Indian archery endured a forgettable outing at Stage 3 of the World Cup in Antalya, Turkey on Saturday, returning empty-handed in a performance that raised serious questions over team selection, preparation and mental fortitude, especially with the Asian Games just a year away.
Indian badminton player Ayush Shetty's impressive run at the Orleans Masters Super 300 tournament came to an end in the semifinals.
Indian shuttler P Kashyap crashed out of the Chinese Taipei Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament after suffering a straight-game defeat against higher-ranked Sony Kuncoro of Indonesia.
India's men's singles campaign suffered a setback as none of the players could make it past the opening round on Day 2 of the India Open in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Top seed and 2018 winner Shi Yu Qi of China dispatched Indonesia's Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo 21-13, 21-8 while compatriot Li Shi Feng, world number six, came from behind to beat Canadian Brian Yang 21-11, 18-21, 21-16.
In mixed doubles, Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila advanced to the second round with a 8-21, 21-19, 21-17 victory over Chinese Taipei's Chen Cheng Kuan and Hsu Yin-Hui.
High on confidence but low on performance, India will look to put behind the recent reverses when they take on Chinese Taipei in their opening match of the AFC Challenge Cup qualifying tournament in Yangon on Saturday.
A brace by midfielder N P Pradeep helped India hold Chinese Taipei 2-2 in their second and final football friendly tie against in Chennai on Tuesday. In the first friendly in Goa on Saturday, India had defeated the visitors 3-0.
Prannoy fought back to level at 13-13, but Popov surged ahead as the Indian crumbled.
Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna continued with their blistering form as India thrashed Japan 3-0.
India's Kidambi Srikanth was ousted in men's singles but the women's pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand progressed to the semifinals of the Macau Open Super 300 badminton tournament in Macau on Friday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
The mixed doubles pair of Sathish Kumar Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath lost 12-21, 15-21 to the Chinese combine of Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi.
The Indian men's team settled for the bronze medal after suffering a 0-3 defeat to Chinese Taipei in the semi-finals of the Asian Table Tennis Championships in Astana, on Thursday.
India wrapped up their campaign at the Asian Table Tennis Championships with three medals, including a historic bronze in the women's doubles, after Ayhika Mukherjee and Sutirtha Mukherjee's dream run ended in the semifinals in Astana, Kazakhstan on Sunday.
Saina Nehwal thrashed Indonesia's Pia Zebadiah Bernadet to enter the women's singles final in the Yonex Chinese Taipei Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament on Saturday. The world No 14-ranked Indian, who became the first Indian woman to win a four-star badminton tournament at the Philippines Open in 2006, won the semi-final 21-7, 21-11.
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.
Indian shooter Sift Kaur Samra won her first individual ISSF World Cup gold in the women's 50m rifle 3-positions final, while Esha Singh bagged a second individual World Cup silver in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
They won the boys and girls' titles respectively in the Jr Asian TT championship.
India won the team gold in men's and women's 10m air pistol events at the ISSF Junior World Championship.
The Taiwanese shuttler took an hour and 10 minutes to beat the Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila outclassed Adnan Maulana and Indah Cahya Sari Jamil in straight games in the first round match.
PV Sindhu is set to make a much-anticipated return to competitive badminton at the India Open Super 750 tournament after missing the season opener in Kuala Lumpur due to her wedding.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
The duo of B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy entered the mixed doubles second round but the other Indian shuttlers, including Priyanshu Rajawat, made early exits
Kidambi Srikanth is the lone Indian survivor at the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament in Basel. He progressed to the semi-finals with a straight-games win over Chinese Taipei's Chia Hao Lee on Friday night.
Moein Shafaghi and Himanshu dished out superb performances as Tamil Thalaivas thrashed Bengal Warriorz 60-29 in their Pro Kabaddi League match in Pune on Wednesday.
In mixed doubles, the husband-wife Indian pair of B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy defeated Malaysia's Wong Tien Ci and Lim Chiew Sien 21-17, 21-19.
Based on the latest world rankings, India's archers secured team quota places for both the men's and women's categories at the upcoming Paris Olympics.
Rising Indian shuttler Malvika Bansod continued her impressive form this year, pulling off a stunning upset against world No. 23 Sung Shuo Yun of Chinese Taipei to advance to the women's singles pre-quarterfinals of the Arctic Open Super 500 tournament on Tuesday.
The 30-minute duel had some exciting moments as the two players fought hard for supremacy with Sindhu conceding a 4-2 lead to Zhang, who could only manage a one-point advantage at the break.
The duo is aiming for top-30 ranking and continued success in bigger tournaments.
The World No. 10 Prannoy was the latest to be eliminated on a day when Sameer Verma, mixed doubles pair of Sikki Reddy and B Sumeeth Reddy along with women singles player Aakarshi Kashyap drew blanks.
Malvika Bansod pulled off a sensational straight-game victory over Paris Olympics bronze medallist Gregoria Mariska Tanjong of Indonesia in the women's singles opening round.
No Indian features in the men's singles and men's doubles events.
India will next take on Chinese Taipei on Thursday.
India will face either Japan or Kazakhstan on Sunday.
The Indian badminton team returned empty-handed from the Olympics for the first time in over a decade.
However, it was curtains for Kiran George in the men's singles event as he lost 20-22, 6-21 against seventh seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan.
Lakshya Sen, Malvika Bansod make first-round exits at Denmark Open
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances