'The league will begin as a city-based franchise setup, starting with six cities.'
In an open letter, BWF secretary general Thomas Lund said the decision to go ahead with the All England Championships was made based on the best advice at that time. "It has been very disappointing to see some members of the badminton community speculate on the sincerity and motives of the BWF in this time of crisis," Lund wrote.
The Indians, who were also Asian champions, defeated the current world champions in 43 minutes.
The women's doubles pair of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly bowed out of the All-England Badminton Championships, losing in the semi-finals, at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham, on Saturday. Playing on court No. 6, the Indian duo lost to China's Zhang Shuxian and Zheng Yu 21-17, 21-16, in 51 minutes.
Bhagat is suspended from all badminton-related activities until September 1, 2025. As a result, he won't have the opportunity to defend his title and will miss the marquee event in Paris.
In the women's section, defending champion Unnati Hooda, national champion Anupama Upadhyaya, Ashmita Chaliha, Imad Farooqui Samiya, Tasnim Mir reached the pre-quarterfinals.
P V Sindhu touched down in Birmingham in serious style -- aboard a private jet -- ahead of the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championships 2025.
Double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and promising shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat bowed out of the Badminton Asia Championships in the pre-quarterfinals, while mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto advanced to the last eight
I will continue, albeit after a small break: PV Sindhu
Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu scored contrasting victories to enter the third round of the women's singles at the World Badminton Championships in Guangzhou on Wednesday.
After winning her first ever Super Series badminton title in Indonesia, Saina Nehwal arrived at Hyderabad on Saturday amidst much fan fare.
It was a "moment to cherish" for Pramod Bhagat who on Saturday clinched India's first badminton gold in Paralympics and he attributed his win against Great Britain's Daniel Bethell in the finals to a strategy that he devised after losing to the same opponent in the past.
India's lack of bench strength was exposed as they suffered a crushing 1-4 defeat against Denmark in their opening Group D match at the BWF Sudirman Cup Finals.
Saina Nehwal's struggle for form summed up a disappointing year for Indian Badminton, the rare high point of which was Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa's World Championships bronze medal.
Srikanth's Malaysia run shows he belongs at the top
H S Prannoy stunned two-time defending champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in a thrilling 68-minute quarter-final to ensure a medal for India.
Parupalli Kashyap regained his place inside the top 10 in the latest BWF's world ranking, release on Thurday.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand capped a remarkable week by clinching a maiden Super 300 title with a commanding straight-game victory over China's Bao Li Jing and Li Qian in the Syed Modi International final on Sunday.
BWF, in a statement, said that only those athletes eligible for the originally scheduled championships are allowed to enter.
The core of the team remains the same with HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty in good form and the Indian team would hope the rub of the green also goes their way when it begins campaign on Thursday.
World No 1 shuttler Saina Nehwal presented the racquet with which she won a silver medal at the Badminton World Championships to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an advanced birthday present, on Wednesday.
The para-athletes outnumbered the able-bodied ones in the list this time due to the magnificent Paris Paralympics performance in which they returned with 29 medals, including seven gold and nine silver.
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.
World No 17 Sen, started strongly and took the first game 21-15. But Lin, bounced back to claim the second 21-17.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand (women's doubles) and B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy (mixed doubles) suffered three-game defeats in their opening contests.
'Well, I think every year, in the last few years, has been better than the previous one'
London Olympics quarter-finalist Parupalli Kashyap and rising Indian woman shuttler P V Sindhu won their respective first round matches in the men's and women's singles event in the Badminton Asia Championship in Taipei on Wednesday.
China's Shi Yuqi overcame Taiwan's Lee Chia-hao in the men's singles final to win the All England Open Badminton Championships title on Sunday in a two-game match.
P V Sindhu won the ESPN's 'Female Sportsperson of the Year' award while young shooter Saurabh Chaudhary bagged the honour in the male category.
Dutch speed skater Lara van Ruijven died after battling with an autoimmune disorder.
The 25-year-old World Championships quarter-finalist says the money his employers Bharat Petroleum and Bangalore-based SKL Software gives him is not enough to train and play abroad.
This year PV Sindhu has reached the summit clash at India Open, the Commonwealth Games and the Thailand Open but failed to cross the final hurdle, prompting many critics to once again describe her as the 'perennial bridesmaid'.
India Open winner Lakshya Sen and Mithun Manjunath gave a good account of themselves.
Srikanth needed only 42 minutes to get the better of the 20-year-old Jason Gunawan from Hong Kong 21-19, 21-15 in his round of 16 contest.
Sankar's father Subramanian encouraged him to drop out of the schooling system at an early age and pushed him to play in the upper age groups and senior circuits.
Later, India's challenge came to a crashing halt after the women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost their quarterfinals.
Malaysia's top badminton player Lee Chong Wei wrested the Malaysian Open title when he defeated world number one Chen Long at Shah Alam on Sunday. The world No. 4 won 21-13, 21-8 to clinch his record 11th title in Malaysia, which also comes as a much-needed boost in his pursuit of a still-elusive Olympic gold medal. The world number four shuttler was in fine form for the Malaysian competition after suffering early exits in the All England Championships and India Open in March. "Many critics have said that I should retire after some poor performances. But I know within myself that I am capable of still producing the goods at the highest level and this win was the proof of that," said the 33-year old Lee.
Srikanth outwitted world no. 24 Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei 21-17, 21-18 in a 43-minute contest.
The Hyderabad Open badminton tournament, scheduled to be held from August 11 to 16, was on Thursday cancelled by the world body BWF in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The event was part of the BWF's revised calendar to restart the sport after the pandemic-forced cancellations since March.
PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen moved a step closer to clinching the women's and men's singles title respectively
