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Badminton World Championships
Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy was tad disappointed to miss out on a World championships gold medal but said the bronze meant a lot to him, calling it as the "first starting step" on way to the coveted title. Prannoy's dream run at the World Championships ended after he lost 21-18 13-21 14-21 to world number 3 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the men's singles semifinal to sign off with a bronze medal. The win extended India's record of having at least one medallist in the showpiece since 2011. "For me, this bronze medal means so much personally because it has been almost 12 years in the circuit, you always want to have those big medals in your hand," he said after the match. "Yes, you are disappointed for not getting the gold but the first starting step is with bronze." The 31-year-old from Kerala thanked the coaching staff and his family for backing him. "A lot of people has done a lot of hard work in the last few years and a lot of things came in place this week. Thanks to a
Indian shuttler Satwiksairaj Rankireddy admitted the he and his men's doubles partner Chirag Shetty lacked in their execution during the quarterfinal loss at the World Championships but said the fact that they still managed to make it a close affair shows their "champion mentality". Satwiksairaj and Chirag missed out on a second World Championships medal after suffering a shocking loss to Kim Astrup and Anders Skaarup Rasmussen of Denmark in the men's doubles quarterfinals on Friday. The world number two Indian pair, which had claimed a maiden bronze in the last edition, couldn't produce an attacking game and went down 18-12 19-21 to the 11th seeded Danish combination, the 2021 bronze winners, in a 48-minute battle. "I think the execution was wrong, we played bad but still we were close. We were not comfortable in the match still we were 21-18 21-19, that is champion mentality," Satwik said after the match. Chirag found the going tough, while Satwik tried to keep India in the match
Star Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the pre-quarterfinals with a comfortable straight-game win over Australian duo of Kenneth Zhe Hooi Choo and Ming Chuen Lim in the World Championships here on Wednesday. Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand also produced a solid performance to enter round 3 with a straight-game win over Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun of Chinese Taipei. World No. 2 pair of Satwik and Chirag, who had won a maiden bronze in the last edition, produced a clinical display to see off their Australian rivals 21-16 21-9 in 30 minutes. The reigning Commonwealth Games champions, who have won four titles this season, will face Indonesia's 10th seeds Leo Rolly Carnando and Daniel Marthin next. Earlier, world number 19 Gayatri and Treesa, who reached the semifinals of the All England Championships in the last two editions, beat Chang and Yang, ranked 37th, 21-18 21-10 in 38 minutes. The India
A maiden medal at the Asian Games and breaking into the world's top 5 remain on his radar but Lakshya Sen's first priority is to extend his rich vein of form at the World Championships. And, he is counting on his recent showing to deliver the goods. After enduring a rough patch, Sen turned around his fortune with a title-winning run in Canada in July and followed it up with two semifinal finishes at the US Open and Japan Open. The 21-year-old from Almora, who claimed a maiden bronze at the World Championships in 2021, will hope to secure another medal when he begins his campaign in Copenhagen, Denmark on August 21. "World Championships being just a week ahead, I feel the past tournaments which I played will really help me go into the tournament," Sen told PTI on the sidelines of the inauguration of Badminton Association of India's National Centre of Excellence here. "The preparation has been good. The past few tournaments, the form has been going well, but there are still a few mo
Two-time Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu and men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty received first-round byes in the BWF World Championships 2023 draw held here on Thursday. This year's BWF World Championships will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark from August 21 to 27. Sindhu, who won the women's singles world title in 2019, however, has been handed a tough draw and she might face Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon and top seed An Se Young of Korea as they are grouped in the top half of the draw. Sindhu is the only Indian to feature in the women's singles competition. The men's doubles combination of World Championships bronze medallists Satwik and Chirag achieved a career-best world no.2 ranking last month following their title triumph in Korea Open and are in the form of their life. India's men's singles challenge will be led by in-form HS Prannoy, seeded second in the upcoming event. He will will face Kalle Koljonen of Finland. The other Indians in the fr
Star Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Reddy and Chirag Shetty assured themselves of a maiden medal at the World Championships after stunning world number 2 Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi of Japan in the quarterfinals here on Friday. The world number 7 Indian combination, which had claimed the Commonwealth Games gold medal earlier this month, dished out a gritty performance to outwit the local favourites and defending champions 24-22 15-21 21-14 in an hour and 15 minute to claim India first-ever men's doubles medal at the prestigious tournament. It was India's second World Championships medal in doubles with Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa claiming the first way back in 2011 in the women's doubles. Earlier, MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila's fine run came to an end after the Indian pair lost to three-time gold medallists Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in their men's doubles quarterfinals. The unseeded Indian combination, who had some sensational wins this week, lost 8-21 14-2
Sports Minister Anurag Thakur on Sunday announced a cash award of Rs 1 crore to the Indian men's badminton team which created history by winning the coveted Thomas Cup title for the first time. India scripted a spectacular 3-0 victory over 14-time champions Indonesia in the Thomas Cup final in Bangkok on Sunday. India's extraordinary feat of winning the Thomas Cup with successive victories over Malaysia, Denmark and Indonesia in the play-offs called for a relaxation of rules," said Thakur in a statement. "It is with pride that I announce the award of Rs 1 crore to the team that Indians so much joy this weekend. Thakur complimented the players, coaches and support staff of the Indian team for the historic triumph. Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy kept a clean slate by winning each time they stepped on court. The doubles combination of SatwiksairakjRankireddy and Chirag Shetty raised the bar to win decisive points in five of the six matches, including all three in the knockout stage,
India will host the World Badminton Championships in 2026, the sport's global governing body, BWF, said on Tuesday. India were scheduled to organise the Sudirman Cup in 2023 but the Badminton World Federation decided to award the hosting rights of the world mixed team championships to China. The BWF was forced to shift this year's Sudirman Cup from Suzhou, China to Vantaa, Finland due to the COVID-19 situation in the Asian country. "Suzhou will now stage the 2023 edition of the BWF World Mixed Team Championships, with original 2023 hosts India accepting the opportunity to host the BWF World Championships in 2026," the BWF said in a media release. "The Badminton World Federation (BWF) can confirm Suzhou, China has been awarded the hosting rights of the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2023. "Suzhou was due to host the championships in 2021, but with BWF unable to stage any tournaments in China this year, the event was switched to Vantaa in Finland." This will only be the seco