PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth Advance to Indonesia Open Grand Prix Gold Second Round

Malang: Indian shuttlers had a good day at Indonesia Masters as four of them, including PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth, reached the second round of the USD 120,000 Grand Prix Gold tournament here on Wednesday. 

Top seed Sindhu, who won Macau Open last week, opened her campaign on a positive note, defeating Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska 21-16 19-21 21-12 in a women's singles match.

The two-time bronze medallist at World Championships, Sindhu next takes on Indonesia's Wulan Cahya Utami Sukoputri at Gedung Graha Cakrawala here on Thursday.

In the men's singles, top seed Srikanth thrashed Indonesia's Wibowo Setyaldi Putra 21-6 21-12, while eighth seed RMV Gurusaidutt beat another Indonesian Muhammad Ahdial Octa Khairulloh 21-10 21-3 in another match.

Third seed HS Prannoy, who had won the Indonesia Masters title last year when it was hosted by Jakabaring Sport City, Palembang, saw off Indonesia's Panji Ahmad Maulana 21-16 21-16.

World number eight Srikanth will next play against another Indonesian Saputra Vicky Angga, while Gurusaidutt will face the winner of the match between Indonesia's Shesar Hiren Rhustavito and Singapore's Kean Yew Loh. Prannoy will fight it out against Chinese Shi Yuqi

PV Sindhu Targets Indonesia Open Badminton Title After Macau Hattrick

New Delhi: PV Sindhu won a third straight Macau Open badminton title and not content with her first trophy in an injury-hit season, the Indian shuttler has now set her sights on the Indonesia Masters Grand Prix Gold starting December 1. 

The two-time World Championship bronze-medallist finished runners-up at Denmark Open, her maiden Super Series final appearance, and then clinched her first trophy of the season at the Macau Open on Sunday. 

"It was a great win. I am really happy for the victory. My immediate target now is Indonesia," Sindhu told PTI.

Sindhu defeated the experienced Minatsu Mitani of Japan in three tight games at the USD 120,000 event for her first big win this year.

"It was a hattrick of titles at Macau and overall it was a good performance. Mitani is a good player. I lost to her at the Japan Open but I am happy I could beat her.

"I could have finished it off in the second game but I played two smashes into the nets at crucial moments and it was very disappointing. However, in the third game, I took a lead and maintained it," she added.

Asked about the conditions in the stadium, the 20-year-old Hyderabadi girl said: "I think judging a shuttle is different everywhere, so there is drift but you have to be used to it. We can't complain as I think it is same for all."

"In January, I am starting with the Indian Badminton League (IBL) and then there are so many tournaments like the Syed Modi and India Open Super Series. Also being an Olympic year, each and every tournaments will be important. I wish to improve more and perform well," Sindhu said, speaking about the season ahead.

It has been a roller-coaster ride for Sindhu this season as she lost a lot of ground on her competitors after suffering a navicular stress fracture in her left leg, which kept her out of action for a few months from important events such as the All England Championship and India Open.

Once back, she faced early exits at Australia, Indonesia and Chinese Taipei. She did notch a win over Olympic champion Li Xuerui but faltered against Mitani at Japan. However, she fought back again with a place at the Denmark final.

"Injuries are part of life, we can't decide on that. I could not play for three-four months. It was really very difficult. I think patience is the key. When you are injured, you need to strengthen yourself very well to make a comeback very confidently. It takes some time but I am happy that I am back now," she said.

PV Sindhu Says Macau Open Badminton Title Due to Better Fitness

 PV Sindhu attributed her third straight Macau Open Badminton Title to regaining full fitness ahead of the year-ending Grand Prix events. Sindhu defeated the experienced Minatsu Mitani of Japan in three tight games at the $120,000 event for her first big win this year.

This season, Sindhu has been laid low by a nagging heel injury. The 20-year-old Hyderabad girl, whose powerful smashes are well known in the circuit, has run hot and cold until she showed great consistency in her favourite hunting ground, Macau.

"Ending the year with a title is a great feeling. After coming back from an injury layoff, I lost in the final of the Denmark Open and now I won at Macau. I am really happy with my performance and of course, it's a hat-trick," Sindhu quoted

Trained by national coach Pullela Gopichand, Sindhu missed the All-England but showed signs of a strong return in the Denmark Open that boasted of a very strong field.

Good show in Denmark

Sindhu reached the final of the Denmark Super series. She defeated double world champion Carolina Marin, Wang Yihan and Tai Tzu Ying before losing in the final to Liu Xiuerei.

"I could have won the title but I was happy as that was the first tournament I played with full fitness," Sindhu, who had beaten Xuerui at the world championship in August, said.

Gopichand said Sindhu has added an important facet to her game - patience. She played the waiting game and even after losing the second game against Minatsu, Sindhu held her nerves to win a contest that ran to 66 minutes.

"Staying calm and patient are some of the areas we are working on with her. The way she fought back after the second game's loss and the manner she controlled the contest will help her in the long run," Gopichand has been quoted as saying in the media.

Sindhu will be in action in the Indonesian Open this week in Malang. She will be the top seed and will face almost the same field as in Macau.

Meanwhile on Monday, the Badminton Association of India announced a cash award of Rs 10 lakh for Sindhu.

PV Sindhu beat Japan's Minatsu Mitani 21-9, 21-23, 21-14 to lift Third Consecutive Macau Open Title

Two-time defending champion P V Sindhu completed a hat-trict of women's singles title at the USD 120,000 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold after defeating Japan's Minatsu Mitani in the finals here on Sunday.

Sindhu produced a dominating game to notch up a 21-9, 21-23, 21-14 win against sixth seed Mitani in a women's singles match that lasted an hour and six minutes here.

The World No. 12 Indian dished out some superb strokes and acute angled returns to bamboozle the Japanese, besides making some sound judgements at the baseline to get across Mitani, who struggled to keep the shuttle inside the court.

Sindhu dominated the proceedings right from the start as she rode on the errors of Mitani to reach 11-5 at the break. Mitani came up with an aggressive rally and sealed it with a down the line smash but she failed to curb her errors and most of her returns went wide and long to allow Sindhu lead 17-6 in a jiffy.

Sindhu, on the other hand, was mostly accurate with her smashes and drops as she lead 19-9. The Indian came up with some acute angled returns to trouble Mitani and reached the game point with a smash. The Japanese then went wide to hand over the first game to Sindhu.

After the change of sides, Sindhu once again started on a confident note but she also began missing the lines and Mitani lead 4-2. The Indian checked her unforced errors and came up with stunning smashes to wrest the lead and move to 7-4.

Sindhu made a few wrong judgements at the baseline and also found the net to allow Mitani to surge ahead. At 10-9, Mitani produced her first winner -- a cross court smash --which left a stretched Sindhu stranded to go into the break with two-point lead.

Mitani started off with a service fault but the Japanese came up with accurate placements which caught Sindhu off guard. But the Indian kept breathing down her neck and clawed back at 16-16.

The duo moved neck-and-neck till 19-19 when Sindhu made an important line judgement to move to match point. But she sent the shuttle long next. A delicate net point once again gave Sindhu a 21-20 match point but Mitani saved again. Sindhu next hit long to give the game point to Mitani, who grabbed the opportunity after the Indian netted following a long engrossing rally.

Back on her winning side, Sindhu once again marched ahead to a 5-3 lead. Mitani continued to struggle with her line judgements and returns to allow Sindhu establish a big lead at 9-4. The duo engaged in some long rallies with cross court strokes and back and forth returns. At one point, an on rushing Mitani came up with an aggressive net play to grab a point but Sindhu ensured she has a healthy 11-7 lead at the break.

After the interval, Sindhu grabbed six of the next eight points before Mitani pocketed a point with a superb net play. Sindhu lost a point when the linesmen judged a shuttle in but she grabbed the next with a timely stroke that grounded Mitani.

Mitani then made a wrong line call while Sindhu got one right to move into the match point at 20-11. The Japanese saved three match points but a composed Sindhu didn't panic and waited for Mitani's error and she soon send the shuttle wide again to help Sindhu complete her hat-trick of titles

PV Sindhu entered the finals of the Macau Open with a hard-fought win over Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals.

Macau: PV Sindhu reached the finals of the Macau Open with a hard fought 21-8,15-21, 21-16 win over Japan's Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals on Saturday in a match lasting just over an hour. 

Sindhu, who was in good form heading into the match, dominated the first game as she sealed the first game 21-8 in just 14 minutes.

However, Yamaguchi fought back in the second set and she matched Sindhu for intensity. The Japanese badminton player, ranked number nine in the world, upped her game and maintained her composure at crucial moments. At 15-15, the game was evenly poised but Yamaguchi seized the initiative to win it 21-15.

Sindhu regained the initiative and raced away to a 11-5 lead in the deciding game. However, Yamaguchi refused to give up as she fought till the very end. She reduced the deficit to three points but Sindhu remained calm to clinch it 21-16.

The hard-fought win for Sindhu was sweet revenge over her opponent. In the 2013 Yonex Japan Open, Yamaguchi had knocked Sindhu out of the tournament with a 6-21,17-21 loss.

Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth Qualify For BWF World Superseries Finals

New Delhi: Top Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth have sealed their spots for the second successive time at the prestigious BWF World Superseries Finals to be held in Dubai from December 9. 

The only Indians to feature in the season-ending event, world No.2 Saina and world No.8 Srikanth will compete against the other top eight players in the world in women's and men's singles respectively. 

World Championship silver medallist Saina and India Open winner Srikanth had qualified for the event last year but failed to advance beyond the semifinals.

While Saina lost to eventual winner Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei, Srikanth was knocked out by China's Chen Long

PV Sindhu Storms Into Macau Open Badminton Semis; Men Crash Out

PV Sindhu has entered the semifinal of the Macau Open badminton championship. In a quarterfinal match on Friday, the fifth-seeded India got the better of unseeded Chen Yufei of China 21-13, 18-21, 21-14. Sindhu will clash with second seed Akane Yamaguchi in the semi-finals on Saturday. 

This was the first meeting between Sindhu and Yufei. The Indian was off to a flashy start. After a 4-0 lead, Sindhu never looked back. But for a brief recovery by Yufei (7-9), Sindhu steadily built her lead to win the first game in 16 minutes.

Yufei staged a comeback in the second game. She maintained a steady lead from the start and although Sindhu saved three game points, the Chinese girl prevailed to draw level.

Sindhu was certainly the better player on court. She used her better reach to take early control (7-3) and with a six-point lead at 12-6, it was always going to be tough for Yufei. Sindhu won in 54 minutes.

Praneeth, Prannoy Lose

In men's singles, India's B Sai Praneeth lost to Malaysia's Goh Soon Huat. Sai lost 16-21, 23-21, 13-21 in a hard-fought quarterfinal clash.

Indonesia's Ihsan Maulana Mustofa upset India's HS Prannoy in another men's singles quarterfinal contest. The 16th seed Mustofa got the better of seventh seed India 18-21, 21-19, 21-11 in a match that lasted an hour.

That leaves Sindhu as the only Indian in the tournament.

Kidambi Srikanth, H.S. Prannoy and Ajay Jayaram also slipped a place each to No.20 and 25, respectively, in the men's singles rankings but reigning Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap rose a spot to be ranked No.14.

New Delhi: Top Indian male shuttler Kidambi Srikanth, who on Wednesday qualified for the World Superseries Finals to be held in Dubai next month, dropped down a place to eighth in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday.

Like Srikanth, H.S. Prannoy and Ajay Jayaram also slipped a place each to No.20 and 25, respectively, in the men's singles rankings but reigning Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap rose a spot to be ranked No.14. 

Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy also rose a place to No.20 in the men's doubles rankings.

But there was no movement for Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu in women's singles, who stayed at No.2 and 12, respectively.

Likewise in women's doubles, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa remained at the number 12 spot.

PV Sindhu Enters Macau Open Badminton Quarters

PV Sindhu has entered the quarterfinals of the Macau Open women's single event. The fifth-seeded Sindhu defeated Indonesia's Lindaweni Fanetri 21-17, 21-18 to set up a clash with China's Chen Yufei.

Sindhu's match last 46 minutes. She is India's best hope in the absence of Saina Nehwal. Living up to her reputation, Sindhu extended her head-to-head record against Lindaweni to 6-2.

Two-time world bronze medallist, Sindhu, had defeated Kim Hyo Min of Korea 21-13, 22-20 on Wednesday to set up a clash with Lindaweni. Sindhu is without a major win this year.

PV Sindhu defeated Kim Hyo Min of Korea 21-13 22-20 in women's singles second round at Macau Open

Macau: Three Indian shuttlers, including PV Sindhu, advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the USD 120,000 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold but it was curtains for Ajay Jayaram in men's singles, here on Wednesday.

Two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, Sindhu, seeded fifth, defeated Kim Hyo Min of Korea 21-13 22-20 in a women's singles match to set up a clash with the

winner of the match between Indonesia's Lindaweni Fanetri and Cheng Chi Ya of Chinese Taipei.

In men's singles, Seventh seed HS Prannoy saw off Chinese Taipei's Lin Chia Hsuan 21-19 21-15 and will meet China's Qiao Bin on Thursday.

B Sai Praneeth, seeded 15th, spanked Uzbekistan's Artyom Savatyugin 21-11 21-8 in another match and will face the winner of the match between Indonesia's Andre Kurniawan Tedjono and Chinese Taipei's Yang Chih Chieh.

However, it turned out to be a disappointing day for ninth seed Jayaram as he lost 11-21 17-21 to Lin Guipu of China in another men's singles match.

2010 Commonwealth Games champion Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa continued their rough patch as they lost 16-21 15-21 to Japanese pair of Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota in women's doubles event.

Lin Dan needed just 22 minutes to sweep aside Brazilian Igor Ibrahim 2-0 (21-12, 21-5) at the Riocentro venue.

Rio de Janiero: China's five-time world champion and dual Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan praised Rio 2016 preparations after a dominant opening performance at the badminton test event.

The 32-year-old needed just 22 minutes to sweep aside Brazilian Igor Ibrahim 2-0 (21-12, 21-5) at the Riocentro venue here on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

Having been described as the David Beckham of badminton, Lin was the centre of attention on Tuesday and attracted a large gathering of journalists after his match.

"The games are getting closer and it's important to get to know the venue," Lin said.

It was not just the press and fans who were drawn by Lin's charisma.

Rival players were also keen to meet the man considered by many as badminton's greatest ever player.

Among them was Brazil's 72nd-ranked Ygor Coelho, who defeated Jarolim Vicen in his opening match.

"It was my birthday present," Coelho said of his meeting with his idol.

"It is three years since I last celebrated my birthday in Rio. I'm very happy to have won in front of my home fans and to have met Lin Dan," the Brazilian said.

Lin will be aiming for a hat-trick of Olympic gold medals next August, having triumphed in Beijing in 2008 and London four years later.

The November 24-29 test event, which is officially called the Yonex Brazil Grand Prix, includes 90 athletes.

World number seven Kidambi Srikanth's rough patch continued as he made yet another early exit with a 16-21, 21-23 loss to No.40 Christie Jonatan of Indonesia in the opening round of the Macau Open.

Macau: Top seed Kidambi Srikanth bowed out with a straight-game defeat but three other Indians, including Ajay Jayaram and HS Prannoy, advanced to the second round of the USD 120,000 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold here on Tuesday. 

World number seven Srikanth's rough patch continued as he made yet another early exit with a 16-21 21-23 loss to Christie Jonatan of Indonesia, ranked 40th in the world, in the opening round here.

However, ninth seed Jayaram, who reached the Korea Super Series final and won the Dutch Open this season, produced a gallant effort to see off Hong Kong'sTam Chun Hei 21-6 25-23 in another men's singles event. The Mumbai shuttler will next take on Lin Guipu of China.

Seventh seed Prannoy also played out of his skin to notch up a 21-15 16-21 21-18 win over Indonesia's Sukamta Evert, while 15th seed B Sai Praneeth beat Indonesia's Fikri Ihsandi Hadmadi 21-18 23-21.

Prannoy will next take on Chinese Taipei's Lin Chia Hsuan, while Sai Praneeth will meet Uzbekistan's Artyom Savatyugin next at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion Macau here.

Two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, P V Sindhu, seeded fifth, will open her women's singles campaign against Kim Hyo Min of Korea tomorrow, while women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, seeded second, will face Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota of Japan.

Saina Nehwal Goes Down to Olympic Champion Li Xuerui in China Open Final. (12-21, 15-21)

Indian ace shuttler Saina Nehwal's dream of defending her women's singles title came crashing as she suffered a straight-game defeat to Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the final of the $700,000 China Open Superseries Premier in Fuzhou.

The Olympic bronze medallist Saina, committed a number of unforced errors to go down 12-21, 15-21 against World No. 7 Li in the women's singles summit clash which lasted for 39 minutes at the Haixia Olympic Sports Center.

Up against an opponent against whom she has lost nine times in the past, Saina failed to create the pressure which could have wilted Li, who showed better understanding of the Indian's game to outdo her for the 10th time.

In their 12th meeting, Saina initially used her knowledge of the conditions to her advantage to zoom to a 4-1 lead early on but she committed too many unforced errors after that for Li to move ahead.

Saina, who last played Li in Malaysian open, struggled with a few strokes going wide and also left gaps on her left which the Chinese exploited to wrest a 7-4 lead.

Saina won a parallel game and a point when Li missed the line after a long rally but the Chinese used her net drops and rode on Saina's unforced errors to lead 11-6 at the break.

Li, who has won the last five matches against Saina, continued her march after the interval even as the Indian kept breathing down her neck with some occasional points.

Li made some immaculate saves while Saina started crumbling under pressure which allowed he Chinese to lead 19-10. Saina then again hit wide to give Li a 10-point advantage at 20-10. Saina saved a couple before mistiming a return to give the first game to Li.

In the second game, Saina surged ahead to a 4-0 lead once again. Playing their fifth final of the year, Li and Saina engaged in engrossing rallies and even though Li came up with some spectacular shots, she also committed some mistakes to allow Saina lead 11-6 at the interval.

However, Li changed gears after the interval and came up with sharp smashes and drops to reel off seven points to surpass Saina and make it 13-12 in her favour.

Li picked up the shuttle early and came up with disguised shots to catch Saina offguard.

There was a spring in Li's steps as she dominated the proceedings. The Indian failed to give the finishing touch to the rallies and also went wide and long too often to help Li eventually grab a 19-15 lead.

A brilliant drop by Li found Saina stretched as her stroke went to net and then next the Indian hit the shuttle long as Li clinched her second title of the season.

Saina Nehwal defeated former world champion Yihan Wang 21-13, 21-18 in the semi-final. The Indian top seed will face sixth seed Li Xuerui in the title clash

Fuzhou, China: Saina Nehwal entered the women's singles final of the $700,000 China Open Superseries Premier on Saturday, with a win over local girl and former world champion Yihan Wang here on Saturday. 

The top seed needed just 42 minutes to ease past the former World No.1 Chinese 21-13, 21-18 at the Haixia Olympic Sports Center. This is Saina's third consecutive victory against the reigning Asian Games gold medallist, all coming in 2015, bettering her record to 4-9.

Also, this is World No.2 Saina's fifth final of the year. She won two at the India Open Super Series and India Grand Prix Gold but lost the All-England and World Championships final to World No.1 Carolina Marin of Spain.

In the summit clash, the Hyderabadi will take on another Chinese, reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui, who has a domineering 9-2 record against Saina, also having won the last five encounters between them. Saina's last victory against Xuerui came in 2012 but this year Saina has been a force to reckon with.

The 25-year-old Saina was easily the superior player on court against Yihan. Her agility, movement, speed and shots just could not be matched by the Olympic silver medallist. Eventually, Saina clinched 42 of the 73 points played in the match.

The top seeded Indian was by far the better player in the first game though Yihan kept at her heels. But from 14-13, Saina kept taking points to earn as many as seven straight points to kitty the game.

Yihan came out with a much stronger challenge in the second game, fighting for each point. She upped her game at the net and won many more points than in the first game.

Saina was put under pressure by her opponent and the Chinese crowd who was behind her but she kept her nerve to lose only one point from 17-all to pocket the game and enter the final.

Saina Nehwal Enters China Open Badminton Semis

op seed Saina Nehwal stormed into the semifinal of the China Open badminton tournament with a 21-16, 21-13 win against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in Fuzhou on Friday. Saina will play Chinese seventh seed Wang Yihan for a spot in the final. Wang defeated fourth seed Tai Tzu Ying 21018, 21-17.

Saina is also the defending champion having won the 2014 edition.

In the other half of the draw, Chinese Olympic champion Li Xuerui will clash with teammate Wang Shixian, who upset Spanish world champion Carolina Marin and tournament second seed 21-13, 10-21, 21-10.

Saina broke little sweat in her clash with Nozomi. In three previous meetings, the Indian champion had never lost a match and on Thursday, she kept the pressure on the unseeded Japanese girl.

The players went neck and neck till 6-6, but after that Saina broke away, built small leads and finally won in 21 minutes.

The second game was rather one-sided with Saina building a six-point lead (9-3) and never looking back. At 18-10, it was smooth sailing for Saina and she closed the match in 42 minutes.

Saina Nehwal Advances, PV Sindhu Loses in China Open Badminton

Fuzhou: It was a contrasting day for India's two top badminton players as top seed Saina Nehwal advanced to the women's singles quarter-finals, while P.V. Sindhu suffered a second round loss at the prestigious $700,000 China Open Superseries Premier here on Thursday.

Defending champion Saina was given a tough fight by Malaysian Tee Jing Yi but the World No.2 came out on top 21-10, 19-21, 21-19 in 55 minutes at the Haixia Olympic Sports Center.

This was Saina's third career win over Tee in as many matches and she will next take on Japanese Nozomi Okuhara against whom the Indian also has a 3-0 win-loss record.

After comprehensively clinching the first game without conceding the lead even once, Saina was given a tough fight by her unseeded opponent. Though the 25-year-old Indian led for most of the match, she was upset towards the end of the game. Tee won three of the four points played from 18-all to bag the game and push the match into the decider.

The third game was another tight contest with the No.34 Malaysian taking a 6-2 lead at the start. Saina closed the gap and kept it neck-and-neck till 17-all, when she found that extra bit of steam she needed to kitty the next three points and reach matchpoint.

Tee saved two matchpoints but Saina sealed the deal on her third attempt.

Just a few minutes later, Sindhu had to bite the dust on the adjacent court, losing a marathon one hour and 28 minute battle to Chinese fifth seed Shixian Wang 21-18, 18-21, 16-21.

After sharing the first two games with the same scoreline, it all boiled down to the deciding game, which was an extremely close contest.

It was all even till 13-all when the experienced Chinese, a former No.1, kept her nerves to race away to matchpoint. World No.6 Shixian moved well at the net and in the end it were her smashes which won her the game and the contest.

World No. 2 and defending champion Saina Nehwal defeated China's Sun Yu 22-20, 21-18 in just 49 minutes to enter the second round of the China Open Super Series

Fuzhou: Leading Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal edged past her Chinese opponent Sun Yu 22-20, 21-18 to move into the second round of the China Open here on Wednesday.

Though it was a neck-and-neck affair, the top seed held her nerve to win the gruelling battle in 49 minutes.

In the first game, it was Yu who started in top gear, picking up four quick points. Saina, the defending champion, made a swift comeback to make it 6-7 but the Chinese surged ahead again.

Yu led 18-14 and looked all set to bag the opener. But the Hyderabad-born shuttler stormed back with four back-to-back points to make it 18-18. They were locked at 20-20 too but then Saina picked up the last two crucial points to pocket the game in the tie breaker.

In the second game, Saina carried forward the momentum gained after winning the first and was very quick to respond to anything that Yu produced. She led from the start and after some hiccups in the middle of the game, finished on a strong note, taking it 21-18.

In the men's singles, Ajay Jayaram lost to World No.1 Chen Long 12-21, 11-21. The No.25 shuttler was hoping against hope to upset Long, who was just too good.

In neither game Jayaram looked like giving his opponent a scare. Long dominated easily and quite convincingly clinched the encounter.

It was a sad outing for defending champion Kadambi Srikanth too as he crashed out of the tournament after losing his first-round encounter to Hu Yun of Hong Kong 21-12, 21-18.

In the first game Yun led from the beginning till the end but Srikanth tried staging a comeback in the second. It was all even at 16-16 but then the Hong Kong shuttler pipped Srikanth to clinch the issue.

In another men's singles match, Prannoy Kumar battled hard but ultimately lost against his Chinese opponent Guo Kai 14-21, 21-17, 19-21 in a first round match that stretched for an hour and three minutes.

In another women's singles match, P.V Sindhu beat her Russian rival Ksenia Polikarpova in straight sets 21-14, 21-9.

Sindhu had it easy in the first game, and brushed aside Ksenia's challenge. It was locked at 2-2 but then Sindhu led till the end. In the second game, Sindhu was a class apart. Though Ksenia managed to make it 5-5 but the Indian proved too strong and won quite easily.

Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth Look For an Encore at China Open

Fuzhou, China: Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth will look to shrug off the recent dip in form and put the best foot forward when they begin their campaign as defending champions at the $700,000 China Open Super Series Premier starting with the qualifiers here on Tuesday. 

The 25-year-old Saina had been suffering from a abdominal pain which affected her performance at Japan, Denmark and France Super Series, where she made early exits. Also there is some issues with her achilles heels but the Indian is upbeat about a good show here.

"I had some abdominal pain and little discomfort in my heel but now I am fine. I trained harded in the last few weeks and I am really looking forward to the tournament. It is an Olympic year and it is an important event. I will give my best," said Saina.

The top seeded Indian will take on China's Sun Yu in the opening round. Even though Saina has a 4-1 record against the Chinese with the only defeat coming in the 2013 China Open in Shanghai, the World No. 11 might prove to be a formidable opponent.

In men's singles, Srikanth too had been troubled by injury and poor form ever since he stood on the podium at the Indian Open in New Delhi. The Hyderabadi had to skip the Asian Championship because of a pain in shin and then he made early exits at Japan, Korea, Denmark and France.

The fifth seeded Indian will take on Hu Yun of Hong Kong. The Indian has a 2-1 record against Yun but he lost to him in their last encounter at the World Championship in August.

In women's singles, two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, P V Sindhu, who reached the finals of Denmark Open, will open her campaign against Russian Ksenia Polikarpova.

Among other Indians in men's singles, Parupalli Kashyap will be missing in action after being sidelines because of a torn calf muscle injury. H S Prannoy and Ajay Jayaram will however look to get some good result in the prestigious tournament.

H S Prannoy, who had scripted the downfall of two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan at the French Open, will open his campaign against a qualifier, while Korea Open finalist and Dutch Open winner Jayaram will square up against top seed Chen Long of China in his opening match at the Haixia Olympic Sports Center.

In women's doubles, Commonwealth Games silver medallists Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will play against Japan's Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao in the opening round. The men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy withdrew from the event.

H.S. Prannoy Drops to No.21 in World Rankings. H.S. Prannoy stunned Lin Dan at the French Open last month, but suffered a string of early round losses since then

New Delhi: H.S. Prannoy dropped four places to be ranked No.21 in the latest men's singles rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Thursday. 

Prannoy, who beat legendary Chinese shuttler Lin Dan at the French Open last month, has had a string of early round losses, leading him to drop by four spots. Mumbai's Ajay Jayaram also dropped a place to be ranked No.25.

Kidambi Srikanth and reigning Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap, meanwhile, maintained their spots at No.5 and No.12, respectively.

Likewise, Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu also stayed at No.2 and No.13 in women's singles rankings. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini also did not move and remained at No.11 in women's doubles rankings.

But Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy dropped two places in men's doubles rankings.

Badminton Association of India Gets High Court Boost on IBL 2

The court on Tuesday declined to grant any injunction order, as requested by Sporty Solutionz Pvt. Ltd. (SSPL), adjourning the case till December 10. The Badminton Association of India (BAI), which will be organising the tournament, meanwhile has to file its reply to the petition.

"We are content with the latest development in our legal matter with Sporty Solutionz. The Honourable High Court has decided to withhold the injunction requested by Sporty Solutionz on the organisation of the second season of the IBL," BAI president and IBL chairman Akhilesh Das Gupta said.

"This means we are free to organise the league as originally envisioned and are sparing no effort to make sure it goes ahead as planned. The BAI is the government recognised federation for badminton in India and badminton is solely BAI's intellectual property. We have full faith in the Indian judicial system and are confident the matter will be settled in our favour."

The agreement between BAI and Sporty Solutionz was terminated by the former after IBL-1 as Sporty Solutionz "was found guilty of various breaches". With this termination, IBL 2 could not be organised in 2014 and 2015.

SSPL was the inaugural IBL's commercial partners and had pleaded for the protection of the tournament's Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) to the high court. SSPL had filed the plea on October 17 but made the news public by sending a statement right when the BAI launched the second season of IBL here on October 29.

The second edition of IBL has been planned to be held in January 2016.

Lin Dan Headlines Rio 2016 Badminton Test Event The 32-year-old Lin Dan has been confirmed for the tournament at the Riocentro venue from November 24 to 29.

Rio de Janeiro: China's five-time world champion and dual Olympic gold medalist Lin Dan will be the star attraction of the Rio 2016 badminton test event later this month.

The 32-year-old has been confirmed for the tournament at the Riocentro venue from November 24 to 29, Brazilian media reported on Monday, reports Xinhua.

Lin, considered one of badminton's greatest ever players, will be aiming for a hat-trick of Olympic gold medals next year having triumphed in Beijing in 2008 and London four years later.

The women's test event will be headlined by Tai Tzu-yin, currently third in the world rankings.

The Rio Games, to be held August 5-21 next year, will be the first Olympics in South America.

B. Sai Praneeth Loses in Bitburger Open, Indian Challenge Ends B. Sai Praneeth lost to fifth seeded Rajiv OUseph of England 21-17, 6-21, 18-21 in 50 minutes in the pre-quarter-finals

Saarbrucken, Germany: B. Sai Praneeth lost his singles pre-quarterfinal match against England's Rajiv Ouseph in a three-setter as Indian challenge at the Bitburger Badminton Open Grand Prix Gold came to an end here. 

The 16th seeded Sai put up a brave fight before going down to the fifth seeded Englishman 21-17, 6-21, 18-21 in 50 minutes at the Saarlandhalle Saarbrucken.

Earlier, the Indian had registered a 24-22, 21-17 win over Indonesia's Andre Kurniawan Tedjono to book a last 16 berth in the USD 120,000 event.

In the women's doubles, the second seeded Indian duo of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa were stunned by the Dutch pair of Samantha Barning and Iris Tabeling in a second round match.

The Indians lost 21-23, 21-13, 24-26 to the unseeded Dutch duo in a thrilling match.

Dutch pair of Samantha Barning and Iris Tabeling defeated the second seeds 23-21, 13-21, 26-24 in a hotly contested 51-minute encounter at the Saarlandhalle Saarbrucken. This was World No.11 Jwala and Ashwini's first loss to the World No.34 Dutch girls in three outings

Saarbrucken, Germany: Top Indian women's doubles shuttlers Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa suffered a second round loss at the $120,000 Bitburger Open Grand Prix Gold here on Thursday.

Dutch pair of Samantha Barning and Iris Tabeling defeated the second seeds 23-21, 13-21, 26-24 in a hotly contested 51-minute encounter at the Saarlandhalle Saarbrucken. This was World No.11 Jwala and Ashwini's first loss to the World No.34 Dutch girls in three outings.

The Indian pair had received a first round bye.

Meanwhile, compatriot B. Sai Praneeth earned another straight games victory to enter the men's singles third round late on Wednesday evening. The 16th seed needed only 46 minutes to beat Indonesia's Andre Kurniawan Tedjono 24-22, 21-17 in the second round played to level their career record at 1-1.

The Hyderabadi will next take on English fifth seed Rajiv Ouseph for a place in the quarter-finals. This will be their first match.

Kidambi Srikanth Back in World Top Five

New Delhi: Top Indian men's singles shuttler Kidambi Srikanth rose a place to be ranked No.5 in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday.

The Guntur-born, who has a highest ranking of World No.3, hasn't been in form of late, having suffered early exits in recent tournaments.

Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap slid two places to be at No.12 as H.S. Prannoy maintained his position at No.17. Buoyed by his recent win at the Dutch Open, Ajay Jayaram also moved up a place to No.24.

In women's singles, Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and double World Championship bronze medallist P.V. Sindhu stayed at No.2 and No.13 respectively.

Meanwhile, 2010 Commonwealth Games women's doubles champions Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also jumped two places to be ranked No.11 while men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy went up a spot to No.18.

There are no Indians in the top-25 of the world's mixed doubles rankings.

Sai Praneeth Progresses at Bitburger Open The 16th seed needed only 46 minutes to beat Indonesia's Andre Kurniawan Tedjono 24-22, 21-17 in the second round played at the Saarlandhalle Saarbrucken to level their career record at 1-1 on Wednesday.

Saarbrucken, Germany: Indian shuttler B. Sai Praneeth earned another straight games victory to enter the men's singles third round of the $120,000 Bitburger Open Grand Prix Gold here.

The 16th seed needed only 46 minutes to beat Indonesia's Andre Kurniawan Tedjono 24-22, 21-17 in the second round played at the Saarlandhalle Saarbrucken to level their career record at 1-1 on Wednesday.

The Hyderabadi will next take on English fifth seed Rajiv Ouseph for a place in the quarter-finals. This will be their first match.

Much-Delayed Indian Badminton League Edition 2 Hits Legal Roadblock

The Indian Badminton League has hit a legal roadblock after its commercial partners Sporty Solutionz went to court trying to protect its Intellectual Property Rights. The IBL started in 2013 but ran into trouble due to various issues. The second edition of the league has been scheduled for January next year.(Sahara India Retain Lucknow Franchise)

Having severed its relationship with its commercial partners, next year's IBL will be hosted by the national federation - Badminton Association of India. Unhappy Sporty Solutionz has now gone to Delhi High Court against BAI.(All the Latest Badminton Updates)

"We on behalf of our clients, M/s Sporty Solutionz Pvt Ltd have applied for the protection of Intellectual Property Rights of our clients. We have invested heavily to build the brand IBL. This is also associated with our goodwill.

"We have pleaded in the Hon'ble High Court of Delhi to restrict any other party from using the name, logo, title or any Intellectual Property associated with Brand Indian Badminton League or IBL," said the Sporty Solutionz Counsel Sanjeev Kumar in a statement.

"BAI has the experience of holding much bigger events such as Thomas and Uber Cup, Super Series event and World Championship and so we decided to do it on our own from this year to ensure the longevity of the tournament. We will be back with a bang next year," BAI president Dr Akhilesh Das Gupta said on Thursday.

The IBL had its share of delays with the first auctions going through multiple postponements from June 30, 2013 to July 19, 2013 to finally being conducted on July 22.

Similarly, the second edition was initially scheduled from September-October 2014 and then postponed to January-February 2015, before finally scheduling it in first fortnight of January.

Permanent annual fixture

"We have a one month window from December 17 to January 18 every year and we want to make it a permanent event without any gap or delay and for that it is important that BAI hosts the event on its own," Dr Das Gupta explained.

The league, which could not be conducted in last two years, will retain its six franchises format represented by the Indian cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Lucknow with talks on to replace Pune with Chennai.

"We want to go with one state one team this time. Last time we had Mumbai and Pune from Maharashtra which is not advisable. So we are looking at Chennai as a venue this year," Dr Das Gupta said.

"The franchises will also have to give a bank guarantee to ensure the interest of the players," he added.

A Bollywood Boost

Just like the first edition, players will be auctioned with fresh contracts being issued by BAI. However, IBL 2 will also have a few new franchises with many Bollywood celebrities set to join the IBL bandwagon.

"We will have a Bollywood celebrity as brand ambassador of IBL, besides most franchises are trying to involve Bollywood celebrities in their team by giving them stakes in the franchise," Dr Das Gupta said.

The second edition will witness enormous cash windfall with a hike in the overall prize money of the event and also substantial increase in the purse available for each franchise to bag their choicest players during the auction which is likely to be held in November.

Why coaches worried

The scheduling of the league is another major worry for players and the coaches.

The IBL season 2 takes place in January next year, which is right in the middle of a crucial rest period for the players.

An injury during this time might jeopardise India's Olympic medal hopes. Former player and coach of the national team Pullela Gopichand reckons the timing of the tournament will be the biggest challenge that organisers will have to face.

"Ideally as a coach I would want six months of training and six months of tournament and that's how things were earlier but now things have changed."

Sai Praneeth Advances in Bitburger Open beat World No.259 Wadenka 21-12, 21-12 at the Saarlandhalle Saarbrucken to take a 1-0 lead in career meetings over the German.

Saarbrucken, Germany: Indian shuttler B. Sai Praneeth got off to a winning start, by earning a straight games triumph over local lad Tobias Wadenka at the $120,000 Bitburger Open Grand Prix Gold here.

The 16th seeded Sai needed just 27 minutes on Tuesday to beat World No.259 Wadenka 21-12, 21-12 at the Saarlandhalle Saarbrucken to take a 1-0 lead in career meetings over the German.

The Indian will next take on Indonesian Andre Kurniawan Tedjono who has a 1-0 advantage career meets over Sai.

Saina Nehwal Loses to Ratchanok Intanon in French Open Quarters World No. 2 Saina, who came into the match with a 6-3 head-to-head record, lost 9-2,1 15-21 to Intanon, ranked 7th, in a women's singles match that lasted 39 minutes at the Stade Pierre de Coube.

The Indian challenge ended at the French Open Super Series badminton tournament after top seed Saina Nehwal suffered a straight game defeat to Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon in the quarterfinals here on Friday.

World No. 2 Saina, who came into the match with a 6-3 head-to-head record, lost 9-2,1 15-21 to Intanon, ranked 7th, in a women's singles match that lasted 39 minutes at the Stade Pierre de Coube.

In the prequarterfinals match, Saina had tamed Japanese Minatsu Mitani in straight games after two successive defeats against the Japanese at Japan Open and Denmark Open.

Among others, H S Prannoy, Ajay Jayaram, and women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost in the second round yesterday.

In the second round match, Saina dished out a superb game to see off the World Championship bronze medallist Mitani 21-19, 21-16 in a 41-minute match to set up a fight with eight seed Intanon.

In men's singles, NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong ended the run of Prannoy, who had beaten two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China, with a 21-15, 21-10 win in the second round.

Two-time Dutch Open winner Jayaram too failed to cross the second round after suffering a 18-21, 8-21 loss to Tian Houwei of China.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games champions Jwala and Ashwini lost 15-21, 18-21 to eight seeds Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek of Netherlands.

Saina Nehwal Reaches French Open Quarters, HS Prannoy Crashes Out Top seed Saina Nehwal defeated Minatsu Mitani 21-19, 21-16 in the second round of the French Open

After two successive defeats at Japan and Denmark, Saina Nehwal finally tamed Japanese Minatsu Mitani in straight games to reach the quarter-finals of the $275,000 French Super Series in Paris.

The World No.2 emerged as the only surviving Indian at the tournament after compatriots H S Prannoy, Ajay Jayaram, and women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost in the second round on Thursday.

Saina dished out a superb game to see off the World Championship bronze medallist Mitani 21-19, 21-16 in a 41-minute women's singles match to set up a fight with eight seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.

In men's singles, NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong ended the run of Prannoy, who had beaten two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China, with a 21-15, 21-10 win against the Indian in the second round.

Two-time Dutch Open winner Jayaram too failed to cross the second round after suffering a 18-21, 8-21 loss to Tian Houwei of China.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games champions, Jwala and Ashwini lost 15-21, 18-21 to eight seeds Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek of Netherlands.

Parupalli Kashyap Retires Against England's Rajiv Ouseph in French Open

Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap bowed out of the men's singles event of French Open after he retired in the third game of his second round match against Rajiv Ouseph of England in the $275,000 Super Series tournament in Paris. 

Eighth seed Kashyap lost the opening game but came back strongly in the second only to be forced to concede the match in the decider.

In the end of the 43-minute match, Rajiv advanced to the quarter-finals with a 21-11, 13-21, 4-2 win over the Indian at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

The England shuttler played a dominating game as he didn't allow Kashyap much chance in the opening game. He lead 11-5 at the break in the first game and then slowly crafted his way to pocket the game.

In the second, Kashyap turned the tables as he lead 5-1 early on and then jumped to a 11-4 lead at the interval. He went from strength to strength to bounce back in style but the decider ended at 2-4 when he retired midway.

Meanwhile in another game, HS Pronnoy went down to Hong Kong's NG Ka Long Angus 21-15, 21-10 in 31 minutes. Playing flawless badminton, Long Angus advanced to the quarter-finals of the Super Series tournament.

In another game, Ajay Jayaram went down to China's Tian Houwei 21-18, 21-8 in 36 minutes.

Saina Nehwal Loses World No. 1 Rank

New Delhi: Saina Nehwal lost her world No.1 spot to reigning world champion Carolina Marin as the Badminton World Federation (BWF) released its rankings on Thursday.

Saina's performance in the last two tournaments -- Japan Open and Denmark Open -- where she lost to Japan's Minatsu Mitani in the second round of both the events, led her to drop to No.2 in women's singles.

However, P.V. Sindhu remained stagnant at No.13 despite her appearance in the final of the Denmark Open on Sunday.

In men's singles, it wasn't great news as Kidambi Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and H.S. Prannoy all dropped in rankings. While Srikanth slid a spot to be sixth, reigning Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap slipped two places to be at No.10.

Prannoy, who defeated the great Lin Dan of China in Paris on Wednesday, also went down a position to No.17 but Ajay Jayaram climbed a place to be ranked No.25.

In men's doubles, Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy climbed a place to be at No.19, but Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa dropped a place to be ranked No.13 in women's doubles.

HS Prannoy Shocks Lin Dan in French Open First Round Unseeded Prannoy rallied from a set down to beat his formidable third seeded rival 14-21, 21-11, 21-17 in a first round match that lasted one hour and 11 minutes at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

Paris: Indian shuttler HS Prannoy stunned reigning Olympic champion Lin Dan of China  to enter the second round of the USD 275,000 French Open Super Series here on Wednesday.

Unseeded Prannoy rallied from a set down to beat his formidable third seeded rival 14-21, 21-11, 21-17 in a first round match that lasted one hour and 11 minutes at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

Top seed Saina tamed World No. 14 Michelle Li of Canada 21-18 21-13 in a 42-minute women's singles match, while eighth seed and Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap saw off local shuttler Thomas Rouxel 21-11, 22-20 in a men's singles contest.

Indian women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also advanced to the second round after defeating Thailand duo of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai 21-15 21-12.

However, it was curtains for World No. 5 Kidambi Srikanth as he went down fighting to Tian Houwei 15-21, 21-13, 11-21 in a 63-minute match. This is Srikanth's fourth loss to the World No 10 Chinese this season.

Prannoy lost the opening set tamely as the veteran former world number one Lin gave him little chance after the two were tied at 7-7. Lin raced ahead to take the set 21-14 in quick time.

But the Indian made a remarkable fightback and suddenly Lin was struggling to make a match with Prannoy who led all through after the score was tied at 2-2.

In the decider, Prannoy nosed ahead initially but Lin made a fightback to level the score to 14-14 and 15-15. From then on, however, Prannoy stepped on the gas and made his final flourish to take the deciding set 21-17 and win the match.

In the women's singles match, Commonwealth Games champion Michelle made a robust start to her campaign, leading 7-3 early on but Olympic bronze-medallist Saina soon reeled off six straight points to grab the lead.

The duo then battled for each point, moving neck and neck till 16-16 when Saina surged ahead to grab the opening game.

In the second game, Saina was more ruthless as she opened up a massive 12-5 lead and didn't allow Michelle to come anywhere near her to seal the match comfortably.

Meanwhile, PV Sindhu lost 10-21, 11-21 to Wang Shixian of China in her first round match.

Saina will next take on Japan's Minatsu Mitani who made it to the second round after her opponent Karin Schnaase of Germany retired hurt. Interestingly, Mitani had ended Saina's run at the Denmark Open last week.

In the men's singles match, Kashyap fought back from 1-3 down early on to turned the tables at 6-6. The Indian didn't look back after that as he marched ahead to pocket the first game.

Kashyap led 8-4 in the second game initially and even though Thomas did claw back at 8-8, the Indian moved ahead to 18-13.

Thomas made one more surge and drew parity at 20-20 but he failed to go the distance as Kashyap shut the door with two points.

Kashyap will next face England's Rajiv Ouseph who beat Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-6 21-12.

BWF French Open:Top seed Saina Nehwal tamed world No. 14 Michelle Li of Canada 21-18 21-13, eighth seed Parupalli Kashyap saw off local shuttler Thomas Rouxel 21-11 22-20 in a men's singles contest.

Paris: Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap and the doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa advanced but Kidambi Srikanth crashed out in the first round of the $275,000 French Open Superseries here on Wednesday.

World Championships 2015 silver medallist Saina registered a 21-18, 21-13 win over world No.15 Michelle Li of Canada at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. The 25-year-old world No.1 took 42 minutes to win the first encounter between the two till date.

In the second round, top seeded Saina will face world No.18 Minatsu Mitani of Japan, who has defeated her in their last two meetings -- at the Japan Open and the Denmark Open. Minatsu also defeated Saina in the final of the 2012 French Open.

Men's singles World No.8 Kashyap moved past Belgian qualifier Thomas Rouxel 21-11, 22-20 in 41 minutes.

In the second round, 2014 Commonwealth Games (CWG) champion Kashyap will meet England's Rajiv Ouseph, who got past Thai Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-6, 21-12. Kashyap leads 5-3 in the head-to-head record against World No.22 Ouseph.

Fifth seed Srikanth lost to Chinese Tian Houwei 15-21, 21-13, 11-21 in an hour and three minutes. Now, Guntur-born Srikanth has suffered four defeats in as many games against World No.10 Houwei.

World Championships 2011 bronze medal-winning women's doubles pair of Jwala and Ashwini took just 31 minutes to tame the Thai combination of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai 21-15, 21-12.

B Sai Praneeth Fails to Qualify for French Open Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei took just 36 minutes to beat B Sai Praneeth 21-15, 21-15 at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth lost in the first round of the men's singles qualifiers, failing to qualify for the main draw of the $275,000 French Open Superseries here on Tuesday.

Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei took just 36 minutes to beat Sai 21-15, 21-15 at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal Look to Sizzle at French Open

Paris: Having reached her maiden Super Series final at Denmark Open, India's PV Sindhu will now look to continue her rampaging form at the French Open Super Series, which will also see top shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth leading the charge at the $275,000 event starting with the qualifiers here on Tuesday. 

Two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, Sindhu had a dream run last week as she made it to her maiden Super Series final at the Denmark Open in Odense before losing to Olympic champion Li Xuerui to end as a runner-up.

The Hyderabadi, who lost a lot of times this season while nursing a foot injury, will start her campaign against formidable Chinese Wang Shixian. Sindhu has beaten Shixian four times and lost twice.

World No. 1 Saina will also be in action after her second round exit at Odense. She will square up against reigning Commonwealth Games champion Michelle Li of Canada at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin here.

In men's singles, fifth seed Srikanth will face Tian Houwei of China, while H S Prannoy will meet China's most celebrated shuttler Lin Dan, seeded third in the tournament.

Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap, seeded eighth, who had lost in the first round after going down to Lee Chong Wei at Odense, will take on a qualifier in the first round.

In women's doubles, 2010 Commonwealth Games champions Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will play Thailand's Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai in the first round.

In the qualifiers on Tuesday, India's B Sai Praneeth will be up against Tzu Wei Wang of Chinese Taipei and two-time Dutch Open winner Ajay Jayaram will face local shuttler Thomas Rouxel.

The unseeded PV Sindhu lost 19-21, 12-21 against fourth seed Li Xuerui of China in the Denmark Open final on Sunday.

Odense, Denmark: P.V. Sindhu's dream run at the Denmark Open ended in agony as the Indian shuttler suffered a straight-game defeat against Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China in the final of the $650,000 Super Series Premier badminton event, here on Sunday.

Playing her maiden Super Series final, the two-time bronze medallist at the World Championship Sindhu could not break the stranglehold of Li, who played a compact game and rode on her repertoire of strokes to notch up a 21-19 21-12 win in the summit clash which lasted 47 minutes.

In the opening game, Li opened up a slender 3-0 lead early on but Sindhu soon wrested control at 8-6 and then ended the break with a 11-10 lead. After the breather, Sindhu stepped on the gas and zoomed to a massive 16-10 lead.

However, Li is not the one to take it lying low and she soon changed gears. The Chinese played some delectable drops to bamboozle Sindhu and narrow the gap to 13-16. But a down the line smash from Sindhu helped her gather another point. The Indian lost a couple of points at the nets to allow Li claw back to 16-17.

Li Xuerui exults after defeating PV Sindhu in the final on Sunday.

© AFP

Li mixed her shots well and varied the pace to deceive Sindhu and draw parity at 17-17. An outstretched Sindhu failed to connect next as Li grabbed the lead. Sindhu then upped the tempo and gave an aggressive charge to pocket the next point.

Li then engaged in a flat game and Sindhu failed to connect. Her shot got buried at the nets and the Chinese gained a two-point lead to be at 20-18. An accurate down the line return helped Sindhu save one but she erred in judging the shuttle next to allow Li walk away with the first game that lasted 26 minutes.

In the second game, Li again moved to a 3-1 lead after Sindhu lost her second video referral. Errors seemed to creep in her game as her smashes were going wide and long, allowing Li to surge ahead 6-1 in a jiffy.

A poorly executed net shot and failure to connect a return at the forecourt by Li helped Sindhu earn a couple of points but Li continued to ride on the errors committed by the Indian.

The Chinese played some sharp angled shots which Sindhu had no clue. In fact, Sindhu's regular returns also started going wide as Li moved into the interval with a 11-4.

The drift in the hall also bothered Sindhu as she could not guage the length of the shots even as Li rode on some spectacular shots to move to 13-4. With her armoury of shots, Li left Sindhu wrong-footed and sometimes completely clueless to soon move to 15-7.

Sindhu threw herself at the court, stretching at the back and fore court but Li was simply outstanding as she led 19-12 with a cross court slice, out of the reach of the Indian.

Li reached the match point after Sindhu hit long once again and she won her first title of the injury-ridden season without much ado with another shot which the Indian let go.

Last month, India's Ajay jayaram had reached his maiden Super Series Final at Korea Open and then defended his title at the Dutch Grand Prix.