Age-fudging has been a big problem in Indian sports
With a hat-trick of international titles and a career-best world ranking of number three, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has already achieved the targets that she had set for 2010, a jubilant national coach Pullela Gopichand said on Sunday.
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Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand, on Sunday, said his ward B Sai Praneeth needs to be consistent and hoped the win at Singapore Open will take his game to another level.
Saina Nehwal faces a tricky draw in the Asian Badminton Championships as most of the shuttlers she is likely to play against have defeated her in the past, feels national coach Pullela Gopichand.
Saina Nehwal scripted history on Sunday, becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after clinching the Indonesian Open with a stunning victory over higher-ranked Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta.
India's Olympic silver-medallist P V Sindhu, who captured the imagination of the entire nation by winning a silver medal at the Rio Olympics, has ignored Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali's offer for a 'better coach', saying that her current guru Pullela Gopichand is the 'best coach' for her.
Kim had developed a good rapport with Sindhu, who time and again acknowledged the Korean's role in her success.
Set to become the first Indian to win all the national sports awards, former All-England badminton champion Pullela Gopichand on Tuesday said being honoured as both player and coach has put a responsibility on him to take the game forward in the country.
Ace woman shuttler Saina Nehwal scripted history on Sunday, becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after clinching the Indonesian Open with a stunning victory over higher-ranked Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta.
Sports Minister Vijay Goel on Wednesday threw his weight behind beleaguered athlete Dutee Chand, saying they stand with the sprinter and will strongly pursue her case.
After guiding Hyderabad Hotshots to the inaugural Indian Badminton League title, Saina Nehwal has cited fatigue and will skip the Japan Open Super Series tournament.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, among others, lavished praise on Kidami Srikanth for claiming the Australian Open title with a stunning win over reigning Olympic and world champion Chen Long.
PV Sindhu will open her campaign against South Korea's Sung Ji Hyun, while Saina Nehwal takes on Scotland's Kristy Gilmour in the first round.
The Badminton World Federation's proposal to reduce on-court coaching and tweak the scoring system has left international coaches a confused lot with the likes of Pullela Gopichand and Kenneth Jonassen questioning the very logic of such a move.
Saina Nehwal returns to the court after a three-week injury lay-off at the Yonex All England Open Super Series on Wednesday. The Indian ace opens her campaign at the prestigious tournament against old French foe Hongyan Pi. World number 13 Chetan Anand, who also stayed away from the National Championships owing to a thigh injury, will take on Andrew Smith of England in the first round on Wednesday.
PV Sindhu finally fetched India its first ever World Championships gold in the sport but spent rest of the year struggling for form.
The former Indian badminton ace upheld the BAI's decision to make it mandatory for players to participate in the ongoing national camp.
India's P V Sindhu hopes no one will ever question her ability to win big titles, relieved at breaking the finals jinx with a historic triumph at the World Tour Finals in Guangzhou.
The $150,000 Indian Open championship had been scheduled from September 4 to 9.
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Praneeth said he needs to work on his fitness to trouble big players such as two-time world champion Kento Momota.
The Olympic silver-medallist, who out-played Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in a lop-sided final in Basel, Switzerland on Sunday, was mobbed at the airport after she touched down, with national coach Pullela Gopichand by her side, late on Monday.
Former national champion and 2014 German Open winner, Arvind Bhat has retired from international badminton, citing his desire to concentrate on coaching stints with an academy in Hyderabad.
Besides the duo, 2017 World Weightlifting Champion in the 48kg category, Saikhom Mirabai Chanu and former Asian Games gold medallist tennis player Somdev Devvarman were conferred with the Padma Shri award.
Her frequent losses in the finals and the accompanying criticism does not affect ace shuttler PV Sindhu, who, on Saturday, said playing in the summit showdown of a tournament itself is 'a big achievement'.
Indian badminton star and Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal was Thursday ruled out along withParupalli Kashyap from the 12th South Asian Games due to injury concerns, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) informed the local organisers in Shillong. "We've received a communication from BAI stating that the entire badminton squad except for Saina and Kashyap is arriving on Friday afternoon," SAG (Shillong) joint CEO FR Kharkongor told PTI. Saina and Kashyap are two of the top badminton athletes for the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio. Jwala Gutta has been confirmed as the captain of the Indian team by BAI President Akhilesh Das Gupta.
'In this year, we had the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games and World Championships and we have been successful (in those) and that was our target for this year. And I'm happy that at the end of the year they (players) are able to maintain their rankings'
The former All England Badminton champion is set to take over as India's chief badminton coach for a four-year period.
Kidambi Srikanth, the top-ranking male Indian shuttler who put up an impressive performance in the Badminton Asia Team Championships here, says he aims to achieve a medal in the coming Rio Olympics. "As early as possible, but I am not in a hurry to do that (achieve number one rank in world rankings). It's just that I need to perform consistently. "Then, I will automatically get that. I don't want to become number one (immediately). I want to perform really very well. That's when I can be there (at the top)," the 23-year-old shuttler told PTI. Srikanth, who is currently ranked nine in the world, led the Indian team to semi finals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships. He was the only one to win a match in the five-match tie in the semi finals against Indonesia on Saturday. Srikanth remained unbeaten in the tournament. He said he doesn't think much about expectations.
But Pullela Gopichand, Anup Sridhar, Arvind Bhat and Abhinn Shyam Gupta were shown.
Pullela Gopichand, who has coached Olympic medallist shuttlers Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu, on Monday said that India can win a bagful of Olympic medals only if sports culture is built in the country through nurturing talent at the grassroot level. Wrestler Sakshi Malik and Sindhu saved India the blushes at the Rio Olympic Games by winning a bronze and a silver respectively.
Lauding PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik for winning medals at the Rio Olympic Games, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, on Sunday, said it is the beginning of a wonderful journey for the duo.
The Indian badminton ace is working to a schedule in preparation for the international season ahead.
'Well, I think every year, in the last few years, has been better than the previous one'
Vimal Kumar said he will miss working with Saina Nehwal but stressed it is important to support the Indian ace in her pursuit to excel at the highest level.
Gopichand failed to offer much resistance, losing to seventh seeded Niels Christian Kaldau of Denmark in straight sets, in the second round.
Aparna Popat entered the main draw after beating Commonwealth Games champion Li Li of Singapore.
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