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New Delhi: India’s biggest badminton tournament, Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2023 is all set to take off and get bigger than ever at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi from January 17 to 22. The prestigious tournament gets bigger than ever with the upgraded BWF World Tour Super 750 status from the previous Super 500 as well as the star-studded field. As the world’s greatest shuttlers will be engaged in a high-voltage action at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open organised by the Badminton Association of India, here are Top-10 players to watch out for in the men’s singles at the mega event. 1. Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) Tokyo Olympic champion and the current World No. 1 Viktor Axelson will be the hot favourite to clinch the title in New Delhi. The 29-year-old from Denmark, who won the tournament twice before, in 2017 and 2019, did not feature in the last edition. Axelson has already begun 2023 on an impressive note, having progressed into the Malaysia Open semi-finals. He … [Read more...] about Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2023: Top-10 Men’s Players To Watch Out For

Leeds have signed Austria defender Max Wober from Red Bull Salzburg for a fee in the region of £11m, subject to a work permit. The 24-year-old, who can operate at both centre-back and left-back, is Leeds' first signing in the January transfer window after agreeing a four-and-a-half-year deal. Leeds said in a statement: "He now links up once again with head coach Jesse Marsch (at Elland Road) along with his former Salzburg team-mates Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus Kristensen. Transfer Centre LIVE! What every PL club needs and wants in January window Jan transfer window 2023: All you need to know "Wober will wear the number 39 shirt during his time at Leeds and could feature for the first time in Sunday's FA Cup third-round tie at Cardiff." Marsch spent two years in charge at Salzburg until 2021, while Leeds signed USA forward Aaronson and Denmark defender Kristensen from the Austrian club last summer. Trending Transfer Centre … [Read more...] about Leeds transfer news: Max Wober signs from Red Bull Salzburg for transfer fee in region of £11m

The country's top shuttlers, including reigning champion Lakshya Sen and double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, will look to keep their date with destiny as they will be title contenders in at least three of the five events when the India Open Super 750 begins in New Delhi on Tuesday. Indian badminton never had this good with as many as three players -- Sindhu (7), Sen (10), HS Prannoy (8) in singles world's top 10 and the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty at world No. 5 -- all coming into the season with loads of success last year. While seventh seed Sen and Satwik-Chirag, seeded fifth, are entering the USD 900,000 event as defending champions, Sindhu and world No. 13 Kidambi Srikanth are also former champions. However, the past results will count for little as all the big stars of world badminton will be pitted against each other -- some of them in the opening round itself -- during the upgraded version of India's flagship event. Sen and Prannoy, … [Read more...] about India Open: PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen Among Title Contenders At India Open | Badminton News

Novak Djokovic makes his eagerly anticipated return to the Australian Open on Tuesday and women's world number two Ons Jabeur will also launch her title bid. Serbia's Djokovic, one of the finest men's tennis players of all time, was deported on the eve of last year's Grand Slam at Melbourne Park because of his stance on Covid vaccines. But the 35-year-old will be back when he faces Roberto Carballes Baena of Spain in his opener and looks likely to be given a warm reception by the Rod Laver Arena crowd. He is bidding to win the Australian Open for a record-extending 10th time and in doing so tie defending champion Rafael Nadal's men's all-time record of 22 Grand Slam crowns. Djokovic is hot favourite for the first Grand Slam of the year, but after winning an Adelaide warm-up tournament last week, he has been bothered by a slight hamstring injury. He was pictured practising on Monday with heavy strapping around his left thigh. "I always like my chances. I train as hard as … [Read more...] about Novak Djokovic Set For Eagerly Anticipated Australian Open Return | Tennis News

Defending champion Lakshya Sen registered a straight-game win over compatriot HS Prannoy to make a winning start to his title defence at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750 badminton tournament in New Delhi on Tuesday. World No. 12 Sen, seeded seventh, was by far the better player on display as he settled the score against world No. 9 Prannoy after his opening-round reversal at the Malaysia Open with a 21-14, 21-15 win at the KD Jadhav Indoor hall in IG stadium here. Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand notched up a 22-20, 17-21, 21-18 win over France's world No. 29 Margot Lambert and Anne Tran in their opener. Among other Indians, N Sikki Reddy and her new women's doubles partner Shruti Mishra went down fighting 17-21, 19-21 to Germany's Linda Efler and Isabel Lohau. Earlier, Denmark's Rasmus Gemke knocked out two-time world champion Kento Momota of Japan 21-15, 21-11, former top-10 player Shi Yuqi of China staved off a challenge from … [Read more...] about India Open: Lakshya Sen Eases Past HS Prannoy, Gayatri Gopichand-Treesa Jolly Register Win | Badminton News

Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu was knocked out but defending champion Lakshya Sen looked in fine fettle on way to a straight-game win over compatriot HS Prannoy in the India Open in New Delhi on Tuesday. World No. 7 Sindhu, a former champion, went down 12-21 20-22 to Thailand's world No. 30 Supanida Katethong. The Indian had lost to the same player in the semifinals of the last edition. World No. 12 Sen, seeded seventh, settled the score against world No. 9 Prannoy after his opening round reversal at the Malaysia Open, with a 21-14 21-15 win at the KD Jadhav Indoor hall in IG stadium. Sindhu didn't look at her best as she struggled against the left-handed Supanida, who was precise in her returns and looked in more control in the rallies to take the opening game in the Super 750 badminton tournament. The former world champion fought hard in the second game as she moved from 12-17 to grab one game point at 19-20. She had, in fact, left the court after the opponent's return … [Read more...] about PV Sindhu Loses To Thailand’s Supanida Katethong, Knocked Out Of India Open Rd 1 | Badminton News

London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal on Tuesday vowed to keep fighting as she believes she has the game to match the best in the business. The former world No. 1, who has had a tough last few years mainly due to a knee injury, notched up a fighting 21-17, 12-21, 21-19 win over world No. 24 Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark in her opening match. "I have always been a fighter, I like to challenge," said the 32-year-old from Hyderabad, who will take on Olympic champion Chen Yu Fei of China next. "See, my mind sometimes stops working after losing so many matches. You are losing and losing but then today I was not thinking about match points. This was giving me tension the last few matches because I was not pulling off matches. "Confidence was lacking today but I am happy I played without any knee issues. The last few months, it was gradual improvement. I worked on my stamina, overall hitting game and everything went well today," said Saina. Saina, whose best result in 2022 was a … [Read more...] about “Have Always Been A Fighter”: Saina Nehwal On Finding Her Old Touch Again | Badminton News

A fighting Kidambi Srikanth couldn't sustain the pressure as he went down in straight games to Olympic and world champion Viktor Axelsen in his opening men's singles match at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Super 750 tournament in New Delhi on Wednesday. Srikanth, a world championship silver medallist, flattered to deceive as he squandered a 14-5 lead in the second game to go down 14-21 19-21 to the world no. 1 Dane, leaving the cheering fans at the IG stadium disappointed. World no. 39 Aakarshi Kashyap and world no. 34 Malvika Bansod also couldn't match their fancied rivals -- USA's Beiwen Zhang and Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrung -- and bowed out after losing their respective matches. While Akarshi lost 15-21 12-21 to former champion Zhang, Malvika squandered an 11-8 lead in the opening game to eventually go down 17-21 12-21 to world no. 12 Busanan. With the crowd rooting for him, Srikanth, a former world no.1, made a good start as he dominated the rallies, extracting mistakes … [Read more...] about India Open: Erratic Kidambi Srikanth Bows Out; Malvika Bansod, Aakarshi Kashyap Out Too | Badminton News

Defending champion Lakshya Sen suffered a heartbreak, going down narrowly to world number 20 Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the second round as the Indian ended at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open here on Thursday. World no. 12 Sen reduced an 8-14 deficit in the decider to 13-14 after losing the second game but couldn't go the distance, losing 21-16 15-21 18-21 to Gemke in a match that lasted an hour and 21 minutes at the IG stadium. Reigning champions in men's doubles, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who had come into the tournament after a semifinal finish at Malaysia Super 1000 last week, withdrew from the tournament after the former suffered a hip injury ahead of their second-round clash. London Games bronze medallist Saina Nehwal also found the going tough against Olympic champion Chen Yufei, surrendering meekly 9-21 12-21 in just 32 minutes to draw curtains on India's campaign at the Super 750 tournament. Earlier, Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Gayatri Gopichand … [Read more...] about Lakshya Sen, Saina Nehwal Lose; Home Challenge Ends at India Open | Badminton News

Denmark's Viktor Axelsen and Japan's Akane Yamaguchi's dominance continued as they stayed on course for a second successive title, progressing to the finals of the India Open Super 750 in New Delhi on Saturday. After world no.1 Yamaguchi beat Thailand's defending champion Supanida Katethong 21-17 21-16 in the women's singles, Axelsen, also world no. 1, streamrolled fourth seed Jonatan Christie of Indonesia 21-6 21-12 in the men's event. In the summit clash, Yamaguchi will face Korean sensation An Seyoung in a repeat of last week's Malaysia Open Super 750 final while Axelsen is pitted against the mercurial Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand. It was a no contest in men's singles as Axelsen, who had more time to rest after Friday's interrupted quarterfinals, smashed through the defence of a struggling Christie during the lop-sided 38 minute clash. Christie tried to bring down the shuttle at a steeper angle but ended up spraying into net repeatedly. He was also guilty of allowing his … [Read more...] about Viktor Axelsen, Akane Yamaguchi Sail Into India Open Final | Badminton News