'Crossing my fingers that it will be better in the summer when the World Championships take place in Delhi.'
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.
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.
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".
Star Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the semifinals, while Lakshya Sen lost his men's singles quarterfinal match in straight games at the Denmark Open Super 750 badminton tournament, in Odense, on Friday.
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.
Ace Indian shuttler H S Prannoy came agonisingly close to pulling off a major upset before bowing out of the BWF World Championships with a gruelling second-round loss to world No. 2 Anders Antonsen of Denmark.
And beyond personal grief, Satwik's gratitude spilled outward -- to those who cheered, to those who stood by him, and to the nation itself.
Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen and the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty sailed into the semifinals of their respective events at the Hong Kong Open Super 500 badminton tournament on Friday.
It was yet another forgettable outing in Tokyo for Praneeth, following his struggles at last year's Olympic Games where he participated without a proper coach or physio to eventually bow out early.
P V Sindhu bowed out, while H S Prannoy and Lakshya Sen scored hard-fought wins to advance in the Hong Kong Open Super 500 tournament.
The 24-year-old Sen, a bronze medallist at the 2021 edition, went down 17-21, 19-21 in 54 minutes.
In women's singles, Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist and 2019 world champion, will have to recover from the shock defeat against fellow Indian Unnati Hooda at the China Open.
Star Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and H S Prannoy advanced to the second round of women's and men's singles competitions respectively with straight-game wins at the BWF World Championships in Paris on Tuesday.
'We didn't get really any rhythm. We didn't start off that well. We gave away easy points (in the third game). We should have been a bit smarter. But, credit to them.'
Chirag and his longtime partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy won the men's doubles bronze last week
The former World Champion reaches the pre-quarterfinals for the first time since 2021.
Srikanth fought better in the second, but Yew was too good on the day, to emerge triumphant.
A medal prospect at the upcoming Paris Olympics, the men's doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty say they are well equipped to handle the pressure of expectations.
Sindhu is the only Indian to feature in the women's singles competition.
Sindhu stands on the brink of history as she pursues the gold medal in the upcoming Games, having won a silver and bronze in 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo edition respectively.
The CM expressed hope that budding athletes and sportspersons in the state can take inspiration from his achievement and adopt the same attitude of hard work and dedication shown by the Indian shuttler.
Saina Nehwal produced a fine performance to kick-off her BWF World Championships campaign with a straight game win over Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi.
The script remained the same in the second game as well, with Sindhu maintaining her firm grip over the proceedings to race to a 6-0 lead in just two minutes.
The world number 18 Indian will now take on former world champion, Singapore's Loh Kean Yew in the second round.
The 21-year-old Sen, who won a bronze in the 2021 World Championships, has been in brilliant form, starting the year with a gold medal at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open before finishing runner-up, at the prestigious All England Open Championships and also at the German Open.
Leading the congratulatory messages from the film industry for the ace shuttler were Aamir Khan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
India's star shuttler P V Sindhu pulled out of the upcoming BWF World Championships on Saturday following a stress fracture on her left foot.
In the men's doubles however, the Indian pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila lost to 11th seeded Russian pair of Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozonov 11-21, 16-21 in a second round match that lasted 41 minutes.
Lakshya Sen has worked on his "speed and variations" to be battle ready for the new season.
BWF said that Finland will host the Sudirman Cup Finals in September-October while the season-ending World Tour Finals will be staged in Indonesia.
Nehwal ended her journey in the tournament while Mia will proceed to the quarterfinals.
No Indians featured in the women's doubles and mixed doubles rankings.
It is "irritating" to be unlucky all the time; perhaps they need some "divine intervention" to win crucial matches, said a frustrated Satwiksairaj Rankireddy after he and Chirag Shetty were beaten in the men's doubles semi-finals at the World Championships, in Tokyo, on Friday.
Kohli's post stole people's hearts becoming the most retweeted sports-related tweet
Double Olympic medallist, Sindhu faces top seed and World No 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals. Ying beat Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour 21-10, 19-21, 21-11 to advance.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty capped off a memorable campaign at the World Badminton Championships, signing-off with a historic bronze medal in the men's doubles competition after going down narrowly to Malaysia's Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the semi-finals, in Tokyo, on Saturday.
Pusarla V Sindhu proved too good for Canada's Michelle Li in the women's singles badminton final to win her maiden Commonwealth Games gold medal, in Birmingham, on Monday.
The Indian ace will be looking to get the better off the Spaniard in Japan Super Series, starting next week, and avenge her recent defeat at the World Championships.
For all her achievements, says Bikash Mohapatra, Saina is yet to win either the Worlds, Olympics or All England, badminton's flagship events.
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