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Tag: Saina Nehwal

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After Saina and Sindhu did India get another ‘Anmol’? | Badminton News – Times of India

HYDERABAD: After Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu did India get another 'Anmol'? A look at the recent performances of Anmol Kharb makes one believe that the 17-year-old from Faridabad is destined for bigger things in life.With no formal training from the biggest academies in the country, the teen surprised many when she was crowned the national champion in women's singles.By virtue of her good showing at the Nationals, she was picked as the third singles player for the Badminton Asia Team Championships. Anmol soon became the toast of the team when she pulled off a three-game victory against Wu Luo Yu and helped India to beat China.That victory helped India to top the group and get an easy opponent in the form of Hong Kong in the quarterfinals.Anmol was not required for that match as India won...
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Many titles or a steady buildup under the radar? What’s the ideal leadup to the Olympics

Saina Nehwal won the Swiss Open, plus Thailand and Indonesia titles right before she medalled at the London Olympics. PV Sindhu meanwhile had 2 first round exits, 3 second round ousters and 5 quarterfinals besides a title at mid-rung Malaysia Masters start of 2016 before she went on the podium at Rio for a glorious silver. Sindhu made the finals of Swiss Open and semis at All England in the season leading up to Tokyo bronze. She wasn’t exactly a Top 5 seed at Rio when the silver came, nor was she sweeping titles in the run-up to Tokyo, but ended up India’s most successful Olympian in badminton. The run-up season to an Olympic medal take-off needn’t be an all-conquering one. Carolina Marin had a pair of quarters and semis in 2016, though the preceding year of 2015 saw her pick 6 titles ...
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Task cut out for Satwik-Chirag in Olympic Year after record-breaking 2023 | Badminton News – Times of India

The crack badminton combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty have reason to look back fondly at 2023. The duo ended a 60-year drought to win the first badminton gold for India at the Asian Games, became the first Indian pair to top the world rankings, the first Indian pair to win a Super-1000 tournament and first to win the Asian title. They have ticked many boxes last year and they are just starting.Ever since they burst on the international scene by winning their first Super-500 title in Thailand in 2019, the explosive pair has stunned almost all the top teams in the world. Despite the Covid restrictions in 2020-2021, the duo found ways to train together when outdoor play was prohibited. During one such makeshift practice session in Mumbai, they zeroed in on Mathias Bo...
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Geography on its side, but Guwahati’s Badminton academy has uphill climb matching Hyderabad’s history

Ashmita Chaliha led 10-5 in the opening set against upcoming Thai youngster Lalinrat Chaiwan, 22, and promptly ceded advantage to go a set down at her home event, the Guwahati Masters Super 100. Next set, the 24-year-old Indian led for most part, including at 15-11 to give herself a 18-16 platform from where she could’ve forced a decider. But her challenge fizzled out as she lost 21-17, 22-20 in 38 minutes.The powerful southpaw from Assam has the game, and the attack that ought to have made her a straight successor to PV Sindhu. But though she impresses every time she steps onto the court, the breakthrough is taking a long while, as yet another season draws to a close. Ashmita continues searching for a way to close out matches. While Assam’s Dipankar Bhattacharjee brought the jump smash...
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Manika Batra eyes improve performance in Paris Olympics: I am happy but not satisfied | More sports News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India's top female paddlers, Manika Batra has recently achieved a remarkable career-high milestone, securing 31st slot in the ITTF world rankings. She is currently ranked 36th in the latest list. Her stellar performance at the WTT Champions tournament in Frankfurt, where she advanced to the round of 16, added another feather to her successful career.Despite a formidable clash in the round of 16 against China's Wang Yidi, resulting in a 0-3 defeat, Batra's journey in Frankfurt was marked by a thrilling victory over Hong Kong's Doo Hoi Kem in the round of 32, triumphing 3-2. As a result, Manika stands as the sole Indian representative within the top 50 rankings in women's singles.In an exclusive chat with TimesofIndia.com, the 28-year-old Delhi-born TT star delved into her rise...
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Over 1,150 players, including top juniors, confirm entry for Krishna Khaitan Memorial All India Junior Ranking tournament

Junior national champion Anmol Kharb of Haryana and Under-17 national champion and Asian Under-17 Junior Championships silver medallist Tanvi Sharma of Punjab will be among the top contenders in the girls’ U19 category for the Yonex Sunrise 30th Smt Krishna Khaitan Memorial All India Junior Ranking Prize Money tournament from November 14 to November 20. The qualifying rounds run from November 14 to 16. The tournament, which is being organised by Express Shuttle Club Trust under the aegis of Haryana Badminton Association, will be played at the Multi-purpose Hall at the Tau Devi Lal Sports Complex. This is the penultimate ranking tournament of the year to be conducted by the Badminton Association of India (BAI). BAI President Himanta Biswa Sarma has sanctioned a total prize money of 4 lak...
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A historic milestone: Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty rise to the top in BWF Rankings | Badminton News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Indian men's doubles badminton duo Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Indian pair to reach the number one spot in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Rankings. This achievement follows their gold medal win at the recently concluded Asian Games in Hangzhou, where they defeated South Korea's Choi Sol-Gyu and Kim Won-ho in the final.Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, known as 'Sat-Chi' to fans, have been on an impressive run since 2022. They have won five BWF World Tour titles, including the Indian Open, French Open, Swiss Open, Indonesia Open, and Korea Open. Notably, their victory at the Indonesia Open marked India's first-ever BWF Super 1000 World Tour title in men's doubles.In addition to their individual ac...
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Olympic qualification tough but retirement is not on mind: Saina Nehwal | Badminton News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Saina Nehwal is aware that qualifying for the Paris Olympics will be "tough" for her but the injury-ravaged Indian shuttler has no plans to quit badminton and would do everything under the sun to resurrect her career.Laid low by a spate of injuries, including a recurring knee issue, and other health problems, the 33-year-old from Hyderabad has found it tough to stay fit to consistently turn up at the BWF World Tour events.Her ranking has plummeted to number 55 in the world."I get inflammation in my knee whenever I train for an hour or two. I am not able to bend my knee so a second session of training is not possible. The doctors have given me a couple of injection. Of course the Olympics is near and it is tough (to qualify)," Saina told reporters."But I am trying my level bes...
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BWF World Championships: HS Prannoy settles for bronze, loses to Kunlavut Vitidsarn in semis | Badminton News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Indian badminton player HS Prannoy won a hard-earned bronze medal at the BWF World Championships, following a fiercely fought semi-final clash against Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn. The thrilling match, lasting a captivating 1 hour and 15 minutes, saw the World No.9 Prannoy giving his all against the formidable third-ranked player, Vitidsarn.Prannoy eventually lost the tightly contested last-four match 21-18, 13-21, 14-21.Prannoy displayed his prowess by triumphing in the opening game with a score of 21-18, after an intense battle against Vitidsarn. However, the momentum shifted in the second game, where Vitidsarn surged ahead to a commanding 11-7 lead during the break, eventually sealing the game with a score of 21-13.With the match delicately poised, both players entered th...
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Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy achieve career-best World No.2 ranking | Badminton News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: India's top men's doubles pair, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, have soared to a career-best second spot in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings after their recent triumph at the Korea Open.Satwik and Chirag's remarkable run in the Korea Open saw them gain a spot in the rankings, displacing the Chinese pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, whom they defeated in the semi-finals.The duo's outstanding performances have secured them a new career-high ranking in the men's doubles circuit.The reigning Asian champions have been in formidable form this season, clinching titles at the Korea Open (Super 500), Swiss Open (Super 300), and Indonesia Open (Super 1000). Their recent victory at the Korea Open saw them rally from a game down to overcome the world n...
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Defending champion Sindhu, in-form Prannoy eye good show in Singapore | Badminton News – Times of India

SINGAPORE: Defending champion PV Sindhu will look to bounce back after hitting a low at Thailand but in-form HS Prannoy will be brimming with confidence as the duo spearheads Indian challenge at the Singapore Open Super 750 tournament starting here on Tuesday.Things have not been the same for Sindhu since she suffered that ankle injury in August last year. She is slowly getting back to her best with a final and semi-final finish at Madrid Spain Masters and Malaysia Masters respectively being her best result this season.However, a first-round exit at Thailand Open following a narrow loss to Canada's Michell Li is not the right way to approach a tournament, which remains her last BWF world tour title.And to make matters worse, Sindhu will be facing Japan's world No. 1 Akane Yamaguchi, an ...
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Saina Nehwal to skip Asian Games trials due to fitness issues | Badminton News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Two-time Commonwealth Games champion Saina Nehwal will not be participating at the national badminton selections trials for the upcoming Asian Games due to fitness issues.The Badminton Association of India (BAI) will be conducting the trial from May 4 to 7 at Jwala Gutta Academy of Excellence in Telangana to pick the team for the prestigious tournament, which be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8."Saina Nehwal will not be participating as she has some fitness issues. Also the men's pair of Kushal Raj and Prakash Raj has also withdrawn from the trials," BAI secretary Sanjay Mishra told PTI."However, rest of the players who were invited for the trials will be competing this week for the spots."Saina last played at the Orleans Masters. Battling injuries for q...
Sports

Saina Nehwal to skip Asian Games trials due to fitness issues

Two-time Commonwealth Games champion Saina Nehwal will not be participating at the national badminton selections trials for the upcoming Asian Games due to fitness issues. The Badminton Association of India (BAI) will be conducting the trial from May 4 to 7 at Jwala Gutta Academy of Excellence in Telangana to pick the team for the prestigious tournament, which be held in Hangzhou, China from September 23 to October 8. “Saina Nehwal will not be participating as she has some fitness issues. Also the men’s pair of Kushal Raj and Prakash Raj has also withdrawn from the trials,” BAI secretary Sanjay Mishra told PTI. “However, rest of the players who were invited for the trials will be competing this week for the spots.” Saina last played at the Orleans Masters. Battling injuries for quite so...
Sports

Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, PV Sindhu lose Twitter blue ticks | Off the field News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Top India sports stars, including the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and double Olympic medallist shuttler PV Sindhu, have lost the blue checkmarks that helped verify their identity on the micro-blogging site Twitter.The legacy blue checkmarks were previously granted to journalists, public officials, and celebrities for free as a measure against impersonation and spam on the social media platform.Twitter, which was taken over by business magnate and Tesla CEO Elon Musk last year, however, removed the blue ticks from accounts that don't pay a monthly subscription for the service on Thursday.Blue Tick Gone: Celebrities, politicians, world leaders, journalists lost Twitter verification badge"Tomorrow, 4/20, we are removing legacy verified checkmarks," the official Twitt...
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Priyanshu Rajawat jumps 20 spots to World No. 38, attains career-best ranking | Badminton News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Rising Indian shuttler Priyanshu Rajawat, who recently won the Orleans Masters Super 300 tourney, jumped 20 spots to attain a career-best world ranking of 38 in the latest BWF rankings issued on Tuesday.The 21-year-old grabbed his maiden Super 300 title after beating Denmark's Magnus Johannsen 21-15, 19-21, 21-16 in the title clash to gain some valuable ranking points.With 30,786 points, Rajawat is now the fourth-best ranked Indian men's singles player in the BWF rankings.HS Prannoy continues to be the best-ranked men's singles player at No. 8.Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen, who is currently on a break, moved up a spot to 24th, while Kidambi Srikanth lost two places to slip to world No. 23.In the women's singles, PV Sindhu, who had reached the final of Spain Masters,...
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Saina Nehwal knocked out of Orleans Masters tourney | Badminton News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Star Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal knocked out of the Orleans Masters tournament after suffering a straight-game first round loss to Turkey's Neslihan Yigit in Orleans, France on Wednesday.However, rising Indian stars Mithun Manjunath, Priyanshu Rajawat, Aakarshi Kashyap and Tanya Hemanth advanced to the second round after registering wins in their respective first round matches.Returning to the court after missing a few tournaments, London Olympic bronze medallist shuttler meekly surrendered Turkish qualifier Yigit 16-21, 14-21 in just 39 minutes.Saina, who missed the All England Championships and has dropped to 32 in the BWF Rankings, looked sluggish and was slow off the blocks as she trailed Yigit 4-11.Saina, who had her right knee heavily strapped, fought back to narrow do...
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Lakshya Sen: Lakshya Sen spearheads Indian challenge at German Open, Kidambi Srikanth pulls out | Badminton News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Rising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen will spearhead the Indian challenge at German Open Super 300 badminton tournament which starts with the qualifiers on Tuesday.Former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, who finished as runners-up in the last edition, has decided to pull out of the event.Sen, and newly-crowned national champion Mithun Manjunath, will be the top Indian players.Sen, the reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallist, had defeated World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen in the semifinals, only to lose the final in the last edition.This time the 21-year-old from Almora, seeded sixth, will meet France's Christo Popov in the opening round and is expected to face top seed Malaysian Lee Zii Jia in the quarters, if he can cross the initial rounds."I might face Lee Zii Jia in quarterfinals, ...
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‘Going to support her from afar’: PV Sindhu and coach Park Tae Sang part ways | Badminton News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: Ace shuttler PV Sindhu and her South Korean coach Park Tae Sang have parted ways, the latter announced in an Instagram post on Friday.The double Olympic medallist has had a poor start to the season and Park said that Sindhu asked for the change, going forward. Park took the role of coach in 2019 and under him Sindhu won the Tokyo Olympics bronze and Birmingham Commonwealth Games gold along with other titles. The coach said he felt responsible for Sindhu's 'disappointing start to the season'."...I'd like to talk about my relationship with pvsindhu1 , which many people have asked about. She has made disappointing moves in all recent matches, and as a coach, I feel responsible," the coach wrote on his Instagram page."So she (Sindhu) wanted a change and said she would find a new ...
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Malaysia Open: Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth make first round exits | Badminton News – Times of India

KUALA LUMPUR: Ace Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth's woeful run continued as they suffered first round exits from the season-opening Malaysia Open here on Tuesday.Two-time Commonwealth Games champion Saina, who endured a tough 2022, battling multiple injuries and a lack of form, went down 12-21 21-17 12-21 to Han Yue of China in the USD 1,250,000 Super 1000 tournament.Having lost the first game, Saina, who has slipped to world number 30, fought back to force a decider in a women's singles first round match.However, the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist fell behind as Han built a sizable lead to take the fixture comfortably.Former world number one Srikanth's surrender was tamer. The world championship silver medallist, who has also been struggling for form recently, was stu...