Olympic silver medallist shuttler PV Sindhu today accused an Indigo airline ground staff of misbehaving with her while travelling from Hyderabad to Mumbai, calling it a very bad experience.

World number two Sindhu claimed that the staff behaved rudely with her and an air hostess intervened to advise him against doing so.

&quot;Ground staff (skipper) Mr Ajeetesh behaved very badly and rudely with me. When the air hostess Ms Ashima tried to advise him to behave properly with the passenger (me), but to my surprise he behaved very rudely with her. If these type of people work for a reputed airline like Indigo they will spoil their reputation,&quot; Sindhu wrote on her twitter handle.

The champion shuttler added, &quot;Sorry to say ..I had a very bad experience when I was flying by 6E 608 flight to Bombay on 4th nov the ground staff by name Mr ajeetesh.&quot;

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Sorry to say ..i had a very bad experience??when i was flying by 6E 608 flight to bombay on 4th nov the ground staff by name Mr ajeetesh(1/3)
&mdash; Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pvsindhu1/status/926702603324473344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 4, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The airline is yet to respond to the accusations made by Sindhu.

The ground staff apparently objected to her carrying her kit-bag which had her racquets inside it. She normally carries them as hand luggage.

It was learned that the staffer told her to get rid of her kit-bag very rudely.

Sindhu&#39;s father was also travelling with her.

&quot;The ground staff misbehaved with Sindhu while handling her kit bag. Sindhu had requested him to handle it with care as there were racquets inside. But the person behaved rudely.

&quot;The air hostess tried to interfere but he was also rude to her. One should not behave with a lady like that, so Sindhu tweeted. She was hurt,&quot; Sindhu&#39;s father Ramanna told PTI.

Sindhu is one of the country&#39;s most celebrated sportspersons having won an Olympic silver medal besides bagging three World Championship medals.&nbsp;

Also read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/aditya-narayan-abuses-airport-officials-20915" target="_blank">&#39;If I do not remove your underwear, my name is not Aditya Narayan,&#39; Udit Narayan&#39;s son tells Indigo airline official</a>

The ground staff misbehaved with Sindhu while handling her kit bag. Sindhu had requested him to handle it with care as there were racquets inside. But the person behaved rudely

Olympic silver medallist shuttler PV Sindhu today accused an Indigo airline ground staff of misbehaving with her while travelling from Hyderabad to Mumbai, calling it a very bad experience. World number two Sindhu claimed that the staff behaved rudely with her and an air hostess intervened to advise him against doing so. "Ground staff (skipper) Mr Ajeetesh behaved very badly and rudely with me. When the air hostess Ms Ashima tried to advise him to behave properly with the passenger (me), but to my surprise he behaved very rudely with her. If these type of people work for a reputed airline like Indigo they will spoil their reputation," Sindhu wrote on her twitter handle. The champion shuttler added, "Sorry to say ..I had a very bad experience when I was flying by 6E 608 flight to Bombay on 4th nov the ground staff by name Mr ajeetesh." Sorry to say ..i had a very bad experience??when i was flying by 6E 608 flight to bombay on 4th nov the ground staff by name Mr ajeetesh(1/3) — Pvsindhu (@Pvsindhu1) November 4, 2017 × The airline is yet to respond to the accusations made by Sindhu. The ground staff apparently objected to her carrying her kit-bag which had her racquets inside it. She normally carries them as hand luggage. It was learned that the staffer told her to get rid of her kit-bag very rudely. Sindhu's father was also travelling with her. "The ground staff misbehaved with Sindhu while handling her kit bag. Sindhu had requested him to handle it with care as there were racquets inside. But the person behaved rudely. "The air hostess tried to interfere but he was also rude to her. One should not behave with a lady like that, so Sindhu tweeted. She was hurt," Sindhu's father Ramanna told PTI. Sindhu is one of the country's most celebrated sportspersons having won an Olympic silver medal besides bagging three World Championship medals. Also read: 'If I do not remove your underwear, my name is not Aditya Narayan,' Udit Narayan's son tells Indigo airline official

Sindhu hits out at airline staff for 'rude' behaviour

India&#39;s ace shuttler PV Sindhu on Friday beat China&#39;s Chen Yufei to reach the semi-finals of the French Open Superseries.

PV Sindhu&nbsp;beat Chen Yufei&nbsp;21-14, 21-14 in the quarter-final match.

In the semi-final on Saturday, PV Sindhu will face the winner of the quarter-final match between South Korea&#39;s Sung Ju Hyun and Japan&#39;s Akane Yamaguchi.

India's ace shuttler beat China's Chen Yufei?21-14, 21-14 to win the quarter-final match

India's ace shuttler PV Sindhu on Friday beat China's Chen Yufei to reach the semi-finals of the French Open Superseries. PV Sindhu beat Chen Yufei 21-14, 21-14 in the quarter-final match. In the semi-final on Saturday, PV Sindhu will face the winner of the quarter-final match between South Korea's Sung Ju Hyun and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi.

PV Sindhu storms into French Open Superseries semi-finals

The Sports Ministry has recommended the name of&nbsp;Indian Badminton player PV Sindhu for the Padma Bhushan, India&#39;s third-highest civilian award.

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FLASH?src=hash">#FLASH</a>: Indian shuttler PV Sindhu recommended for Padma Bhushan by Sports Ministry <a href="https://t.co/kcjkpUwtED">pic.twitter.com/kcjkpUwtED</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/912187327870492672">September 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Sindhu, the first Indian woman to win an Olympic Silver medal, currently ranks second in the Badminton World Federation.

The 22-year-old badminton player has already been awarded Padma Shree, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for Badminton, and the Arjuna Award.

( Also Read: <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/ms-dhoni-nominated-for-padma-bhushan-award-by-bcci-20444" target="_blank">MS Dhoni nominated for Padma Bhushan award by BCCI</a> )&nbsp;

Recently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also nominated MS Dhoni&nbsp;for the prestigious Padma Bhushan award.

The Sports Ministry has recommended the name of?the Indian Badminton player for India's third-highest civilian award

The Sports Ministry has recommended the name of Indian Badminton player PV Sindhu for the Padma Bhushan, India's third-highest civilian award. #FLASH: Indian shuttler PV Sindhu recommended for Padma Bhushan by Sports Ministry pic.twitter.com/kcjkpUwtED — ANI (@ANI) September 25, 2017 × Sindhu, the first Indian woman to win an Olympic Silver medal, currently ranks second in the Badminton World Federation. The 22-year-old badminton player has already been awarded Padma Shree, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award for Badminton, and the Arjuna Award. ( Also Read: MS Dhoni nominated for Padma Bhushan award by BCCI ) Recently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also nominated MS Dhoni for the prestigious Padma Bhushan award.

Sports Ministry nominates PV Sindhu for Padma Bhushan

India&#39;s HS Prannoy has bowed out of the ongoing Japan Open Superseries.&nbsp;

He lost 15-21, 14-21 to China&#39;s Shi Yuqi.&nbsp;

The match lasted 45 minutes.

PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal were also knocked out of the tournament on Thursday.&nbsp;

Sindhu lost &nbsp;18-21, 8-21 to Japan&#39;s Nozomi Okuhara in the second round.

While Saina Nehwal 16-21, 13-21 to Spain&#39;s Carolina Marin.

Eighth seed Kidambi Srikanth will face third seed and World champion Viktor Axelsen later on Friday. 
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India's HS Prannoy has bowed out of the ongoing Japan Open Superseries. He lost 15-21, 14-21 to China's Shi Yuqi. The match lasted 45 minutes. PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal were also knocked out of the tournament on Thursday. Sindhu lost 18-21, 8-21 to Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in the second round. While Saina Nehwal 16-21, 13-21 to Spain's Carolina Marin. Eighth seed Kidambi Srikanth will face third seed and World champion Viktor Axelsen later on Friday.

Japan Open: India's HS Prannoy loses to China's Shi Yuqi

Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu defeated Japan&#39;s Nozomi Okuhara to win the Korea Open Super Series.&nbsp;

Sindhu beat the world champion 22-20, 11-21, 21-18 at Seoul&#39;s SK Handball Stadium.

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Sindhu played against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara

Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu defeated Japan's Nozomi Okuhara to win the Korea Open Super Series. Sindhu beat the world champion 22-20, 11-21, 21-18 at Seoul's SK Handball Stadium.

PV Sindhu wins Korea Open Super Series

PV Sindhu was knocked out of the Japan Open Super Series after she lost to Nozomi Okuhara in the second round.

The Japanese badminton player beat Sindhu 21-18, 21-8.&nbsp;

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Japan Open Superseries: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PVSindhu?src=hash">#PVSindhu</a> knocked out after losing to Japan&#39;s Nozomi Okuhara, 18-21, 8-21.
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/910774509606649857">September 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Sindhu had only last week beaten Okuhara in the final of the Korea Open Super Series.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/pv-sindhu-wins-korea-open-super-series-20300" target="_blank">Also Read:&nbsp;PV Sindhu wins Korea Open Super Series</a>

Saina Nehwal also lost her match to Spain&#39;s Carolina Marin.

Marin defeated Saina 16-21, 13-21.&nbsp;

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Japan Open Superseries: Saina Nehwal loses to Spain&#39;s Carolina Marin by 16-21, 13-,21
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/910804486876098561">September 21, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Nozomi Okuhara beat Sindhu by 21-18, 21-8 whereas Marin defeated Saina by 21-16, 21-13

PV Sindhu was knocked out of the Japan Open Super Series after she lost to Nozomi Okuhara in the second round. The Japanese badminton player beat Sindhu 21-18, 21-8. Japan Open Superseries: #PVSindhu knocked out after losing to Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, 18-21, 8-21. — ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2017 × Sindhu had only last week beaten Okuhara in the final of the Korea Open Super Series. Also Read: PV Sindhu wins Korea Open Super Series Saina Nehwal also lost her match to Spain's Carolina Marin. Marin defeated Saina 16-21, 13-21. Japan Open Superseries: Saina Nehwal loses to Spain's Carolina Marin by 16-21, 13-,21 — ANI (@ANI) September 21, 2017 ×

Japan Open Super Series: PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal knocked out

India&#39;s PV Sindhu had&nbsp;to settle for silver at the World Badminton Championship after she lost the final to&nbsp;Japan&#39;s Nozomi Okuhara in Glasgow on Sunday.

India&#39;s Olympic 2016 silver medallist lost 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 to&nbsp;Okuhara, a 2016 bronze medallist,&nbsp;in a gruelling match that lasted an hour and 50 minutes.

Sindhu earlier beat reigning junior world champion, Chen Yufei of China, to storm into the finals on Saturday.

Okuhara was&nbsp;the first Japanese to make it to the final of the World Championships.&nbsp;

<a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/shouldnt-take-it-easy-pv-sindhu-to-wion-after-winning-world-badminton-championships-semi-final-19553">&nbsp;Asked about her chances ahead of the final</a>, Sindhu&nbsp;had admitted &quot;not going to be an easy match&quot; but that she would give her best.

&quot;Of course yes, but it&#39;s not so easy because even she is a good player, and also she knows my game and I know her game, so it&#39;s not going to be an easy match tomorrow. And also because the conditions are different, the atmosphere is different here, so I shouldn&#39;t take it easy. We&#39;ve won against her but it&#39;s just that I have to give my best.&quot;

Sindhu had previously won two bronze medals in the World Championships, in 2013 and 2014.

PV Sindhu lost 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 to Okuhara, a 2016 bronze medallist, in a gruelling match that lasted an hour and 50 minutes

India's PV Sindhu had to settle for silver at the World Badminton Championship after she lost the final to Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in Glasgow on Sunday. India's Olympic 2016 silver medallist lost 19-21, 22-20, 20-22 to Okuhara, a 2016 bronze medallist, in a gruelling match that lasted an hour and 50 minutes. Sindhu earlier beat reigning junior world champion, Chen Yufei of China, to storm into the finals on Saturday. Okuhara was the first Japanese to make it to the final of the World Championships. Asked about her chances ahead of the final, Sindhu had admitted "not going to be an easy match" but that she would give her best. "Of course yes, but it's not so easy because even she is a good player, and also she knows my game and I know her game, so it's not going to be an easy match tomorrow. And also because the conditions are different, the atmosphere is different here, so I shouldn't take it easy. We've won against her but it's just that I have to give my best." Sindhu had previously won two bronze medals in the World Championships, in 2013 and 2014.

PV Sindhu loses to Okuhara in World Badminton Championship finals, settles for silver

India`s Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu, and Kidambi Srikanth reached the quarter-finals, while B. Sai Praneeth, Ajay Jayaram and the mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy lost in the pre-quarterfinals of the World Badminton Championships here on Thursday. 
 
Sindhu, a double World Championships bronze medallist, earned a hard-fought win over Hong Kong 13th seed Cheung Ngan Yi 19-21, 23-21, 21-17 in an hour and 27 minutes. 
 
In the next round, Sindhu will face Chinese fifth seed Sun Yu, who got past Spanish 15th seed Beatriz Corrales 21-16, 21-19. 
 
Saina, seeded 12th, registered a morale-boosting 21-19, 21-15 win over South Korean second seed Sung ji Hyun. 
 
Meanwhile, Chinese teenager Chen Yufei stunned Japanese top seed Akane Yamaguchi 21-18, 21-19. 
 
In the men`s singles, eighth seed Srikanth registered a 21-14, 21-18 win over Danish 14th seed Anders Antonsen. 
 
The next opponent for Srikanth will be South Korean top seed Son Wan Ho, who edged past Thai 11th seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-18, 21-13. 
 
Chinese fifth seed and defending champions Chen Long crushed Indian 13th seed Jayaram 21-11, 21-10 to book his place in the quarter-finals. 
 
Praneeth, 15th seed, lost to Chinese Taipei sixth seed Chou Tien Chen 21-19, 10-21, 12-21 in an hour and one minute. 
 
Five-time world champion and Chinese seventh seed Lin Dan fought back from one game down to defeat England`s Rajiv Ouseph 14-21, 21-17, 21-16. 
 
Pranaav and Sikki, the 15th seeds, battled hard as they came close to upsetting the Indonesian seventh seeds Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto but the latter prevailed 20-22, 21-18, 21-18. 
 
With the loss of Pranaav and Sikki, India`s doubles campaign in the tournament came to an end.

The next opponent for Srikanth will be South Korean top seed Son Wan Ho, who edged past Thai 11th seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-18, 21-13

India`s Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu, and Kidambi Srikanth reached the quarter-finals, while B. Sai Praneeth, Ajay Jayaram and the mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy lost in the pre-quarterfinals of the World Badminton Championships here on Thursday. Sindhu, a double World Championships bronze medallist, earned a hard-fought win over Hong Kong 13th seed Cheung Ngan Yi 19-21, 23-21, 21-17 in an hour and 27 minutes. In the next round, Sindhu will face Chinese fifth seed Sun Yu, who got past Spanish 15th seed Beatriz Corrales 21-16, 21-19. Saina, seeded 12th, registered a morale-boosting 21-19, 21-15 win over South Korean second seed Sung ji Hyun. Meanwhile, Chinese teenager Chen Yufei stunned Japanese top seed Akane Yamaguchi 21-18, 21-19. In the men`s singles, eighth seed Srikanth registered a 21-14, 21-18 win over Danish 14th seed Anders Antonsen. The next opponent for Srikanth will be South Korean top seed Son Wan Ho, who edged past Thai 11th seed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-18, 21-13. Chinese fifth seed and defending champions Chen Long crushed Indian 13th seed Jayaram 21-11, 21-10 to book his place in the quarter-finals. Praneeth, 15th seed, lost to Chinese Taipei sixth seed Chou Tien Chen 21-19, 10-21, 12-21 in an hour and one minute. Five-time world champion and Chinese seventh seed Lin Dan fought back from one game down to defeat England`s Rajiv Ouseph 14-21, 21-17, 21-16. Pranaav and Sikki, the 15th seeds, battled hard as they came close to upsetting the Indonesian seventh seeds Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto but the latter prevailed 20-22, 21-18, 21-18. With the loss of Pranaav and Sikki, India`s doubles campaign in the tournament came to an end.

Sindhu, Saina, Srikanth enter quarters of World Badminton Championship

India&#39;s PV Sindhu beat China&#39;s Sun Yu to enter the semi-finals of the World Badminton Championships at Glasgow.

Sindhu, a double World Championships bronze medallist, beat her Chinese opponent easily 21-14, 21-9 in just 39 minutes.&nbsp;

Sindhu is now assured of a medal at the Championships.

Sindhu displayed an array of shots to beat Sun Yu in just 39 minutes

India's PV Sindhu beat China's Sun Yu to enter the semi-finals of the World Badminton Championships at Glasgow. Sindhu, a double World Championships bronze medallist, beat her Chinese opponent easily 21-14, 21-9 in just 39 minutes. Sindhu is now assured of a medal at the Championships.

World Badminton Championships: PV Sindhu beats China's Sun Yu, enters semis

India&#39;s Olympic silver medalist <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pv-sindhu-beats-carolina-marin-to-clinch-india-open-womens-singles-14089">PV Sindhu has set her sights on &quot;changing the colour&quot; of her medal</a> at the World Badminton Championships which begins at Glasgow on Monday.

Sindhu who <a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/shuttler-pv-sindhu-climbs-to-number-two-spot-in-world-rankings-14263">has won two bronze medals at the World </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/sports/shuttler-pv-sindhu-climbs-to-number-two-spot-in-world-rankings-14263">Championships&nbsp;</a>said: &quot;I hope I do well this week and I want a change of colour, I want better than bronze.&quot;

On the other side, veteran stars China&#39;s Lin Dan and Malaysian Lee Chong Wei are keen to leave their mark at Glasgow as age catches up with them.

&quot;There are very many young players coming through, so it is a massive challenge, I would be delighted to win again, but there is a lot of hard work to be done. There are a lot of hard players in the draw,&quot; 34-year-old Dan said.

Malaysia&#39;s Lee Chong Wei winner of three World Championships silver medals and three Olympic silvers said: &quot;I am very focused, but it is going to be very hard, at the Olympics, there are only two Chinese players, but here there are many more. The draw is very tough but I am going to do my best.&quot;

Olympic gold medallist and tournament favourite Spain&#39;s Carolina Marin is clearly aiming high but is not weighed down by pressure of her past performance.

&quot;This week I am forgetting about the past, this is a new championship. But my goal this week is to fight for the gold medal. My expectations are very high. I have had two great months of preparation and feel even better than at the Olympics,&quot; she said.

Sindhu has won two bronze medals at the World Badminton Championships

India's Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu has set her sights on "changing the colour" of her medal at the World Badminton Championships which begins at Glasgow on Monday. Sindhu who has won two bronze medals at the World Championships said: "I hope I do well this week and I want a change of colour, I want better than bronze." On the other side, veteran stars China's Lin Dan and Malaysian Lee Chong Wei are keen to leave their mark at Glasgow as age catches up with them. "There are very many young players coming through, so it is a massive challenge, I would be delighted to win again, but there is a lot of hard work to be done. There are a lot of hard players in the draw," 34-year-old Dan said. Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei winner of three World Championships silver medals and three Olympic silvers said: "I am very focused, but it is going to be very hard, at the Olympics, there are only two Chinese players, but here there are many more. The draw is very tough but I am going to do my best." Olympic gold medallist and tournament favourite Spain's Carolina Marin is clearly aiming high but is not weighed down by pressure of her past performance. "This week I am forgetting about the past, this is a new championship. But my goal this week is to fight for the gold medal. My expectations are very high. I have had two great months of preparation and feel even better than at the Olympics," she said.

World Badminton Championships: I want change of colour, better than bronze, says Sindhu

India&#39;s PV Sindhu crashed out of the Australian Open Super Series badminton tournament in the quarterfinals&nbsp;losing to World No-1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei.

Sindhu won the first game but lost the next two games as Tai came back to win 10-21, 22-20, 21-16.

This was Sindhu&#39;s second appearance at the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Indian fans are still hoping for some good news as Saina Nehwal is set to clash against Sun Yu in the last quarterfinal match today.

This was Sindhu second appearance at Australian Open quarterfinals

India's PV Sindhu crashed out of the Australian Open Super Series badminton tournament in the quarterfinals losing to World No-1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei. Sindhu won the first game but lost the next two games as Tai came back to win 10-21, 22-20, 21-16. This was Sindhu's second appearance at the Australian Open quarterfinals. Indian fans are still hoping for some good news as Saina Nehwal is set to clash against Sun Yu in the last quarterfinal match today.

PV Sindhu loses to  World No-1 Tai Tzu Ying, crashes out of Australian Open Super Series

Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth produced a rich vein of form as he bounced back from a game down against reigning world number one&nbsp;Son Wan Ho to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open Super Series in Sydney on Thursday.

After losing the first game, the 24-year-old Indian rebounded strongly to clinch a 15-21, 21-13, 21-13 win over Wan Ho in a gruelling second-round clash that lasted almost an hour.

Srikanth, who entered the tournament on the back of his maiden Indonesia Super Series Premier title, has defeated Wan Ho for the second time in two weeks.

The Indian shuttler had beaten the South Korean ace in the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open last week. Srikanth has now set up a last-eight clash against his fellow countryman B&nbsp;Sai Praneeth.

Praneeth cemented his place in the quarter-finals of the tournament after brushing aside China&#39;s Huang Yuxiang 21-15, 18-21, 21-13 in his men&#39;s singles clash that lasted one hour and five minutes.

Meanwhile, Rio Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu and ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will also look to storm into the last eight when they play their respective women&#39;s singles second rounds later today.&nbsp;

(ANI)

Kidambi Srikanth beat the world's top-ranked player Son Wan to mark his place in the quarter finals

Ace Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth produced a rich vein of form as he bounced back from a game down against reigning world number one Son Wan Ho to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open Super Series in Sydney on Thursday. After losing the first game, the 24-year-old Indian rebounded strongly to clinch a 15-21, 21-13, 21-13 win over Wan Ho in a gruelling second-round clash that lasted almost an hour. Srikanth, who entered the tournament on the back of his maiden Indonesia Super Series Premier title, has defeated Wan Ho for the second time in two weeks. The Indian shuttler had beaten the South Korean ace in the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open last week. Srikanth has now set up a last-eight clash against his fellow countryman B Sai Praneeth. Praneeth cemented his place in the quarter-finals of the tournament after brushing aside China's Huang Yuxiang 21-15, 18-21, 21-13 in his men's singles clash that lasted one hour and five minutes. Meanwhile, Rio Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu and ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will also look to storm into the last eight when they play their respective women's singles second rounds later today. (ANI)

Badminton: Srikanth, Praneeth enter Australia Open quarter-finals

There will be a biopic on Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal where actor Shraddha Kapoor plays the sports star.

The film will capture the story of Saina&#39;s rise to become India&#39;s first winner of an Olympic badminton medal. She won a bronze medal in London.&nbsp;

According to Firstpost, Saina had said, &ldquo;It&#39;s a good thing; youngsters get to see their favourite player&#39;s life.&quot;

She had also said that Deepika Padukone would be her preference to play her on reel.&nbsp;

When the film was announced earlier in 2016, there were talks of Deepika Padukone being the right choice for the female lead&rsquo;s role.&nbsp;

Deepika Padukone is the daughter of Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone who also plays the sport. Deepika and Saina go a long way as they have even played together.&nbsp;

Saina added, &quot;Her father has been a badminton player and I have seen her playing badminton. She used to play really well. She can do justice to the role and I really wish she can do the role.&rdquo;

But breaking all speculations around casting, several news reports earlier today, confirmed that Shraddha Kapoor will be playing Saina&rsquo;s role in the biopic.&nbsp;

Shraddha took to Twitter to express her happiness:

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SAINA NEHWAL - The former World no 1 badminton player. An Indian girl. An inspiration to millions. A youth icon in the truest sense. <a href="https://twitter.com/NSaina">@NSaina</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZvXfAp7X7J">pic.twitter.com/ZvXfAp7X7J</a>
&mdash; Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShraddhaKapoor/status/857104453274566656">April 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Her journey to the top has been fascinating &amp; I am honored to be given this opportunity to play her in my next film &#39;SAINA&#39;.
&mdash; Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShraddhaKapoor/status/857104549781360640">April 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The preparation for this film is going to be very, very challenging. It&#39;s probably going to be my most difficult film till date.
&mdash; Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShraddhaKapoor/status/857104662360707072">April 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Wish me luck everyone ??
&mdash; Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShraddhaKapoor/status/857104703171284992">April 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&#39;SAINA&#39; is going to be directed by Amole Gupte &amp; produced by T series ??
&mdash; Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShraddhaKapoor/status/857106392657924097">April 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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In an interview, Shradhha said, &quot;Most girls have played badminton at some point in their lives in school. I feel so lucky to be playing Saina, who has not just been the world&#39;s no. 1 badminton player, but is also a youth icon. I can&#39;t wait to start prepping for my role.&rdquo;

Saina in response to this was quoted, according to Firstpost:&nbsp;

&quot;Shraddha is a very talented actress and very hardworking. I am sure she will do justice to the role. The best part is, she is a good friend as well. So it will be easier to teach her some badminton skills!. A lot of people did tell me that we do look similar and I think that&#39;s a huge compliment, because Shraddha is very good looking.&quot;

Amole Gupte has said that the Saina biopic will be very different from previous films in the category simply because of its central figure.

Director Amole Gupte calls the biopic as that would trace &quot;Saina&#39;s pulsating journey to the top of the sports pyramid&quot; in a statement. The Saina Nehwal biopic is slated for a 2018 release.

(WION)

There were talks of Deepika Padukone playing the part till early last year

There will be a biopic on Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal where actor Shraddha Kapoor plays the sports star. The film will capture the story of Saina's rise to become India's first winner of an Olympic badminton medal. She won a bronze medal in London. According to Firstpost, Saina had said, “It's a good thing; youngsters get to see their favourite player's life." She had also said that Deepika Padukone would be her preference to play her on reel. When the film was announced earlier in 2016, there were talks of Deepika Padukone being the right choice for the female lead’s role. Deepika Padukone is the daughter of Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone who also plays the sport. Deepika and Saina go a long way as they have even played together. Saina added, "Her father has been a badminton player and I have seen her playing badminton. She used to play really well. She can do justice to the role and I really wish she can do the role.” But breaking all speculations around casting, several news reports earlier today, confirmed that Shraddha Kapoor will be playing Saina’s role in the biopic. Shraddha took to Twitter to express her happiness: SAINA NEHWAL - The former World no 1 badminton player. An Indian girl. An inspiration to millions. A youth icon in the truest sense. @NSaina pic.twitter.com/ZvXfAp7X7J — Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) April 26, 2017 × Her journey to the top has been fascinating & I am honored to be given this opportunity to play her in my next film 'SAINA'. — Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) April 26, 2017 × The preparation for this film is going to be very, very challenging. It's probably going to be my most difficult film till date. — Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) April 26, 2017 × Wish me luck everyone ?? — Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) April 26, 2017 × 'SAINA' is going to be directed by Amole Gupte & produced by T series ?? — Shraddha (@ShraddhaKapoor) April 26, 2017 × In an interview, Shradhha said, "Most girls have played badminton at some point in their lives in school. I feel so lucky to be playing Saina, who has not just been the world's no. 1 badminton player, but is also a youth icon. I can't wait to start prepping for my role.” Saina in response to this was quoted, according to Firstpost: "Shraddha is a very talented actress and very hardworking. I am sure she will do justice to the role. The best part is, she is a good friend as well. So it will be easier to teach her some badminton skills!. A lot of people did tell me that we do look similar and I think that's a huge compliment, because Shraddha is very good looking." Amole Gupte has said that the Saina biopic will be very different from previous films in the category simply because of its central figure. Director Amole Gupte calls the biopic as that would trace "Saina's pulsating journey to the top of the sports pyramid" in a statement. The Saina Nehwal biopic is slated for a 2018 release. (WION)

Indian actor Shraddha Kapoor to play badminton ace Saina Nehwal in biopic

Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu jumped three places to achieve a career-best world number two ranking in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday.

Sindhu has become only the second Indian woman after star shuttler Saina Nehwal to break into the top-five of the world rankings by earning 75,759 points.

The 21-year-old shuttler from Hyderabad had recently bagged her maiden India Open Super Series title after defeating Carolina Marin of Spain in the summit clash.

But, she suffered a shocking defeat in the opening round of the ongoing Malaysia Open Super Series in Kuching.

Meanwhile, Saina, who also lost in the first round of the Malaysia Open, however, lost a place to be at ninth position in the ranking table.

The women&#39;s singles chart is led by Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei with 87,911 points.

(ANI)

The 21-year-old shuttler becomes only the second Indian to break into the top-five of the world rankings

Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu jumped three places to achieve a career-best world number two ranking in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday. Sindhu has become only the second Indian woman after star shuttler Saina Nehwal to break into the top-five of the world rankings by earning 75,759 points. The 21-year-old shuttler from Hyderabad had recently bagged her maiden India Open Super Series title after defeating Carolina Marin of Spain in the summit clash. But, she suffered a shocking defeat in the opening round of the ongoing Malaysia Open Super Series in Kuching. Meanwhile, Saina, who also lost in the first round of the Malaysia Open, however, lost a place to be at ninth position in the ranking table. The women's singles chart is led by Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei with 87,911 points. (ANI)

Shuttler PV Sindhu climbs to number two spot in world rankings

Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu received a flurry of wishes from the sporting fraternity after she overcame her Rio Games conqueror Carolina Marin of Spain in straight games to win the India Open Super Series badminton title on Sunday.

The star Indian shuttler took avenge of her Rio Olympics final defeat by sweeping aside Marin 21-19, 21-16 in the summit showdown of the Indian Open that lasted 47 minutes at a packed Siri Fort Sports Complex here in the national capital.

Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to praise Sindhu for coming out as the true winner all the way.&quot;Champion moves &amp; a warrior instinct! A true winner all the way. @Pvsindhu1, take a bow. #SindhuvsMarin,&quot; the master blaster tweeted.

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Champion moves &amp; a warrior instinct! A true winner all the way. <a href="https://twitter.com/Pvsindhu1">@Pvsindhu1</a>, take a bow. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SindhuvsMarin?src=hash">#SindhuvsMarin</a>
&mdash; sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) <a href="https://twitter.com/sachin_rt/status/848543802633723904">April 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag continued his typical witty way while congratulating Sindhu.

&nbsp;

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Sport unites all. 
Sikh, Isaai,Muslim, Hindu; 
Sabko jode PV Sindhu. 
Congrats champion <a href="https://twitter.com/Pvsindhu1">@Pvsindhu1</a> on another wonderful Victory.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SindhuvsMarin?src=hash">#SindhuvsMarin</a> <a href="https://t.co/myqulxw0gX">pic.twitter.com/myqulxw0gX</a>
&mdash; Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) <a href="https://twitter.com/virendersehwag/status/848539827767308288">April 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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&nbsp;

&quot;Congratulations @pvsindhu1 on the win! Great game! Wishing you more success! #SindhuvsMarin,&quot; Indian head coach Anil Kumble.

Labelling the Indian shuttler as a great performer and a champion, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif also extended his warm wishes to Sindhu on winning the Indian Open title.

Meanwhile, sports minister Vijay Goel wrote, &quot;Awarded medal to @Pvsindhu1 on her big win at the #IndianOpen2017 finale, also @caro_marin2 for securing the runner`s up position. Bravo!&quot;The win gave Sindhu her first India Open title and second Super Series title after the China Open last year.&nbsp;

(ANI)&nbsp;

The star Indian shuttler took avenge of her Rio Olympics final defeat by sweeping aside Marin 21-19, 21-16

Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu received a flurry of wishes from the sporting fraternity after she overcame her Rio Games conqueror Carolina Marin of Spain in straight games to win the India Open Super Series badminton title on Sunday. The star Indian shuttler took avenge of her Rio Olympics final defeat by sweeping aside Marin 21-19, 21-16 in the summit showdown of the Indian Open that lasted 47 minutes at a packed Siri Fort Sports Complex here in the national capital. Legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar took to Twitter to praise Sindhu for coming out as the true winner all the way."Champion moves & a warrior instinct! A true winner all the way. @Pvsindhu1, take a bow. #SindhuvsMarin," the master blaster tweeted. Champion moves & a warrior instinct! A true winner all the way. @Pvsindhu1, take a bow. #SindhuvsMarin — sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) April 2, 2017 × Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag continued his typical witty way while congratulating Sindhu. Sport unites all. Sikh, Isaai,Muslim, Hindu; Sabko jode PV Sindhu. Congrats champion @Pvsindhu1 on another wonderful Victory.#SindhuvsMarin pic.twitter.com/myqulxw0gX — Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) April 2, 2017 × "Congratulations @pvsindhu1 on the win! Great game! Wishing you more success! #SindhuvsMarin," Indian head coach Anil Kumble. Labelling the Indian shuttler as a great performer and a champion, former cricketer Mohammad Kaif also extended his warm wishes to Sindhu on winning the Indian Open title. Meanwhile, sports minister Vijay Goel wrote, "Awarded medal to @Pvsindhu1 on her big win at the #IndianOpen2017 finale, also @caro_marin2 for securing the runner`s up position. Bravo!"The win gave Sindhu her first India Open title and second Super Series title after the China Open last year. (ANI)

From Tendulkar to Kumble, Sindhu draws praise post her Indian Open triumph

Newly-crowned India Open Super Series champion PV Sindhu feels that winning the hard-fought first game against Carolina Marin proved to be crucial in the final outcome of the match.

&quot;I really played well. The first game was really crucial for me. It was a good match overall. I am really happy with my performance. She also played well. For both of us, the first game was really important. From the start, both of us were fighting for every point. There were no easy points, there were long rallies,&quot; Sindhu said after winning the title. Asked if pocketing the first game gave her an edge in the contest, Sindhu said:&quot;You never know because each point was important. It&#39;s just that every point was important for both of us.&quot; Sindhu rated India Open as one of the important tournaments in her itinerary.&nbsp;

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<h5>Marin on her part admitted that unforced errors cost her dearly</h5>
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&quot;After China Open, this is my second title and that too at the start of the year. I would like to thank the spectators, they were really very supportive. It&#39;s been really nice because the whole stadium was cheering for both of us.&quot; Sindhu said for any athlete there are no shortcuts to hardwork. &quot;It&#39;s not about winning or losing, you have to just work hard and give your best. We have played our best matches at the Olympic Games. But I think ups and downs are part of life but you will have to come back and train harder to improve yourself and that&#39;s what is really important.&quot;

Marin on her part admitted that unforced errors cost her dearly today.

&quot;Today, I couldn&#39;t play my natural game. I committed a few unforced errors and that was the key of the game. The game was good for spectators but not for me because I lost. But I am happy with my overall performance this week,&quot; she said. Marin too said that she produced her best performance in last year&#39;s Rio Olympics after which injuries affected her performances.

&quot;My best performance was at the Olympics. That was my goal for the year. After that I got some injuries but from January, I am just getting better. But this week gave me some confidence. Now I am motivated to fight hard and keep going in the next tournaments,&quot; the Spaniard said.&nbsp;

(PTI)

She beat world no. 1 Carolina Marin 21-19, 21-16 to take the final

Newly-crowned India Open Super Series champion PV Sindhu feels that winning the hard-fought first game against Carolina Marin proved to be crucial in the final outcome of the match. "I really played well. The first game was really crucial for me. It was a good match overall. I am really happy with my performance. She also played well. For both of us, the first game was really important. From the start, both of us were fighting for every point. There were no easy points, there were long rallies," Sindhu said after winning the title. Asked if pocketing the first game gave her an edge in the contest, Sindhu said:"You never know because each point was important. It's just that every point was important for both of us." Sindhu rated India Open as one of the important tournaments in her itinerary. Marin on her part admitted that unforced errors cost her dearly × "After China Open, this is my second title and that too at the start of the year. I would like to thank the spectators, they were really very supportive. It's been really nice because the whole stadium was cheering for both of us." Sindhu said for any athlete there are no shortcuts to hardwork. "It's not about winning or losing, you have to just work hard and give your best. We have played our best matches at the Olympic Games. But I think ups and downs are part of life but you will have to come back and train harder to improve yourself and that's what is really important." Marin on her part admitted that unforced errors cost her dearly today. "Today, I couldn't play my natural game. I committed a few unforced errors and that was the key of the game. The game was good for spectators but not for me because I lost. But I am happy with my overall performance this week," she said. Marin too said that she produced her best performance in last year's Rio Olympics after which injuries affected her performances. "My best performance was at the Olympics. That was my goal for the year. After that I got some injuries but from January, I am just getting better. But this week gave me some confidence. Now I am motivated to fight hard and keep going in the next tournaments," the Spaniard said. (PTI)

First game was crucial, says Sindhu after winning India Open

Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu produced a superlative performance beating reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain 21-19 21-16 to win her maiden India Open Super Series title, here today.

In front of a partisan home crowd at the Sirifort Sports Complex, the third seeded Indian dominated the match from the start to win the summit clash in 46 minutes.

The win also narrowed down Sindhu&#39;s head-to-head record against the Spaniard to 4-5. Sindhu had last defeated Marin in the BWF Super Series in Dubai last year.

Earlier, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark clinched the men&#39;s singles title beating Chinese Taipei&#39;s Tien Chen Chou in straight games.

Third seed Axelsen took just 36 minutes to edge past Chou 21-13 21-10 to claim his maiden India Open title at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

In a much-anticipated match of the evening, a replay of Rio Olympics title showdown, the star Indian shuttler came out with a purpose and looked determined for a revenge.

On the day, Sindhu was far better than Marin controlling the proceedings with ease.

Marin was guilty of committing plenty of unforced errors with Sindhu&#39;s deft drops and powerful cross-court smashes also keeping the Spaniard at bay.

In both the games, it was Sindhu who took the initiative and set the tempo with early leads.

In the opening game Sindhu raced to a 6-1 lead before Marin slowly and steadily clawed her way back into the affair.

After the first six points, it was a closely fought encounter between the two of the world&#39;s best shuttlers. Sindhu went into the break with a slim 11-9 lead.

The intense fight continued thereafter and at one stage both the shuttlers were locked at 16-16 when Marin won a brilliant rally with a cross court drop shot.

For the first time in the game, Marin took a slim 19-18 lead over Sindhu but the Indian came back strongly to deny her opponent any breathing space with a smash that was followed by a drop shot at net to even the scores t 19-19.

The Indian reached game point when Marin found the net and she wrapped it up in no time with a body smash.

In the second game, Sindhu continued in the same vein to race to a 4-0 lead.

Just like the opening game, Marin quietly clawed her way back into the game to reduce the margin to 6-7.

But Sindhu today was just way above her rival as he managed to hold on to her lead to go into the breather leading 11-9 and then did just enough to keep her dominance.

Much to the expectation of the crowd, Sindhu reached the game and match point at 20-15 when Marin committed another unforced error.

The Spaniard managed to save one match point but Sindhu sealed it on the very next point when Marin found the net again.

In other title clashes of the day, seventh seeded Japanese duo of Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto stunned third seeded compatriots Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao 16-21 21-19 21-10 to lift the women&#39;s doubles title.

Top seeds Siwei Zheng and Qingchen Chen of China defeated countrymen and second seeds Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong 22-24 21-14 21-17 to claim the mixed doubles title.

The men&#39;s doubles crown was annexed by fourth seeded Indonesian pair of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, who beat sixth seeds compatriots Ricky Karandasuwardi and Angga Pratama 21-11 21-15 in a contest that lasted exactly half-an-hour.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)

She beat Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain 21-19 21-16 to win the summit clash in 46 minutes

Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu produced a superlative performance beating reigning Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain 21-19 21-16 to win her maiden India Open Super Series title, here today. In front of a partisan home crowd at the Sirifort Sports Complex, the third seeded Indian dominated the match from the start to win the summit clash in 46 minutes. The win also narrowed down Sindhu's head-to-head record against the Spaniard to 4-5. Sindhu had last defeated Marin in the BWF Super Series in Dubai last year. Earlier, Viktor Axelsen of Denmark clinched the men's singles title beating Chinese Taipei's Tien Chen Chou in straight games. Third seed Axelsen took just 36 minutes to edge past Chou 21-13 21-10 to claim his maiden India Open title at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. In a much-anticipated match of the evening, a replay of Rio Olympics title showdown, the star Indian shuttler came out with a purpose and looked determined for a revenge. On the day, Sindhu was far better than Marin controlling the proceedings with ease. Marin was guilty of committing plenty of unforced errors with Sindhu's deft drops and powerful cross-court smashes also keeping the Spaniard at bay. In both the games, it was Sindhu who took the initiative and set the tempo with early leads. In the opening game Sindhu raced to a 6-1 lead before Marin slowly and steadily clawed her way back into the affair. After the first six points, it was a closely fought encounter between the two of the world's best shuttlers. Sindhu went into the break with a slim 11-9 lead. The intense fight continued thereafter and at one stage both the shuttlers were locked at 16-16 when Marin won a brilliant rally with a cross court drop shot. For the first time in the game, Marin took a slim 19-18 lead over Sindhu but the Indian came back strongly to deny her opponent any breathing space with a smash that was followed by a drop shot at net to even the scores t 19-19. The Indian reached game point when Marin found the net and she wrapped it up in no time with a body smash. In the second game, Sindhu continued in the same vein to race to a 4-0 lead. Just like the opening game, Marin quietly clawed her way back into the game to reduce the margin to 6-7. But Sindhu today was just way above her rival as he managed to hold on to her lead to go into the breather leading 11-9 and then did just enough to keep her dominance. Much to the expectation of the crowd, Sindhu reached the game and match point at 20-15 when Marin committed another unforced error. The Spaniard managed to save one match point but Sindhu sealed it on the very next point when Marin found the net again. In other title clashes of the day, seventh seeded Japanese duo of Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto stunned third seeded compatriots Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao 16-21 21-19 21-10 to lift the women's doubles title. Top seeds Siwei Zheng and Qingchen Chen of China defeated countrymen and second seeds Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong 22-24 21-14 21-17 to claim the mixed doubles title. The men's doubles crown was annexed by fourth seeded Indonesian pair of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo, who beat sixth seeds compatriots Ricky Karandasuwardi and Angga Pratama 21-11 21-15 in a contest that lasted exactly half-an-hour. (PTI)

PV Sindhu beats Carolina Marin to clinch India Open women's singles

Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu beat second seed Sung Ji Hyun 21-18 14-21 21-14 to enter the Indian Open Super Series final.

She will face world number one Carolina Marin in the finals on Sunday. Marin beat Akane Yamaguchi 21-16 21-14 to reach the final earlier in the day.

Sindhu has a 3-5 head-to-head record against the Spanish world number one. The most notable clash being the Rio Olympics, where Marin beat her to win the top gong at the quadrennial event.

While Marin had a relatively easy match, Sindhu had to stave off a spirited display from South Korea&#39;s Hyun to reach her maiden final at her home event.

World number five Sindhu had earlier beaten her compatriot Saina Nehwal in a high-voltage quarter-final match in New Delhi&#39;s Siri Fort Sports Complex.

Sindhu will bid to become only the third Indian, after Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth, to lift the Indian Open in front of her home crowd.

(WION)

PV Sindhu has a 3-5 head-to-head record against Spanish world number one Marin

Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu beat second seed Sung Ji Hyun 21-18 14-21 21-14 to enter the Indian Open Super Series final. She will face world number one Carolina Marin in the finals on Sunday. Marin beat Akane Yamaguchi 21-16 21-14 to reach the final earlier in the day. Sindhu has a 3-5 head-to-head record against the Spanish world number one. The most notable clash being the Rio Olympics, where Marin beat her to win the top gong at the quadrennial event. While Marin had a relatively easy match, Sindhu had to stave off a spirited display from South Korea's Hyun to reach her maiden final at her home event. World number five Sindhu had earlier beaten her compatriot Saina Nehwal in a high-voltage quarter-final match in New Delhi's Siri Fort Sports Complex. Sindhu will bid to become only the third Indian, after Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth, to lift the Indian Open in front of her home crowd. (WION)

Indian Open: PV Sindhu sets up summit clash against Carolina Marin

India&#39;s PV Sindhu won a much-anticipated clash with compatriot Saina Nehwal in straight games to book a place in the semi-finals of the India Open badminton tournament in New Delhi on Friday.

Rio Olympics silver medallist Sindhu served past former champion Saina 21-16, 22-20 in an intense 47-minute quarter-final battle at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

Sindhu, 21, had to dig deep into her reservoir of talent against the former world number one Saina as a raucous home crowd found it hard to take sides.

Sindhu, who lost to Saina, 27, in their only international meeting in 2014, won the first game in 19 minutes but had to fight hard to recover a 16-19 trail in the second game.

&quot;Overall a very good match... even when she was leading 20-19, I still had the belief that I could pull through, I can do it,&quot; Sindhu told reporters.

&quot;Sindhu-Saina is not a new rivalry... rivalry is always there on court but off court we are normal friends. I didn&#39;t feel any pressure. I don&#39;t know about her.

&quot;Saina is not someone special that I have to win against her. Against each player, I will give 100 percent.&quot;

Sindhu will now meet second-seeded South Korean player Sung Ji Hyun, who earlier edged out defending champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 21-16, 22-20, in the semi-finals on Saturday.

Top-seeded Spanish star Carolina Marin also booked her last-four spot after battling past Minatsu Mitani of Japan 21-10, 20-22, 21-14.

Marin will clash with fourth-seeded Akane Yamaguchi, who staved off a challenge from fellow Japanese Nozomi Okuhara 21-13, 11-21, 21-18.

In the men&#39;s singles quarter-finals, Denmark&#39;s Viktor Axelsen survived a tough challenge from Wang Tzu Wei of Taiwan to prevail 19-21, 21-14, 21-16 in 65 minutes.

(AFP)

Sindhu served past former champion Saina 21-16, 22-20 in an intense 47-minute quarter-final battle at the Siri Fort Sports Complex

India's PV Sindhu won a much-anticipated clash with compatriot Saina Nehwal in straight games to book a place in the semi-finals of the India Open badminton tournament in New Delhi on Friday. Rio Olympics silver medallist Sindhu served past former champion Saina 21-16, 22-20 in an intense 47-minute quarter-final battle at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. Sindhu, 21, had to dig deep into her reservoir of talent against the former world number one Saina as a raucous home crowd found it hard to take sides. Sindhu, who lost to Saina, 27, in their only international meeting in 2014, won the first game in 19 minutes but had to fight hard to recover a 16-19 trail in the second game. "Overall a very good match... even when she was leading 20-19, I still had the belief that I could pull through, I can do it," Sindhu told reporters. "Sindhu-Saina is not a new rivalry... rivalry is always there on court but off court we are normal friends. I didn't feel any pressure. I don't know about her. "Saina is not someone special that I have to win against her. Against each player, I will give 100 percent." Sindhu will now meet second-seeded South Korean player Sung Ji Hyun, who earlier edged out defending champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand 21-16, 22-20, in the semi-finals on Saturday. Top-seeded Spanish star Carolina Marin also booked her last-four spot after battling past Minatsu Mitani of Japan 21-10, 20-22, 21-14. Marin will clash with fourth-seeded Akane Yamaguchi, who staved off a challenge from fellow Japanese Nozomi Okuhara 21-13, 11-21, 21-18. In the men's singles quarter-finals, Denmark's Viktor Axelsen survived a tough challenge from Wang Tzu Wei of Taiwan to prevail 19-21, 21-14, 21-16 in 65 minutes. (AFP)

PV Sindhu beats Saina Nehwal to enter India Open semis

Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal today stormed into the quarterfinals of the All England Open Badminton Championships after their straight-game victories over their respective opponents in the women&#39;s singles event here. 
 
Both Sindhu and Saina are in the top half of the women&#39;s singles and if they win their respective quarterfinal matches, they will face each other in a mouth-watering clash in the semifinals. 
 
However in the men&#39;s singles, H S Prannoy suffered a 13-21 5-21 loss to seventh seeded Chinese Tian Houwei in 33 minutes to crash out of the tournament. 
 
Sindhu, a silver medallist at the Rio Olympics, dished out a dominating game to trounce Indonesia&#39;s Dinar Dyah Ayustine 21-12 21-4 in just 30 minutes. 
 
The sixth seeded Indian will face the winner of the match between world number one&nbsp;Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei and Japan&#39;s Minatsu Mitani in the quarterfinals. 
 
Sindhu and Ayustine were tied at 4-4 initially but after that the Indian broke off and left her opponent far behind to go one game up. 
 
In the second game, Sindhu opened up a 9-0 lead early on and never looked back against her Indonesian opponent to easily clinched her second round match. 
 
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina also notched up a comfortable 21-18 21-10 win over Germany&#39;s Fabienne Deprez in 35 minutes. The eighth seeded Indian will face the winner of the match between third seed Sung Ji Hyun of Korea and Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong in the quarterfinals. 
 
World No. 10 Saina had defeated defending champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 21-15 21-14 in the opening round late last night. 
 
In the second round match against Deprez today, Saina opened up a 12-8 lead at one stage but her opponent make a come back by levelling the score to 17-17. Saina, however, held onto her nerves to win the first game 21-18. 
 
In the second game, Saina was more ruthless and she surged ahead from 1-1 onwards, never to give her opponent a chance to come back into the match.

(PTI)

Sixth-seeded Sindhu trounced Indonesia's Dinar Dyah Ayustine 21-12 21-4, while Nehwal beat Germany's Fabienne Deprez 21-18 21-10

Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal today stormed into the quarterfinals of the All England Open Badminton Championships after their straight-game victories over their respective opponents in the women's singles event here. Both Sindhu and Saina are in the top half of the women's singles and if they win their respective quarterfinal matches, they will face each other in a mouth-watering clash in the semifinals. However in the men's singles, H S Prannoy suffered a 13-21 5-21 loss to seventh seeded Chinese Tian Houwei in 33 minutes to crash out of the tournament. Sindhu, a silver medallist at the Rio Olympics, dished out a dominating game to trounce Indonesia's Dinar Dyah Ayustine 21-12 21-4 in just 30 minutes. The sixth seeded Indian will face the winner of the match between world number one Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei and Japan's Minatsu Mitani in the quarterfinals. Sindhu and Ayustine were tied at 4-4 initially but after that the Indian broke off and left her opponent far behind to go one game up. In the second game, Sindhu opened up a 9-0 lead early on and never looked back against her Indonesian opponent to easily clinched her second round match. London Olympics bronze medallist Saina also notched up a comfortable 21-18 21-10 win over Germany's Fabienne Deprez in 35 minutes. The eighth seeded Indian will face the winner of the match between third seed Sung Ji Hyun of Korea and Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong in the quarterfinals. World No. 10 Saina had defeated defending champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 21-15 21-14 in the opening round late last night. In the second round match against Deprez today, Saina opened up a 12-8 lead at one stage but her opponent make a come back by levelling the score to 17-17. Saina, however, held onto her nerves to win the first game 21-18. In the second game, Saina was more ruthless and she surged ahead from 1-1 onwards, never to give her opponent a chance to come back into the match. (PTI)

PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal enter All England Open quarters

National champion Sameer Verma stunned World No&nbsp;3 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark to reach his maiden Super Series final while Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu made it to her second successive summit clash in women&#39;s singles at the Hong Kong Open, here today. 
 
It was double bonanza for India at the Hong Kong Open, the last Super Series tournament of the season, as Sameer and Sindhu dished out some superb performances to make it a super Sunday for badminton fans tomorrow. 
 
The 22-year-old Sameer, who is the younger brother of Sourabh Verma, showed tremendous athleticism and accuracy in his strokes to notch up a hard-fought 21-19 24-22 win over Denmark&#39;s Jorgensen, who had clinched the prestigious China Super Series Premier last week. 
 
Sameer, who came into the tournament as a qualifier, will fight for the title against local favourite Ng Ka Long Angus. 
 
Newly-crowned China Open champion, Sindhu, meanwhile, continued her rampaging run and disposed local shuttler Cheung Ngan Yi 21-14 21-16 in a 46-minute match to set up a clash with Chinese Taipei&#39;s Tai Tzu Ying, seeded fourth, to lay claim for her second super series title. 
 
It is a rare occasion when two Indians have reached the finals of the men&#39;s and women&#39;s singles competition of any particular tournament. For records, Saina Nehwal and K Srikanth had made the finals at 2014 China Open and 2015 India Open and both had emerged victorious. 
 
The highlight of the day was Sameer&#39;s stunning win over Jorgensen, who reached the finals at China Open 
 
Super Series Premier, Japan Open (Runner-up) and Indonesia Open Super Series Premier (Runner-up) this year. 
 
More than 40 ranking points separated World No. 43 Sameer from Jorgensen but all that didn&#39;t matter today as the Indian retrieved everything thrown at him by the Dane in the 46-minute fast-paced battle. 
 
In one of the finest wins of his career, Sameer punched way above his weight as he opened up a massive 12-7 lead early on in the opening game. However, Jorgensen ensured he was not far behind as he clawed back to reduce the margin to 10-11 at the interval. 
 
Jorgensen made Sameer run across the court but the young Indian was up for it most times and matched the Dane stroke for stroke to be 17-17. 
 
Sameer marched ahead after that and grabbed three game points when the Dane hit the net. 
 
A gruelling rally ensued with Jorgensen relying on his wristy returns and soft net play to save two points. Sameer finally pocketed the first game after winning a video referral when Jorgensen hit long. 
 
In the second game, Jorgensen started on an aggressive note, opening up a healthy 11-5 lead at the interval. But a gritty Sameer fought back to draw level at 12-12 and then took a slender 13-12 lead. 
 
(PTI)

Sameer and Sindhu dished out some superb performances to make it a super Sunday for badminton fans tomorrow

National champion Sameer Verma stunned World No 3 Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark to reach his maiden Super Series final while Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu made it to her second successive summit clash in women's singles at the Hong Kong Open, here today. It was double bonanza for India at the Hong Kong Open, the last Super Series tournament of the season, as Sameer and Sindhu dished out some superb performances to make it a super Sunday for badminton fans tomorrow. The 22-year-old Sameer, who is the younger brother of Sourabh Verma, showed tremendous athleticism and accuracy in his strokes to notch up a hard-fought 21-19 24-22 win over Denmark's Jorgensen, who had clinched the prestigious China Super Series Premier last week. Sameer, who came into the tournament as a qualifier, will fight for the title against local favourite Ng Ka Long Angus. Newly-crowned China Open champion, Sindhu, meanwhile, continued her rampaging run and disposed local shuttler Cheung Ngan Yi 21-14 21-16 in a 46-minute match to set up a clash with Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying, seeded fourth, to lay claim for her second super series title. It is a rare occasion when two Indians have reached the finals of the men's and women's singles competition of any particular tournament. For records, Saina Nehwal and K Srikanth had made the finals at 2014 China Open and 2015 India Open and both had emerged victorious. The highlight of the day was Sameer's stunning win over Jorgensen, who reached the finals at China Open Super Series Premier, Japan Open (Runner-up) and Indonesia Open Super Series Premier (Runner-up) this year. More than 40 ranking points separated World No. 43 Sameer from Jorgensen but all that didn't matter today as the Indian retrieved everything thrown at him by the Dane in the 46-minute fast-paced battle. In one of the finest wins of his career, Sameer punched way above his weight as he opened up a massive 12-7 lead early on in the opening game. However, Jorgensen ensured he was not far behind as he clawed back to reduce the margin to 10-11 at the interval. Jorgensen made Sameer run across the court but the young Indian was up for it most times and matched the Dane stroke for stroke to be 17-17. Sameer marched ahead after that and grabbed three game points when the Dane hit the net. A gruelling rally ensued with Jorgensen relying on his wristy returns and soft net play to save two points. Sameer finally pocketed the first game after winning a video referral when Jorgensen hit long. In the second game, Jorgensen started on an aggressive note, opening up a healthy 11-5 lead at the interval. But a gritty Sameer fought back to draw level at 12-12 and then took a slender 13-12 lead. (PTI)

India's Sameer Verma, PV Sindhu storm into Hong Kong Open finals

Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu clinched her maiden Super Series Premier title after edging out Sun Yu of China in the final of the $700,000 China Open badminton tournament on Sunday.

Sindhu, who became the toast of the country after becoming the first Indian woman to win a silver at the Rio Games, continued her rampaging run as she lifted the prestigious title after beating Sun 21-11, 17-21, 21-11 in the summit clash that lasted an hour and nine minutes.

World Number&nbsp;11 Sindhu had come into the match with a 2-3 head-to-head record, but then statistics counted little when she took the court at the Haixia Olympic Sports Center.

Sindhu dished out a dominating game as she zoomed to a healthy 11-5 lead early on. The Indian looked sharp and athletic as she engaged in a fast-paced game to bamboozle her opponent.

Eventually it was a cross court return which earned Sindhu a massive 12 game points at 20-8. A couple of smashes on Sindhu&#39;s forehand and backhand and a drop going to the net helped Sun save three points. But Sindhu sealed the opening encounter after dominating a parallel game and finishing it with a return that hit Sun&#39;s face.

In the second game, Sindhu had a slender 6-3 lead which she extended to 11-7 and 14-10. But Sun soon broke the rhythm by mixing her strokes and coming up with steep and powerful body smashes to catch up with the Indian at 14-14.

A sharp smash and a superb return on Sindhu&#39;s backhand helped Sun grab a 18-16 lead which became 19-16 after the Indian lost a video referral. At 20-16, Sun hit the nets but she roared back into contest when Sindhu&#39;s stretched low return at the forecourt could not cross the net.

Back to her winning side of the court, Sindhu once again started with new exuberance as the duo locked themselves in a battle of supremacy. As a result service changed hands too quickly as they moved together till 6-6.

But Sindhu moved ahead with a couple of powerpacked returns which Sun failed to negotiate. The Chinese also faltered with a lift and also hit wide as Sindhu reached 10-6. A few errors helped Sun make it 8-10 before Sindhu entered the interval with a 11-8 advantage.

Sindhu continued to extend her lead even as Sun tried to vary the pace of the rallies but her errors continued to pile up as the Indian was soon 19-11 up. Sindhu then grabbed the match point when Sun let go of the shuttle as it kissed the back line and then the Indian pushed the shuttle at the back, leaving the Chinese stranded before letting out a joyous scream.

Saina Nehwal had clinched the China Open in 2014 before finishing runners-up last year.

Sindhu had reached her maiden Super Series final at the Denmark Open last year but the title eluded her then as she lost in straight games to 2012 Olympic champion China&#39;s Li Xuerei. 
 
(PTI)

PV Sindhu beat China's Sun Yu 21-11, 17-21, 21-11 in the summit clash

Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu clinched her maiden Super Series Premier title after edging out Sun Yu of China in the final of the $700,000 China Open badminton tournament on Sunday. Sindhu, who became the toast of the country after becoming the first Indian woman to win a silver at the Rio Games, continued her rampaging run as she lifted the prestigious title after beating Sun 21-11, 17-21, 21-11 in the summit clash that lasted an hour and nine minutes. World Number 11 Sindhu had come into the match with a 2-3 head-to-head record, but then statistics counted little when she took the court at the Haixia Olympic Sports Center. Sindhu dished out a dominating game as she zoomed to a healthy 11-5 lead early on. The Indian looked sharp and athletic as she engaged in a fast-paced game to bamboozle her opponent. Eventually it was a cross court return which earned Sindhu a massive 12 game points at 20-8. A couple of smashes on Sindhu's forehand and backhand and a drop going to the net helped Sun save three points. But Sindhu sealed the opening encounter after dominating a parallel game and finishing it with a return that hit Sun's face. In the second game, Sindhu had a slender 6-3 lead which she extended to 11-7 and 14-10. But Sun soon broke the rhythm by mixing her strokes and coming up with steep and powerful body smashes to catch up with the Indian at 14-14. A sharp smash and a superb return on Sindhu's backhand helped Sun grab a 18-16 lead which became 19-16 after the Indian lost a video referral. At 20-16, Sun hit the nets but she roared back into contest when Sindhu's stretched low return at the forecourt could not cross the net. Back to her winning side of the court, Sindhu once again started with new exuberance as the duo locked themselves in a battle of supremacy. As a result service changed hands too quickly as they moved together till 6-6. But Sindhu moved ahead with a couple of powerpacked returns which Sun failed to negotiate. The Chinese also faltered with a lift and also hit wide as Sindhu reached 10-6. A few errors helped Sun make it 8-10 before Sindhu entered the interval with a 11-8 advantage. Sindhu continued to extend her lead even as Sun tried to vary the pace of the rallies but her errors continued to pile up as the Indian was soon 19-11 up. Sindhu then grabbed the match point when Sun let go of the shuttle as it kissed the back line and then the Indian pushed the shuttle at the back, leaving the Chinese stranded before letting out a joyous scream. Saina Nehwal had clinched the China Open in 2014 before finishing runners-up last year. Sindhu had reached her maiden Super Series final at the Denmark Open last year but the title eluded her then as she lost in straight games to 2012 Olympic champion China's Li Xuerei. (PTI)

India's PV Sindhu clinches maiden China Open title

Rio Olympics silver-medallist PV Sindhu continued her imperious form as she survived an early scare from sixth-seed Sung Ji Hyun to book her place in the finals of the ongoing China Open Super Series tournament here on Saturday.

After losing the first game by a huge margin, Sindhu rebounded strongly to register a 11-21, 23-21, 21-19 win over her South Korean opponent in a gruelling semi-final contest that lasted for around an hour and a half.

With the win, Sindhu has now set up the title challenge against eighth-seed Sun Yu, who booked her place in the summit showdown following her 21-8, 23-21 victory of fifth-seed TAI Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipie in last-four contest.

Sindhu, who became the first Indian women to clinch silver medal at the Olympics, is currently the lone Indian survivor at China Open after fellowmen Ajay Jayaram bowed out of the competition in quarter-finals on Friday.

(ANI)

Sindhu registered a 11-21, 23-21, 21-19 win over her South Korean opponent

Rio Olympics silver-medallist PV Sindhu continued her imperious form as she survived an early scare from sixth-seed Sung Ji Hyun to book her place in the finals of the ongoing China Open Super Series tournament here on Saturday. After losing the first game by a huge margin, Sindhu rebounded strongly to register a 11-21, 23-21, 21-19 win over her South Korean opponent in a gruelling semi-final contest that lasted for around an hour and a half. With the win, Sindhu has now set up the title challenge against eighth-seed Sun Yu, who booked her place in the summit showdown following her 21-8, 23-21 victory of fifth-seed TAI Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipie in last-four contest. Sindhu, who became the first Indian women to clinch silver medal at the Olympics, is currently the lone Indian survivor at China Open after fellowmen Ajay Jayaram bowed out of the competition in quarter-finals on Friday. (ANI)

PV Sindhu reaches China Open finals after nailbiting match

Growing up in India as a girl child can be&nbsp;great as long as you remain inconspicuous, and strictly abide by the unwritten codes of patriarchy. The moment you step a toe outside your permitted limit, you will either be ridiculed, defamed, or better still, get violated. It seems even the permitted limit is actually an endless list of don&#39;ts, with the occasional dos, which are actually disguised don&rsquo;ts.

Personally, the moment I realized I was not an equal was when I was a five-year-old. My aunt was pregnant and everybody was telling her &ldquo;Oh, you are surely going to give birth to a boy&rdquo;. I thought to myself - &quot;But I am a girl, there is nothing wrong with being a girl.&quot; In my young mind, I failed to understand why my aunt shouldn&rsquo;t give birth to a girl child.&nbsp;

So as all children do, I spoke my mind. In return, I was slapped on the cheek and was made to swear that I would never utter such a repulsive thought again. However, the punishment&nbsp;only made me more determined to find out, why I was hit and what was so terribly wrong with what I said.

&nbsp;Over the years, there have been countless experiences where the society, comprising of so-called &quot;well-wishers&quot;, tried their best to dictate my choices, clothes, and diction, even my lifestyle, as well as my very existence; no matter what I achieved through merit, it was never good enough. There was always some mistakes that needed to be corrected. This is the stark reality a girl child goes through before she either gives up or decides to fight back.&nbsp;

From adolescence, girls are brainwashed to believe that their true calling lies in being a good wife, a good mother, and taking care of the household. This mindset comes out clearly when Rajdeep Sardesai, a veteran journalist, asked Sania Mirza, one of the top tennis players in the world, as to when she was getting a family and settling down. Sania, understandably, snapped back at this &quot;sexist&quot; question. Rajdeep immediately apologized, more importantly, he confessed he would have never asked such a question to a man. &nbsp;

The most pronounced demonstration of gender divide between boys and girls happens on the playground. After a certain age, girls hardly venture out. The playgrounds across the country bear witness to the fact that the first rule of patriarchy is to make women invisible. If you notice carefully, the neighborhood playgrounds are occupied, even dominated, by boys and men.&nbsp;

No one ever notices the absence of the other half of the population from these grounds: the invisible citizens. &nbsp;

During my teens, when I went to the playground, I invariably ended up playing with the boys because there was no other choice. Over time, I realized why this was so. Once, I overheard a friend&rsquo;s mother scolding her daughter that no &ldquo;self-respecting&rdquo; woman played sport as it will spoil her complexion. The most important question for an Indian girl happens to be, who will marry a sun-burnt sports fanatic?

In Indian families, the complexion of the girl is protected like a fortress right from the time the girl is born. Playing out in the open sun is a cultural taboo for women.

Girls are discouraged from embracing the culture of sports from another ground of apprehension: she may lose her &ldquo;feminine&rdquo; features. Playing sports demands one to be aggressive. However, the patriarchs fear that such attitude can spill out of the playground and destroy the &ldquo;peaceful&rdquo; family structure that they have constructed with such care.&nbsp;

Becoming &ldquo;macho&rdquo; or &ldquo;aggressive&rdquo; undermines the marriage prospect of a woman, so the society does everything to nip the desire of being an athlete in the bud.

Now that women are proving their mettle in the Olympic arena, the patriarchs resort to fault-finding and mansplaining in&nbsp;asserting their power and dominance. For instance, the US gymnast Simone Biles, the winner of four Olympic gold medals, said that the Produnova Vault is not something she will ever try and insisted that it should, henceforth, be named Karmakar Vault after gymnast Dipa Karmakar from India. However, very many Indians, including sections of the media, went all out to criticize Dipa Karmakar&rsquo;s landing. For them, it was not enough that, Dipa achieved the singularly most incredible feat by an Indian sportsperson, it was the landing that needed to be dwelled upon.&nbsp;

In another instance, certain sections of social media actually went to the extent of getting pictures of the Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu performing a religious ritual; this was done to demonstrate that,&nbsp;Sindhu is first a &ldquo;traditional&rdquo; woman, and then anything else.

The page sharing&nbsp;the picture proudly proclaimed,&nbsp;it is the Indian tradition that needs to be upheld, there is no such thing as feminism. In fact, the picture garnered one of the highest numbers of &quot;likes&quot; on the Facebook. From their point of view, feminism is in direct contradiction&nbsp;to the values set by the Indian culture.

Diverting the glory of the achievement to&nbsp;the coach or the husband of the athlete is another tactic to steal the thunder away from the achiever. Most definitely, coaches and husbands contribute to the achievement, but as one headline read &ldquo;Gopichand makes a champion out of Sindhu&rdquo;.&nbsp; By every sense of the term, it is a disguised sexist statement. The implication of such a statement is, how can a woman be the champion without the man making her one.

Even though the invisible citizens of our country have time and again tried to gain their rightful place, but there is still a long way to go before girls play sports for the fun of it, without being ridiculed, prohibited, and scrutinised. A process towards gender equality can be initiated by reclaiming public spaces, such as playgrounds, for use by participants of all gender. Undoubtedly, it will be a good way of hitting back at the fortified walls built by the patriarchs.

My hope is, a day will surely come when parents will think twice before gifting a Barbie to their daughter and a macho toy to their son. At the end, the silver lining is that these women Olympians have given hope to millions of young girls and, if not right away, but someday the second sex will cease to become either invisible or secondary.

&nbsp;

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&nbsp;

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The most important question for an Indian girl happens to be, who will marry a sun-burnt sports fanatic?

Growing up in India as a girl child can be great as long as you remain inconspicuous, and strictly abide by the unwritten codes of patriarchy. The moment you step a toe outside your permitted limit, you will either be ridiculed, defamed, or better still, get violated. It seems even the permitted limit is actually an endless list of don'ts, with the occasional dos, which are actually disguised don’ts. Personally, the moment I realized I was not an equal was when I was a five-year-old. My aunt was pregnant and everybody was telling her “Oh, you are surely going to give birth to a boy”. I thought to myself - "But I am a girl, there is nothing wrong with being a girl." In my young mind, I failed to understand why my aunt shouldn’t give birth to a girl child. So as all children do, I spoke my mind. In return, I was slapped on the cheek and was made to swear that I would never utter such a repulsive thought again. However, the punishment only made me more determined to find out, why I was hit and what was so terribly wrong with what I said. Over the years, there have been countless experiences where the society, comprising of so-called "well-wishers", tried their best to dictate my choices, clothes, and diction, even my lifestyle, as well as my very existence; no matter what I achieved through merit, it was never good enough. There was always some mistakes that needed to be corrected. This is the stark reality a girl child goes through before she either gives up or decides to fight back. From adolescence, girls are brainwashed to believe that their true calling lies in being a good wife, a good mother, and taking care of the household. This mindset comes out clearly when Rajdeep Sardesai, a veteran journalist, asked Sania Mirza, one of the top tennis players in the world, as to when she was getting a family and settling down. Sania, understandably, snapped back at this "sexist" question. Rajdeep immediately apologized, more importantly, he confessed he would have never asked such a question to a man. The most pronounced demonstration of gender divide between boys and girls happens on the playground. After a certain age, girls hardly venture out. The playgrounds across the country bear witness to the fact that the first rule of patriarchy is to make women invisible. If you notice carefully, the neighborhood playgrounds are occupied, even dominated, by boys and men. No one ever notices the absence of the other half of the population from these grounds: the invisible citizens. During my teens, when I went to the playground, I invariably ended up playing with the boys because there was no other choice. Over time, I realized why this was so. Once, I overheard a friend’s mother scolding her daughter that no “self-respecting” woman played sport as it will spoil her complexion. The most important question for an Indian girl happens to be, who will marry a sun-burnt sports fanatic? In Indian families, the complexion of the girl is protected like a fortress right from the time the girl is born. Playing out in the open sun is a cultural taboo for women. Girls are discouraged from embracing the culture of sports from another ground of apprehension: she may lose her “feminine” features. Playing sports demands one to be aggressive. However, the patriarchs fear that such attitude can spill out of the playground and destroy the “peaceful” family structure that they have constructed with such care. Becoming “macho” or “aggressive” undermines the marriage prospect of a woman, so the society does everything to nip the desire of being an athlete in the bud. Now that women are proving their mettle in the Olympic arena, the patriarchs resort to fault-finding and mansplaining in asserting their power and dominance. For instance, the US gymnast Simone Biles, the winner of four Olympic gold medals, said that the Produnova Vault is not something she will ever try and insisted that it should, henceforth, be named Karmakar Vault after gymnast Dipa Karmakar from India. However, very many Indians, including sections of the media, went all out to criticize Dipa Karmakar’s landing. For them, it was not enough that, Dipa achieved the singularly most incredible feat by an Indian sportsperson, it was the landing that needed to be dwelled upon. In another instance, certain sections of social media actually went to the extent of getting pictures of the Olympic silver medalist PV Sindhu performing a religious ritual; this was done to demonstrate that, Sindhu is first a “traditional” woman, and then anything else. The page sharing the picture proudly proclaimed, it is the Indian tradition that needs to be upheld, there is no such thing as feminism. In fact, the picture garnered one of the highest numbers of "likes" on the Facebook. From their point of view, feminism is in direct contradiction to the values set by the Indian culture. Diverting the glory of the achievement to the coach or the husband of the athlete is another tactic to steal the thunder away from the achiever. Most definitely, coaches and husbands contribute to the achievement, but as one headline read “Gopichand makes a champion out of Sindhu”. By every sense of the term, it is a disguised sexist statement. The implication of such a statement is, how can a woman be the champion without the man making her one. Even though the invisible citizens of our country have time and again tried to gain their rightful place, but there is still a long way to go before girls play sports for the fun of it, without being ridiculed, prohibited, and scrutinised. A process towards gender equality can be initiated by reclaiming public spaces, such as playgrounds, for use by participants of all gender. Undoubtedly, it will be a good way of hitting back at the fortified walls built by the patriarchs. My hope is, a day will surely come when parents will think twice before gifting a Barbie to their daughter and a macho toy to their son. At the end, the silver lining is that these women Olympians have given hope to millions of young girls and, if not right away, but someday the second sex will cease to become either invisible or secondary.

The invisible citizens: are Indian women ready to reclaim the playgrounds?

The Indian government will confer the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award? on PV Sindhu, Dipa Karmakar, Jitu Rai and Sakshi Malik. 
 
Fifteen other sportspersons, including Ajinkya Rahane, Lalita Babar, Shiva Thapa and Apurvi Chandela, will be given the Arjuna Award. 
 
The government had announced earlier this year that athletes who win at the Olympics would automatically&nbsp;qualify for the honour. 
 
With Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the four atheletes will join the league of sporting giants like Sachin Tendulkar (cricket), Leander Paes (lawn tennis) and Viswanathan Anand (chess). 
 
Sakshi Malik, 23, was the first Indian woman to clinch an Olympic bronze in wrestling, and the first athlete to win a medal for the Indian contingent at the Rio Olympics. 
 
World Championships bronze-medallist Shiva Thapa was the only boxer recommended for this year&#39;s Arjuna&nbsp;award, the country&#39;s second highest sporting honour, by the selection committee headed by Justice (Retd) S&nbsp;K Agarwal and comprising cricketer Gautam Gambhir and shooter Anjali Bhagwat among others. 
 
The 22-year-old, who lost in the opening round of the ongoing Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, has been&nbsp;picked for his fineperformances in the past four years, which included two Asian Championships medals (a&nbsp;gold in 2013 and a bronze in 2015), besides the World Championships bronze. 
 
This year&rsquo;s Dronacharya Award winners include Nagapuri Ramesh (Athletics), Sagar Mal Dhayal (Boxing),&nbsp;Raj Kumar Sharma (Cricket), Bishweshwar Nandi (Gymnastics), S Pradeep Kumar (Swimming) and&nbsp;Mahabir Singh (Wrestling). 
 
National Sports Awards are given every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports. Rajiv Gandhi&nbsp;Khel Ratna Award is given for the most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a&nbsp;sportsperson over a period of four years while the Arjuna Award is given for consistently outstanding performance for four years. 
 
The Dronacharya Award is given to coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events and Dhyan Chand Award for life time contribution to sports development.

The Indian government had announced earlier that athletes who win at the Olympics would qualify for the highest sporting honour

The Indian government will confer the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award? on PV Sindhu, Dipa Karmakar, Jitu Rai and Sakshi Malik. Fifteen other sportspersons, including Ajinkya Rahane, Lalita Babar, Shiva Thapa and Apurvi Chandela, will be given the Arjuna Award. The government had announced earlier this year that athletes who win at the Olympics would automatically qualify for the honour. With Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, the four atheletes will join the league of sporting giants like Sachin Tendulkar (cricket), Leander Paes (lawn tennis) and Viswanathan Anand (chess). Sakshi Malik, 23, was the first Indian woman to clinch an Olympic bronze in wrestling, and the first athlete to win a medal for the Indian contingent at the Rio Olympics. World Championships bronze-medallist Shiva Thapa was the only boxer recommended for this year's Arjuna award, the country's second highest sporting honour, by the selection committee headed by Justice (Retd) S K Agarwal and comprising cricketer Gautam Gambhir and shooter Anjali Bhagwat among others. The 22-year-old, who lost in the opening round of the ongoing Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, has been picked for his fineperformances in the past four years, which included two Asian Championships medals (a gold in 2013 and a bronze in 2015), besides the World Championships bronze. This year’s Dronacharya Award winners include Nagapuri Ramesh (Athletics), Sagar Mal Dhayal (Boxing), Raj Kumar Sharma (Cricket), Bishweshwar Nandi (Gymnastics), S Pradeep Kumar (Swimming) and Mahabir Singh (Wrestling). National Sports Awards are given every year to recognise and reward excellence in sports. Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is given for the most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years while the Arjuna Award is given for consistently outstanding performance for four years. The Dronacharya Award is given to coaches for producing medal winners at prestigious international sports events and Dhyan Chand Award for life time contribution to sports development.

India's Olympic medal winners to be conferred with Khel Ratna, 15 others to get Arjuna award

PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik did not just win medals and the hearts of millions of Indians with their feat at the Rio Olympics, they are also on Google&#39;s list of the most searched Indian athletes. The states which have generated the maximum search interest in the Olympics include Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and Sikkim, possibly since many of the players in the Indian contingent belong to these states. 
 
According to the Olympics search trends curated by the search engine on August 18, seven out of 10 of the most searched athletes in India in the last three days have been&nbsp;women. Top Searched Indian athletes in the last three days included PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Srikanth Kidambi, Dipa Karmakar, Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal, Vinesh Phogat, Lalita Babar, Vikas Krishan Yadav, and Narsingh Pancham Yadav. On August 8, Deepa Karmakar was the most searched athlete on Google as she created history moving into the final of one of the most difficult gymnastic vault. Last week, Google searches peaked as fans cheered for her in the final battle. 
 
Besides their favourite atheletes, people also kept a close watch on their opponents. Lin Dan, the Chinese badminton player who defeated Srikanth Kadambi, Nozomi Okuhara from Japan and Wang Yihan from China, who lost to P V Sindhu in their respective battles, also made it to the top five searches. Overall, badminton and wrestling remained the top searched sports by Indians. 
 
The country is currently ranked 11th in the global trends in terms of searches for the &#39;Olympics&#39; over the last seven days.Indian fans also showed a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm for Jamaican sprinter and the world&#39;s fastest man, Usain Bolt, who remained the most searched foreign athlete on Google India. US swimming sensation Michael Phelps was also much-searched by Indian fans.&nbsp;

(ANI)&nbsp; 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

Dipa Karmakar, Sania Mirza and Saina Nehwal also feature in the line-up by the search engine

PV Sindhu and Sakshi Malik did not just win medals and the hearts of millions of Indians with their feat at the Rio Olympics, they are also on Google's list of the most searched Indian athletes. The states which have generated the maximum search interest in the Olympics include Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, Manipur and Sikkim, possibly since many of the players in the Indian contingent belong to these states. According to the Olympics search trends curated by the search engine on August 18, seven out of 10 of the most searched athletes in India in the last three days have been women. Top Searched Indian athletes in the last three days included PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik, Srikanth Kidambi, Dipa Karmakar, Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal, Vinesh Phogat, Lalita Babar, Vikas Krishan Yadav, and Narsingh Pancham Yadav. On August 8, Deepa Karmakar was the most searched athlete on Google as she created history moving into the final of one of the most difficult gymnastic vault. Last week, Google searches peaked as fans cheered for her in the final battle. Besides their favourite atheletes, people also kept a close watch on their opponents. Lin Dan, the Chinese badminton player who defeated Srikanth Kadambi, Nozomi Okuhara from Japan and Wang Yihan from China, who lost to P V Sindhu in their respective battles, also made it to the top five searches. Overall, badminton and wrestling remained the top searched sports by Indians. The country is currently ranked 11th in the global trends in terms of searches for the 'Olympics' over the last seven days.Indian fans also showed a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm for Jamaican sprinter and the world's fastest man, Usain Bolt, who remained the most searched foreign athlete on Google India. US swimming sensation Michael Phelps was also much-searched by Indian fans. (ANI)

PV Sindhu, Sakshi Malik among most searched on Google's list of Indian athletes

P V Sindhu&#39;s gallant attempt to win a coveted gold medal for India ended in heart-break when she went down fighting against Spain&#39;s Carolina Marin, and settled for a silver in the women&#39;s singles badminton competition of the Rio Olympics here today. 
 
The 21-year-old Indian crumbled under the relentless pressure created by Marin to lose 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 in a pulsating final that lasted for an hour and 23 minutes at the Riocentre here.&nbsp;Sindhu, in fact, trailed 16-19 in the opening game before reeling off five straight points to clinch it. She was then outclassed in the second to lose it tamely. 
 
In the decider, the lanky shuttler from Hyderabad trailed 1-6 at one stage and caught up at 10-10 but could not keep the tempo after the short break as Marin simply changed gears to surge to Spain&#39;s first gold medal in badminton. 
 
In their last five meetings in the last two years, Marin has beaten Sindhu four times with the Indian gaining an upper hand during the Denmark Super Series last year, but today she could not repeat the feat.&nbsp;The hyper-aggressive Marin mixed power with precision to dominate the rallies with her acute-angled smashes interspersed with clever drops to catch the Indian often on the wrong-foot. 
 
Sindhu struggled with the length of her strokes as gave away many points by hitting long and wide but she fought tooth and nail till the end only to come second best. 
 
In the opening game, the Spaniard grabbed a 11-8 lead at the interval. Sindhu could not vary the pace of the rallies even as Marin came with some razor-sharp net play to extend the lead to 15-11 at one stage.&nbsp;A net error and a long shot gave Sindhu two points to narrow the gap and kept breathing down the neck of the Spaniard till 15-17.&nbsp; 
 
Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter today to congratulate P V Sindhu: 
&nbsp;
<div class="twitter-block">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Congrats for the Silver <a href="https://twitter.com/Pvsindhu1">@Pvsindhu1</a>. Very well fought. Your accomplishment at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Rio2016?src=hash">#Rio2016</a> is historic &amp; will be remembered for years.
&mdash; Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi/status/766658982840832000">August 19, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="~/platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script></div>
 
Sindhu thus became the fourth Indian to win a silver at the Olympics after shooters Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004, Athens) and Vijay Kumar (2012, London) and wrestler Sushil Kumar (2012, London). 
 
The two-time World championship bronze medallist also became the fifth woman player from India to win a medal in Olympics and the first to clinch a silver. Sindhu&#39;s silver is India&#39;s second medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. 
 
Weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari (2000, Sydney), boxer MC Mary Kom (2012, London), shuttler Saina Nehwal (2012, London) and wrestler Sakshi Malik (Rio, 2016) are the other women players from India to have won a medal in Olympics. 
 
(PTI)

Sindhu is now the first ever female Indian athlete to win a silver medal at the Olympics

P V Sindhu's gallant attempt to win a coveted gold medal for India ended in heart-break when she went down fighting against Spain's Carolina Marin, and settled for a silver in the women's singles badminton competition of the Rio Olympics here today. The 21-year-old Indian crumbled under the relentless pressure created by Marin to lose 21-19, 12-21, 15-21 in a pulsating final that lasted for an hour and 23 minutes at the Riocentre here. Sindhu, in fact, trailed 16-19 in the opening game before reeling off five straight points to clinch it. She was then outclassed in the second to lose it tamely. In the decider, the lanky shuttler from Hyderabad trailed 1-6 at one stage and caught up at 10-10 but could not keep the tempo after the short break as Marin simply changed gears to surge to Spain's first gold medal in badminton. In their last five meetings in the last two years, Marin has beaten Sindhu four times with the Indian gaining an upper hand during the Denmark Super Series last year, but today she could not repeat the feat. The hyper-aggressive Marin mixed power with precision to dominate the rallies with her acute-angled smashes interspersed with clever drops to catch the Indian often on the wrong-foot. Sindhu struggled with the length of her strokes as gave away many points by hitting long and wide but she fought tooth and nail till the end only to come second best. In the opening game, the Spaniard grabbed a 11-8 lead at the interval. Sindhu could not vary the pace of the rallies even as Marin came with some razor-sharp net play to extend the lead to 15-11 at one stage. A net error and a long shot gave Sindhu two points to narrow the gap and kept breathing down the neck of the Spaniard till 15-17. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to twitter today to congratulate P V Sindhu: Congrats for the Silver @Pvsindhu1. Very well fought. Your accomplishment at #Rio2016 is historic & will be remembered for years. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 19, 2016 Sindhu thus became the fourth Indian to win a silver at the Olympics after shooters Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore (2004, Athens) and Vijay Kumar (2012, London) and wrestler Sushil Kumar (2012, London). The two-time World championship bronze medallist also became the fifth woman player from India to win a medal in Olympics and the first to clinch a silver. Sindhu's silver is India's second medal in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari (2000, Sydney), boxer MC Mary Kom (2012, London), shuttler Saina Nehwal (2012, London) and wrestler Sakshi Malik (Rio, 2016) are the other women players from India to have won a medal in Olympics. (PTI)

Rio Olympics 2016: India shuttler PV Sindhu wins silver medal

PV Sindhu scripted history by becoming the first Indian shuttler to reach the finals of the women&#39;s singles competition at the Rio Olympics as she stunned Japan&#39;s Nozomi Okuhara in straight games to assure India of at least a silver medal today. 
 
The two-time World Championship bronze medallist notched up a sensational 21-19, 21-10 victory over the All England Champion from Japan in a pulsating semi-final that lasted 49 minutes. 
 
The World Number 10 from Hyderabad will next take on two-time World Champion and top seed Carolina Marin of Spain in the summit clash tomorrow. 
 
The immensely talented Hyderabadi girl has done a notch better than her illustrious senior Saina Nehwal, who got country&#39;s its first medal from badminton, a bronze in London 2012. 
 
Sindhu had a 1-3 head-to-head record against Okuhara but all that went for a toss as the Indian came out with a well-thought strategy as she engaged the Japanese in long rallies with her angled returns and deft drops. 
 
In the opening game which lasted 29 minutes, Sindhu opened up a 4-1 lead early on and rode on Okuhara&#39;s unforced errors to extend the advantage to 8-4. The Indian engaged her rival in long rallies and tried to vary the pace and finish them with well-executed drops. 
 
A cross court forehand return after a long rally which consisted of 32 strokes helped Sindhu reach 9-6 before the Indian reached the interval with a 11-6 advantage after Okuhara hit long. 
 
The Hyderabadi pushed the Japanese to the corners by playing half smashes and drops, while Okuhara continued to find the net while trying to play the cross court drops from the baseline. 
 
Leading 14-10, Sindhu hit wide and long before coming up with a superb drop even as Okuhara forehand returns. 
 
At 16-18, Sindhu failed to negotiate a body return but she again caught hold of the shuttle early using her height and sent it sailing out of the Japanese reach. A missed net shot by Okuhara saw Sindhu reach the game point. 
 
What ensued next was a long rally with Okuhara hitting across as the Indian grabbed the opening game after the Japanese found the net. 
 
(PTI)

The two-time World Championship bronze medallist notched up a sensational 21-19, 21-10 victory over the All England Champion

PV Sindhu scripted history by becoming the first Indian shuttler to reach the finals of the women's singles competition at the Rio Olympics as she stunned Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in straight games to assure India of at least a silver medal today. The two-time World Championship bronze medallist notched up a sensational 21-19, 21-10 victory over the All England Champion from Japan in a pulsating semi-final that lasted 49 minutes. The World Number 10 from Hyderabad will next take on two-time World Champion and top seed Carolina Marin of Spain in the summit clash tomorrow. The immensely talented Hyderabadi girl has done a notch better than her illustrious senior Saina Nehwal, who got country's its first medal from badminton, a bronze in London 2012. Sindhu had a 1-3 head-to-head record against Okuhara but all that went for a toss as the Indian came out with a well-thought strategy as she engaged the Japanese in long rallies with her angled returns and deft drops. In the opening game which lasted 29 minutes, Sindhu opened up a 4-1 lead early on and rode on Okuhara's unforced errors to extend the advantage to 8-4. The Indian engaged her rival in long rallies and tried to vary the pace and finish them with well-executed drops. A cross court forehand return after a long rally which consisted of 32 strokes helped Sindhu reach 9-6 before the Indian reached the interval with a 11-6 advantage after Okuhara hit long. The Hyderabadi pushed the Japanese to the corners by playing half smashes and drops, while Okuhara continued to find the net while trying to play the cross court drops from the baseline. Leading 14-10, Sindhu hit wide and long before coming up with a superb drop even as Okuhara forehand returns. At 16-18, Sindhu failed to negotiate a body return but she again caught hold of the shuttle early using her height and sent it sailing out of the Japanese reach. A missed net shot by Okuhara saw Sindhu reach the game point. What ensued next was a long rally with Okuhara hitting across as the Indian grabbed the opening game after the Japanese found the net. (PTI)

Rio Olympics 2016: Sindhu beats Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, storms into final

Indian shuttler P V Sindhu caused a huge upset, stunning World No 2 Wang Yihan of China in straight games to enter the semi-finals of the women&#39;s singles category at the ongoing Rio Olympics. 
 
Faced with a much higher rated opponent, the 21-year-old from Hyderabad scripted a 22-20, 21-19 victory over the former World No 1 at the Riocentro Pavilion 4 here on Tuesday. 
 
(IANS)

Sindhu became only the second Indian woman to reach the badminton semi-final of Olympic Games

Indian shuttler P V Sindhu caused a huge upset, stunning World No 2 Wang Yihan of China in straight games to enter the semi-finals of the women's singles category at the ongoing Rio Olympics. Faced with a much higher rated opponent, the 21-year-old from Hyderabad scripted a 22-20, 21-19 victory over the former World No 1 at the Riocentro Pavilion 4 here on Tuesday. (IANS)

Rio Olympics 2016: India's PV Sindhu enters badminton semi-finals

Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal is better equipped to win a medal in Rio in August than she was when she claimed a bronze at the London Olympics four years ago, according to former All England champion Prakash Padukone. 
 
Hopes that the former world number one can turn bronze into a first Olympic gold medal in the sport for her country were raised when Nehwal won the 2016 Australian Superseries title. 
 
Rio will mark a third Olympics for Nehwal, who beat former world champions Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand and Wang Yihan before overpowering China&#39;s Sun Yu in the final in Sydney. 
 
&quot;Saina has a lot more variety now,&quot; former men&#39;s world number one Padukone said in an interview. &quot;I think she plays a lot more at the net now. Earlier her game was more or less predictable. She had a few strokes, she used to keep playing them and there were not many variations. Now she has developed a lot more strokes, specially at the net. She is much more confident and that has made a big difference.&quot; 
 
The victory in Australia came at just the right time for Nehwal, who had failed to reach a World Superseries final since last November in China, and was returning from an Achilles injury she sustained at the end of last year. 
 
Padukone, who won the All England title in 1980 long before badminton was admitted to the Olympics in 1992, said the 26-year-old&#39;s game just needed a bit of tweaking. 
 
&quot;Tactically she can do a little bit more. Maybe a plan A and plan B, which I&#39;m sure she already has,&quot; said Padukone. &quot;Maybe if something doesn&#39;t work, then she has to have a different plan. It&#39;s just the question of a little bit of polishing. She definitely has everything otherwise she wouldn&#39;t have been where she is.&quot; 
 
China has long been the dominant force in the sport, sweeping all five titles at London four years ago, but their shuttlers no longer top the world rankings heading to Rio. While Malaysian Lee Chong Wei tops the men&#39;s singles rankings, Carolina Marin of Spain leads the women&#39;s list with Nehwal in sixth place. 
 
World Badminton has also limited each nation to two singles entrants in each event, down from the three at London and previous Games. Padukone feels that makes a Chinese sweep of badminton gold in Rio less likely. 
 
&quot;They are no longer the dominating force going by the results we have seen in the last 12 to 24 months,&quot; Padukone said. &quot;Earlier when the draw used to come, everybody used to hope there are no Chinese. That&#39;s no longer the case, that fear is not there anymore. That&#39;s good for the game. For the Indians, though they wouldn&#39;t say it, but it used to be a mind-block.&quot; 
 
India&#39;s best chance of medals will come in the women&#39;s singles, Padukone said, where as well as Nehwal they have PV Sindhu ranked 10th in the world. 
 
Padukone said the most important thing for the Indian shuttlers was to peak during the Rio Games. 
 
&quot;When you go there it doesn&#39;t matter if in the last two months you have beaten all the top players and you have been the world number one,&quot; Padukone said. &quot;It&#39;s important that you reach the peak and play your best during that particular week. That&#39;s what will count ultimately and will be the key.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Padukone, who won the All England title in 1980, said the 26-year-old's game just needed a bit of tweaking

Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal is better equipped to win a medal in Rio in August than she was when she claimed a bronze at the London Olympics four years ago, according to former All England champion Prakash Padukone. Hopes that the former world number one can turn bronze into a first Olympic gold medal in the sport for her country were raised when Nehwal won the 2016 Australian Superseries title. Rio will mark a third Olympics for Nehwal, who beat former world champions Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand and Wang Yihan before overpowering China's Sun Yu in the final in Sydney. "Saina has a lot more variety now," former men's world number one Padukone said in an interview. "I think she plays a lot more at the net now. Earlier her game was more or less predictable. She had a few strokes, she used to keep playing them and there were not many variations. Now she has developed a lot more strokes, specially at the net. She is much more confident and that has made a big difference." The victory in Australia came at just the right time for Nehwal, who had failed to reach a World Superseries final since last November in China, and was returning from an Achilles injury she sustained at the end of last year. Padukone, who won the All England title in 1980 long before badminton was admitted to the Olympics in 1992, said the 26-year-old's game just needed a bit of tweaking. "Tactically she can do a little bit more. Maybe a plan A and plan B, which I'm sure she already has," said Padukone. "Maybe if something doesn't work, then she has to have a different plan. It's just the question of a little bit of polishing. She definitely has everything otherwise she wouldn't have been where she is." China has long been the dominant force in the sport, sweeping all five titles at London four years ago, but their shuttlers no longer top the world rankings heading to Rio. While Malaysian Lee Chong Wei tops the men's singles rankings, Carolina Marin of Spain leads the women's list with Nehwal in sixth place. World Badminton has also limited each nation to two singles entrants in each event, down from the three at London and previous Games. Padukone feels that makes a Chinese sweep of badminton gold in Rio less likely. "They are no longer the dominating force going by the results we have seen in the last 12 to 24 months," Padukone said. "Earlier when the draw used to come, everybody used to hope there are no Chinese. That's no longer the case, that fear is not there anymore. That's good for the game. For the Indians, though they wouldn't say it, but it used to be a mind-block." India's best chance of medals will come in the women's singles, Padukone said, where as well as Nehwal they have PV Sindhu ranked 10th in the world. Padukone said the most important thing for the Indian shuttlers was to peak during the Rio Games. "When you go there it doesn't matter if in the last two months you have beaten all the top players and you have been the world number one," Padukone said. "It's important that you reach the peak and play your best during that particular week. That's what will count ultimately and will be the key." (Reuters)

Former badminton great Padukone pins Olympic medal hopes on India's Saina Nehwal

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