Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Saina squandered a game advantage to lose 21-16, 11-21, 14-21 against Takahashi
World number one Novak Djokovic produced a majestic display in a 7-5, 6-3 victory over American John Isner on Thursday to extend his winning streak in Asia.
World number one Novak Djokovic continued his dominant form in Tokyo to storm past Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-1, 6-2 and into the semi-finals of the Japan Open.
Djokovic recalled watching Yokozuna Akebono who became sumo's first foreign-born grand champion in 1993.
Akira Nishino's short time in charge of Japan has been defined by a succession of gambles and so it was perhaps fitting that his side departs the World Cup after risking it all in the last 16 against Belgium.
Former champion Tomas Berdych comfortably beat Colombia's Alejandro Falla 6-3, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals of the Japan Open on Thursday.
Spain's David Ferrer produced a clinical 6-4, 6-3 victory over local hope Kei Nishikori to reach the last 16 of the Japan Open on Tuesday.
The Hyderabad Open badminton tournament, scheduled to be held from August 11 to 16, was on Thursday cancelled by the world body BWF in view of the coronavirus pandemic. The event was part of the BWF's revised calendar to restart the sport after the pandemic-forced cancellations since March.
The 21-year-old has now recorded victories over all of tennis's so called 'Big Three' this year, having beaten Roger Federer at the Australian Open and Rafa Nadal in Madrid.
Japan's Kei Nishikori will make a third straight appearance at the ATP Tour finals next month after becoming the fifth player to qualify for the season-ending tournament, organisers said on Wednesday.
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.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
World champion PV Sindhu made an early exit from the China Open but B Sai Praneeth kept the Indian flag fluttering with a hard-fought straight-game win to reach the men's singles quarter-finals.
World number one Novak Djokovic extended his winning run in Asia when he strolled into the last-16 of the Shanghai Masters.
Riding on his sizzling performance in the Japan Open, Leander Paes is once again knocking the doors of the top-five zone as he gained two spots to be placed sixth in the ATP doubles world rankings, issued on Monday. Paes and Lukas Dlouhy reached the final of the Japan Open last week but lost the summit clash, missing out on the opportunity to pocket back-to-back ATP titles.
Czech Tomas Berdych halted fifth seed Juan Martin Del Potro's hot streak by beating the Argentine 6-1, 6-4 to win the Japan Open on Sunday. Ninth seed Berdych's fourth ATP Tour title and his first since winning on grass in Halle last year came after Del Potro left the court to take medicine for an upset stomach.
Vijayveer Sidhu, 16, shot a gold in the 25m standard pistol event for junior men after combining with Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu and Adarsh Singh to claim the team gold on the last day of the ISSF World Championships.
World No 5 Kei Nishikori has withdrawn from this week's Shanghai Rolex Masters due to an injury to his left gluteal muscle.
Third seed Sindhu lost 17-21, 21-16, 18-21 to Zhang in another tough opening encounter that lasted 56 minutes.
Tennis stars Caroline Wozniacki and Ana Ivanovic were in for a tasty surprise on their arrival in Tokyo before the commencement of the Japan Open.
Returning to action after nearly two months, Saina, who made last-minute withdrawals from Indonesia Open and last week's Japan Open because of injuries, got past Chaiwan 21-17, 21-19 in her opening round contest.
Venus Williams beat Jill Craybas 6-3, 6-1 to book her spot in the Japan Open second round.
Indian mixed doubles pairing of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa shocked Commonwealth Games silver medallists England's Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith to enter the pre-quarterfinals of the $ 1 million China Open
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.
Sania Mirza has jumped six places in the latest WTA rankings after her semi-final appearance at the Japan Open.
World number one Novak Djokovic blasted past qualifier Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-2 to reach the second round of the Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo.
Andy Murray's shock semi-final defeat to Milos Raonic at the Japan Open on Saturday raised the same questions many thought had been answered by his Olympic gold medal and last month's US Open triumph.
Sania Mirza earned the opportunity to end her 2012 season with a title win as she reached the summit clash of the China Open with her partner Nuria Llagostera Vives.
Title holder Andy Murray beat fellow racquet-trasher Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals of the Japan Open on Friday in a match which had both men at boiling point.
Japan's Kimiko Date called time on her tennis career at the age of 46 on Monday, saying she was no longer able to perform at the best of her abilities due to physical issues and had decided to listen to the "inner voice" telling her it was time to quit.
A 13-member team, comprising seven men and six women, was on Wednesday selected by the Badminton Association of India to participate in the Li Ning China Masters Super Series tournament to be held in Changzhou, Jiangsu, China from September 13-18.
Top seed Rafa Nadal overpowered American Mardy Fish 7-5, 6-1 behind a dizzying flurry of baseline winners to reach the final of the Japan Open on Saturday.
Rafa Nadal had to dig deep after coming under heavy fire from Colombia's Santiago Giraldo in a brutal 7-6, 6-3 quarter-final victory at the Japan Open on Friday.
Top seed Rafa Nadal ran hard-serving Canadian Milos Raonic ragged in a 7-5, 6-3 victory to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Japan Open on Thursday.
Second seed Andy Murray flirted with disaster before beating nemesis Marcos Baghdatis 7-6, 2-6, 6-4 in a cliffhanger to reach the last 16 of the Japan Open on Wednesday.
National coach Pullela Gopichand, on Saturday, said that the loss of form of ace shuttler Saina Nehwal, whose campaign in the Japan Open Super Series ended in semi-finals, was not a cause of concern.
Novak Djokovic extended his winning streak at the China Open to 27 matches with a 6-2, 6-2 demolition over big-serving American John Isner on Friday.
World number one Rafael Nadal sped past Russia's Dmitry Tursunov 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals of the Japan Open and keep a special appointment on Friday. The Spaniard revealed he wanted to go to watch Japan play Argentina in a soccer friendly in Saitama -- over an hour's drive away -- in the evening and catch up with pal Lionel Messi.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Tuesday
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