Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu has pulled out of the upcoming Badminton Asia Team Championships, dealing a major blow to Indian team's medal chances at the tournament beginning next week.
India's title defence in the women's team event came to a disappointing end after a 0-3 loss to a second-string China in the quarter-finals of the Badminton Asia Team Championships.
Two-time Olympics medallist P V Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and the star pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty form the core of India's squad for the Badminton Asia Team Championships, in Qingdao, China, from February 3-8.
The Indian men's and women's badminton teams face challenging draws in the upcoming Thomas and Uber Cups, with both teams grouped alongside defending champions China.
India's men's and women's badminton teams face a challenging draw alongside defending champions China in the 2026 Thomas and Uber Cup, to be held in Horsens, Denmark.
India's women's and men's badminton teams suffered defeats in the Badminton Asia Team Championships, ending their campaigns in the quarterfinals. The women's team lost to China, while the men's team was defeated by Korea.
Defending champions Indian women's team started its campaign at the Badminton Asia Team Championships on a resounding note, blanking Myanmar 5-0 in their opening Group Y tie in Qingdao, China on Wednesday.
India's men's and women's teams advanced to the quarter-finals despite suffering narrow 2-3 defeats to Japan and Thailand respectively in their final group ties at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Qingdao, China, on Thursday.
Rising Indian shuttler Anmol Kharb's impressive run at the Arctic Open Super 500 badminton tournament ended with a straight-game loss to three-time world champion Akane Yamaguchi in Vantaa, Finland, on Saturday.
Indian women beat Thailand 3-2 in final, clinch historic gold in Badminton Asia Team Championships
India men's dream run in the ongoing Badminton Asia Team Championships came to an end after a 1-3 semi-final loss to Indonesia, in Hyderabad, on Saturday.
Srikanth needed only 42 minutes to get the better of the 20-year-old Jason Gunawan from Hong Kong 21-19, 21-15 in his round of 16 contest.
Anmol Kharb continued her impressive run, defeating top seed Anupama Upadhyaya in straight games in the women's singles final to clinch the gold medal at the 38th National Games.
B Sumeeth Reddy, a member of the 2022 Commonwealth Games mixed team silver medal-winning squad, has announced his retirement as an active badminton player to focus entirely on coaching.
While India have never won the gold at the Asia Mixed Team Championships, they did secure mixed team gold and silver at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and 2022.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed as "historical accomplishment" Indian women shuttlers winning the Badminton Asia Team Championships, and said the way our 'nari shakti' (women power) has been excelling in various sports is phenomenal.
Anmol Kharb achieved a remarkable feat by securing her second consecutive title on Sunday, winning the Poland International with a straight-game victory over Switzerland's Milena Schnider
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday.
Indian women shuttlers' progressed to their first-ever final at the Badminton Asia Team Championships after edging out two-time former champions Japan 3-2.
The gifted bracelets carry the initials of each teammate, Sindhu shared the picture
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand went down to World No 4. pair Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida in the semi-finals on Saturday.
The Indian men's team qualified automatically by virtue of being the defending champions while the women made the cut after winning a historic gold medal at the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Malaysia earlier this year.
Ashmita Chaliha produced an inspired show to stun higher-ranked Michelle Li as the India scored a clinical 4-1 victory over Canada to make a positive start in the Uber Cup tournament in Chengdu, China, on Saturday.
Star Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen will have a new coach after the Paris Olympics, said his mentor and former India coach Vimal Kumar, who has taken over the duties till the Summer Games.
Sindhu pulls out of Uber Cup
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty advanced to the second round of French Open Super 750 badminton tournament.
Inspired by the peerless P V Sindhu and aspiring to be Indian badminton's aggressive new kid on the block. Tanvi Sharma is nothing like an average 15-year-old.
Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Monday singled out world number one doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as favourites for an Olympic medal and said two-time medallist PV Sindhu too is on the right path and can deliver once again at the Paris Games.
PV Sindhu stormed into the pre-quarterfinals of the Olympic Games' women's singles competition
Set to return after an injury-induced break, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu is aware the road to Paris will be "challenging" and she needs to be "smarter" in her pursuit of coveted gold medal in the French capital.
Two-time Olympic-medallist P V Sindhu made a winning return from a lengthy injury lay-off as India stunned formidable China 3-2 in the women's competition of the Badminton Asia Team Championships in Shah Alam, Malaysia on Wednesday.
India's women shuttlers assured themselves of a maiden Badminton Asia Team Championships medal by cruising to a 3-0 win over Hong Kong in the quarter-finals.
Lakshya Sen sails into third round of World Championships
HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu marched into the pre-quarterfinals of the Swiss Open Super 300 badminton tournament in Basel.
Two-time Olympic medallist and fourth seed PV Sindhu made a positive start to her title defence on Wednesday, beating Jenjira Stadelmann of Switzerland 21-9, 21-16 in a lopsided opening round women's singles match.
The men's team will next face Hong Kong on Thursday.
Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram took to social media to announce his retirement.
Sindhu looked in complete control as she prevailed 21-15, 21-11 over world No. 36 Tan in a 29-minute match.
India Open winner Lakshya Sen and Mithun Manjunath gave a good account of themselves.
Brimming with confidence, India will again look to punch above their weight when they run into 14-time winners Indonesia in the final of Thomas Cup in Bangkok on Sunday, seeking to create history one more time.
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