Page 2 - Badminton

Sindhu bows out of Japan Open; Satwik-Chirag, Lakshya move to second round

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

Saina Nehwal announces divorce from Parupalli Kashyap: Here's what happened

Fans were left stunned after Saina Nehwal confirmed her separation from husband and fellow badminton star Parupalli Kashyap on Instagram

Satwik-Chirag aim Japan Open crown as Sindhu, Lakshya hunt form revival

The Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will look to extend their consistent run and end their title drought when they spearhead the country's challenge at the Japan Open Super 750 badminton tournament beginning here on Tuesday. Currently ranked world No. 15, Satwik and Chirag have reached three semifinals this season, besides making the quarterfinals at the Indonesia Open last month. After semifinal finishes at the Malaysia and India Open in January, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champions missed several weeks due to Satwik's health issues and Chirag's lingering back injury. Returning to full fitness, they made a semifinal appearance at the Singapore Open and reached the quarterfinals in Indonesia. The former world No. 1 duo will open their campaign against Korea's Kang Min Hyuk and Ki Dong Ju. In singles, Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu will hope to rediscover form at the USD 950,000 event. Lakshya has struggled this season with multiple first-round exits, his best s

Singapore Open: Satwik-Chirag reach quarters, Prannoy and Sindhu bow out

The Indian men's doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty entered the quarterfinals, while former world champion PV Sindhu suffered an early exit in the Singapore Open badminton tournament here on Thursday. Satwiksairaj and Chirag rallied to beat seventh-seeded Indonesian pair of Sabar Karyaman Gutama and Moh Reza Pahlevi Isfahani 19-21 21-16 21-19 in a gruelling contest that lasted one hour and 14 minutes. They will face the second seeded Malaysian team of Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin in the next round. It was a commendable performance by the Indian duo, which is making a comeback after battling fitness issues for the past few weeks. Double Olympic medalist Sindhu went down to world No. 5 Chen Yufei of China 9-21, 21-18, 16-21 in 65 minutes in a hard-fought second-round match. Sindhu, who recently slipped to world No. 17, showed glimpses of her old form, especially in the second game where she led 19-12 before closing it out 21-18. However, the decider saw her .

Winning return for Satwik-Chirag in Singapore; Lakshya retires mid-game

India's top men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty made a winning return, while there was heartbreak for Lakshya Sen, who was forced to retire midway through his opening round clash at the Singapore Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Wednesday. Back on court for the first time since their withdrawal from the All England Open in March due to Chirag's back injury, the former world No.1 displayed no signs of rust as they beat Malaysia's Choong Hon Jian and Muhammad Haikal 21-16, 21-13 in just under 40 minutes in the round of 32. It was Satwik and Chirag's second win over the 41st-ranked Malaysian pair. The Indians are currently ranked 27th in the world. The pair had also missed the Sudirman Cup earlier this month, with Satwik battling health concerns. Prior to that, they had made semifinal appearances at both the Malaysia Open and India Open this season. India's no 1 singles player Sen was forced to retire hurt during his opening-round clash against L

Like minded Tanisha-Dhruv reviving mixed doubles magic in India with flair

Both Tanisha and Dhruv felt an immediate connection when they played the Syed Modi International in November 2024 and reached the final

Kashyap defends Gopichand over 'middle class family struggle' comment

Former Commonwealth Games badminton champion Parupalli Kashyap has expressed strong support for Pullela Gopichand's recent comments on the challenges faced by middle-class families, emphasising that his coach's remarks accurately reflect the harsh realities of India's sporting ecosystem. Kashyap pointed out that the lack of a safety net for athletes, who don't reach the top, is a significant issue and described Gopichand's call for caution as "pragmatic, not pessimistic. "Gopi sir's recent remarks about the challenges middle-class families face in pursuing sports as a career resonate deeply with the realities of India's sporting ecosystem," the 2014 CWG champion posted in X'. "He's absolutely right to highlight the lack of a safety net for athletes who don't reach the top. In a country where success in sports outside of cricket rarely guarantees financial security or societal respect, his call for caution is pragmatic, not pessimistic. "The middle class, often tethered to the ...

No successor in sight for Sindhu, India's badminton future in trouble

PV Sindhu has been India's top women's singles player for nearly a decade, but the gap between her and the next generation remains vast

India's challenge grows at Badminton Asia Mixed Team after Sindhu ruled out

Without the services of an injured PV Sindhu, India will face an uphill task in pursuit of an elusive gold medal at the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships which gets underway here on Tuesday. India hope to improve on their bronze medal finish from the previous edition where Sindhu played a key role in Dubai two years ago. Her absence this year due to an injury will be a significant setback as the team embarks on its campaign in the prestigious biennial event. Sindhu sustained a hamstring injury during a pre-tournament training camp in Guwahati on February 4, forcing her to withdraw from the tournament at the last minute. Her unavailability puts the onus on world No 29 Malvika Bansod to step up in women's singles. Placed in Group D, India will open their campaign against Macau on Wednesday, followed by a clash with a strong Korean outfit on Thursday. A top-two finish in the group will secure a spot in the quarterfinals, and while India is likely to progress to the last eight, ..

PV Sindhu withdraws from BAMTC 2025 after suffering from hamstring injury

Two-time Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu has pulled out of the Badminton Asia Mixed Team Championships in China due to a hamstring issue, dealing a huge blow to the country's chances of improving the colour of their medal in the prestigious edition. The tournament is set to be played in Qingdao from February 11-16 with the Indian shuttlers currently undergoing training at a camp in Guwahati. Besides Sindhu, the other leading players in the camp are Lakshya Sen, and HS Prannoy, along with the formidable doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. Sindhu was a part of the squad that won bronze in the previous edition of the tournament. "It is with a heavy heart that I share I won't be travelling with the team for BAMTC 2025. While training on the 4th (February) in Guwahati, I felt a twinge in my hamstring. Despite my efforts to push through with heavy taping for our country, an MRI has revealed that my recovery will take slightly longer than I initially expected,"

What are the new rules in Badminton's proposed 3x15 scoring system?

The 3x15 system the global Badminton body is ready to implement is expected to create more exciting and close matches.

PUMA India teams up with PV Sindhu to strengthen badminton presence

Through this partnership, PUMA aims to inspire the next generation, particularly among India's youth, with badminton's popularity soaring.

Lakshya's struggles lead to exit, Prannoy's game halted by roof leak

An inconsistent Lakshya Sen faltered in his opening match, while HS Prannoy endured a frustrating start to the season-opening Malaysia Super 100 badminton tournament as his opener against Canada's Brian Yang was suspended midway due to a leaking roof at the Axiata Arena on Tuesday. Lakshya, coming off a title win at the Syed Modi International in Lucknow and a third-place finish at the King Cup International, failed to replicate his recent form and succumbed to Chi Yu-jen of Chinese Taipei, losing 14-21, 7-21. The Indian shuttler's game was riddled with unforced errors, leaving him with little chance against the 27-year-old. Prannoy, returning to action after the Paris Olympics, was leading 21-12, 6-3 when rainwater began seeping through the roof, forcing play to be stopped on Court 3 about 25 minutes into the match. After a delay of over an hour, play resumed around 4:15 PM, but the match was halted again as the leak persisted. Yang was leading 11-9 in the second game when offici

After P V Sindhu, who will be the next star in Indian women's badminton?

Women's badminton faces uncertainty due to a shrinking talent pool, lack of quality coaches, and overreliance on Gopichand

Who is PV Sindhu's fiance, Venkata Datta Sai who once managed an IPL team?

India's star badminton player PV Sindhu is set to tie the knot with Hyderabad-based Venkata Datta Sai this month. Sai once managed an IPL team and is an executive director with Posidex Technologies

Top seeds Sindhu, Lakshya advance to semis at Syed Modi Tournament

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

Let the games end: Athletes have better platforms than Commonwealth Games

Six of the 12 disciplines in which India scored medals have been dropped. Fully 30 of the 61 medals India won in the 2022 edition in Birmingham came from sports that won't be on the 2026 roster

Very bad decision to exclude badminton from Commonwealth Games: Chirag

Former world No.1 doubles shuttler Chirag Shetty termed the exclusion of badminton from the 2026 Commonwealth Games curriculum a wrong decision, and questioned how the organisers could do away with the most popular sport in the event. The 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games on Tuesday unveiled a heavily scaled-down roster, excluding hockey, shooting, cricket, badminton and wrestling from the curriculum, a move which will severely hurt India's medal prospects at the quadrennial event. "I think it's a very bad decision, to be honest. I can say for badminton, I think it's the most watched sport. It's definitely one of the most watched sports in the Commonwealth Games," said Chirag, who along with partner Satwiksairaj Rankireddy is the 2022 Birmingham CWG men's doubles champions, besides being the mixed team gold medallist at Gold Coast in 2018. He said the popularity of the sport in CWG could be gauged from the fact that virtually all badminton competitions are played in front of a packed

South Korean great Lee Hyun Il roped in as PV Sindhu's consulting coach

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

My biggest goal is to get PV Sindhu back on the podium: Coach Sridhar

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 ...