Saina Nehwal

Saina still in search of first title of 2013

Singapore: After failing to retain crowns in Thailand and Indonesia in the last couple of weeks, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will now look to break her nine-month title drought when she begins her campaign in the Singapore Super Series here on Wednesday. The world number two Indian has been going through a dip in form, besides having some injury concerns and it reflected in her performance at Thailand and...

Saina Nehwal out of Indonesia Open

Jakarta: An erratic Saina Nehwal failed to defend her title at the Indonesian Super Series Premier after suffering a three-game defeat to Germany's Juliane Schenk in the semi-finals of the women's singles competition here on Saturday. World number two Saina, who won the title three times - in 2009, 2010 and 2012 - lost 21-12, 13-21, 14-21 to Schenk, ranked fourth, in a contest that lasted for 52 minutes at...

Saina enters Indonesia Open semi-final

Jakarta: Defending champion Saina Nehwal entered the women's singles semi-finals of the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier defeating Spaniard Carolina Marin at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium here on Friday. However, it was the end of the road for men's singles shuttlers Ajay Jayaram and RMV Gurusaidutt, who lost their respective quarter-final matches. It was considerably an easy outing for Saina, who won the tournament in 2009, 2010 and...

Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu retain rankings

New Delhi: London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal retained her second position in the world rankings despite making the quarterfinal exit at the Thailand Open in the women's singles. Rising teen sensation, P V Sindhu has also maintained her 11th position and is just a step short of breaking into the Top-10 for the first time in her career. Meanwhile, Mumbai's Ajay Jayaram jumped three places to 25 while RMV...

Saina, Jayaram, Gurusaidutt advance in Indonesia Open

Jakarta: Defending champion Saina Nehwal and R.M.V. Gurusaidutt and Ajay Jayaram won their respective matches to advance to the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier here Thursday. In women's singles, World No.2 Saina defeated unseeded Japanese Sayaka Takahashi 21-13, 21-19 in 39 minutes in their first ever career meet at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. The second seed will face Spaniard Carolina Marin in their first ever...

Saina survives a scare in Super Series opener in Jakarta

Jakarta: Defending champion Saina Nehwal survived a scare in her campaign opener as she struggled past Indonesia's Lindaweni Fanetri in an energy-sapping three game thriller at the Indonesia Super Series Premier here Tuesday. World number two Saina had to play out of her skin against the 14th ranked Fanetri, who posed a huge threat to the Indian before surrendering 17-21, 29-27, 13-21 in an hour and 14 minutes in a...

Saina Nehwal starts title defence in Indonesia

Jakarta: Three-time champion Saina Nehwal will look to fashion a turn around when she returns to her favourite hunting ground at the Indonesian Super Series Premier badminton tournament to defend her women's singles title from Tuesday. The World number two Indian has been going through a lean patch this season. Though she reached the semifinals of the All England and Swiss Open earlier this year, Saina has not been able...

Thailand Open: Srikanth K in semis; Saina Nehwal, Prannoy HS out

Bangkok: On a day when compatriots Saina Nehwal and Prannoy HS failed to clear the quarterfinal hurdle in the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament, Srikanth K was the lone Indian to survive and march into the semifinals Friday. Srikanth, seeded 13th, dominated his South Korean opponent Wan Ho Son taking just 40 minutes to beat him 21-17, 21-18. Both players put on a brilliant display of the net...

Saina Nehwal crashes out in Thailand Open quarterfinals

Bangkok: Defending champion Saina Nehwal's hopes of retaining her Thailand Grand Prix Gold title went up in smoke as she suffered a stunning three-game defeat to Singapore's Juan Gu in the quarterfinals of the women's singles competition on Friday. The world number two Indian lost 21-13, 12-21, 18-21 to eighth seed Juan in a 53-minute match at the Nimitbutr National Stadium in Bangkok. This was Saina's first defeat to the...

Saina Nehwal marches into quarters of Thailand Grand Prix

Bangkok: World No.2 Saina Nehwal marched into the quarterfinals of the Thailand Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here Thursday with a convincing victory over Singapore's Juan Gu. The Indian, who is the top seed in the tournament, took just 31 minutes to dispose of her second round opponent 21-13, 21-11. Saina put on a dominant display of her net game, winning 10 points to the Singaporeans six. Arundhati Pantawane failed...

Saina Nehwal, Arundhati Pantawane reach pre-quarters of Thailand GP

Bangkok: Defending champion Saina Nehwal and rising star Arundhati Pantawane advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of Thailand Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament after notching up contrasting wins in women's singles competition here on Wednesday. World No 2 Saina didn't break much sweat as she prevailed over Shih Han Hung of Chinese Taipei 21-11, 21-16 in a 29-minute match here. The 23-year-old from Hyderabad will next take on Febby Angguni of Indonesia...

Saina looks to retain titles in Thailand, Indonesia

New Delhi: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal on Sunday said she expects nothing but defence of her titles in Thailand and Indonesia as she returns to action post a freak toe injury. It will be a busy month for the young Hyderabadi as she will feature in an event in Singapore after playing in Thailand and Indonesia. The world number 2 Indian was forced to skip the Sudirman Cup after...

Saina has to balance training, competition and rest: Padukone

Mumbai: The main challenge for ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal currently is to strike a perfect balance among training, competing and in taking time off to rest and recover, feels badminton great Prakash Padukone. "One of the key challenges for anyone in any sport who has reached the top is to learn to manage his/her training, competition and rest and recovery. It's important that you find the right balance," he...

Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu retain rankings

New Delhi: Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu retained their women's singles rankings in the list released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Thursday. Saina is currently at No. 2 while Sindhu, with her win in Malaysia last week, stayed put at 13th. Parupalli Kashyap is the highest ranked Indian male shuttler at World No. 11 while RMV Gurusaidutt pipped Ajay Jayaram to be the second best Indian...

Kashyap drops out of top-10, Sindhu moves up

New Delhi: After achieving a career-high of World No.6 last week, Parupalli Kashyap dropped out of the men's singles top-10 in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released Thursday. Due to a first round exit at the recently concluded India Open, Kashyap dropped five places to be ranked 11. But on the positive side, a brilliant performance by Indian shuttlers has led seven of them to be ranked in top-55...