Sindhu, Lakshya lose in quarterfinals; Indian challenge ends in Indonesia Masters
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.
Lakshya Sen displayed remarkable mental and physical strength to defeat China's Shi Yu Qi in a thrilling three-game badminton match at the BWF world tour event in Birmingham.
Play was briefly interrupted during the women's doubles semifinal of the ongoing India Open Super 750 tournament on Saturday after some "particles from the bird's nest" fell on the court.
'My aim is to stay on the World Tour year by year. I am not thinking about the 2028 Olympics'
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy stormed into the men's doubles second round of the Macau Open Super 300 with a straight-game win over Malaysia's Low Hang Yee and Ng Eng Cheong.
Indian shuttlers Lakshya Sen, Ayush Shetty, and Tharun Mannepalli progressed to the second round of the men's singles competition at the Macau Open Super 300 badminton tournament after registering fine wins on Wednesday.
Sindhu, Prannoy advance to second round of Singapore Open
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty cruised into the quarter-finals of the French Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Paris.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy have been handed relatively easy groups for the Paris Games, which begin on July 26.
World no. 5 Jiang Zhen Bang and Wei Ya Xin were the first to dazzle as they beat Korea's Kim Won Ho and Jeong Na Eun 21-19, 21-18 in the mixed doubles semifinals at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall.
An under-strength Indian women's team suffered a 0-5 defeat to the mighty China in its final group A fixture of the Uber Cup.
Don't do any strange things in preparation ahead of Olympics, Gopichand's advise to shuttlers
Pusarla Sindhu romped into the final of the World Badminton Championships, trouncing China's Chen Yu Fei 21-7, 21-14 in semi-finals, in Basel, on Saturday.
Star India shuttler P V Sindhu made an exit from Thailand Open after going down in straight games to Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei in the semi-finals in Bangkok on Saturday.
Sindhu will play her opening match on Sunday, while B Sai Praneeth and the men's pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will be in action on Saturday.
B Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, however, suffered a 21-23, 21-13, 12-21 loss against Korean pair of Song hyun Cho and Lee Jung Hyun in their mixed doubles opening round.
Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Monday singled out world number one doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as favourites for an Olympic medal and said two-time medallist PV Sindhu too is on the right path and can deliver once again at the Paris Games.
Join us in congratulating Sindhu on her historic achievement.
PV Sindhu produced another impressive show as she rallied to a three-game win over USA's Beiwen Zhang to advance to the women's singles quarterfinals
Home favourites Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty went down in a tense final against world champions Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Sang Jae at India Open, settling for their second successive runners-up finish, in New Delhi on Sunday.
The Indians, who were also Asian champions, defeated the current world champions in 43 minutes.
World No. 1 Yamaguchi, however, had to toil hard to get across three-time world champion and Rio gold medallist Carolina Marin of Spain 21-17, 14-21, 21-19 in the day's first match at the IG stadium in New Delhi.
Sindhu hardly had to break a sweat as she posted a comfortable 21-14 21-7 win over the third seeded Japanese shuttler in just 44 minutes.
PV Sindhu eked out a three-game win over world number 1 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan
The struggle of Indian women shuttlers on the BWF circuit is quite apparent, but Saina Nehwal backs her colleagues by saying that even the strong Chinese players are finding it difficult to dish out strong performances on a consistent basis and expressed hope that the lean patch of the singles players will end soon.
India's Tokyo Paralympics gold winner Pramod Bhagat was on Thursday named among six shuttlers for the Male Para Badminton Player of the Year by the sport's world body but none of his compatriots featured in the able-bodied awards' categories.
Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu are on a collision course at next week's World Championships in Basel, Switzerland, as they have been placed in the same half after the world governing body re-conducted the women's singles draw.
None of the other three quarters boast of such a strong star cast but there would be a few mouth-watering opening round clashes to look forward to.
China, who have yet to lose a single badminton match to another nation at the Tokyo Olympics, won gold and silver in mixed doubles on Friday after Wang Yilyu and Huang Dongping beat favourites Zheng Siwei and Huang Yaqiong 21-17, 17-21, 21-19.
Just like in her campaign opener against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi on Wednesday, Sindhu squandered a game advantage to lose yet again in the year-ending BWF World Tour Final
Reigning World champion P V Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth were handed easy group stage outings in the badminton draws unveiled on Thursday for the Tokyo Olympics, starting on July 23.
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.
'It is the first time that India badminton player has won two Olympic medals in badminton, so it is a great achievement not only for Sindhu but also a big moment for my teaching life.'
India's P V Sindhu squandered an 11-6 lead in the second game before going down 18-21, 21-18, 21-8 in 68 minutes to former world number one Akane Yamaguchi.
Sindhu has said while there will be a lot of expectations on her going into the Tokyo Olympics
Sindhu said she has to watch out for the Chinese players as well since they have been missing from the circuit for some time.
India's P V Sindhu took a firm step in her quest for Olympic gold in the women's singles badminton, easily disposing off the challenge from Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the women's singles badminton quarter-final in Tokyo, on Friday, July 30, 2021.
'Her defence was the one only problem. (Carolina) Marin and Pornpawee (Chochuwong) are good attacking players, they were using a lot of half smash and straight smash, and when Sindhu's defence goes down on a day, it affects her other skills as well, she gets nervous. But now she has improved a lot in her defence as well. Her endurance on the court is also good.'
P V Sindhu secured her fifth World Championships medal following a stunning comeback while B Sai Praneeth became the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years to grab a podium place in badminton's prestigious event, in Basel, on Friday.
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