11 of top 20 celebs see decline in earnings.
Pullela Gopichand expects Indian athletes to claim an unparalleled double digit medal haul at the Olympics
Modi also hailed the world's largest vaccination programme being carried out in India against COVID-19
Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu stayed on course for an elusive gold medal, while Laskhya Sen entered his maiden final at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Sunday.
A summary of Indian athletes showing on Friday, Day 8 of the Commonwealth Games.
Srikanth had last reached the quarterfinals at the Singapore Open in April.
Srikanth fought better in the second, but Yew was too good on the day, to emerge triumphant.
This is only the second endorsement in the baba-led space by a celebrity after wrestler Sushil Kumar featured in an ad last year for Patanjali Ghee.
Indian shuttler HS Prannoy grabbed his career-best world number 12 spot.
Saina Nehwal, who won a bronze at the World Championship, jumped four rungs to be placed at the 12th spot, while Kidambi Srikanth also improved two positions in the latest BWF World ranking.
Sindhu, who is currently competing at the French Open in Paris, jumped one rung to stay one spot behind Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying, who continues to dominate the rankings.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa notched up an upset win over the World No 8 and second-seeded Indonesian pair of Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja in the opening round.
India's top junior shuttler Sameer Verma entered the final of the Asia Youth Under-19 badminton championships after a hard-fought, three-game victory over Liu Kai of China in Lucknow on Friday. The 16-year-old Sameer won 21-19, 15-21, 21-9.
A demand was raised in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday that the sports ministry should formulate a special policy to promote women sportspersons in the country as they are performing well and could win many Olympic medals.
Star shuttlers, including P V Sindhu, will chase individual gold medals but doubles would also under the spotlight as India would aim to retain the mixed team title and continue their consistent run at the Commonwealth Games.
The novel coronavirus outbreak has affected their Olympic preparations but India's top athletes like P V Sindhu and Bajrang Punia say they are optimistic about the quadrennial event going ahead as scheduled despite the current health crisis. Olympic silver-medallist Sindhu says she can understand the apprehensions of fellow shuttlers, including compatriot Sania Nehwal, who is racing against time to qualify for the Games due to the cancellation of tournaments in the wake of the outbreak. The Olympic Games are scheduled to start in Tokyo, from July 24.
The third-seeded Indian defeated World No. 39 Saena Kawakami of Japan 21-15, 21-13 in the opening round at the Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium.
Defending champion P V Sindhu stood just one step away from retaining her title after defeating Thailand's Ratchanok Inthanon in a lop-sided semi-final at the $ 350,000 India Open Super 500 tournament in New Delhi on Saturday.
Badminton teen sensation P V Sindhu improved one more place to close the gap with ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal in the latest world ranking released in Kuala Lumpur.
Following her bronze-medal finish at the recently-concluded World badminton Championships, India's top shuttler P V Sindhu has re-entered the top-10 in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings, released on Thursday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
PV Sindhu jumped two places to grab the ninth spot, while former World No. 1 Saina, who is on a comeback trail after recovering from a serious injury, slipped five places to 11th spot.
US Open champion Prannoy, who had reached a career-best World No 11 ranking last week, improved a place further to grab the 10th spot. He has been rewarded for his consistent performance this season where he reached the semi-finals at the Indonesia Open and French Open.
Check out the BEST Images from Day 7 of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
Indian shuttlers had a good day in office, with as many as four reaching the main draw of women's singles after winning their respective qualifying round matches at the Yonex Sunrise Indian Open, in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Aparna Balan, Ashwini Ponnappa, Arundhati Pantawane and Chitralekha progressed to the main draw.
Former World No 1 Srikanth, who has not won a title at the BWF World Tour in the last 22 months, staved off a spirited a challenge from Ireland's Nhat Nguyen, winning 17-21, 21-16, 21-6 in a match that lasted an hour and six minutes to join Praneeth and Prannoy in the second round.
Rising player Lakshya Sen went down to Denmark's Hans-Kristian Solberg Vittinghus
Shooter Ronjan Sodhi picked for Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award by the selection committee.
P V Sindhu's glorious run in the World Badminton Championships ended in the semi-finals, when she was beaten by Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon at the Tianhe Indoor Stadium in Guangzhou, China, on Saturday. The 18-year-old Hyderabadi, who had beaten former world No. 1 Shixian Wang in straight games in Friday's quarter-finals, failed to reproduce the form she displayed in the earlier rounds and lost 10-21, 13-21.
Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu scored contrasting victories to enter the third round of the women's singles at the World Badminton Championships in Guangzhou on Wednesday.
India's shuttlers enjoyed a mixed day at the Australian Open Super Series as Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, P V Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth progressed to the second round but four others were knocked out in the first round itself, in Sydney, on Wednesday.
Riding on her title-triumph at the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold, India's P V Sindhu, on Thursday, jumped one place to be just outside the top 10 in the latest BWF ranking.
Rio Olympic silver-medallist P V Sindhu entered the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Super Series after posting a hard-fought victory over Singapore's Xiaoyu Liang even as Saina Nehwal bowed of the competition on Friday, ending all hopes of a Saina-Sindhu semi-final battle.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal and two-time World Championships bronze medallist P V Sindhu advanced to the quarter-finals, but it turned out to be a dismal day for star shuttlers Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei at the India Open Super Series in Delhi on Thursday.
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.
The Bollywood star takes tips from the athlete she will play in Amole Gupte's biopic.
Just like in her campaign opener against Japan's Akane Yamaguchi on Wednesday, Sindhu squandered a game advantage to lose yet again in the year-ending BWF World Tour Final
Tokyo should remain the benchmark and source of inspiration till at least Paris 2024. In the shorter run, India's preparations for the Asian and Commonwealth Games next year must begin based on lessons learnt now, asserts Raj Kishore Mishra, former joint secretary at the sports ministry.
The Prime Minister sought the athletes' support to raise awareness about the need for social distancing and personal hygiene at a time when the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in India has crossed 2,000. Hima Das expressed sadness at incidents of attacks on police personnel and doctors trying to discharge their duties during the country-wide lockdown to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
'It is the first time that India badminton player has won two Olympic medals in badminton, so it is a great achievement not only for Sindhu but also a big moment for my teaching life.'
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