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PV Sindhu
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have withdrawn from the Badminton Asia Championships due to the former's shoulder injury, even as in-form Lakshya Sen and seasoned PV Sindhu gear up to spearhead India's challenge with an aim to end a long wait for a singles title in the continental showpiece. Satwik and Chirag, who had won the title in 2023, opted out as the former continues to recover. "Satwik still has some pain, so they won't be playing this week," coach Tan Kim Her told PTI. The duo had earlier pulled out of the Swiss Open ahead of their quarterfinal match due to a recurring right shoulder injury to Satwik. India will now rely on Lakshya and Sindhu in singles, with both looking to end the country's 61-year wait for a title in the discipline. Former national champion Dinesh Khanna remains the only Indian to win the men's singles gold at the continental meet in 1965, and Lakshya will be keen to follow in his footsteps after a runner-up finish at the All England ...
Two-time Olympic medal-winning Indian badminton star P V Sindhu, who was stranded in Dubai due to closure of airspace in the Gulf region, has returned to the country after pulling out of the All England Championships in Birmingham. Sindhu posted on X to announce that she is back in the city. "Back home in Bangalore and safe. The last few days have been intense and uncertain, but I'm truly grateful to be back to my house," she posted. "A heartfelt thank you to the incredible ground teams, Dubai authorities, airport staff, immigration, and every single person who stepped up and took such good care of us during a very difficult time. The empathy and professionalism meant more than words can say. "For now, it's time to rest, reset, and figure out the next steps," she added. The former world champion was on her way to Birmingham via Dubai, when she was stranded after the flight operations were suspended in the Gulf region following the US and Israeli bombing of Iran. Iran subsequently
Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama, who trains two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu, had a narrow escape after an explosion occurred close to where they were stationed at Dubai Airport while travelling to Birmingham for the All England Championships. Sindhu and Irwansyah were left stranded at Dubai International Airport after flight operations were suspended following escalating tensions in the Middle East. The tournament is scheduled to begin on Tuesday. Explosions were reported across parts of the Gulf after Iran responded with a salvo of missiles, including in the United Arab Emirates' capital Abu Dhabi and in Dubai, prompting the suspension of all flights at Dubai airport. "In Dubai at the moment, flights getting cancelled. There was an explosion in airport, so are stuck here at the moment," Irwansyah told PTI. "They have put us in the hotel, we are okay but again there is a little bit of worry at the same time. We want to go to All England. I hope we can fly out today ...
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu on Sunday described a "tense and scary" situation at the Dubai Airport after an explosion occurred close to where she and her coach were staying amid an unfolding crisis. In a post on social media, Sindhu said the ordeal was becoming "more frightening by the hour" and revealed that an explosion had taken place near the area where they were holed up. Sindhu is scheduled to compete at the All England Open Badminton Championships, starting March 3 and is stranded at Dubai airport since Saturday with her Indonesian coach Irwansyah Adi Pratama. "A few hours ago, there was an explosion close to where we were holed up at the airport. My coach had to quickly run out of the area as he was closest to the smoke and debris. It was an extremely tense and scary moment for all of us," Sindhu wrote on X. The former world champion, however, confirmed that she and her support staff are safe and have been moved to a secure location. "We are all safe now and have
Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu was on Saturday left stranded at Dubal airport en route to the prestigious All England Open badminton tournament, after flight operations were suspended owing to escalating of tensions in the Middle East. The tournament is scheduled to start from next Tuesday. Sindhu took to Instagram and posted a video showing a crowded airport with a caption: "All flights suspended until further notice." The US and Israel launched a major offensive on Iran on Saturday, with American President Donald Trump calling on the Iranian public to overthrow the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979. The military strikes have led to a closure of air space in the Gulf region and caused disruption to several flights, including Emirates and Air India. Air India cancelled all its flight to and from the Gulf region, mainly to Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Muscat, Riyadh, and Tel Aviv, Israel, the airline said in a statement posted on 'X'. The Dubai
Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu's impressive run came to an end after a straight-game defeat to China's Wang Zhiyi in the women's singles semifinals of the season-opening Malaysia Open Super 1000 here on Saturday. The two-time Olympic medallist could not sustain the pressure against the world number two, committing too many unforced errors in a 16-21, 15-21 loss. Playing her first tournament after recovering from a foot injury that kept her on the sidelines since October last year, Sindhu also let slip an 11-6 lead in the second game. The loss also brought down curtains on India's campaign in the tournament. Sindhu took the fight to her higher-ranked opponent early, hitting hard and using her reach effectively. She produced her trademark cross-court smashes to race to a 5-2 lead before Wang's subtle touch helped her draw level with a run of points. A few misses from Wang allowed Sindhu to edge ahead 9-7 but the Chinese player clawed back once again to take a slender one-point lead
India's two-time Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu bowed out, while HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen earned hard-fought wins to advance in the Hong Kong Open Super 500 tournament here on Wednesday. Sindhu, who had reached the BWF World Championships quarterfinals last month, lost the women's singles round-of-32 contest 21-15, 16-21, 19-21 to unseeded Danish shuttler Line Christophersen. However, Prannoy, ranked 34th in the world, humbled 14th ranked Lu Guang Zu of China 21-17, 21-14 in 44 minutes, while Sen got his campaign going with a gruelling 22-20, 16-21, 21-15 win to secure a place in the men's singles pre-quarterfinals. Kiran George also secured a place in the men's singles last-16 getting the better of Singapore's higher-ranked Jia Heng Jason Teh 21-16, 21-11 in 34 minutes. World No. 31 Ayush Shetty overcame a stiff challenge from lower-ranked Chinese-Taipei shuttler Su Li Yang 15-21, 21-19, 21-13 in slightly over an hour to secure a place in the last-16 in men's singles. For
In a defining moment of her fledgling career, young Unnati Hooda stunned two-time Olympic medallist and Indian badminton stalwart PV Sindhu in a gripping three-game contest to storm into the quarterfinals of China Open Super here Thursday. Facing her decorated compatriot for only the second time, 17-year-old Hooda held her nerve in crunch moments to register a sensational 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 victory in 73 minutes, marking her maiden quarterfinal appearance at a Super 1000 event. The teenager from Rohtak, who has won Super 100 titles at the 2022 Odisha Masters and 2023 Abu Dhabi Masters, will next take on Japan's Akane Yamaguchi, the third seed and a two-time world champion. The men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also displayed tactical discipline and composure to notch up a 21-19 21-19 victory over the eighth-seeded Indonesian combination of Leo Rolly Carnando and Bagas Maulana and progress to the quarterfinals. It was however the end of the road for HS
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu endured yet another first-round exit but Lakshya Sen and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty moved into the second round with comfortable victories at the Japan Open here on Wednesday. The 30-year-old Sindhu, who is a former world champion, went down 15-21, 14-21 to Korea's Sim Yu Jin in the Super 750 tournament, marking her fifth first-round exit this year. Satwik-Chirag and Lakshya, on the other hand, registered dominant straight-game wins. After a slow start, Sindhu, who appeared rusty and error-prone and struggled with judgment of length, showed some fight in the first game but Sim regained control to claim her first career win over the Indian star. In the second, Sindhu quickly fell behind 1-6. Though she managed to level the score at 11-11, the Korean pulled away with ease to seal the match in straight games. In men's doubles, Satwik and Chirag, currently ranked 15th in the world, defeated the Korean duo of
Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu suffered an inexplicable meltdown, bowing out of the All England Championships with a three-game loss to Korea's Kim Ga Eun in the women's singles opening round on Wednesday. There was however good news for India in the women's doubles where the Commonwealth Games bronze medal winning duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand defeated Shuo Yun Sung and Chien Hui Yu of Chinese Taipei 21-17, 21-13 to make the last-16. The two-time Olympic medallist, Sindhu, returning after recovering from a hamstring injury, squandered an opening-game advantage to lose 21-19, 13-21, 13-21 to world number 21 Kim in a match that lasted just over an hour at Arena Birmingham. Sindhu, 29, was cruising at 20-12 in the opening game but almost threw it away, allowing Kim to recover to 19-20 before eventually winning the game. However, Sindhu's form dipped thereafter, while Kim grew in confidence, which was reflected in her improved movement and shot selection. It was yet anoth
Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen moved a step closer to clinching the women's and men's singles title respectively, registering straight-game wins to advance to the semifinals of the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament here on Friday. Top seed Sindhu, a two-time champion at the event (2017, 2022), defeated China's Dai Wang 21-15, 21-17 in a 48-minute women's singles quarterfinal. Lakshya, the 2021 World Championship bronze medallist, also dominated his match, beating compatriot Meiraba Luwang Maisnam 21-8, 21-19 in the men's singles quarterfinal. Today's match was important. Even though she is a low-ranked player, it doesn't matter. I have rectified my mistakes from yesterday, what went wrong I have not made those again today. I was aggressive from the beginning. Overall, I am happy with my game compared to yesterday, Sindhu said. Sindhu is ranked 18th in the world while Wang is at 118th. "Yesterday, it was a rough patch at some point of time. But
Double Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu will have South Korean great Lee Hyun Il as her consulting coach on interim basis as she bolstered her coaching team ahead of her anticipated return to action next month. The move came after the recent appointment of Anup Sridhar as Sindhu's interim coach. The duo will be in Sindhu's coaching team till December 2024. A decision on a permanent coaching team is expected by that time. Sindhu is expected to return to competitive action at the Finland Open and Denmark Open, both in October. Hyun Il, a former world No. 1 and Sindhu's teammate during the Premier Badminton League (PBL), brings vast international experience and a reputation for meticulous preparation. He is a 2006 world championships bronze medallist in singles and has two Asian Games team gold medals in 2002 and 2014. His inclusion, alongside Sridhar, was aimed at creating a dynamic coaching duo that blends experience, tactical precision, and deep knowledge of the sport. Both the
PV Sindhu still has the hunger to succeed, and the primary aim is to help her regain consistency, says her new coach Anup Sridhar, who has been roped in by the two-time Olympic medallist on a trial basis following the Paris Games. Sindhu, who returned from the French capital without a medal for the first time in three Olympics, has been training under Sridhar, a Beijing Olympian, for the past three weeks at the Gachibowli Stadium in Hyderabad. "I spoke with Sindhu's team a few weeks ago, and she has been training under me in Hyderabad since the start of this month. We've made significant progress, and in two weeks, we'll head to tournaments in Europe," the 41-year-old Sridhar, who also briefly coached Lakshya Sen, told PTI. Sindhu lost in the pre-quarters to China's He Bingjiao at the Paris Games and will restart her BWF world tour season with the European leg, which includes the USD 420,000 Arctic Open in Vantaa, Finland (October 8-13), and the USD 850,000 Denmark Open (October ...