All posts tagged: uber cup

For Isharani Baruah, repeatedly leaving shuttles landing inside baseline, is concerning’ – Coach Vimal Kumar

For Isharani Baruah, repeatedly leaving shuttles landing inside baseline, is concerning’ – Coach Vimal Kumar

Published by Webster

Written by: Express News Service 4 min readApr 28, 2026 04:01 PM IST Had it been a routine pasting at the hands of a former Olympic champion, Isharani Baruah could’ve been dismissed as just another youngster, a work in progress. But it was in the manner of her loss to Chen Yufei, 22-20, 21-13, that has disappointed her coach at Bangalore, Vimal Kumar. Vimal, who made an inspired decision to field the Gopichand-coached teen then, Saina Nehwal in a team event, where she stepped up to deliver a win, reckons it’s these clutch moments that the young brigade need to make the most of. Isharani could not convert her 20-19 advantage in the first set, despite playing well. And there’s very little to salvage from such misses, Vimal said. “Isharani had Chen Yufei on the ropes at the Uber Cup—and let her off. At 20–19, a missed sitter. At this level, that’s the match,” he said. There are specific areas where the pattern of misses has become apparent to him. “The concern is deeper. Repeatedly …

India hassle China all the way, but lack finishing sharpness, ending with 5-0 loss in Uber Cup

India hassle China all the way, but lack finishing sharpness, ending with 5-0 loss in Uber Cup

Published by Webster

Had the new badminton scoring system been in operation, PV Sindhu would’ve won all three sets against Wang Zhi Yi, the World No 2, who by now must be battling nightmares of the Indian who fetches up agile, ageless and aggressive whenever she turns up. 15-13, 15-13, 15-10 were Sindhu’s dominant leads. But the Chinese know to finish things, especially the ones they don’t start. Playing the first singles of the Uber Cup, knowing in heart of hearts that she was India’s only possibility for a defiant point against mighty China, Sindhu was her usual menacing, marauding self like she’s been since age 17. But all those years that Sindhu had banished the Chinese away from podiums right until the 2025 World Championships, Wang Zhi Yi had been on her own Sindhu-path of old: one of long, punishing, effortful matches, narrow 21-19 losses in deciders, getting dubbed Silver Zhi Yi after losing 10 finals. That’s till the 25-year-old World No 2, plugged most gaps, and started winning. So, it was that clutch play, raising the …

Uber Cup: Devika Sihag, Isharani Baruah drafted in place of Unnati, Tanvi vs China | Badminton News

Uber Cup: Devika Sihag, Isharani Baruah drafted in place of Unnati, Tanvi vs China | Badminton News

Published by Webster

2 min readUpdated: Apr 27, 2026 07:29 PM IST Isharani Baruah, known for her speedy jump smashes, gets a chance to go up against former Olympic champion Chen Yufei in second singles at the Uber Cup tie between India and China. India have lost to Denmark, and have to do the impossible against China to go through to quarterfinals. In their only previous meeting, Isharani lost 21-12, 21-10 two Aprils ago in 2024 at Uber Cup. The court conditions, though windless, in the small sized arena of Forum Horsens are conducive to faster attacking players, given the faster shuttles being used. Unnati Hooda (WS2) and Tanvi Sharma (WS3), higher in rankings, were replaced by the duo for the 10 pm tie. They had come up short against Denmark, though made amends against Ukraine. Devika Sihaag, ranked 44, was retained from the side that won 4-1 on Saturday, and will play World No 98, Xu Wen Jing. PV Sindhu will take on Wang Zhi Yi in the first singles. The Chinese playing WS1 for the first …

Why Turkey are turning heads in badminton’s Uber Cup; wins over Miyazaki, Wong

Why Turkey are turning heads in badminton’s Uber Cup; wins over Miyazaki, Wong

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Apr 26, 2026 09:29 PM IST It was bound to have been a miscalculation or underestimating at any rate, by Japan. But resting Akane Yamaguchi, Japan fielded their teen prodigy and Top 10 Tomoka Miyazaki as first singles in the Uber Cup against Turkey. Miyazaki was humbled 21-16, 18-21, 19-21 by Neslihan Arin in 82 long minutes. The dangerous Arin had broken away at 9-9 in the second set to claim the second. But it was from 16-18 down in the third that the Turkish shuttler went on to pound with power and snatch the opening rubber from Japan. Though Japan are far too strong albeit young in doubles, and should seal the tie, this Uber Cup has thrown up Turkey as a surprise. Arin is 32 years old, and ranked 30 in the world as against Miyazaki, ranked 9. Arin has once won badminton gold at Islamic Solidarity Games, and thrice at Mediterranean Games. She also has bronze at European Games, often facing Carolina Marin at the medal stage. On Saturday, …

Big-smashing Ayush Shetty leads India to first-ever win over Canada

Big-smashing Ayush Shetty leads India to first-ever win over Canada

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The Thomas and Uber Cup venue, Forum Horsens, kept playing Elton John’s Sacrifice on a loop, while the Jutland coastal city, a cultural hub that has hosted Metallica and Madonna, created a constant musical riff around it. Star acts hit high notes and low at Horsens often, and the city knows that it takes all sorts in a band to make the best music. Lakshya Sen, India’s man under the constant pump playing first singles, lost the Thomas Cup opening match to Victor Lai, 21-18, 19-21, 10-21. But first Satwik-Chirag and then Ayush Shetty settled the nerves, before Hari-Arjun and Kidambi Srikanth wrapped up a 4-1 tie win over Canada, to get India started in a team World Cup, where seniors will usher in and mentor juniors like Ayush and Hariharan Amsakumaran; in what might be Prannoy and Srikanth’s last outing in badminton’s version of the World Cup. Ayush, who had watched India win the 2022 edition making history, on TV, had played the same opponent, Brian Yang, six weeks back at the Swiss Open. …

India men beat Canada; women lose to Denmark

India men beat Canada; women lose to Denmark

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The Indian men’s and women’s team had a contrasting start to their campaign at the 2026 Thomas and Uber Cup in Horsens, Denmark on Friday. Up against Canada, the Indian men’s team came-from-behind to register a 4-1 victory, while the women’s team went down to Denmark 2-3 later in the day. India did not have the best of starts to their Thomas Cup campaign as Lakshya Sen went down to the 2025 BWF World Championships medallist Victor Lai in the opening match of the tie. Sen, who had beaten Lai during his run at the 2026 All England Open Super 1000 earlier this year, went down 18-21, 21-19, 21-10 in 71 minutes to hand Canada the lead. But India fought back with ease as Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won their men’s doubles match 21-10, 21-11 over Jonathan Lai and Kevin Lee to put India back on level terms. The former world No 1 pair turned the complexion of the tie as the rest of the players rode the momentum to close out the match …

What is ‘Temple’, the wearable tech on Sindhu’s side forehead at the Uber Cup?

What is ‘Temple’, the wearable tech on Sindhu’s side forehead at the Uber Cup?

Published by Webster

3 min readUpdated: Apr 24, 2026 06:30 PM IST In her iconic yellow outfit from Rio, PV Sindhu was leading India’s charge at Uber Cup. But it was a blue-grey stick-on dot next to her eye that caught the attention as Sindhu won her opener 21-13, 18-21, 21-17. A wearable technology tracker, it’s called the Temple, and Sindhu has been using it in training for the past few weeks and strapped it on in a match for the first time on Friday as she battled Line Christophersen at Horsens, Denmark. Where an eye-liner, mascara would be was the ‘Temple’, a device not unlike Whoop or Catapult, but specifically claiming to track blood flow to the brain in real time. While still a Beta version, Sindhu has been testing the wearable that gauges neurological metrics, tracking cognition and ageing. It is supposed to track circulation through the brain, but very little is known of its exact utility in performance monitoring of athletes. Sindhu, who continues to compete at the highest level, has also simultaneously begun her …

Time for debutants Ayush Shetty, Devika Sihag to step up to Thomas and Uber Cup challenge

Time for debutants Ayush Shetty, Devika Sihag to step up to Thomas and Uber Cup challenge

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The Asian Team championships in February were a disaster for India. However, a rejuvenated Lakshya Sen and a hungry PV Sindhu will want to make amends at the Thomas and Uber Cup Finals to be held in Horsens, Denmark from April 24 to May 3. Sen is in good nick since the All England, and Sindhu who missed the Birmingham meet after being stranded at Dubai in transit, will want to take a shy at the big names in the TUC, akin to badminton’s team World Cup. The Indian men won the Thomas Cup making history in 2022, a feat that many reckon wasn’t as celebrated as it ought to have been. But the core of that team – Sen, HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth in singles, as well as India’s best performing international shuttlers, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty – around the Top 5 mark, would want to give it their all in what could be a last shy at title No 2 for the seniors. The men’s section is terribly hard to crack, …

Tanvi Sharma starts lead-up preparation to World Juniors next month with U19 Krishna Khaitan Memorial title | Badminton News

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“15. That’s the age for you to get to an academy or NCE. It’s not too young,” That’s what NCE Guwahati’s Malaysian coach Sankar Annamalai told 15-year-old Tanvi Sharma in a brief conversation. The Hoshiarpur youngster had just won the girls U19 singles’ title with a 21-9, 21-13 win over Medhavi Nagar in the Yonex Sunrise 31st Smt Krishna Khaitan Memorial All India Junior Ranking Prize Money Tournament and later Sharma spent a long time understanding the veteran coach’s inputs post the presentation ceremony. “I had lost against Anmol Kharb didi last year in the finals and wanted to make amends this time. Winning All India Ranking titles does motivate me and the goal now is the World Junior Championships starting later this month. Yes, I do understand that I need to start training at an academy or at a centre at this stage of my career too but then I have to balance my junior tournaments as well apart from 10th exams. Let’s see what future holds for me,” says the youngster, who won …

Thomas Cup: Satwik-Chirag struggled like we haven’t seen in recent times, but that may not be the worst thing to happen | Badminton News

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The spell of air castles built in gold, is broken. Now the bricks-and-mortar repairs can begin in right earnest, as a scaffolding comes up around the Olympics 2024 edifice for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty. The Paris gold, which looked so imminent when they won the Asian Games last winter, is suddenly looking distant. And that might be the best thing to happen to them in the lead-up. In the last four months, Satwik-Chirag have lost three tournament finals and ceded their World No 1 ranking to drop down to No 3. Friday saw the end of their Thomas Cup reign as India lost the quarterfinals 3-1 to China including the ace doubles’ 15-21, 21-11, 12-21 defeat at the hands of current World No 1s Liang Weikeng and Wang Chang. Since they are not stocks but perfectly sensible, sensitive humans, it would be wrong to say a much-needed market correction of their fortunes was underway. But these jolts will ensure their game gets fortified and refurbished ahead of the Olympics, because fundamentally, their skills are …