Star shuttler H S Prannoy has credited top women shuttlers P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal for the positive change in mindset of other players while facing tougher opponents.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu was the only bright spot on a dismal day for Indian badminton as she progressed to the quarter-finals with a straight-game win at the US $350,000 Thailand Open World Super 500 tournament in Bangkok on Thursday.
With her silver from Rio, PV Sindhu is already India's most successful female Olympian but her World Championship triumph also boosted the nation's hopes of a medal in Tokyo next year.
Defending champion Neeraj Chopra signed off with a silver medal in the Olympics men's Javelin Throw in Paris on Thursday. Pakistan's Arshad Nadeem was a class above the field, setting a new Games record of 92.97 metres for the gold medal.
Young men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty too entered the quarter-finals after getting past Chinese Taipei's Liao Min Chun and Su Ching Heng 21-17, 21-16 in the second round.
Here's your complete guide to when India's athletes compete at the Paris Olympics, with dates, events, and timings in IST.
Star Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal sailed into the second round of the Singapore Open with straight-game wins over their respective rivals in the women's singles event on Wednesday.
Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen will have a new coach after the Paris Olympics, said his mentor and former India coach Vimal Kumar, who has taken over the duties till the Summer Games.
Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu edged past Japan's Nozomi Okuhara to advance to the semi-finals of the All England Championship, in Birmingham, on Friday.
Speculation is rife that this will be Mahendra Singh Dhoni's final IPL season as a player.
Sindhu suffered a shock defeat to lower-ranked Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei
The 19-year-old Indian came up with a splendid display but it was not enough to prevent him doing down 17-21, 21-16, 17-21 after 55 minutes.
'Sippin' on this coffee brew, trying to shake off my koala-style slumber, and praying it'll give me more kangaroo bounce in my step and improve my smashing skills!!'
India's Lakshya Sen on Thursday progressed to the quarter-finals of the All England Badminton Championships in Birmingham, while HS Prannoy crashed out in the second round.
Ace shuttler PV Sindhu, on Wednesday, said her dream is to become World No 1 and she is trying to reach the numero uno spot.
This year PV Sindhu has reached the summit clash at India Open, the Commonwealth Games and the Thailand Open but failed to cross the final hurdle, prompting many critics to once again describe her as the 'perennial bridesmaid'.
Sindhu says the path to the Tokyo Olympic gold will be a tough one as now her opponents will look to exploit her weaknesses and she will need to add something new to her game to achieve success.
The 24-year-old from Hyderabad will begin her campaign against China's Li Xuerui, a former Olympic gold medallist and World No 1.
She will meet World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying for the title on Sunday.
Srikanth had entered the finals of Commonwealth Games last year but he failed to reach the summit clash in any BWF superseries or BWF World Tour tournament since his French Open win in October, 2017.
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.
Ace shuttler P V Sindhu said that a lot of respect was given to women in foreign countries, but in India people do not practise what they preach.
Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu cruised past Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia in the opening round of the Fuzhou China Open on Tuesday.
India's badminton ace P V Sindhu believes she would be in top form at the BWF's World Tour Final as a recent break gave her the time to be well-prepared for the season-ending tournament, starting on December 12.
P V Sindhu's gallant fight ended in agony as she suffered a second successive loss to World no. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei at the summit clash of the Hong Kong Super Series on Sunday.
India's ace shuttler P V Sindhu did the star turn, winning two matches as Chennai Smashers outclassed Ahmedabad Smash Masters 2-1 in the Premier Badminton League in Chennai, on Saturday.
Top shuttler P V Sindhu has recovered to be fit for the singles event of the ongoing Commonwealth Games, national coach Pullela Gopichand said.
Olympic silver medallist shuttler PV Sindhu admitted that there is more responsibility on her shoulders post the Rio Games as everyone now wants her to achieve more laurels for the country. Sindhu, who was here to receive Rs 30 lakhs from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as prize money for winning silver in Rio Olympics, said she is focused on keeping things simple despite the responsibility. "Definitely there is more responsibility and everybody's eyes are on me to achieve more. That is there but I said to myself I should not take too much pressure. My aim is to keep playing well. After the Olympics, I have won a Superseries and I have done well," the lanky Hyderabadi shuttler said.
Defending champion Saina Nehwal was the lone Indian survivor at the $700,000 China Open Super Series Premier after P V Sindhu suffered a close defeat in the pre-quarterfinals of the women's singles competition in Fuzhou on Thursday.
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.
Chirag said "it is difficult to stay motivated" in such uncertain times.
P V Sindhu hoped to regain peak fitness before the start of individual events and assured India will return with multiple medals.
Sreejesh and Aneeshya have two children -- son Sreeansh and daughter Anusree.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the nation in hailing PV Sindhu's awe-inspiring performance at the World Championship, where she ended a silver-medallist after losing a breathtaking final.
The Olympic silver medallist settled for second place yet again following a 19-21, 10-21 loss to Olympic champion Caroline Marin of Spain.
Star shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth notched straight-game victories to progress to the quarter-finals, but it was curtains for Saina Nehwal in the US $700,000 Malaysia Open World Tour Super 750 tournament, at the Axiata Arena in Bukit Jalil, a suburb in Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday.
Former champions P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth stayed on course to reclaim titles while a vintage Parupalli Kashyap too regained some form to seal places in the men's singles semi-finals of the US $350,000 India Open badminton, in Delhi, on Friday.
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.
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