Sameer Verma in Quarterfinals of Vietnam Open Grand Prix Badminton Verma upstaged Jaiswal 20-22, 26-24, 21-17 after battling it out for one hour and eight minutes.

Ho Chi Minh City: Sameer Verma overcome Shreyansh Jaiswal to advance to the men's singles quarterfinals but the Indian mixed pair of Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan lost at the USD 50,000 Vietnam Open Grand Prix badminton here on Thursday.

It was also curtains for the men's doubles duo of Akshay Dewalkar and Pranaav Jerry Chopra, who meekly surrendered 21-12 21-14 in just 35 minutes, to Kaixiang Huang and Sijie Wang of China.

Verma upstaged Jaiswal 20-22, 26-24, 21-17 after battling it out for one hour and eight minutes.

The pairing Vishnu and Balan lost to Indonesian duo of Alfian Eko Prasetya and Annisa Saufika 9-21 20-22 in just half an hour.

On Wednesday, big names of India badminton -- Ajay Jayaram, B Sai Praneeth and R M V Gurusaidutt -- lost in their respective men's singles second round matches to bow out of the tournament.

PV Sindhu Aims to Improve World Ranking

Kolkata: She might have missed out on a historic hat-trick of medals in the recent World Championship, but India number two shuttler P V Sindhu today said her target was to improve her ranking ahead of the Olympics qualification cut-off date in May next year.

"Getting a medal at Olympics is obviously the ultimate target but I'm going step by step and my focus is on the back to back BWF Super Series in Korea and Japan in September which will help me in improving my ranking," Sindhu said here at a ceremony to felicitate her.

Double World Championships bronze medallist Sindhu registered one of the biggest wins of her career when she ousted London Olympics champion Li Xuerui of China to enter the quarterfinal in this year's edition at Jakarta.

The 20-year-old Indian's dream run, however, ended in the quarterfinals after going down to Korea's Sung Ji Hyun.

"I was a bit sad from inside but at the same time I was very happy to have beaten an Olympic champion," the world number 14 said.

Sindhu was presented the JN Award for outstanding performance in the field of sport by the Cacutta Chamber of Commerce besides a cash prize of Rs 100,000.

The felicitation ceremony, attended by the Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, was held on the sidelines of CCC's 184th annual general meeting here on Thursday.

Ajay Jayaram, Sai Praneeth Crash Out in Vietnam Open

Ho Chi Minh City: India's Ajay Jayaram, B Sai Praneeth and RMV Gurusaidutt lost in the men's singles second round at USD 50,000 Vietnam Open Grand Prix here on Wednesday.

Indonesian Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo got the better of 13th seed Gurusaidutt, winning 21-16, 15-2, 21-15 in 55 minutes.

Another Indonesian, Muhammad Bayu Pangisthu, stunned fifth seed Sai 21-19, 19-21, 21-16 while Japan's Kenta Nishimoto beat fourth seed Jayaram 21-15, 13-21, 21-18.

The rare win in the men's singles was provided by C Jaiswal who beat Malaysia's Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif 21-16, 19-21, 21-15 to reach the third round.

More success for India came through Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan who defeated Indonesia's Hendra Aprida Gunawan and Shendy Puspa Irawati 21-19, 16-21, 21-14 to reach the mixed doubles second round.

Men's doubles third seeds Pranaav Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar beat Canada's Adrian Liu and Derrick N.G. 21-13 21-9 to enter the second round.

Saina Nehwal Signs Two-Year Deal With Leading Sports Management Company

Saina Nehwal on Thursday signed an exclusive management contract with leading management and marketing company IOS Sports and Entertainment for a period of two years.

IOS is targeting around Rs.25 crore over two years, depending upon her performance in the 2016 Rio Olympics and her stability in the rankings. 

Hereon, IOS will manage the Olympic bronze medallist's endorsements, appearances, brand profiling, patents, licensing and digital rights, images, visibility on social networking sites.

"I have been performing well in the international circuit but at the same time I was looking for a sports management group that could manage my overall brand portfolio and logistics plus commercial activities in the best professional way," said the 25-year-old.

"I am really convinced in the manner in which IOS has built M.C. Mary Kom a big brand in the industry and that was the major reason I decided to join hands with IOS. I am confident that IOS, a company that is in the best possible position to help me achieve my business goals and maximise the value of my brand."

Welcoming Saina, IOS managing director Neerav Tomar said: "I would like to congratulate Saina for making the nation proud by winning the historic silver at the World Championships and regaining the World No.1 spot. We are pleased to welcome another top women sportsperson of the world into the IOS family."

Cricketer Suresh Raina, and Olympic medallists Mary Kom, Sushil Kumar and Vijender Singh are also managed by IOS.

Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa Seeded No.1 at Vietnam Open

Ho Chi Minh City: Top Indian women's doubles shuttlers Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa have been seeded No.1 for the $50,000 Vietnam Open Grand Prix to be held at the Nguyen Du Stadium here from August 24 to 30.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallists have lately been in form, which has also helped them to reach their current career-best ranking of World No.12. Jwala and Ashwini reached the finals of the US Open Grand Prix Gold and followed it up with winning Canada Open.

The two will open their campaign here against a qualifying pair in the first round.

Apart from Jwala and Ashwini, Pradnya Gadre and N. Sikki Reddy have been seeded seventh while Aparna Balan will partner Prajakta Sawant in the same category.

Akshay Dewalkar and Pranaav Chopra, who also took part at the World Championships, have been seeded third in men's doubles and will take on Canadian pair of Adrian Liu and Derrick Ng in their opener. Arun Vishnu and Alwin Francis is the other Indian pair in the category. 

There will be four Indian pairs taking part in mixed doubles. Ashwini will partner Chopra, Vishnu with Aparna, Dewalkar will team up with Prajakta while Sikki will partner Tarun Kona.

In men's singles, Mumbai's Ajay Jayaram is the highest seeded Indian at No.4 while B. Sai Praneeth is No.5 and 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist R.M.V. Gurusaidutt at No.13. Anand Pawar, Subhankar Dey and Sameer Verma are unseeded in the category.

P.C. Thulasi and Saili Rane are the only Indians taking part in women's singles

Saina Nehwal, who created history by becoming the first Indian to win a silver medal at the World Badminton Championships, is set to displace Carolina Marin as world No.1

Saina Nehwal may have lost the World Badminton Championships final but she has good news in store, too. Despite the defeat in Jakarta on Sunday, Saina is set to win back her No.1 status in world badminton rankings, according to a report.

The 25-year-old shuttler on Sunday became the first Indian to win a silver medal at the world championships. Saina lost 21-16, 21-19 to Carolina Marin of Spain. Saina had lost to Carolina in the All England final in Birmingham earlier this year.

The Indian ace -- currently on 79,192 points -- will gain 3600 points to pip the reigning No.1 Carolina, who will not gain anything from this victory and will remain on 80,612 points, according to the report. Saina, who topped the ranking charts on April 2, was the first Indian to take the top spot in world rankings.

Saina said she had committed "far too many mistakes" that cost her the gold medal at the prestigous tournament.

"I could have done better. I made too many mistakes in the first game. I had no problems with fitness. But the final is more mental than physical. I made one silly error during a crucial moment in the second game," Saina said after the match.

Saina has been in a thrilling form this year and much of the credit goes to her new coach Vimal Kumar.

The two formed a partnership before the Asian Games last year. The world No.2 had split with her former coach Pullela Gopichand and shifted base from Hyderabad to Bangalore to train under Vimal 'Sir'.

"It has been a phenomenal one year for me and I am thankful to my coach (Vimal Kumar) for that. Moving base to Bangalore has made a huge difference,

Here are the highlights of Saina's achievements in 2015:

# Saina won the 2015 India Open Grand Prix Gold.

# She became the first Indian woman shuttler to reach the finals of All England Open Badminton Championships.

# On 29 March 2015, Saina won her maiden women's singles title at the India Open BWF Super Series.

# She became the first Indian female shuttler to be World No.1.

Top seed and defending champion Chen Long defeated Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei 21-14 21-17 in the World Badminton Championships final.

Jakarta: China's Chen Long produced a fitting display for a top seed and defending champion to claim a second straight world title with a pulsating 21-14 21-17 victory against Malaysian nearly-man Lee Chong Wei on Sunday. 

Lee has topped the world rankings for a record 298 weeks during a long and illustrious career but once again came up short against a Chinese player at the top of his game in a fourth world championship final defeat in as many matches.

Chen has replaced Lin Dan as the top male player following his breakthrough world title triumph a year ago and the rangy 26-year-old has also replaced his compatriot as Lee's arch nemesis after repeating last year's win over the Malaysian.

Lin has beaten Lee in four major finals, including the last two Olympics, but Chen has emerged from the shadow of a player many believe to be the greatest ever with a complete game built on his supreme agility, speed, power and fitness.

At 1.87 metres, Chen also boasts a court-covering reach and used all of his attributes to rein in the fast-starting Lee, realising he was dominating when he attacked and coming off second best in the tactical rallies.

Once he took the lead at 11-10, Chen looked unstoppable and reeled off 16-of-20 points to claim the opening game before storming out of the blocks in the second to forge a six-point lead by the interval.

Lee battled gamely as Chen's intensity levels dropped but the Malaysian was unable to get any closer than within two points of his opponent in the second game as a packed Istora Senayan roared in approval.

"Lee is a good player but I was better today," Chen said in a courtside interview. "This is a very special arena, so it feels great to win the world title here."

MARIN DEFENDS

Carolina Marin also enjoyed a successful title defence, the top-seeded Spaniard beating Saina Nehwal 21-16 21-19 in a high-class encounter to deny India a first world badminton title.

The world number one had been under an injury cloud in the build up to the championships but twice relied on her ability to quickly string together points at crucial times to rally from behind in both games and secure victory in 56 minutes.

"I didn't think I would be here when I was struggling with my injuries but my coaches said I should keep training and try to play at the world championships and just do the best I could in the tournament," Marin said.

"I knew from the beginning it was going to be a very tough match because Saina is really good but I kept fighting until the end and am very happy with my performance today."

Earlier, top seeds Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei stormed to a third mixed doubles world title with a comfortable 21-17 21-11 victory over compatriots and former junior world champions Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin.

Zhao returned to the court a few hours later to successfully defend another title when the 28-year-old partnered Tian Qing to a 23-25 21-8 21-15 win over Denmark's Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl as they retained the women's doubles crown.

The home fans were then rewarded for their patience as Indonesia's Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan regained the men's doubles title they won in 2013 with a 21-17 21-14 victory over China's Liu Xiaolong and Qiu Zihan in the last match of the day.

BWF World Championships: P.V. Sindhu Targets Hat-trick of Medals

New Delhi: Double World Badminton Championships bronze medallist PV Sindhu is looking to bag a hat-trick this time around at the prestigious annual event which will be held in Jakarta from August 10 to 16.

The 20-year-old Sindhu is the only Indian to have two Worlds medals in her kitty, having clinched a bronze each in 2013 and 2014. She is looking to add another when she takes to the courts of the Istora Senayan on Tuesday.

"I am perfectly fit and fine now. I am playing good in practice. I feel great and I will be happy to win a medal for the third consecutive year," the World No. 13 said in an interview.

Being seeded No. 11 Sindhu has been given a first round bye but she is likely to face reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China in the third round of women's singles.

"I know I am likely to play Li Xuerui. It is always tough playing against her. But I am positive about my chances. I am focussing on my sessions, working out to strengthen myself," said the Hyderabadi.

With a first round bye, Sindhu will face the winner of the match between Danish Line Kjaersfeldt and Irish Chloe Magee in the second round before the probable clash against Xuerui. Sindhu and Xuerui have clashed thrice with the latter having a 2-1 advantage.

Apart from Sindhu, there is only one other Indian in the women's singles draw -- Saina Nehwal who has been seeded No. 2.

Post her Macau Open win in November 2014, Sindhu had a good start to 2015 by reaching the semifinals of Malaysia Masters and India Grand Prix Gold. But since then she has mostly been out of the circuit because of an injury.

"Actually right after India Grand Prix Gold I went for an X-Ray which showed that I had a stress fracture on my foot. I had been carrying the pain for a long time since last year but I thought it was just stiffness and so I did not take it seriously and played on," said Sindhu, who boasts a career-best ranking of No.9.

"The pain aggravated and I came to know about the fracture following which I had to take complete rest. I was out for four months. I did not play tournaments, leading to the fall in my ranking."

After her return, the Hyderabadi has played four tournaments and exited all in early rounds. But still, despite the injury and lack of match practice, expectations have not lessened from her.

"Despite everything, there is a lot of expectations. It is not a burden as such. My family, coach, the doctors, everyone has been quite supportive. My coach told me not to take too much pressure and asked me to play freely and not be tensed," said the Pullela Gopichand protege. 

"Injuries can happen and it does take time to reach your optimum level then. Obviously after injuries you can't play like you used to immediately. It is irritating," added Sindhu, who just graduated to become a Bachelor of Commerce.

She may take up Masters of Business Administration (MBA) later on but for the moment the daughter of two former volleyball players wants to focus on badminton.

Indians have won only four bronze medals at the World Championships till date. Prakash Padukone became the first to clinch the metal in 1983 in men's singles. India had to wait another 28 years when women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa clinched the bronze in 2011. Sindhu then won two consecutive bronzes in 2013 and 2014.

Shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth advanced in the World Championships in Jakarta.

Jakarta: Top Indian shuttlers P.V. Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth earned contrasting wins in their respective categories to advance at the World Championships, being held at the 9000-seater Istora Senayan here on Tuesday.

Coming back from a long injury layoff, 11th seed Sindhu had to work hard for 50 minutes to move past Danish Line Kjaersfeldt 11-21, 21-17, 21-16 in the women's singles second round. Though the two-time World Championship bronze medallist lost the first game, she found her rhythm to bounce back and win the next two games.

In the third round, the 20-year-old faces a tough task as she will go up against reigning Olympic champion and third seed Li Xuerui. The Chinese has a 2-1 advantage over Sindhu in career meetings.

"First game didn't go well, but overall it was okay. I could have played much better. It was a good match and even my opponent played well. Pre-quarters match is against Li Xuerui. Hope I play well," said Sindhu.

Later, men's singles third seed Srikanth got off to a positive start with a 21-10, 21-13 win over Australia's Michael Fariman in 24 minutes. The Guntur-born lad will next take on Chinese Taipei's Hsu Jen Hao against whom Srikanth won the only match played between them last year in Denmark.

"It was a good match. First rounds are always tricky and I am happy to finish it in two games. I am playing against Hsu Jen Hao in the next round. I have played him only once before. It will be a good match tomorrow and I want to play my best," World No.3 Srikanth said.

However, it was the end of the road for doubles pairs Manu Attri-B.-Sumeeth Reddy and Mohita Sahdev-Dhanya Nair with both combinations suffering first round losses in their respective categories.

While French combine Delphine Lansac-Emilie Lefel defeated Mohita and Dhanya 21-18, 21-16 in women's doubles, Chinese men's doubles pair of Cai Yun-Lu Kai eased past Attri and Reddy 21-9, 21-7 in 23 minutes.

Parupalli Kashyap, H.S. Prannoy Storm Into Round 2 of World Badminton Championships

Jakarta: Top Indian shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and H.S. Prannoy got off to winning starts at the World Championships with straight-game victories in men's singles at the 9,000-seater Istora Senayan here on Monday.

Doubles pairs of Pradnya Gadre-N. Sikki Reddy and Akshay Dewalkar-Pranaav Chopra earned hard fought wins to also advance at the annual event. However, it was the end of the road for two Indian pairs -- Arun Vishnu/Aparna Balan and Tarun Kona/N. Sikki Reddy -- who lost their respective openers.

"Today it was an OK match. Just felt the conditions were tough at the start but got a good rhythm at the end. The opponent played well at the start. Next match will be tougher, so need to prepare well for it," said Kashyap.

Later, 11th seed Prannoy also had an easy win, coming out on top 21-12, 21-16 over Brazil's Alex Yuwan Tjong in 31 minutes. This was World No.12 Prannoy's first match against the World No.109 Brazilian. The Kerala shuttler will next meet Edwin Ekiring of Uganda.

"Good to be back to winning days after injury. I was rusty in the second game but had to change the game a bit to attacking mode and then I got my rhythm back. Good first round for me," said Prannoy.

"Need to trust myself and enjoy the next round too, without taking extra pressure. Never played him (Edwin Ekiring) but he is a good player. Cannot take him easily and I need to be on my toes day after."

Pradnya and Sikki had a contrasting win later in the day. They beat German combine Isabel Herttrich and Birgit Michels 16-21, 21-15, 21-14 in 50 minutes. In Round 2, the Indian women's doubles pair will take on Japanese 14th seeds Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito.

In the men's doubles first round, Chopra and Dewalkar defeated Russian Nikita Khakimov and Vasily Kuznetsov 17-21, 21-11, 21-11 in 44 minutes. They will next take on Danish 10th seeds Mads Conrad-Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding.

In mixed doubles action, Russian Evgenij Dremin and Evgenia Dimova had a tough mixed doubles match but eventually defeated the Indian pair of Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan. The Russians won 21-18, 10-21, 24-22 in 49 minutes.

Tarun Kona and N. Sikki Reddy also lost their first round match, going down 13-21, 17-21 to Chinese Taipei's Liao Min Chun and Chen Hsiao Huan in 28 minutes.

Saina Nehwal, ranked second in the world and third-ranked Kidambi Srikanth will lead India's challenge at the World Badminton Championship starting in Jakarta from Monday.

Jakarta:  Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth will be at the forefront as a strong Indian badminton contingent look to create a flutter at the World Championships, starting in Jakarta on Monday.

It is for the first time that India will have two players in the top 5 - Saina (World No 2 in women's singles) and Srikanth (World No 3 in men's singles) - as they lead the biggest Indian contingent at the Championship. 

It was young P.V. Sindhu, who clinched the bronze medal twice in 2013 and 2014 editions after women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa ended India's 28-year-old medal drought at the World Championships in 2011. They will also be in action at the prestigious tournament, which will be held at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium.

A medal at the world meet has so far eluded Olympic bronze medallist Saina, who has not progressed beyond the quarterfinals five times, while for Srikanth it is just his second World Championship.

Saina has got a bye in the first round and will start her campaign in the second round, taking on the winner of the match between Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi and Kati Tolmoff of Estonia.

Second seed Saina, who won the Syed Modi GPG and India Super Series this season, is likely to take on 14th seed Sayaka Takahashi of Japan in the prequarterfinals. If she can cross the hurdle, it is likely to be a battle against formidable sixth seed Wang Yihan of China.

"The draw is really tough with Sayaka Takahashi and Wang Yihan both in my half. They are very strong players, so let's see how it will be for me in this tournament. I hope I do well this time," the 25-year-old said.

In the men's singles, third seed Srikanth, who won two titles this season at Swiss Open and India Super Series, will face Michael Fariman of Australia in the first round.

Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap, seeded 10th, is also brimming with confidence and will square up against Erik Meijs of The Netherlands.

"My training was good. Gopi sir was happy with the way I was playing, so that's a good thing. I believe that I am playing my best badminton. It's all about implementing it on court in the match now. Let's see how I play," Kashyap, who reached the quarterfinals of the World Championships in China in 2013, said.

Indonesian Masters Grand Prix Gold winner H S Prannoy, seeded 11th, who was out of action because of a foot injury, will make a comeback at the event with a match against Alex Yuwan Tjong of Brazil.