From China's world number one Shi Yuqi's surprising loss to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn, to Malaysia's women's doubles team's brave bid for a medal, badminton at the Paris Olympics was characterised by upsets, plucky underdogs and, ultimately, reminders that some top seeds are there for a reason.
Strong contenders the Netherlands launched their FIFA World Cup campaign with a scrappy 2-0 victory over a fighting Denmark in their Group E opener on Monday.
The two players fought tooth and nail till 22 points before the Indian faltered to hand the first game to his opponent.
Japan, needing only a draw with the Danes to reach the last 16, took a 2-0 half-time lead thanks to two direct free kicks, the first a spectacular long range effort from Keisuke Honda in the 17th minute, the second a curling shot from the edge of the box by Yasuhito Endo.
Denmark coach Morten Olsen is hoping for some traditional 'Danish dynamite' from his team's attack in Thursday's decisive Group E clash with Japan.
China's second mixed doubles team Zheng Si Wei and Huang Won Ho avenged their compatriots' defeat shortly after, making quick work of South Korea's Kim Won-ho and Jeong Na-eun 21-13, 21-14.
The 30-year-old has said he did not suffer any serious injuries and has returned to training to be available for England's opening Group C match.
Netherlands needed a lucky own goal and a late strike by Dirk Kuyt to get their World Cup campaign off to a winning start with a 2-0 win over Denmark in their Group E match at Soccer City on Monday.
India is expecting a favourable verdict from a Denmark high court on Thursday on the extradition of Purulia arms drop case prime accused Kim Davy, leading to his trial here.
Several players across the continent are poised to make a name for themselves on the international stage.
Rafael Nadal trailed in the second set before overcoming No. 5 seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain.
The Indian combination of Satwik and Chirag will play the Chinese pair of Xie Hao Nan and Zeng Wei Han in the next round.
Former champion PV Sindhu progressed to the women's singles second round but Lakshya Sen went down fighting to world number one Viktor Axelsen at the Singapore Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Singapore on Wednesday.
Srikanth needed 35 minutes to get the better of local hope Vittinghus 21-16, 21-10 in the opening round of the US$7,75,000 tournament.
India ace Kidmabi Srikanth clinched his third Super Series Premier title with a dominating straight-game victory over Korean veteran Lee Hyun II in a lop-sided final of the US $750,000 Denmark Open, in Odense, on Sunday.
The two countries also signed a 'Memorandum of Agreement regarding the Assignment of Liaison Officers', which will facilitate the posting of one military officer from each country with the military of the other.
The referee consulted with the VAR (video assistant referee) system before awarding the spot kick to Cueva after a foul by Yussuf Poulsen, but he spurned the chance to break the deadlock, firing the ball high over the bar.
Rafael Nadal last appeared in a semi-final at Wimbledon in 2022.
Croatia came back after conceding in the opening minute to defeat Denmark 3-2 in the penalty shoot-out and earn a World Cup quarter-final berth, after the two sides drew 1-1 in the Round of 16 match on Sunday.
The medal tally at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
In the video, Svane, standing in the middle of the lane, points to the trash and construction debris strewn along both sides of it.
Daniel Jensen's stoppage time winner gave Denmark a 3-2 victory in Portugal in a World Cup Group One qualifier on Wednesday that featured four goals in the closing seven minutes.
Pfizer has won a patent challenge in Denmark by India's largest drug-maker Ranbaxy Laboratories on atorvastatin, the active ingredient of the world's largest selling cholesterol drug, Lipitor, which has global sales of over $13 billion.
PV Sindhu still has the hunger to succeed, and the primary aim is to help her regain consistency, says her new coach Anup Sridhar, who has been roped in by the two-time Olympic medallist on a trial basis following the Paris Games.
Glasgow World Championship bronze medallist Saina got the better of two-time World champion Marin 22-20, 21-18 and in the process avenged her second round defeat to the Spanish ace at the Japan Open.
Wimbledon attracts celebrities the way the US Open, the French Open and the Australian Open can't.
Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly lost in straight games against China's Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min.
The Indian will have yet another uphill task at hand when he takes on Axelsen, the baby-faced badminton giant, who has terrorised his opponents in the last few years.
Already-qualified France played out an uninspiring goalless draw with Denmark in their final World Cup Group C match at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium on Tuesday, which was enough to ensure that both teams advance to the knockout stage.
Sindhu yet again struggled to buck the trend of 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.
Check out how India's athletes fared on Day 8, Saturday, August 3, 2024:
Denmark midfielder Christian Poulsen was reunited with former manager Roy Hodgson on Thursday when he agreed a three-year contract with Liverpool.
Nikhil Kanetkar and Chetan Anand entered pre-quarterfinals of the Denmark Open badminton tournament.
In a huge setback to Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a United States court has ruled that the Pakistani-origin Canadian businessman could be extradited to India where is wanted for his involvement in the 2008 Mumbai terror attack carried out by Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists.
'I envision a vibrant future for badminton, witnessing the emergence of new champions and an expanding fan base. As legends, our responsibility is to inspire and motivate these budding stars, contributing to the progression of the sport's legacy,' says Saina who won an Olympic bronze medal in 2012 and achieving the World No. 1 ranking in 2015.
The prime accused in the infamous Purulia arms-dropping case, Kim Davy, is likely to be extradited from Denmark by July-end and will serve his prison term in India if proven guilty. Government sources said Denmark has informed authorities here that the 47-year-old Davy, alias Niels Holck, will be extradited within next two to three months following completion of the legal process and after India replies to certain queries of the Nordic country.
Vingegaard laid the foundations of his victory in the 10th stage
