Indian shuttlers continued their impressive show with top stars P V Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth progressing to the semifinals of their respective events in the 21st Commonwealth Games' badminton competition, in Gold Coast, on Friday.
Natekar, who was considered one of most popular sportspersons of his time, was also a former World number three.
Six of the 12 Indian badminton players were barred from participating at the World University Games due to an alleged administrative lapse.
Indian women beat Thailand 3-2 in final, clinch historic gold in Badminton Asia Team Championships
SAI Governing Body approves infrastructure upgrade at centres across India
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".
The Indian Badminton League will hold its first players' auction in Delhi on July 19. Over 150 shuttlers are expected to go under the hammer for 66 slots in six teams. Each franchisee can have 11 players, including a maximum of four foreign and an under-19 player from their catchment area.
India's shuttlers, as expected, made a good start at the Commonwealth Games. They proved a class above Sri Lanka in a preliminary round mixed team event match, in Gold Coast, on Thursday. Spearheaded by Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth in singles, India won 5-0.
'When I played against Sindhu didi in China, I am happy I managed to play better than I did last time.'
India will face a formidable Thailand in the quarterfinals.
Lakshya, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, eased past compatriot S Subramanian 21-14, 21-11, while Rakshitha overcame Shriyanshi Valishetty 19-21, 21-8, 21-13 in another all-Indian contest that clocked 58 minutes.
K N Shanth Kumar on Saturday expressed relief after the High Court declared his nomination papers for the post of Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) valid.
It was a mere formality for the general assembly of 74 members to put a seal of approval on India's bid after Ahmedabad was recommended as the proposed host of the centenary edition by the Commonwealth Sport's Executive Board last month. India last hosted the CWG in 2010 in Delhi.
Home-grown icons Saina Nehwal and P Kashyap, along with some international stars such as Lee Chong Wei, would be the top draws at the Indian Badminton League's players' auction to be held in New Delhi on Monday.
The Indian shuttlers will face Asian U-19 mixed team champions Indonesia in the semi-finals.
Anmol Kharb continued her impressive run, defeating top seed Anupama Upadhyaya in straight games in the women's singles final to clinch the gold medal at the 38th National Games.
Ace Indian para shuttler Pramod Bhagat continued his golden run as he clinch three titles at the 1st Abia Para Badminton International tournament held in Abia, Nigeria, from September 30 to October 5.
P V Sindhu and the men's doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty sailed into the quarter-finals of the China Masters tournament with straight-game wins, in Shenzhen, on Thursday.
'It's a dream that I have achieved.'
Coach Vimal Kumar compared this triumph to India's 1983 Cricket World Cup win, hoping it will spur the popularity of badminton.
Rising Indian shuttler Anmol Kharb's impressive run at the Arctic Open Super 500 badminton tournament ended with a straight-game loss to three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi in Vantaa, Finland, on Saturday.
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Indian women shuttlers' progressed to their first-ever final at the Badminton Asia Team Championships after edging out two-time former champions Japan 3-2.
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Tilak Varma shared his remarkable journey from a modest upbringing to shining on the international stage, driven by a childhood dream to win a World Cup for India.
'A bit sad that missed gold, but they tried hard'
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Pramod Bhagat secured two golds to lead the Indian badminton team's medal rush at the Bahrain Para Badminton International
On her badminton legend father Prakash Padukone's milestone 70th birthday, Bollywood superstar Deepika Padukone unveiled an ambitious expansion of the Padukone School of Badminton.
Teenage sensation Tanvi Sharma and top junior men's doubles pair Bhargava Ram Arigela and Viswa Tej Gobburu will lead a 19-member Indian squad at the Badminton Asian Junior Championships to be held in Solo, Indonesia, from July 18 to 27.
'Otherwise, how will India become a sporting nation and how will we compete to beat China to win 60 Olympic medals?'
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.
Padukone said it's high time that players learn to withstand pressure, take responsibility, and deliver results after receiving significant support from the government.
India thrashed lowly Nepal 3-0 in the quarter-finals to secure a historic medal after 37 years in the men's team badminton event at the Asian Games.
In a body blow to India's medal prospects in the Commonwealth Games, key sports such as hockey, badminton, wrestling, cricket and shooting have been dropped from the 2026 edition by host city Glasgow, which unveiled a pruned roster of 10 disciplines to keep the event budget-friendly.
While India have never won the gold at the Asia Mixed Team Championships, they did secure mixed team gold and silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022.
Sachin Tendulkar marvelled at India's rise in newer disciplines, while Abhinav Bindra paid tribute to all those who "silently carry the athletes forward" as the two icons offered their views on India's sporting growth on National Sports Day.
India is assured of a rare medal in tennis as Vaishnavi Adkar made it to the women's singles semifinals while most of her compatriots across disciplines failed to make a mark in the World University Games in Berlin on Tuesday.
India's women shuttlers assured themselves of a maiden Badminton Asia Team Championships medal by cruising to a 3-0 win over Hong Kong in the quarter-finals.
Steeplechaser Ankita Dhyani came up with a blistering run to clinch silver in the gruelling 3000m event with a personal-best time of 9:31.99 seconds.
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