To prevent India Open-like mess, Sports Ministry asks SAI to draw up SOP
The Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Thursday said it has reviewed the facilities at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex, which is hosting the $950,000 India Open, and asserted that the venue meets all requirements for staging the World Championships in August.
Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Lakshya Sen entered the quarterfinals of Indonesia Masters badminton tournament after securing straight-game wins in their respective round-of-16 matches in Jakarta on Thursday.
India produced another clinical performance against Sri Lanka in their Group H clash to inch closer to the knockout stages of the mixed team event of the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships.
Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt once again called out the "unacceptable" and "highly unprofessional" conditions at the ongoing India Open in New Delhi, saying it is "very difficult to see how a World Championship could be held here".
Pullela Gopichand didn't just coach champions -- he changed how Indian badminton thinks about success.
Sindhu, Lakshya lose in quarterfinals; Indian challenge ends in Indonesia Masters
India will host the World Championships for the first time since 2009, with the event seen as a key test of the country's ability to deliver large-scale international tournaments as it eyes the 2036 Olympics.
India's PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth progressed at the Indonesia Masters, but the tournament ended early for several other Indian players.
Devika Sihag clinched her maiden BWF Super 300 crown after Malaysia's Goh Jin Wei retired midway through the women's singles final of the Thailand Masters.
Former champion Lakshya Sen produced a composed and tactical performance to advance to the quarterfinals of the $950,000 India Open Super 750 badminton tournament but Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy bowed out after a spirited show, in New Delhi, on Thursday.
New Delhi has been chosen as the host city of the next Badminton World Championships in August 2026, the sport's global governing body BWF announced on Monday.
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'I heard the voice recording, also read the statement, both are contradictory. In voice recording, she appreciated, but what I read was all negative.'
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'I'm still here, still able to play against somebody who is 14 years younger to me and give tough competition, I should be able to find happiness in it.'
Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-Yi claimed his maiden Super 750 title in men's singles, while World No. 1 An Se Young of South Korea underlined her supremacy by securing the women's singles crown at the $950,000 India Open, in New Delhi, on Sunday.
India's top men's doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded third, also progressed without taking the court after receiving a walkover from USA's Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith.
Trailblazer Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal, who has been out of action for the last two years due to a chronic knee condition, has confirmed her retirement from competitive badminton, saying her body could no longer cope with the physical demands of elite sport.
'There are a lot of questions in your mind where you are answerable to it, like you yourself are answerable to it. It helped me to get back much more stronger and better.'
'Once you are out of the top 32, it becomes very tough to get back. Last year I couldn't really get entries into the 750 tournaments. To start this year with one is a positive step.'
'Players do not need to serve within 25 seconds -- just be in position and ready.'
P V Sindhu took the opening game 21-11 before Akane Yamaguchi, who was wearing a knee brace, decided to pull out of the match.
India ace Lakshya Sen made a fine start to the new season, advancing to the men's singles second round with a hard-fought win over Jia Heng Jason Teh of Singapore at the Malaysia Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
Lakshya Sen fought through a bruising three-game contest but fell short in the decisive moments to go down in three games against Chinese Taipei's World No. 12 Lin Chun-Yi in men's singles quarterfinals as the home challenge ended at the India Open Super 750, in New Delhi, on Friday.
India Open badminton: "Bird droppings" interrupt Prannoy-Loh match, add to organisers' woes
These trials will continue and expand through 2026, when the system will be tested more broadly.
Paris Olympics gold medallist An Se-young beat Japan's Akane Yamaguchi 21-15, 21-12 in the last four of badminton's World Tour Final in Hangzhou on Saturday to set up a title clash with defending champion Wang Zhiyi.
Lots to look forward to in Indian sports as packed 2026 calender awaits
Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt on Tuesday launched a fresh criticism of playing conditions at the new venue of the IG Stadium, in New Delhi, saying the shift in halls has done little to address the unhealthy and unprofessional surroundings for players and called for apex body BWF's intervention to improve the scenario ahead of the World Championships.
'The supply of feathers has dropped and costs have escalated sharply.'
Unnati Hooda's run at the French Open Super 750 came to an end when she was overpowered by world number two Wang Zhiyi in the pre-quarterfinals of the women's singles.
Earlier, former world No.1 Srikanth had to dig deep to outlast fellow Indian Tharun Mannepalli 15-21, 21-6, 21-19.
Sen, who had broken the three-year jinx of first-round exits in the tournament when he defeated Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh on Wednesday, succumbed in the pre-quarterfinals against Hong Kong-China's Lee Cheuk Yiu 22-22, 15-21 in 53 minutes.
P V Sindhu, returning from a long injury lay-off, defeated Chinese-Taipei's Sung Shuo Yun in the opening round at the Malaysia Open.
The Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue is a flagship initiative of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports aimed at giving India's youth a "meaningful role in shaping the vision of a Viksit Bharat".
Shuttlers Tanvi Sharma and Vennala Kalagotla assured India of two medals after storming into the singles semi-finals at the Badminton Asia Junior Individual Championships.
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