Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal claimed her first BWF title in two years after three-time world champion Carolina Marin of Spain limped out of the Indonesia Masters final due to a leg injury, in Jakarta on Sunday.
The London Olympics bronze medallist, who last won a BWF title in 2017 in Malaysia, was trailing 4-10 in the opening game when Marin decided to withdraw from the contest.
"It is important year for all of us. It was not good to see at all. It is painful. I have been getting injured a lot in the last few years and to see something like this on court is really painful," said Saina, who had suffered a career-threatening knee injury at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
"I know how it is mentally because when I got that knee injury at the Olympics. I was very upset. I was crying like anything. So I know how difficult it is for a player to go through such kind of injuries but the sport is like that, it is cruel."
It is a creditable performance for the Indian, who had suffered a shin injury late last year.
"I took a break the whole of December. I played this events to see how good I am and I was surprised with myself. January 1 was my first match (PBL) against Sindhu after the injury. I didn't do any kind of training. Doctors asked me not to do any training," Saina said.
"But I am not happy with the way I got it today. Of course I am happy that I could reach the finals, beating difficult opponents like He Bingjiao. Both the tournaments, I am very happy with my performance. It is great to beat (Nozomi) Okuhara, Binjiao, Dinar (Dyah Ayustine).
"In the finals, of course Carolina had the upper hand and I wanted to fight and see how the match goes but it was unfortunate what happened," added the 28-year-old from Hyderabad.
Olympic champion Marin was favourite to win the title. Coming into this match, she led 6-5 in her head-to-head record against Saina, an opponent she beat last week at the Malaysia Masters semifinal in Kuala Lumpur.
The fast-moving Spaniard made a rampaging start to take the first two points before Saina started to engage her in rallies and caught the Spaniard at the net to log her first point.
But the Indian missed the backline a couple of times and also found the net to allow Marin lead 6-2 at the Istora Senayan.
The Spaniard looked in good form, unleashing her aggressive brand of badminton but an unfortunate injury brought a premature end of the match when Marin, leading 9-2, landed badly on her right leg and fall on the court in agony holding her knee.
After a medical time out, Marin tried to continue but eventually collapsed to the ground crying.
She conceded the match at 10-4 up, limping out of the stadium in tears.
For Saina, it turned out to be yet another impressive outing, following the semifinal finish at Malaysia Masters last week.
Next would be All England Championship, a title Saina has not been able to win yet.
"I would not like to comment on that as of now, because I am just happy that these two tournaments were positive but I know that I would need more time to match Tai Tzu and get ready for the big events," Saina said.
"It is still one more month, so let's see how it goes. It will be different slow conditions."
Saina had won a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, a bronze at the Asian Games, besides reaching finals at the Denmark, Indonesia Masters and Syed Modi International.
Google is currently experiencing a widespread outage affecting several of its core services, including Gmail, Google Drive, Google Meet, and other Workspace tools.
According to a status update from Google, the issue began at approximately 3:10 pm and is causing delays and error messages across multiple platforms.
By 4:30pm, outage reports had peaked, with hundreds of users logging problems on DownDetector, a site that tracks service disruptions.
The problems extend to key services such as Google Docs, Google Chat, and Google Analytics, with many users unable to access or load content.
In a brief update, Google confirmed:
“Various Workspace services are experiencing elevated latency and error rates.”
Users have taken to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to share their frustrations. One user wrote: “Google would go down on a Friday lol — like this couldn’t wait ‘til Monday?” Another joked: “Google Drive is down? Well, my work day is over then.”
As of now, Google has not confirmed the cause of the outage or when full service will be restored.
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Google is positioning its Gemini assistant not only as a source of information but as an agentic tool
Google adds Gemini 2.5 Pro and Deep Search to AI Mode
New features available to Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers
AI-powered phone calls now available via Project Astra for business enquiries
Changes reflect Google's continued shift towards AI-led search experiences
Google rolls out Gemini 2.5 Pro and Deep Search in AI Mode
Google is expanding its AI-powered Search capabilities by rolling out Gemini 2.5 Pro and Deep Search within its dedicated AI Mode interface. The features are launching today for Google AI Pro and Google AI Ultra subscribers, further advancing the company's efforts to position AI Mode as the main way users interact with Google Search.
Both tools were initially previewed during the Google I/O 2025 conference and are now being fully integrated into the search chatbot.
What is Deep Search?
Deep Search is designed to offer more nuanced and thorough search results by analysing intent beyond standard keyword matching. When paired with Gemini 2.5 Pro, it enables more context-aware responses and layered reasoning—potentially replacing conventional browsing for complex queries.
These features were previously accessible through other interfaces, but their inclusion in AI Mode marks a strategic shift toward an AI-first search experience.
AI-powered phone calls go live
Alongside search enhancements, Google is also beginning to roll out AI-driven phone calls using its Project Astra framework. This feature, teased earlier this year, allows the Gemini assistant to make calls to local businesses to check for availability and pricing.
When a user searches for a business or service, they may see an option such as “Have AI check prices”, which will prompt the system to call the business on the user’s behalf. While available to all users, those on AI Pro and AI Ultra plans will benefit from higher usage limits.
A broader shift to AI-first search
These updates continue Google’s broader move to embed AI more deeply into Search, following the general rollout of AI Mode in May 2025. The ultimate goal appears to be transitioning users away from traditional search results and toward an interactive, AI-powered interface.
As these tools expand and improve, Google is positioning its Gemini assistant not only as a source of information but as an agentic tool—capable of acting on users’ behalf in both digital and real-world contexts.
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The team management had earlier decided that Bumrah would play in three of the five tests on the tour of England. (Photo: Getty Images)
JASPRIT BUMRAH has been used carefully since returning from back surgery, but with the five-test series against England on the line, India are considering including him in the fourth test in Manchester next week.
The team management had earlier decided that Bumrah would play in three of the five tests on the tour of England.
A win in Manchester would give England a 3-1 lead and seal the series. To prevent that, India are looking at the possibility of fielding Bumrah — who missed the second test in Birmingham — rather than holding him back for the final test at the Oval.
“We know we have got him for one of the last two tests,” assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate told reporters after Thursday’s training session.
“It’s pretty obvious that the series is on the line now in Manchester, so there will be a leaning towards playing him.”
“But again, we have got to look at all the factors: how many days of cricket are we going to get up there, what do we feel is our best chance of winning that game, and then how that fits in together with the Oval.”
Bumrah took five-wicket hauls in both the tests he has played so far on this tour — at Leeds and Lord’s — though India lost both matches.
India wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant, who suffered a finger injury during the Lord’s test, did not bat in Thursday’s practice.
Ten Doeschate said he was confident Pant would take on both his usual roles with the bat and behind the stumps in Manchester.
“Look, I don’t think you’re going to keep Rishabh out of the test no matter what,” ten Doeschate said.
“He batted with quite a lot of pain in the third test and it’s only going to get easier and easier on his finger.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that most of these individuals were sent back on commercial flights.
THE UNITED STATES has deported 1,563 Indian nationals since January this year, with the latest group arriving last week, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that most of these individuals were sent back on commercial flights.
“From January 20 to July 16, some 1,563 Indian nationals have been deported from the United States,” Jaiswal said. He added that most of these Indian nationals arrived by commercial flights.
He said that deportations take place only after the nationality of the individuals is confirmed. The US authorities share lists of people to be deported, and the Indian side verifies their nationality, he added.
“People have been coming in batches on commercial flights. Last week also, we had people who came back,” Jaiswal said.
Earlier this year, the deportation of over 300 Indians on three US military flights led to controversy, as women and children were reportedly handcuffed.
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Singh, the JUI-F nominee, hails from the Malik Deen Khel tribe in Bara, Khyber district.
A SIKH religious leader, Gurpal Singh, has been elected unopposed to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa assembly on a seat reserved for minorities and allocated to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), the provincial election commission announced on Thursday.
Singh, the JUI-F nominee, hails from the Malik Deen Khel tribe in Bara, Khyber district.
The reserved seat was awarded to JUI-F after the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) formally withdrew its candidate, Gorsaran Lal, in favour of Singh. This gave JUI-F an additional seat in the provincial assembly.
Shahida Waheed of the Awami National Party was elected to a reserved seat for women through a draw. The draw was conducted on the Election Commission of Pakistan’s directive to allocate one reserved minority seat between PML-N and JUI-F, and one reserved women's seat between ANP and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf lawmakers.
Following the draw, Shahida was declared successful.
The Election Commission of Pakistan on Tuesday had announced its decision regarding the allocation of reserved seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. These seats for women and minorities are distributed proportionally among political parties based on their numerical strength in the assembly.
Former prime minister Imran Khan’s party had formed the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa following last year’s elections.