Defending champions India's hopes of entering the Thomas Cup knockout stage as group topper were dashed by a clinical Indonesia who emerged 4-1 winners in their final pool match in Chengdu on Wednesday.
B Sai Praneeth went down fighting to second seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the men's singles semi-finals of the New Zealand Open badminton in Auckland on Saturday.
Lakshya Sen fought hard before going down in three games against fifth seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in the semi-finals of the Japan Open.
The fifth seed Indian lost 21-12, 10-21, 19-21 in his opening round men's singles tie that lasted 56 minutes.
Sindhu squandered a game lead to lose 13-21, 21-15, 21-13 to the second seed Tai Tzu
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who is returning from an ankle injury, begins her campaign against former World Champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the first round of Malaysia Open.
In what was India's first-ever appearance in the tournament finale, they defeated the record 14-time champions Indonesia 3-0 at the Impact Arena in Bangkok, Thailand to lift the Thomas Cup 2022 title.
Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth will look to arrest their slump in form when they begin their campaign at the Australia Open badminton tournament in Sydney on Tuesday.
Kidambi Srikanth rallied his way to a thrilling win in a tense decider as India kept alive their hopes of winning a first-ever gold medal at the Asian Games.
India's leading shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the second round of the French Open with straight-game wins, but it was curtains for Sameer Verma at the US $750,000 BWF event, in Paris, on Wednesday.
The 28-year-old from Kerala had spent two weeks stressing over his physical and mental health after contracting COVID-19 last November.
B Sai Praneeth became the first Indian male shuttler in 36 years to secure a medal in the BWF World Championships after a straight-game victory over Indonesia's Jonatan Christie.
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.
World champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn crashed out of the India Open Super 750 badminton tournament
Lakshya Sen's stunning win over Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie went in vain as the Indian men's badminton team went down fighting 2-3 to two-time defending champions Indonesia in the semi-finals to settle for a bronze at the Asia Team Championships in Manila on Saturday.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty went down fighting to Olympic champions Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lan of Chinese Taipei at the Japan Open.
Thomas Cup final: India vs Indonesia
India's H S Prannoy faced stiff resistance before prevailing against local hero Daren Liew to advance to the second round of the Malaysia Open, in Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday.
Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth lifted his maiden Grand Prix gold title by posting a come-from-behind victory over Indonesian Jonatan Christie in the men's singles final of the a4 1,20,000 Thailand Open in Bangkok on Sunday.
London Games bronze medallist Saina, who had retired midway through her first match at Uber Cup Final due to a groin injury, couldn't match Japan's world no 20 Aya Ohori and lost 21-16, 21-14 in the opening round.
Top Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty suffered a straight-game loss to seventh seeded English pair of Ben Lane and Sean Vendy 17-21, 14-21 in a last-8 match.
Sindhu dished out a compact game to outwit Sayaka 21-17, 21-16 in a second round match on Thursday to set up a clash with seventh seeded Chinese He Bingjiao.
India's top shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the semi-finals of the Korea Open Super 500 badminton tournament with contrasting wins in Suncheon on Friday.
HS Prannoy becomes the first player to beat Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Victor Axelsen in full a match since March.
His backhand blocks and forehand low returns reaped dividends but an alert Gemke managed to grab a four-point cushion at the interval.
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.
Srikanth had last reached the quarterfinals at the Singapore Open in April.
Expectations from the Indian male shuttlers will also be high, given their exploits in recent months.
PV Sindhu won Swiss Open title after beating Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand in final
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.
It was a day of mixed results for India as B Sai Praneeth sailed into the final with a straight-game win but Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal's campaign ended in the semi-final of the $120000 Thailand Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Bangkok on Saturday.
P V Sindhu suffered her fourth successive defeat to the young An Seyoung as she signed off her women's singles campaign at the semi-final stage of the Korea Open Super 500 badminton tournament in Suncheon (South Korea), on Saturday.
Both enter finals in Singles of the Swiss Open
India's Verma brothers -- Sourabh and Sameer -- advanced to the second round of the men's singles competition of the $120,000 Bitburger Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Saarbrucken, Germany.
Sindhu, seeded second, defeated local favourite Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 23-21, 21-7 in 37 minutes to make the last-eight stage of her season-opener, while eighth seed Srikanth recorded a clinical 21-14, 21-9 win over Japan's Asian Games bronze medallist Kenta Nishimoto.
Srikanth said winning for the country was a big motivating factor for the team.
Brimming with confidence, India will again look to punch above their weight when they run into 14-time winners Indonesia in the final of Thomas Cup in Bangkok on Sunday, seeking to create history one more time.
India's men's badminton lifted the Thomas Cup title with a commanding 3-0 win over powerhouse Indonesia
Indian badminton team created history on Sunday as they lifted the Thomas Cup trophy for the very first time.
Verma who had shocked Malaysia's eighth seed Lee Zii Jia in the opening round, needed just 39 minutes to see off Gemke
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances