India's star shuttler PV Sindhu broke her silver jinx and clinched a gold medal in the recently concluded BWF World Tour Finals. By virtue of this win, Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win the badminton tournament.

The win was also special as the Olympic silver medallist had failed to emerge victorious in seven consecutive finals, resulting in constant questions over her lack of success.&nbsp;

Sindhu battled it out hard against familiar foe Nozomi Okuhara who has been a formidable opponent over the years to end the year on a winning note.

"I am happy that I am the first Indian woman to win this tournament. This is the first time that I have got a gold, earlier I have come to the finals seven times but I lost (settled for silver). Many people asked me "What's happening in the finals?", but I want to tell everybody that I have clinched a gold this time," she said. &nbsp;

The win wasn't a cakewalk as Okuhara gave a tough fight and equalised when Sindhu was dominating the game.&nbsp;

The shuttler, however, citing her positivity and concentration as the factors which turned the tide in her favour.&nbsp;

"As the match began, I had taken the lead initially but Nozomi made a comeback. There was a stage where the score was like 15-15, 16-16. That's when the pressure builds because although you've taken the lead, the opponent has managed to equalise. But I took this positively and concentrated only on the next shot. Every point was important.&nbsp;

When asked if there was any particular strategy that worked in her favour, to which Sindhu replied she just tried to keep her focus intact.&nbsp;

"We know each other's game well, therefore going on the court and immediately strategising is very difficult. Pressure tends to build up and that's where we give away points. But all that aside, I tried keeping my focus intact and was able to win," the shuttler added.&nbsp;

In 2019, Sindhu will witness a lot of tournaments as well as qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. &nbsp;

On being asked what extra she plans to do for the next year to make it better than 2018, Sindhu said, her main aim would be to remain fit.

"2018 has been really special for me. I lost in the finals but I am proud that I have won silver medals. There will be many tournaments in 2019 with qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 also set to take place. My main aim and focus will be on staying fit and maintaining my off court and on court stamina," concluded the 23-year-old.&nbsp;

The win took her to No. 3 in the players’ rankings, and also third in women’s badminton singles prize earnings this year.

India's star shuttler PV Sindhu broke her silver jinx and clinched a gold medal in the recently concluded BWF World Tour Finals. By virtue of this win, Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win the badminton tournament.

India's star shuttler PV Sindhu broke her silver jinx and clinched a gold medal in the recently concluded BWF World Tour Finals. By virtue of this win, Sindhu became the first Indian woman to win the badminton tournament. The win was also special as the Olympic silver medallist had failed to emerge victorious in seven consecutive finals, resulting in constant questions over her lack of success. Sindhu battled it out hard against familiar foe Nozomi Okuhara who has been a formidable opponent over the years to end the year on a winning note. "I am happy that I am the first Indian woman to win this tournament. This is the first time that I have got a gold, earlier I have come to the finals seven times but I lost (settled for silver). Many people asked me "What's happening in the finals?", but I want to tell everybody that I have clinched a gold this time," she said. The win wasn't a cakewalk as Okuhara gave a tough fight and equalised when Sindhu was dominating the game. The shuttler, however, citing her positivity and concentration as the factors which turned the tide in her favour. "As the match began, I had taken the lead initially but Nozomi made a comeback. There was a stage where the score was like 15-15, 16-16. That's when the pressure builds because although you've taken the lead, the opponent has managed to equalise. But I took this positively and concentrated only on the next shot. Every point was important. When asked if there was any particular strategy that worked in her favour, to which Sindhu replied she just tried to keep her focus intact. "We know each other's game well, therefore going on the court and immediately strategising is very difficult. Pressure tends to build up and that's where we give away points. But all that aside, I tried keeping my focus intact and was able to win," the shuttler added. In 2019, Sindhu will witness a lot of tournaments as well as qualifiers for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On being asked what extra she plans to do for the next year to make it better than 2018, Sindhu said, her main aim would be to remain fit. "2018 has been really special for me. I lost in the finals but I am proud that I have won silver medals. There will be many tournaments in 2019 with qualifiers for the Tokyo Olympics 2020 also set to take place. My main aim and focus will be on staying fit and maintaining my off court and on court stamina," concluded the 23-year-old. The win took her to No. 3 in the players’ rankings, and also third in women’s badminton singles prize earnings this year.

First gold after seven finals, PV Sindhu tells WION

Malaysian badminton great Lee Chong Wei has revealed how he broke down in tears after learning he had nose cancer -- and detailed the "nightmare" treatment that left him unable to speak or eat.

Lee, who is eyeing a return to action next year, told The Star that he was about to leave for a training session when his wife broke the news, after she received a call from a doctor.

"She came towards me, hugged me and cried. I knew it was bad news. It's nose cancer, she broke the news," the 36-year-old said, according to the Malaysian newspaper.&nbsp;

"My badminton bag slipped from my grasp and I started to cry too. I slumped on the sofa crying and asked why it had to be me."

The three-time Olympic silver medallist said the cancer was detected following a check-up in July, after he had been unwell.

It wasn't until September that officials revealed he had cancer and was having treatment in Taiwan -- opting for specialists there rather than in China, where he feared his story may be leaked, or Japan or South Korea because of the language barrier.

Lee, the former long-time world number one, said he went through 33 sessions of proton therapy treatment, where beams are aimed at the cancer, calling it "a nightmare".

"By the third week, it has taken a toll on my throat. I could not speak or eat," he said.&nbsp;

"I'm just so glad that the worst is over now."

Lee, now down to 15th in the world rankings, is expected to return to training next month, although he is still waiting for the all-clear from his doctors.

He said his comeback was motivated by the prospect of playing a fifth Olympics at Tokyo 2020, after finishing runner-up in 2008, 2012 and 2016.

"I really want to go for one more Olympics to make it my fifth consecutive appearance," said Chong Wei.

"No athlete from Malaysia has ever competed five times at the Olympics and I want to create history. It's not an easy feat to make it to five Olympics, that's equivalent to 20 years!"

Malaysian badminton great Lee Chong Wei has revealed how he broke down in tears after learning he had nose cancer -- and detailed the "nightmare" treatment that left him unable to speak or eat.

Malaysian badminton great Lee Chong Wei has revealed how he broke down in tears after learning he had nose cancer -- and detailed the "nightmare" treatment that left him unable to speak or eat. Lee, who is eyeing a return to action next year, told The Star that he was about to leave for a training session when his wife broke the news, after she received a call from a doctor. "She came towards me, hugged me and cried. I knew it was bad news. It's nose cancer, she broke the news," the 36-year-old said, according to the Malaysian newspaper. "My badminton bag slipped from my grasp and I started to cry too. I slumped on the sofa crying and asked why it had to be me." The three-time Olympic silver medallist said the cancer was detected following a check-up in July, after he had been unwell. It wasn't until September that officials revealed he had cancer and was having treatment in Taiwan -- opting for specialists there rather than in China, where he feared his story may be leaked, or Japan or South Korea because of the language barrier. Lee, the former long-time world number one, said he went through 33 sessions of proton therapy treatment, where beams are aimed at the cancer, calling it "a nightmare". "By the third week, it has taken a toll on my throat. I could not speak or eat," he said. "I'm just so glad that the worst is over now." Lee, now down to 15th in the world rankings, is expected to return to training next month, although he is still waiting for the all-clear from his doctors. He said his comeback was motivated by the prospect of playing a fifth Olympics at Tokyo 2020, after finishing runner-up in 2008, 2012 and 2016. "I really want to go for one more Olympics to make it my fifth consecutive appearance," said Chong Wei. "No athlete from Malaysia has ever competed five times at the Olympics and I want to create history. It's not an easy feat to make it to five Olympics, that's equivalent to 20 years!"

Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei reveals tears over cancer diagnosis

HS Prannoy is not worried about familiar foes such as three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei, and says it is the surprise element of the unheralded shutters, who could pose a bigger threat to his medal aspirations at next month&#39;s Commonwealth Games.

Set to make his CWG debut, Prannoy said he is in good shape but would not take any player lightly, especially the lesser-known ones.

&quot;There are many players such as Rajiv Ouseph and Lee Chong Wei who have played in the past at CWG. But it is the others who we should be wary of. There are others who are actually good and can trouble you on certain days because you don&#39;t know how they play,&quot; Prannoy told PTI.

Last season, Prannoy made the transition from a rare talent to an emerging star when he outclassed two stalwarts&nbsp;former world no 1 Chong Wei and Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion Chen Long of China in successive days to reach the semifinals at Indonesia Super Series.

His victories became part of the badminton folklore as he emerged as the first Indian to beat the Big Three&nbsp;Chong Wei, Chen Long and Lin Dan (2014 French Open).

His twin wins cleared the way for compatriot Kidambi Srikanth, who grabbed the opportunity and clinched the premier title&nbsp;his first among the four crowns that he won last season.

Prannoy continued his impressive run and stitched together consistent performances to reach the quarters and semifinals regularly.

He clinched the US Open Grand Prix Gold, before dispatching Chong Wei again at the Denmark Open, putting to rest all doubts about his prowess.

Despite being laid low by foot warts, Prannoy showed tremendous grit as he recovered quickly and dished out some sensational performances at the All England Championship last week, to reach his maiden quarterfinals.

&quot;I didn&#39;t give much thought before the All England because I had started training after recovering from foot corns just a couple of weeks before the tournament,&quot; he said.

&quot;But CWG should be good. I&#39;m very happy to be in the CWG team. I have good time to prepare. In the next few days, I will put in more effort in training and be in better shape. I am looking for good six days of badminton.&quot;

The first spark in Prannoy was seen by his father, a former All India Air Force champion and a self-taught coach, who taught his son the initial tricks of the trade.

From a promising youngster winning a silver medal at the 2010 Youth Olympics, Prannoy is now one of the most dependable shuttlers, ranked 12th in the world and second only to world no 2 Srikanth in India.

His journey in the senior circuit has been ridden with injuries and heartbreaks and they affected his training and progress. A knee injury in 2011 before the nationals was followed by a back injury in 2012, which took more than half a year to heal.

The following year, Prannoy reached the finals of the Tata Open. In 2014, a series of semifinal appearances at Bitburger, India Open Grand Prix Gold, Macau and a final berth at Vietnam was followed by a maiden Grand Prix Gold win at Indonesia, which saw him knocking on the top 20 bracket.

However, another injury-marred year followed, but he still managed to reach a career-best world ranking of 12. The highlight of the season was his sensational win over two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion Lin Dan of China at the French Open opener.

Next year, Prannoy clinched the 2016 Swiss Open but again sustained a toe injury at the Singapore Open and subsequently missed the Thomas Cup.

He was in rampaging form at the 2017 Premier Badminton League in January but injuries to his knee and toe once again came back to haunt him. However, his decision to skip a few events in Malaysia and Singapore and regain full fitness under the watchful eye of Indonesian coach Mulyo Handono showed results as he exploded in Indonesia.

The 25-year-old from Kerela also clinched his maiden National title, beating Srikanth in the final. He was in good form in the PBL 2018 but then developed foot warts, which saw him completely skip events at Malaysia and Indonesia and only turn up for appearance&#39;s sake at India Open.

&quot;It&#39;s not easy to recover from injuries, train and reach top 20. I am happy the way I come back after each injury and I might not have won a super series tournament but I always believe something big will happen,&quot; Prannoy said. 
Ahead of the Commonwealth Games, Prannoy said he is not thinking much about the event and put undue pressure on himself.

&quot;Pressure of a big event is different as there are expectations. So it is better I don&#39;t think about it and just go and play my natural game,&quot; he signed off.&nbsp;

The badminton player is set to make his CWG debut

HS Prannoy is not worried about familiar foes such as three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei, and says it is the surprise element of the unheralded shutters, who could pose a bigger threat to his medal aspirations at next month's Commonwealth Games. Set to make his CWG debut, Prannoy said he is in good shape but would not take any player lightly, especially the lesser-known ones. "There are many players such as Rajiv Ouseph and Lee Chong Wei who have played in the past at CWG. But it is the others who we should be wary of. There are others who are actually good and can trouble you on certain days because you don't know how they play," Prannoy told PTI. Last season, Prannoy made the transition from a rare talent to an emerging star when he outclassed two stalwarts former world no 1 Chong Wei and Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion Chen Long of China in successive days to reach the semifinals at Indonesia Super Series. His victories became part of the badminton folklore as he emerged as the first Indian to beat the Big Three Chong Wei, Chen Long and Lin Dan (2014 French Open). His twin wins cleared the way for compatriot Kidambi Srikanth, who grabbed the opportunity and clinched the premier title his first among the four crowns that he won last season. Prannoy continued his impressive run and stitched together consistent performances to reach the quarters and semifinals regularly. He clinched the US Open Grand Prix Gold, before dispatching Chong Wei again at the Denmark Open, putting to rest all doubts about his prowess. Despite being laid low by foot warts, Prannoy showed tremendous grit as he recovered quickly and dished out some sensational performances at the All England Championship last week, to reach his maiden quarterfinals. "I didn't give much thought before the All England because I had started training after recovering from foot corns just a couple of weeks before the tournament," he said. "But CWG should be good. I'm very happy to be in the CWG team. I have good time to prepare. In the next few days, I will put in more effort in training and be in better shape. I am looking for good six days of badminton." The first spark in Prannoy was seen by his father, a former All India Air Force champion and a self-taught coach, who taught his son the initial tricks of the trade. From a promising youngster winning a silver medal at the 2010 Youth Olympics, Prannoy is now one of the most dependable shuttlers, ranked 12th in the world and second only to world no 2 Srikanth in India. His journey in the senior circuit has been ridden with injuries and heartbreaks and they affected his training and progress. A knee injury in 2011 before the nationals was followed by a back injury in 2012, which took more than half a year to heal. The following year, Prannoy reached the finals of the Tata Open. In 2014, a series of semifinal appearances at Bitburger, India Open Grand Prix Gold, Macau and a final berth at Vietnam was followed by a maiden Grand Prix Gold win at Indonesia, which saw him knocking on the top 20 bracket. However, another injury-marred year followed, but he still managed to reach a career-best world ranking of 12. The highlight of the season was his sensational win over two-time Olympic champion and five-time world champion Lin Dan of China at the French Open opener. Next year, Prannoy clinched the 2016 Swiss Open but again sustained a toe injury at the Singapore Open and subsequently missed the Thomas Cup. He was in rampaging form at the 2017 Premier Badminton League in January but injuries to his knee and toe once again came back to haunt him. However, his decision to skip a few events in Malaysia and Singapore and regain full fitness under the watchful eye of Indonesian coach Mulyo Handono showed results as he exploded in Indonesia. The 25-year-old from Kerela also clinched his maiden National title, beating Srikanth in the final. He was in good form in the PBL 2018 but then developed foot warts, which saw him completely skip events at Malaysia and Indonesia and only turn up for appearance's sake at India Open. "It's not easy to recover from injuries, train and reach top 20. I am happy the way I come back after each injury and I might not have won a super series tournament but I always believe something big will happen," Prannoy said. Ahead of the Commonwealth Games, Prannoy said he is not thinking much about the event and put undue pressure on himself. "Pressure of a big event is different as there are expectations. So it is better I don't think about it and just go and play my natural game," he signed off.

We need to worry about lesser-known opponents at CWG: Prannoy

PV Sindhu took another step closer to retaining her title as she reached the women&#39;s singles semifinals in the USD 350,000 India Open Super 500 badminton tournament here today.

Sindhu dished out an attacking game to beat Spain&#39;s World No. 36 Beatriz Corrales 21-12 19-21 21-11 in the 35-minute quarterfinal match.

The Olympic silver medallist will face 2013 World champion Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand in the semifinals.

Sindhu dished out an attacking game to walk away with the opening game without much ado but Corrales came back in the second to lead 19-11.

Sindhu, however, reeled off seven points to draw parity at 18-18 but a lucky net chord kept the Spaniard alive in the match.

Back to the winning side of the court, Sindhu once again showed class as she zoomed to a 11-6 advantage at the lemon break. Corrales tried to make a comeback but the Indian ensured there are no hiccups as she used her disguised returns to bamboozle the Spaniard.

A jump smash gave Sindhu 10 match points. Corrales won a long rally before she hit long to hand over the match to Sindhu.

However, it turned out to be a disappointing day for Parupalli Kashyap and B Sai Praneeth as they suffered straight game defeats to their respective opponents to bow out of the tournament.

Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap seemed a bit tired and could not match China&#39;s Qiao Bin, losing 16-21 18-21 in the men&#39;s singles quarterfinals.

Kashyap blew a 7-2 lead early on in the opening game, while in the second, he erased 4-11 and 8-16 deficit to claw his way back at 18-18 before Bin surged to close out the match.

&quot;I was struggling to continue the long rallies. May be I was tired after the last match. I had a chance in the second game but somehow I was not able to read, come forward and kill the rallies. Some part of my defence I am not happy with. I perhaps should have prepared better,&quot; Kashyap said.

Eighth seed Praneeth too failed to negotiate the fast- paced game of third seed Taiwanese Chou Tien Chen and went down 15-21 13-21.

Praneeth was 6-11 behind at the break and though he levelled par at 14-14, Chen quickly changed gears to pocket the first game.

Nothing changed in the second game as the Indian trailed 4-9 before making it 10-11 at the interval. But Chen stepped up and walked away with the match.

&quot;He was hitting rally hard. It was long rallies and suddenly he was changing the pace and hitting hard. I was rushing but I should have been more patient on court,&quot; Praneeth said.

Among others, top seeded Indonesian Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo shut out the fighting Indian men&#39;s doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy 21-19 21-19, while sixth seeded women&#39;s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy lost 17-21 21-23 to Chinese pair of Du Yue and Li Yinhui.

Seventh seeded Indian pair of Jakkampudi Meghana and Poorvisha S Ram lost 10-21 15-21 to second seeded Thai pair of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai.

The Olympic silver medallist will face 2013 World champion Ratchanok Inthanon in the semifinals

PV Sindhu took another step closer to retaining her title as she reached the women's singles semifinals in the USD 350,000 India Open Super 500 badminton tournament here today. Sindhu dished out an attacking game to beat Spain's World No. 36 Beatriz Corrales 21-12 19-21 21-11 in the 35-minute quarterfinal match. The Olympic silver medallist will face 2013 World champion Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand in the semifinals. Sindhu dished out an attacking game to walk away with the opening game without much ado but Corrales came back in the second to lead 19-11. Sindhu, however, reeled off seven points to draw parity at 18-18 but a lucky net chord kept the Spaniard alive in the match. Back to the winning side of the court, Sindhu once again showed class as she zoomed to a 11-6 advantage at the lemon break. Corrales tried to make a comeback but the Indian ensured there are no hiccups as she used her disguised returns to bamboozle the Spaniard. A jump smash gave Sindhu 10 match points. Corrales won a long rally before she hit long to hand over the match to Sindhu. However, it turned out to be a disappointing day for Parupalli Kashyap and B Sai Praneeth as they suffered straight game defeats to their respective opponents to bow out of the tournament. Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap seemed a bit tired and could not match China's Qiao Bin, losing 16-21 18-21 in the men's singles quarterfinals. Kashyap blew a 7-2 lead early on in the opening game, while in the second, he erased 4-11 and 8-16 deficit to claw his way back at 18-18 before Bin surged to close out the match. "I was struggling to continue the long rallies. May be I was tired after the last match. I had a chance in the second game but somehow I was not able to read, come forward and kill the rallies. Some part of my defence I am not happy with. I perhaps should have prepared better," Kashyap said. Eighth seed Praneeth too failed to negotiate the fast- paced game of third seed Taiwanese Chou Tien Chen and went down 15-21 13-21. Praneeth was 6-11 behind at the break and though he levelled par at 14-14, Chen quickly changed gears to pocket the first game. Nothing changed in the second game as the Indian trailed 4-9 before making it 10-11 at the interval. But Chen stepped up and walked away with the match. "He was hitting rally hard. It was long rallies and suddenly he was changing the pace and hitting hard. I was rushing but I should have been more patient on court," Praneeth said. Among others, top seeded Indonesian Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo shut out the fighting Indian men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy 21-19 21-19, while sixth seeded women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy lost 17-21 21-23 to Chinese pair of Du Yue and Li Yinhui. Seventh seeded Indian pair of Jakkampudi Meghana and Poorvisha S Ram lost 10-21 15-21 to second seeded Thai pair of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai.

Sindhu wins, Praneeth, Kashyap lose in India Open

After registering a stunning performance against the Olympic silver medallist Belgium in the quarter-finals hosts India will now lock horns with Olympic Champion and World No 1 Argentina in the semis of the Hockey World League Final on Friday.

During the entire tournament, predicting India&#39;s performance was next to impossible as inconsistency had been haunting the team so far. &nbsp;

And it would not be wrong to say that after such a spirited performance against Belgians, India has surely overcome its failure and are using it to their advantage.

But, India&#39;s next match with Argentina will definitely not be an easy ride. They have to come up with a different plan to and have to display a much-improved show to win the big game today.

India and Argentina have so far played 46 games against each other, out of which India have won 26, lost 16 and four ended in a tie.

If seen the previous matches, India was the only team that defeated Argentina on their way to gold medal triumph in 2016 Olympics. In Rio also, the Indians defeated Argentina 2-1 in the pool stages.

However, it still remains to be seen how Indian will handle the big match pressure against Argentina, which too had a relatively poor pool campaign before they registered their first win here in the quarterfinal.

Predicting India's performance in this tournament was next to impossible as inconsistency had been haunting the team.

After registering a stunning performance against the Olympic silver medallist Belgium in the quarter-finals hosts India will now lock horns with Olympic Champion and World No 1 Argentina in the semis of the Hockey World League Final on Friday. During the entire tournament, predicting India's performance was next to impossible as inconsistency had been haunting the team so far. And it would not be wrong to say that after such a spirited performance against Belgians, India has surely overcome its failure and are using it to their advantage. But, India's next match with Argentina will definitely not be an easy ride. They have to come up with a different plan to and have to display a much-improved show to win the big game today. India and Argentina have so far played 46 games against each other, out of which India have won 26, lost 16 and four ended in a tie. If seen the previous matches, India was the only team that defeated Argentina on their way to gold medal triumph in 2016 Olympics. In Rio also, the Indians defeated Argentina 2-1 in the pool stages. However, it still remains to be seen how Indian will handle the big match pressure against Argentina, which too had a relatively poor pool campaign before they registered their first win here in the quarterfinal.

HWL 2017: India to lock horns with World No-1 Argentina in semi-finals today