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Paris Olympics: PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy Get Easy Groups; Tough Task For Lakshya Sen, Tanisha Crasto-Ashwini Ponnappa

admin — Fri, 12 Jul 2024 14:27:48 +0000

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy were on Friday handed easy groups for the Paris Games beginning on July 26. Sindhu, who won the silver medal at the Rio Games and followed that with a bronze in Tokyo Olympics, has been seeded 10th. The World number 13 has been drawn in Group M of the women’s singles alongside Kristin Kuuba of Estonia (WR 75) and Maldives’ Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq. (WR 111). While Sindhu, who is vying for a third Olympic medal, has a relatively easy group, she could face China’s sixth seed He Bing Jiao in the round of 16.

If she gets past Jiao, Sindhu will likely face Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei of China in the quarterfinals.

The 29-year-old has not had the smoothest of runs in the lead up to the Olympics and it will take a special effort from her to a complete a hat-trick of medals at the Summer Games.

Meanwhile, Prannoy, who will be making his Olympic debut, has been seeded 13th and will have to go past Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat (WR 70) and Fabian Roth (WR 82) of Germany in Group K of the men’s singles event.

The second Indian in the men’s singles, Lakshya Sen, ranked 19, has been drawn in Group L.

The unseeded Lakshya has third seed and world number three Jonatan Christie of Indonesia in his group. They both are joined by Guatemala’s Kevin Cordon (WR 41) and Belgium’s Julien Carragi (WR 52).

Lakshya has an inferior 1-4 head-to-head record against Christie with the Indonesian getting the better of the 22-year-old twice this year already.

If both Prannoy and Lakshya can top their group, they will meet each other in the round of 16.

World number 19 pairing of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa has been drawn in a difficult Group C in the women’s doubles event.

The Indians have been clubbed alongside world number 4 Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida of Japan, Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist South Korea’s Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong (WR 7) and Australians Setyana Mapasa and Angela Yu (WR 27).

The star Indian men’s pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty is probably India’s best bet for a medal. The duo has been seeded third in men’s doubles event.

However, the men’s doubles draw for the Paris Olympics was postponed due to a Court of Arbitration of Sport (CAS) hearing over the number of pairs in the draw.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) is yet to confirm the date of the draw.

The badminton events at the Olympics will begin on July 27.

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Full List Of Indian Athletes Who Have Sealed Paris Olympics Berth

admin — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 13:27:42 +0000

The highly anticipated Olympics 2024 are all set to kick-start from July 26 and will conclude on August 11. The Olympics will be hosted in Paris and a total of 206 countries will be participating from all over the world. The 2024 Paris Olympics will feature 45 different sports, including 41 that are considered mainstay Olympic sports. Four new sports like breaking, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing have also been included in this edition’ roster. India will be sending close to 120 athletes to Paris for the upcoming Olympic games in French capital.

India will look to outdo its tally of seven medals from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which included a gold, two silver, and four bronze medals.

Ahead of the marquee event, here’s a list of all the Indian athletes who have secured a spot in Olympics 2024.

Archery:

Dhiraj Bommadevara: Men’s team

Tarundeep Rai: Men’s team

Pravin Jadhav: Men’s team

Bhajan Kaur: Women’s team

Deepika Kumari: Women’s team

Ankita Bhakat: Women’s team

Athletics:

Akshdeep Singh: Men’s 20km race walk

Vikash Singh: Men’s 20km race walk

Paramjeet Singh Bisht: Men’s 20km race walk

Priyanka Goswami: Women’s 20km race walk

Avinash Sable: Men’s 3000m steeplechase

Parul Chaudhary: Women’s 3000m steeplechase, women’s 5000m steeplechase

Jyothi Yarraji: Women’s 100m hurdles

Kiran Pahal: Women’s 400m

Tajinderpal Singh Toor: Men’s shot put

Abha Khatua: Women’s shot put

Neeraj Chopra: Men’s javelin throw

Kishore Jena: Men’s javelin throw

Annu Rani: Women’s javelin throw

Sarvesh Kushare: Men’s high jump

Praveen Chithravel: Men’s triple jump

Abdulla Aboobacker: Men’s triple jump

Muhammed Anas Yahiya, Muhammed Ajmal, Amoj Jacob, Santhosh Tamilarasan, and Rajesh Ramesh: Men’s 4x400m relay

Mijo Chaco Kurian: 4x400m relay and 4x400m mixed relay

Vidhya Ramaraj, Jyothika Sri Dandi, MR Poovamma, Subha Venkatesan, and Prachi: Women’s 4x400m relay

Prachi: 4x400m mixed relay

Priyanka Goswami/Suraj Panwar: Race walk mixed marathon

Badminton:

H.S Prannoy: Men’s singles

Lakshya Sen: Men’s singles

P.V Sindhu: Women’s singles

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty: Men’s doubles

Ashwini Ponappa and Tanisha Crasto: Women’s doubles

Boxing:

Nikhat Zareen: Women’s 50kg

Amit Phangal: Men’s 51kg

Nishant Dev: Men’s 71kg

Preeti Pawar: Women’s 54kg

Lovlina Borgohain: Women’s 75kg

Jaismine Lamboria: Women’s 57kg

Equestrian:

Anush Agarwalla: Dressage

Golf:

Subhankar Sharma: Men’s golf

Gaganjeet Bhullar: Men’s golf

Aditi Ashok: Women’s golf

Diksha Dagar: Women’s golf

Hockey:

P.R Sreejesh, Jarmanpreet Singh, Amit Rogidas, Harmanpreet Singh(c), Sumit, Sanjay, Rajkumar Pal, Shamsher Singh, Manpreet Singh, Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Abhishek, Sukhjeet Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Mandeep Singh, Gurjant Singh: Men’s hockey team

Judo:

Tulika Mann: Women’s 78kg

Rowing:

Balraj Panwar: M1x

Sailing:

Vishnu Saravanan: Men’s one person dinghy

Nethra Kumanan: Women’s one person dinghy

Shooting:

Prithviraj Tondaiman: Men’s trap

Rajeshwari Kumari: Women’s trap

Shreyasi Singh: Women’s trap

Anantjeet Singh Naruka: Men’s skeet

Raiza Dhillon: Women’s skeet

Maheshwari Chauhan: Women’s skeet

Anantjeet Singh Naruka/Maheshwari Chauhan: Skeet mixed team

Sandeep Singh: Men’s 10m air rifle

Arjun Babuta: Men’s 10m air rifle

Elavenil Valarivan: Women’s 10m air rifle

Ramita Jindal: Women’s 10m air rifle

Swapnil Kusale: Men’s 50m rifle 3 position

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar: Men’s 50m rifle 3 position

Sift Kaur Samra: Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions

Anjum Moudgil: Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions

Sandeep Singh/Elavenil Valarivan: 10m air rifle mixed team

Arjun Babuta/Ramita Jindal: 10m air rifle mixed team

Arjun Cheema: Men’s 10m air pistol

Sarabjot Singh: Men’s 10m air pistol

Manu Bhaker: Women’s 10m air pistol

Rhythm Sangwam: Women’s 10m air pistol

Vijayveer Sidhu: Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol

Anish Bhanwala: Men’s 25m rapid fire pistol

Manu Bhaker: Women’s 25m pistol

Esha Singh: Women’s 25m pistol

Sarabjot Singh/Manu Bhaker: 10m air pistol mixed team

Arjun Cheema/Rhythm Sangwam: 10m air pistol mixed team

Swimming:

Dhinidhi Desinghu: Women’s 200m freestyle

Srihari Nataraj: Men’s 100m backstroke

Table Tennis:

Sharath Kamal: Men’s singles and men’s team

Harmeet Desai: Men’s singles and men’s team

Manav Thakkar: Men’s team

Manika Batra: Women’s singles and women’s team

Sreeja Akula: Women’s singles and women’s team

Archana Kamath: Women’s team

Tennis:

Sumit Nagal: Men’s singles

Rohan Bopanna and Sriram Balaji: Men’s doubles

Weightlifting:

Mirabai Chanu: Women’s 49kg

Wrestling:

Aman Sehrawat: Men’s freestyle 57kg

Vinesh Phogat: Women’s 50kg

Anshu Malik: Women’s 57kg

Nisha Dahiya: Women’s 68kg

Reetika Hooda: Women’s 76kg

Antim Phangal: Women’s 53kg

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Singapore Open: PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy Enter 2nd Round, Lakshya Sen Crashes Out

admin — Wed, 29 May 2024 17:20:53 +0000

Star shuttlers PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy progressed to the second round but Lakshya Sen went down fighting to world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen at the Singapore Open Super 750 Badminton Tournament here on Wednesday. Sindhu had last won a BWF title at Singapore two years back and she entered the tournament after signing off with a runner-up finish at Thailand Open last week. Up against world no. 21 Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark, the Indian registered a 21-12 22-20 win in a 44-minute opening round encounter to set up a mouth-watering battle against Rio Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain.

World No. 3 Marin has an overwhelming 11-5 record against the Indian. The last time the two clashed, it turned out to be an ill-tempered match at Denmark Open which saw both players receiving yellow cards for verbal exchanges.

World No. 10 Prannoy then quelled a spirited challenge from Julien Carraggi, ranked 45, of Belgium 21-9 18-21 21-9 to set up a meeting with Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto next.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand notched up a 21-7 21-14 win over Cheng Yu-Pei and Sun Yu Hsing of Chinese Taipei to make a good start in women’s doubles.

However world No. 14 Lakshya, who will be making his Olympic debut at the Paris Games, fought hard but went out of steam after the change of ends in the decider to go down 13-21 21-16 13-21 in 62 minutes against Axelsen, who won his first title of the season at Thailand Open last week.

Kidambi Srikanth’s opening round match ended in agony as he retired due to a knee injury after lagging 14-21 3-11 against Japan’s fifth seed Kodai Naraoka.

In other results, Olympic-bound women’s combination of Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa lost 21-18 19-21 19-21 to Ukraine’s Polina Buhrova and Yevheniia Kantemyr, while men’s pair of Krishna Prasad Garage and Sai Pratheek K suffered a 16-21 22-24 loss to second seeded Chinese Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.

B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy lost 18-21 19-21 to Malaysia’s Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie in mixed doubles, while Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan lost 8-21 8-21 against Mads Vestergaard and Christine Busch in another match.

Sindhu vs Line

Sindhu held a 3-0 head-to-head count against Line but things started on an even note as the two were tied 8-8 at one stage before the Indian grabbed a two-point advantage at the break with a fine drop shot.

The Indian moved to 16-11 with some quick points as Line made too many unforced errors during the testing rallies. Sindhu soon held eight game points and converted it with a straight return.

After the change of sides, Sindhu continued the momentum to open up a 5-1 lead before taking an 11-7 cushion at the interval, with Line finding the net.

However, the Dane slowly clawed back at 14-14 and stood four points away from taking the match to the decider, but Sindhu stepped up the pace in time to dash her hopes as she reeled off six straight points to seal the win.

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Heartbreak For India At Thomas And Uber Cup Final

admin — Thu, 02 May 2024 15:23:33 +0000

Lakshya Sen was the lone bright spot as the Indian men’s team failed to defend its title after going down fighting 1-3 to China in the quarterfinals, while the women’s side suffered a 0-3 loss to Japan to also end their campaign in the Thomas and Uber Cup Final on Thursday. Two years after India claimed their maiden title at the World Men’s Team Championships, the country’s shuttlers endured a tough day in office as world No. 9 HS Prannoy, world No. 3 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and Dhruv Kapila and Sai Pratheek K failed to go the distance in their respective matches.

It was a rematch of the 2023 Asian Games team final which India lost 2-3 to sign off with a maiden silver.

The Indian team had ended their group stage at the second spot after losing 1-4 to Indonesia late on Wednesday, while the Chinese had an off day and the hosts seemed to be in better shape as they ticked all the boxes to come up trumps once again at the big stage.

A roaring start ended with a dampener for Prannoy as his spirited fight concluded with a 21-15 11-21 14-21 loss against world No. 2 Shi Yu Qi in a 66-minute clash which gave China a 1-0 lead.

“I don’t know but surely I think China had one day off and they came in (the contest) much more fresher. It makes a big difference in the third game. Unfortunate to kind of play today,” said Prannoy after the loss.

“I will say that we had a very long night and by the time we slept it was 1.32 (am) and to kind of get back to the energy levels I think is definitely less,” he added.

“Everybody was very disappointed last night (after the loss to Indonesia), but to come out and play such a big match against the home crowd in less than 13 to 14 hours is a big task mentally out there because you just lost out with a big opponent like Indonesia,” said Prannoy.

For the second successive day, Satwik and Chirag had to walk back without logging a point for India after they were outmanoeuvred 15-21 21-11 12-21 by the world No. 1 pair of Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang as the visitors slipped to 0-2.

All eyes were on Lakshya Sen to keep India afloat, given his 6-3 head-to-head count against Li Shi Feng, and the 22-year-old from Almora lived up to the expectations, seeing off the world No. 6 13-21 21-8 21-14 to pull one back.

However, Dhruv and Sai went down 10-21 10-21 to world No. 11 pair of Ren Xiang Yu and He Ji Ting to put paid to India’s hopes.

Earlier, Ashmita Chaliha and Isharani Baruah gave a good account of themselves before the young and inexperienced Indian women’s team suffered a 0-3 loss to formidable Japan in the quarterfinals of the Uber Cup.

Despite missing top guns such as PV Sindhu, India had qualified for the knockout stage with two superior victories against Canada and Singapore in the group stage but the 0-5 defeat against powerhouse China in the final league match was a reality check.

On Thursday, India fought hard against multiple-time winners Japan with Chaliha and Isharani Baruah giving a good account of themselves in their singles matches.

World No. 53 Chaliha showed once again that she has the wherewithal to trouble the top players during her narrow 10-21 22-20 15-21 loss to world No. 11 Aya Ohori in a 67-minute contest.

The 20-year-old Isharani, ranked 83rd, too was up 14-11 and 9-7 in the first and second games before losing 15-21 12-21 to 2017 World Championships and former world No. 1 Nozomi Okuhara.

In between, national champions Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Misra found a glimpse of what it would take to succeed at the highest level as they succumbed to a 8-21 9-21 loss to world No. 4 Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida.

India had reached the semifinals of the Uber Cup thrice in 1957, 2014 and 2016.

Prannoy vs Shi Yu Qi

Handling the drift was a big task and in the end, Shi Yu Qi showed better control and deception to prevail in the 66-minute clash.

Prannoy made a sensational start to the match, opening up an 8-2 lead and kept Shi Yu Qi under pressure to eventually grab six game points with a smash. The Indian wasted one before sealing the opening game with a perfect net shot.

Shi Yu Qi looked in complete command in the second game as rode on his deceptions to take an 11-4 lead at the break. Lagging 6-12, Prannoy was called for ‘obstruction’ when he held up his racquet near the net during an exchange.

It was mostly a one-way traffic as the Chinese made a roaring return after Prannoy faltered with a net stroke.

The duo engaged in some excruciating rallies, using their array of strokes to outwit each other. The duo moved 5-5 before a couple of lucky net chords and supremacy at the net saw the Chinese gain a 11-8 cushion at the interval.

The Chinese made Prannoy twist and turn with his returns, constructing the rallies well to move to 16-11. A long rally ensued next with Shi Yu Qi sealing it with another sharp cross court.

Shi Yu Qi moved to 19-13 after sending one at the forehand corner and then grabbed seven match points with another precise angled shot. He raised his hands when Prannoy made a wrong judgement call.

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HS Prannoy Finding His Way Back After Chronic Stomach Disorder Returns To Trouble him

admin — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 07:49:59 +0000

Seasoned Indian shuttler H S Prannoy has revealed that he has been battling a chronic gastrointestinal disorder for the past four months which has not just hampered him physically but also taken a mental toll as he had fought these health issues not so long ago. Prannoy was diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease during the 2018 World Championships, a chronic disorder that causes symptoms like heartburn, abdominal and chest pain, and inflammation of vocal chords.

Prannoy’s training and performance were affected by it in 2019-2020 but he had recovered from it and the after-effects of COVID-19 to slowly and steadily regain his place in the top echelons of men’s singles. But he revealed that the he hasn’t been all that well for past four months once again.

“A health issue has been bothering me for the last four months. That has kind of taken a toll in the last four months, mentally and physically for me, to be in the right physical state which I think I was in the last two years,” World No.9 Prannoy told PTI during a free-wheeling interview.

“But I think it’s all part and parcel of this whole career that there can be a lot of times that we are feeling good. If you’re not consistent in what you’re doing, then you can take a hit and go back to where you were before.

“It is the same gut issue which had cropped up in 2019. We will get better in the coming months. So yeah, I just need to be a bit more patient,” he said.

The 31-year-old played a pivotal role in India’s epic Thomas Cup win in 2022. He went on to claim a bronze medal at the World Championships and the Asian Games, won his maiden super 500 title at Malaysia Masters and then finished runner-up at the Australian Open in a memorable 2023.

However, this season, Prannoy had just one semifinal finish — at India Open super 750 — and made a series of first-round exit.

Prannoy, who has qualified for the Paris Olympics, looked in good touch at the Asia badminton Championships in Ningbo, China when he outwitted China’s Lu Guang Zu in a marathon 90-minute opening-round match.

“It gives a little bit of satisfaction that a lot of things which you’re working on came good. I think those kind of wins give that kind of confidence.

“To even think that you lasted a 90-minute match against somebody who has been really strong and who I’ve never beaten also gives good confidence,” he said.

“From a whole game side of it, I think probably after a few months, again, I felt that kind of aggression in the game and I could kind of, be there for good 90 minutes physically also.”

“Defending Thomas Cup title will be very tough”

The image of a gritty Prannoy battling through pain after twisting his ankle during the deciding third singles against Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke in the Thomas Cup semifinals is still fresh in badminton lovers’ mind.

His sensational performance was one of the reasons that India could lift the trophy for the first time. Two years later, Prannoy will once again take centrestage as India aims to defend the title.

“It will be tough this year, there are very tough teams this time. Based on current form, there are lots of teams with three strong singles and two doubles like China, Denmark, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Indonesia.

“All of these teams have players who have been in form for the last three-four months, playing big tournament finals,” the man from Thiruvananthapuram said.

India have been handed a tough draw in Thomas Cup as they are clubbed with last year’s runner-up and record 14-time winners Indonesia, Thailand and England in Group C.

“…we have somebody like Satwik-Chirag, who is a strong doubles pair, then Lakshya also hitting form at the right time. So, it will give us an extra boost but I think a lot of ties will depend on first singles and third singles and second men’s doubles.

“The Arjun-Dhruv pair has been playing well in the last few months, so we are also hopeful that they can also get us a few wins,” he said.

He acknowledged the pressure that will be on him.

“From the team perspective, there will be a lot of expectations on my first singles because a 1-0 start will put us in a good position but overall it will be very tough to defend the title.

“Each and every round, even from the group stages, will be tough. It will go down to how well as a team and enjoy as a team.”

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PV Sindhu Opts Out Of Uber Cup; Strong Side For Thomas Cup Title Defence

admin — Thu, 04 Apr 2024 12:59:02 +0000

Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu and the two top doubles pairs have opted out of the Uber Cup but a strong men’s team will take the court for its title defence in the Thomas Cup, commencing in Chengdu from April 27. Sindhu, who has played six tournaments since returning to action at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in February, pulled out of the event to give herself more time to recover and be battle-ready for the Paris Olympics.

Top women’s doubles pairs — Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand and Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto — also withdrew since it is not a full strength team with Sindhu missing. They chose to focus on the other assignments as they strive to earn the Olympics qualification.

Following the withdrawal of Sindhu and the two pairs, Badminton Association of India (BAI) decided to reward the players who performed at the Senior National Championships by give them the India cap.

“Sindhu opted out as she is coming back from an injury and she wants to give herself enough time to prepare for Paris Games where she will hope to win another medal for the country,” BAI secretary Sanjay Mishra told PTI.

“The doubles pairs also decided to skip the event as they too have been playing a lot of tournaments and want to focus on their qualification, so we have rewarded the semifinalists of the national championships by including them in the team.” India are the defending champions in Thomas Cup, having clinched the epic crown in 2022. The selectors decided to field a strong squad with a perfect mix of youth and experience.

The Indian men’s team had created history in Thailand when they defeated formidable Indonesia 3-0 in the final to clinch their first-ever Thomas Cup crown.

The senior selection committee also decided to have more options in singles considering the hectic schedule of all players this season.

A 10-member team for Thomas Cup will have five singles players with Kiran George joining HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and Priyanshu Rajawat, while Sai Pratheek will be the back-up doubles player to the two first-choice combinations, namely World No. 1 pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty and MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila.

The final decision on the Thomas Cup squad was taken after an online meeting of the selection committee that comprises Chief National coach Pulella Gopichand, former India stars U Vimal Kumar, Jwala Gutta, Manjusha Kanwar, Partho Ganguly and Mallika Baruah Sarma.

“The committee felt we needed to have one additional player in the singles, while in doubles they have picked top two pairs and Sai Pratheek is selected as an additional doubles player after consultation with Mathias Boe (Danish doubles coach) just in case somebody is not fully fit or needs recovery,” Mishra said.

For the Uber Cup, the selectors decided to give an opportunity to youngsters after top players in both singles and doubles pulled out.

The 17-year-old Anmol Kharab, who is India’s latest badminton sensation, will be watched keenly at the big stage where she have Ashmita Chaliha and Tanvi Sharma as her teammates in singles.

“The Uber Cup team also looks good with the young talented players. I wish them the best of luck and hope they will make the nation proud with their performances.” Thomas Cup squad: (Singles) HS Prannoy, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Priyanshu Rajawat and Kiran George; (Doubles) Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, Chirag Shetty, MR Arjun, Dhruv Kapila and Sai Pratheek Uber Cup squad: (Singles) Anmol Kharb, Tanvi Sharma, Ashmita Chaliha and Isharani Baruah; (Doubles) Shruti Mishra, Priya Konjengbam, Simran Singhi and Ritika Thaker.

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All England Championship: HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth Lose In First Round

admin — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 17:31:57 +0000

Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu progressed to the second round of the women’s singles competition but HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth faltered in the opening hurdle of men’s singles at the All England Championships on Tuesday. World No. 11 Sindhu, a former world champion, won the first game 21-10 but her German opponent, world No. 26 Li Yvonne Li, then decided to retire, paving the way for the Indian to the next round. The 28-year-old from Hyderabad is likely to next face top seed Korean An Se Young, who has proved her nemesis, having defeated her all six times they have crossed paths in international badminton. In fact, only once has Sindhu managed to take a game away from the world No. 1 Korean when they met last time at the Asia Championships in Dubai last year.

An Se Young, who is recovering from a right knee injury, secured her second title of the season at the French Open last Sunday.

Sindhu and Li seemed to have an initial battle when they were 4-4 but the Indian soon pulled away to grab a 11-7 lead at the break. She extended the advantage without much ado.

Eventually, a flick serve was dumped into the net by Li as Sindhu grabbed 11 game points and converted when the German went long.

In men’s singles, it was yet another bad day in office for world No. 8 Prannoy as he squandered an opening game advantage to go down 21-14 13-21 13-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Su Li Yang, ranked 32nd, for a second successive first-round exit following the loss at the French Open last week.

Later, Srikanth, who is racing against time to make it to Paris Olympics, sunk without a trace against top seed and world No. 1 Viktor Axelsen 9-21 9-21, leaving 2022 runner-up Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat as the only contenders in men’s singles for the country.

The 23-year-old Sen will face Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen in his opening round on Wednesday.

Aakarshi Kashyap too bowed out with a 16-21 11-21 loss to Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei in the opening round.

Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand will face Indonesia’s Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti later in the day. PTI ATK AM ATK AM AM

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French Open: Kidambi Srikanth Stuns Chou Tien Chen, HS Prannoy Loses In Opener

admin — Wed, 06 Mar 2024 13:33:32 +0000

India’s Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the men’s singles second round with a stunning win over Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen but HS Prannoy fell short to make an early exit from French Open Super 750 badminton tournament in Paris on Wednesday. The world No 24 Srikanth, who is racing against time to qualify for the Paris Olympics, outwitted 14th-ranked Chen 21-15, 20-22, 21-8 in a 66-minute opening round clash for his third win over the Taiwanese shuttler in seven meetings.

In the next round, the 2021 world championships silver medallist Srikanth will fight it out against China’s world No 17 Lu Guang Zu, who ended the campaign of India’s HS Prannoy with a fine 21-17, 21-17 win at the adjacent court at the Arena Porte de la Chapelle here.

Srikanth was by far the better player as he roared back from 5-7 behind, winning 14 off the next 17 points to earn the bragging rights.

However, Chen produced a rearguard in the second game and managed to keep his nose ahead in time to take the match to the decider after a gruelling battle of nerves.

After the change of sides, Srikanth was back in his element as from 7-5, the Indian pocketed nine straight points to leave Chen far behind. The Taiwanese managed three points before the Indian banged the door on his face with the remaining five points.

In the adjacent court, Prannoy seemed on the road to glory only to to falter in the end as Guang Zu stole the show.

Prannoy moved to a 5-2 lead early in the opening game and though Guang Zu clawed back with three points, the Indian quickly changed gears to reestablish a three-point advantage at the break.

The duo engaged in some fierce rallies and Prannoy kept things tight for most part. The Chinese, however, kept snapping at the Indian’s heels keeping himself within two points, waiting for an opportunity.

It eventually arrived when Prannoy’s backhand went to net as the Chinese clawed back at 16-16 before moving to a lead with Prannoy erring again.

Guang Zu then pocketed the opening game by unleashing a quick return on his rival’s backhand.

Prannoy made an erratic start to the second game, falling 0-3 behind early. It was back to the grind for the Indian as he slowly drew parity at 6-6 with a few winners like the down-the-line smash on Guang Zu’s forehand.

But he also missed the lines, going long and wide a few times as the Chinese again capitalised on his errors to grab a 11-7 advantage at interval.

A determined Prannoy once again levelled terms with four straight points, the last being a lethal net kill.

The rallies starting getting fierce as the duo produce some sensational saves displaying great reflexes, but Guang Zu was a tad sharper and alert as he soon lead 19-15 with Prannoy now struggling to get a grip on the fast-paced rallies.

The Indian did win three straight point to keep hopes alive, before the Chinese grabbed three match points with a smash on his forehand and sealed it with another precise return on forecourt.

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Injured HS Prannoy Withdraws From Denmark And French Open

admin — Mon, 16 Oct 2023 10:42:14 +0000

Star Indian shuttler HS Prannoy has pulled out of the Denmark Open Super 750 tournament due to a back injury that troubled him during his maiden bronze medal-winning run at the recently-concluded Asian Games. The 31-year-old Indian had battled excruciating back pain to secure India’s first medal in men’s singles in 41 years at Hangzhou but now he will have to sit out for two to three weeks due to the injury. “We are not looking at playing any tournament this month. Something also came up in the MRI as well, so I will have to be out for 2-3 weeks, so I will not be able to play Denmark and France,” Prannoy told PTI.

“I will need to rest and then start with rehab.” In his absence, India’s charge will be led by Lakshya Sen, who will be back on the court after playing a vital role in India’s first-ever silver medal in men’s team event at the Asian Games.

World No. 15 Sen, who remained unbeaten at the Asian Games, will open against Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen and is likely to meet sixth seed Shi Yuqi of China in the second round.

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu too will look for a good outing after a semifinal finish at the Arctic Open last week. She will be up against Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour.

World No. 20 Kidambi Srikanth, who is also desperately looking to accumulate ranking points to make the cut for the Paris Olympics, will take on China’s Weng Hong Yang in his opening game.

It is going to be a tricky affair for the former world No. 1, who has blown hot and cold throughout the season.

Priyanshu Rajawat, currently ranked No. 30 in the world, will also have his task cut out as he faces world No. 14 Lee Zii Jia, who is brimming with confidence following his title-winning run in the Arctic Open.

Newly-crowned world No. 1 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who claimed an epic gold at Hangzhou, is pitted against Malaysia’s Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi.

MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila will also miss out after the former suffered a back injury at Hangzhou.

The women’s pairing of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, however, will be back on the court after the Asian Games and will take on Thailand’s Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard.

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Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty Enter Final, HS Prannoy Signs Off With Bronze At Asian Games 2023

admin — Fri, 06 Oct 2023 15:59:41 +0000

An error-prone HS Prannoy signed off with an Asian Games bronze, India’s first medal in men’s singles in 41 years, but Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty kept alive the country’s hopes of a first-ever badminton gold after cruising into the men’s doubles final on Friday. Satwik and Chirag, ranked world no. 3, dished out a badminton master-class to outclass Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik, Tokyo bronze medallists and former world champions, 21-17, 21-12 in 46 minutes of dominance.

(Asian Games 2023 Medals Tally | Asian Games 2023 Full Schedule)

The Indian pair thus became the first Indian men’s doubles pair to assure of a silver at the Asian Games. The duo was also part of India’s silver-medal winning men’s team last week.

Satwik and Chirag, the reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallists, will face Korea’s Choi Sol Gyu and Kim Won Ho in the final on Saturday. The Indians have a 2-0 record against the Koreans.

While the doubles pair was simply sensational, Prannoy, who was playing with a back niggle, succumbed in a pool of errors, going down 16-21, 9-21 to reigning All England champion, China’s Li Shi Feng, in the semifinals earlier in the day to sign off with a maiden bronze.

It was India’s second medal in men’s singles since Syed Modi claimed a bronze in the 1982 edition in New Delhi.

Satwik and Chirag came into the match with a dismal 1-8 record against the Malaysians but it didn’t matter as they sent down their booming smashes whenever there was an opportunity and also were good with their angles and placement.

The two pairs fought tooth and nail from the first point to 10-10 before Satwik produced a smash to take a one-point lead at the break.

On resumption, the Indian pair showed better anticipation and quickly extended their lead to 16-10 before grabbing six game points.

A service error from the Indians and then a deceptive stroke from Soh helped Malaysia save three game points before Aaron sent his forehand into the net.

The Indians came out all guns blazing with the pair mixing defence and attack seamlessly to zoom to 11-3 at the interval.

The two showed great coordination, moving smoothly back and forth with Satwik displaying his superb defence and Chirag complementing him.

Satwik and Chirag kept dominating the rallies with their anticipation and interceptions and grabbed 10 match points after winning a net duel, and converted in the third attempt.

Earlier, Prannoy made a good start but lost the plot midway through the opening game, mainly due to the errors he committed while looking for precision in his return, going wide and long in the process.

Prannoy, 31, focussed on constructing his rallies, using his drops to good use to lead 3-1. He mixed his shots well, shying away from smashes and instead using tosses to pin his opponent to the baseline.

Li tried to step up the pace and drew parity 5-5. The Indian then used his smash to get a point and soon moved to 8-5. He produced a forehand deceptive return to go to 9-7.

However, looking for precision, Prannoy missed the lines on the flank a few times to allow the Chinese to recover. Li made it 10-10 before a deceptive drop gave Prannoy a one-point cushion.

He led 13-11 when things started turning, as Li made it 15-14 with Prannoy erring.

The Chinese also grew in confidence and used his attack to move to 17-14. A straight jump smash kept Prannoy going, but he soon fell behind to 15-19.

Li won a net duel to gain four game points and then a lucky net cord ended the opening game.

The second game too was a tight affair initially as the duo battled to 4-4 but Li used his attacking returns and started dominating the rallies to eke out a four-point advantage at 8-4 with a net kill. Li had a five-point lead at the interval.

With Prannoy finding it hard to curb his errors, points kept coming thick and fast for Li as he moved to 14-6. The Chinese looked more sharp and showed better anticipation to move to 19-9 in a jiffy.

An on-the-line return gave 11 match points to Li and he sealed it comfortably.

Prannoy conceded that not being being able to achieve peak fitness levels was one of the reasons for his defeat. The 31-year-old Indian has played almost all his matches here with a heavily-taped lower back.

“Credit to Li. He played a really solid game out there. I had more chances in the first game but it drifted away from me after 14-14. At my current fitness level, I’m happy enough to play the semifinal on such a big stage,” said Prannoy.

“It’s the first time he’s beaten me and maybe my fitness played a part, but today he was much better prepared. The crowd gave him confidence. I think a combination of factors gave him the edge.” The shuttler also indicated that the taxing Paris Olympics qualification schedule was taking a toll and he will have to “take care” of his niggles.

“Sadly, there are tons of tournaments before that (2024 Olympics). A whole year of qualifications and so many tournaments can be cruel for some badminton players. I need to take care of these issues (back injury) so now it’s important to get back and check my whole body to make sure I’m fit the entire year.” Prannoy also conceded the difference in age between him and Li could also have been a contributing factor for his loss.

“I think age is a factor because some of them (players) are 21 or 22, and they’re flying all over the court. We have to manage these youngsters but there is also some fun in that.”

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