National Games 2022: India's ace shuttler Sai Praneeth and Aakarshi Kashyap clinched badminton gold on Thursday as they overcame their respective opponents
Badminton Association of India (BAI) general secretary Ajay Singhania has also confirmed Praneeth's withdrawal from the USD 400,000 tournament.
India's two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu will look to bring her best to the fore on the big stage when she begins her title defence at the BWF World Championships beginning here on Sunday.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu hardly broke a sweat to win the second round clash 21-12 21-18 against world No. 26 Germany's Yvonne Li in 37 minutes at the USD 850,000 event.
Up against China's Shi Yuqi, Praneeth lost in straight games as India suffered a 0-5 defeat in their Group A match to crash out of the quarterfinals race in the Sudirman Cup.
BAI also on Sunday named a 12-member Indian team for the Sudirman Cup, which is slated to take place from September 26 to October 3 in Finland.
Praneeth, who had ended India's 36-year-long wait for a men's singles medal at the world championship with a bronze in 2019, has reasons to get anxious having returned false positive during the Thailand Open in January.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) also nominated HS Prannoy, Pranav Jerry Chopra and Sameer Verma for the Arjuna Awards.
Ace Indian badminton player Sai Praneeth said that he is looking to get fitter so as to improve the level of his game.
Praneeth and Srikanth were among the frontrunners for the Thailand Open Super 1000 title.
This was Sindhu's first tournament since the All England Open in March last year after which the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the badminton calendar.
While the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s coordination commission head John Coates said a vaccine is not necessary for the Tokyo Olympics to go ahead next summer, Praneeth doesn't see global sports events returning unless one is found.
Praneeth joins a plethora of sportspersons who have made financial contributions towards the fight against coronavirus.
Saina Nehwal suffered a shock 21-19 13-21 5-21 loss to Sayaka Takahashi while Kidambi Srikanth went down to Shesar Hiren Rhustavito 21-18 12-21 14-21.
Sai Praneeth was knocked out in the first round of the Malaysia Masters, as he faced a straight-game defeat to Rasmus Gemke.
Sai Praneeth, who had won bronze at the World Championships in August, moved to top 10 while Srikanth, who was at 10th in the previous week, dropped out of the top bracket.
Sai Praneeth's attacking game couldn't dent the defence of an in-form Kento Momota as he went down to the Japanese World No. 1 13-21 8-21 in 41 minutes.
Sai Praneeth's impressive run at the Japan Open came to an end in the semifinal as he suffered a straight-set defeat to World No.1 Kento Momota.
Sai Praneeth took 36 minutes to wrap up the quarterfinal against Tommy Sugiarto in the Japan Open 2019.
Sai Praneeth made a winning start on his return to Japan Open, as he secured a straight-game victory over Kento Nishimoto.
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