Chirag stuns 3rd seed to enter quarters; Wen Chi Hsu ousted

Cuttack: India’s Chirag Sen, ranked 106th in the world, came up with a stunning performance to knock out third seed Mads Christophersen of Denmark in the men's singles pre-quarterfinal of the Odisha Masters badminton tournament here on Thursday. Top seed Wen Chi Hsu of Chinese Taipei faced a tough opponent in Lo Sin Yan Happy of Hong Kong, going down 15-21, 16-21 in the women’s singles pre-quarterfinal. Unseeded Chirag, 25, after enjoying success against Saneeth Dayanand Shimoga (R64) and Varun Kapur (R32), put up a commendable performance against Christophersen defeating the 52nd-ranked Dane 21-10, 15-21, 21-17. In other matches, the doubles pairs of Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto and Rutuparna Panda-Swetaparna Panda progressed to the quarterfinals, while Unnati Hooda and Kiran George advanced to last-eight in singles. In mixed doubles pre-quarterfinals, the duo of Tanisha and Dhruv Kapila defeated Amri Syahnawi and Winny Oktavina Kandow of Indonesia 21-16, 21-12, while Ashwini and Rohan Kapur overcame eighth seeds Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy 21-13, 21-13. PTI

Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto win Guwahati Masters Super 100 title

Indian women's doubles pair, Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, secured their second Super 100 title at the Guwahati Masters Super 100 tournament. They defeated the Chinese Taipei duo Sung Shuo Yun and Yu Chien Hui with a scoreline of 21-13, 21-19 in the 40-minute final. This marked the third title for the Indian pair this year, following their victories at the Abu Dhabi Masters Super 100 and Nantes International Challenge. Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto have swiftly achieved success since forming their partnership in January, adding a dynamic dimension to India's representation in women's doubles badminton.

Vijay Hazare Trophy: Bengal, Kerala storm into quarterfinals

Bengal defeated Gujarat by 8 wickets in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, with Sudip Kumar Gharami and Anustup Majumdar scoring centuries. Bengal will face Haryana in the quarterfinals.

Badminton stars Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty recommended for Khel Ratna

Badminton doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, who reached No. 1 in BWF rankings, have been recommended for the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna. The pair had exceptional performances in 2023, winning multiple titles and achieving a historic milestone. They were joint recipients of the award. The nominations for the Arjuna award include cricketer Mohammed Shami, chess player R Vaishali, archer Ojas Pravin Deotale, and others.