games bronze medallist P Kashyap will spearhead India's challenge in the season-opening Malaysian Open Super Series badminton tournament starting in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Prachi Yadav finishes last in 200m canoe VL2 final
'I think it was a fantastic game for me. I started off really well in the first game but he was playing well in the second game, leading 11-6 at the break and fighting it out. But overall, I think my game was going great, my attack was going well for me'
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal says the Glasgow World Championship made her realise that she needs to work harder on her stamina and beat tougher players to regain her place among badminton's top-10.
The spate of withdrawals from the Delhi Commonwealth Games continued with Canadian diver Meaghan Benfeito and badminton player Alvin Lau becoming the latest to opt out of the event citing contrasting reasons.
Olympic medallists Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu will be the cynosure of all eyes when the seventh India Super Series badminton tournament gets underway with the qualifiers in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Singles stars Saina Nehwal and P Kashyap recorded victories but that was not enough to save India from defeat as it lost 2-3 to Chinese Taipei in the Sudirman Cup mixed team badminton competition in Qingdao, China, on Sunday.
V K Vismaya stunned her fancied opponents, M R Poovamma and Hima Das, to win the gold medal in the women's 400m race at the Indian Grand Prix-3, in Sangrur, on Saturday.
2019 became a 'Year to Remember' in Indian sports for trailblazing performances in Olympic disciplines
'If we have one dedicated coach to train 50-100 coaches who can go back and coach their wards, that will be a very good move'
Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan says we all should be proud of our athletes as they bring greatest glory to the nation. The 73-year-old actor shared his views on social media about sports and said people should understand an athlete before pointing out fingers at them. "Sport, sports people bring the greatest glory to a nation .. they need love and care and recognition and respect... COME ONN INDIA," he wrote on Twitter.
Saina Nehwal will carry a billion hopes when she takes the court in the World badminton Championship but the ace India shuttler remains quietly confident about her chances in the event which gets underway in Paris on Monday.
Two-time Olympic silver medalist Lee Chong Wei suffered his second successive loss in a crucial Trump match at the Premier Badminton League (PBL) as Delhi Acers notched up a thrilling 4-1 win over Hyderabad Hunters at the Siri Fort Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.
HS Prannoy notched up a thrilling three-game win over Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap in an all-Indian final to clinch the $ 120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold in Anaheim, California.
Take a look at what fit-again Saina needs to do before going into the Olympic Games in August this year.
The Indian badminton ace says there should be some stabilization to help players making a comeback from injury.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will lose her world No. 1 ranking after her gallant fight against Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the semi-finals ended in heartbreak at the $500,000 Malaysia Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
'Unless you capture territory and plant your flag, the war is never won.'
Virat Kohli sent the shutterbugs into a clicking frenzy as he received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award
The Olympic silver medalist could charge between Rs 75 lakhs and Rs 1 crore per endorsement.
Rio-bound Indian women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will look to boost their confidence ahead of the Olympic Games when they start their title defence at the Canada Open badminton tournament, starting in Calgary on Tuesday. 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallists, Jwala and Ashwini didn't have the best results in the run up to the Rio Olympics and the duo will look to put their best foot forward when they take the court here with just a little more than a month to go for the Games.
Gopichand also wondered to why the legendary Padukone, India's first badminton superstar 'never had anything positive to say about him'.
Wrestler Sushil Kumar, who won a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and silver at the following Games in London, has signed up with Olympic Gold Quest, which will provide him training and financial assistance in his preparation for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Ace shuttler Pulella Gopichand looks forward to a good season after recovering from injury.
Pusarla Sindhu sent Indian fans into a frenzy by blasting through Japan's Nozomi Okuhara to reach the gold medal decider for the women's singles at the Olympic badminton on Thursday.
'I'm least bothered about the rankings of Kashyap or Srikanth. I want to make it on my own by winning titles.'
Hailing Pusarla V Sindhu's excellent show right through 2016 that saw her becoming the first and only Indian shuttler to win a silver medal in the Olympic Games, chief national coach P Gopichand said his lanky ward is capable of scaling greater heights. "I have always maintained that even when she won in 2013 or 2014 (back-to-back world championship singles bronze medals) Sindhu is still some time away from being her best. I maintain that even now that she has the potential to do even better," said the former All-England men's singles champion during an interaction with the media in Mumbai.
Sindhu leads India to 3-2 win over Hong Kong in Asia badminton Team Championship
India's highest ranked shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Chetan Anand crashed out of the All England badminton tournament after suffering contrasting defeats in the first round of the Super series event in London on Wednesday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
Krrish Delhi Smashers staged a great fightback after losing the first two matches to down Hyderbaad Hotshots 3-2, in the Indian Badminton League in Lucknow.
Saina, who has been battling illness and injuries, is going through a bad patch, having lost six times in the first round this season.
