Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Srikanth assured of first medal, Sindhu crashes out of World Championships

Srikanth assured of first medal, Sindhu crashes out of World Championships

Kidambi Srikanth assured himself of his maiden medal as he entered the men's singles semifinal after a dominant performance but defending champion PV Sindhu lost to familiar foe Tai Tzu Ying in the women's section of the BWF World Badminton Championships on Friday.

Srikanth, seeded 12th in the showpiece tournament, sent Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands packing with a 21-8 21-7 in a quarterfinal match that lasted just 26 minutes.


The 28-year-old Srikanth, a former world number one, will be the third Indian man to win a medal in the World Championships after the legendary Prakash Padukone (bronze in 1983) and B. Sai Praneeth (bronze in 2019).

Sindhu, who lost her quarterfinal match against Tai Tzu, has won five medals in the showpiece while Saina Nehwal has two medals to her name. The women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa had also won a bronze in 2011.

GettyImages 1331432120 PV Sindhu (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

The world No 14 Srikanth was ahead 11-5 at the first game's change of ends and from 14-8, he took seven straight points to pocket it in a jiffy.

The second game was no different as Srikanth completely outplayed his opponent. From 4-3, it was Srikanth all the way as he zoomed to another seven straight points. From 17-7, Srikanth pocketed another four points on the trot to win the match.

In the women's singles, Sindhu suffered a straight-game defeat to world number one Tai Tzu of Chinese Taipei to bow out of the championships.

Sindhu AP

The top-seeded Tai Tzu beat Sindhu 21-17 21-13 in an energy-sapping match that lasted 42 minutes.

Sindhu found it difficult to match Tai Tzu's speed, court coverage and drop shots as has been the case many times earlier though the Indian produced some fine cross-court smashes.

Sindhu, who also stumbled to many unforced errors during the match, was always playing a catch-up game. She managed to do that in the second game at one stage but lost steam later on.

The win extended the head-to-head record between the two top players to 15-5 in favour of the Chinese Taipei player.

The world number seven and double Olympic-medallist Sindhu had also lost to Tai Tzu in the Tokyo Games semifinals earlier this year.

Tai Tzu, on the other hand, avenged her defeat to Sindhu in the 2019 World Championships at the same stage.

The two players—friends off the court—were tied 2-2 early on but Tai Tzu shifted gears quickly to take a lead of 11-6 at the change of ends in the first game.

Sindhu made a recovery to narrow down the gap to 16-18 and then 17-19 with some fine cross-court smashes. But the Indian could not maintain the tempo till the end as she hit wide twice to lose the first game in 17 minutes.

The second game was more closely fought, but again Tai Tzu led 11-8 at the change of ends after Sindhu made an error in judgment.

But two brilliant smashes for which Tai Tzu had no answer saw the gap narrowing to just one point at 10-11.

Tai Tzu took the next point but Sindhu produced another cross-court smash to make it 11-12. The Chinese Taipei player then sent the shuttle wide for Sindhu to level the scores at 12-12.

The nimble-footed Tai Tzu took the next three points but then hit on the nets. An unsuccessful line call challenge saw Sindhu trail 13-16.

The Indian hit one to the net next and could not reach a drop shot from her great rival to trail by five points at 13-18.

Sindhu continued her unforced errors as she hit wide and then missed Tai Tzu's smash to lose the match.

More For You

Google

There are two new models: Imagen 4 and Imagen 4 Ultra

iStock

Google launches Imagen 4 text-to-image model for free on AI Studio

Key points

  • Google rolls out Imagen 4, its advanced text-to-image model, for free on AI Studio
  • The offer is available for a limited time only
  • Two versions announced: Imagen 4 and Imagen 4 Ultra
  • Imagen 4 Ultra delivers higher accuracy at a higher price
  • Gemini integration is expected for paid users soon

Google debuts upgraded text-to-image tool

Google has launched Imagen 4, its latest text-to-image generation model, now available for free via AI Studio for a limited time. The tool promises substantial improvements over its predecessor, Imagen 3, especially in image quality and text generation accuracy.

According to Google’s announcement, there are two new models: Imagen 4 and Imagen 4 Ultra. Imagen 4 is optimised for general use cases and is priced at $0.04 per image when not using the free offer. Imagen 4 Ultra, the more advanced option, costs $0.06 per image and is designed to follow text prompts with greater precision.

Keep ReadingShow less
Stop Killing Games

Scott, known online as Accursed Farms, has spent the past year rallying public and political support.

Activision

Final push for 'Stop Killing Games' as Ross Scott prepares to step back

Key points

  • Ross Scott (Accursed Farms) launched the Stop Killing Games campaign in 2023 after Ubisoft announced it would shut down The Crew permanently
  • The initiative aims to protect consumer access to games after publishers withdraw support
  • Petitions in both the UK and EU are nearing their deadlines: July 14 (UK) and July 3 (EU)
  • Despite wide support, the EU Citizens’ Initiative remains short of its 1 million-signature target
  • Scott plans to step away from campaigning after July, citing burnout and financial strain

Campaign to preserve games faces critical deadline

With less than a month remaining, the Stop Killing Games initiative launched by YouTuber and gaming advocate Ross Scott is approaching its final deadline. The campaign, which seeks to protect players’ access to games even after publishers shut down their servers, was sparked by Ubisoft’s decision to permanently disable The Crew in 2023.

Scott, known online as Accursed Farms, has spent the past year rallying public and political support. Despite media attention and significant effort, the campaign's key goal, a European Citizens’ Initiative reaching one million signatures, remains unmet.

Keep ReadingShow less
Axiom Mission 4

(From left) Axiom Mission 4 Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu, Pilot Shubhanshu Shukla, Commander Peggy Whitson, and Mission Specialist Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski wave from inside the Space Dragon spacecraft. (Photo: NASA)

NASA

India’s Shubhanshu Shukla and 3 others dock at ISS after 28-hour journey

INDIA’s Shubhanshu Shukla and three other astronauts entered the International Space Station (ISS) on Thursday after a 28-hour journey aboard the Dragon spacecraft. The crew received warm hugs and handshakes upon arrival as the capsule docked with the orbital laboratory.

The spacecraft, named Grace and fifth in the Dragon series, made a soft capture with the ISS’s Harmony module at 4:01 pm IST while flying over the North Atlantic Ocean. Full docking procedures, including power links and pressure checks, took about two more hours to complete.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rajasthan Royals owner accuses former partner of blackmail
Manoj Badale (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Rajasthan Royals owner accuses former partner of blackmail

INDIAN PREMIER LEAGUE cricket franchise Rajasthan Royals' majority owner has accused his former co-owner of trying to blackmail him by alleging he was defrauded out of his minority stake in the club.

London-based venture capitalist Manoj Badale and his company Emerging Media Ventures are suing businessman Raj Kundra at London's High Court for allegedly breaching a 2019 confidential settlement agreement.

Keep ReadingShow less
Isha Ambani at Serpentine summer party in London

Guests including Isha Ambani celebrate culture and sustainability at London’s biggest summer art gathering

Instagram/vogueindia

Isha Ambani becomes first Indian to lead Serpentine summer party in London

Quick highlights

  • Isha Ambani Piramal led the host committee for the 2025 Serpentine Summer Party in London.
  • She wore a vintage Valentino dress first seen at Paris Fashion Week in 2019.
  • The event featured South Asian voices including architect Marina Tabassum and artist Subodh Gupta.
  • Celebrities like Cate Blanchett and Sonam Kapoor also attended the exclusive gathering.

Isha Ambani Piramal made history this week as she became the first Indian to chair the Serpentine Summer Party’s host committee. The event, held at Kensington Gardens in London on 24 June 2025, celebrated 25 years of the Serpentine Pavilion with a spotlight on South Asian artists and sustainable fashion.

Keep ReadingShow less