Sindhu crashes out of Malaysia Masters
Bukit Jalil (Malaysia), May 21 (UNI) India's star shuttler and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu suffered an early exit from the Malaysia Masters 2025 badminton tournament after a first-round defeat to Vietnam's Nguyễn Thùy Linh at the Axiata Arena, KL Sports City, here on Wednesday.
Sindhu, currently ranked world No. 16, went down 11-21, 21-14, 15-21 in a match lasting 63 minutes. Despite a fighting comeback in the second game, the Indian ace failed to maintain momentum in the decider. This was Nguyễn Thùy Linh's second victory over Sindhu in four meetings.
Sindhu's early elimination adds to a string of disappointing performances this season, with her best result being a quarterfinal finish at the India Open in January.
In contrast, Indian men's singles players enjoyed a successful day.
World No. 35 HS Prannoy came from behind to stun fifth seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan 19-21, 21-17, 21-16, while former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth (WR 65) defeated sixth seed Lu Guangzu of China 23-21, 13-21, 21-11 to book his place in the second round.
The biggest upset of the day came courtesy of Sathish Karunakaran, who beat third seed and world championships bronze medallist Chou Tien-chen of Chinese Taipei 21-13, 21-14 in a commanding display.
Youngster Ayush Shetty added to India's success with a 20-22, 21-10, 21-8 win over Canada's Brian Yang. Shetty had recently made headlines by reaching the semi-finals of the Taipei Open earlier this month.
However, it was a disappointing outing in mixed doubles for Indian pairs. Ashith Surya-Amrutha Pramuthesh were ousted by top seeds Jiang Zhenbang-Wei Yaxin of China 12-21, 10-21, while Rohan Kapoor-Ruthvika Gadde lost 10-21, 14-21 to fourth seeds Guo Xinwa-Chen Fanghui.
In another mixed doubles match, India's Sathish Karunakaran and Aadya Variyath were beaten 15-21, 16-21 by Indonesia's Verrell Yustin Mulia and Lisa Ayu Kusumawati.
UNI BDN GNK
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Khaleel Ahmed's fiery spell dismantles England Lions, puts India A on top in second unofficial Test
Khaleel Ahmed. New Delhi: Khaleel Ahmed's impressive four-wicket haul has given India A a significant advantage over the England Lions in the second unofficial Test at Northampton. Chennai Super Kings' bowlers dominated the day's play, starting with Khaleel Ahmed's impressive four-wicket haul, including the key dismissals of Jordan Cox, James Rew, and George Hill. Tushar Deshpande contributed two wickets, and Tanush Kotian, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Anshul Kamboj each claimed a wicket, helping restrict the opposition to 192/3. It was KL Rahul's century and a fine fifty by Dhruv Jurel that helped India A score 348. Although Rahul sat out the first warm-up match, he soon handled the conditions well in England, while Jurel kept scoring with another half-century. The Indian squad had a practice session at Lord's Cricket Ground. With head coach Gautam Gambhir and the new strength and conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux, the team was able to use the indoor areas. Although Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah worked out by playing football and throwing to batsmen in bowling drills, the others concentrated on serious cricket exercises. That session was the team's first time practicing in London since their arrival.
United News of India
2 hours ago
- United News of India
Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team Defeat Belgium 3-2
Antwerp, June 8 (UNI) The Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team kicked off their tour of Europe with a fantastic win against Belgium, on Sunday. The Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team won the game 3-2 at the Hockey Center of Excellence, Wilrijkse Plein here in Belgium. In what was a competitive contest, it was India who opened the scoring through Geeta Yadav (11'). However, in the second quarter, hosts Belgium equalised through Marie Goenns (25'). Soon after Belgium took the lead as Louise van Hecke (34') found the back of the net. India came back fighting and it was Sonam (40') levelled things up. India continued to attack, and the pressure paid off as they won a Penalty Corner soon after, which was converted by Lalthantluangi (45'). After that, the Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team did not let Belgium get another equaliser, and walked away with the win. The Indian Junior Women's Hockey Team will play Belgium next on 10th June in the second game of their European tour. UNI BM GNK
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
More Noise, Less Nudge: IPL ads fail to stand out
Mumbai: Despite record-breaking viewership and soaring ad spends, most ads aired during IPL 2025 may have already faded from public memory. While the on-field cricket remains fiercely competitive, advertising creativity appears to be on autopilot, raising serious questions about return on investment and long-term brand impact. This year, the IPL began with what many consider one of the best—and probably the costliest—ads of the season. Dream11's campaign featured Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and a galaxy of celebrities and cricket stars, setting the tone for the tournament and its rivalries. It was witty, memorable and widely shared. But after that strong start, most ads barely made a mark. Take the much-discussed spot featuring Rohit Sharma talking about financial planning, or MS Dhoni promoting a tile adhesive. Both had star power and brand fit, yet the creative left viewers more puzzled than persuaded. Data from TAM Media Research reveals that more than 105 advertisers and 190 brands participated across the first 70 matches of IPL 2025, with a 27% jump in advertiser count and a 28% rise in brand count over last year. The overall ad volume on TV grew marginally, just 0.45% higher than IPL 2024. But the creative bar hasn't risen alongside. Also read: IPL giant GMR tackles rugby with India League, aims to build Olympic-aligned IP 'While a few brave brands are pushing creative boundaries, most of the advertising seems to be working in a safe, high-frequency mode," said Anshu Yardi, vice-president–business partnerships & communication at TAM Media Research. 'The opportunity is still massive, but innovation requires risk, and during IPL many brands may want to play safe." Ad fatigue at a time of infinite content The issue might extend beyond just ineffective ads; it could reflect a deeper cultural shift in how we define 'good" advertising itself. Abhishek Jain, business director at creative agency Virtue India, believes the competition for consumer attention has moved far beyond traditional formats. 'Ads 'seem' boring now compared to the content—quick, snackable pieces of sponsored entertainment —they are competing with," he said. 'We are now finding relatability in culture and culture in content. Traditional ads just don't have that same shareability or zing." The IPL skew: Not made for storytelling Sandeep Goyal, media veteran and chairman of Rediffusion, is blunt in his assessment. 'The mediocrity of IPL actually reflects the slipping standards of creativity overall. But specific to the IPL, for years now, the secondages have been dominated by the money power of VC-funded brands. Regular brands in FMCG just can't afford the IPL rates. So that skew is the starting point," he said. In the context of advertising, 'secondages" refers to the total number of seconds of advertising airtime. Also read: Will CCI's crackdown reshape the ad industry? Media veteran Raj Nayak explains 'The brands that spend—like a lot in BFSI—are really not seasoned campaigners. They are out to buy noticeability and brand recall, not build emotive narratives that endear them to consumers. Most ads are focused on product superiority, much like 'explainer' videos." He also takes aim at the overuse of celebrities. 'The less said about celebrities, the better. It is now a formula. Nothing more. No attempt to differentiate. No attempt to craft a story that engages. Most celebrities are high on recognition but low on emulatability. A Rohit Sharma dispensing advice on investing! MSD (Dhoni) talking of paints. Consumers just shrug off most such ads. They may remember the brand and even the celebrity, but do not necessarily buy as per the celebrity's endorsement because the pitch carries no real conviction." Creativity costs, and time is a luxury A chief marketing officer (CMO) of a major consumer brand, speaking on condition of anonymity, admitted that IPL advertising may never become a true creative showcase like the Super Bowl. 'You don't get everything—budgets are tight, and IPL runs every day for nearly two months. Dream11, Swiggy, ZooZoos from Vodafone—they've created brilliant ads in the past. But those are rare exceptions," the executive said. 'Most CMOs simply don't get the time or investment needed to make IPL campaigns creatively rich. The result is rinse-repeat formats, celebrity plug-ins, and safe messaging." Marquee moment or media burst? Another senior executive from a brand that advertised during IPL 2025 wondered whether advertisers truly understand what a marquee property should be. 'If you're treating IPL as a launch pad, that's fine. But how much can you really build when you're racing against time and media costs just to deliver a message?" According to them, IPL's biggest strength—aggregation of eyeballs—is also its biggest creative limitation. 'If 60-65 crore people are watching, that's huge. But then you're up against frequency fatigue, creative limits and the ticking clock. It's hard to craft something with depth when you're just trying to be everywhere, fast." Also read: Rooter picks up exclusive digital rights for esports tournament BGMI Masters Series The executive added, 'Are people even anticipating IPL ads the way they used to? Are we just spending for attention, or are we creating anything truly memorable? The search for the elusive advertising season continues… is IPL the Nirvana?" So, can the IPL ever be India's Super Bowl? Everyone wants to recreate the cultural buzz and longevity that Super Bowl ads in the US command. But experts agree that for IPL to reach that level, Indian advertisers need to move beyond formula, spend more time on narrative and treat the IPL window not just as a media buy, but as a storytelling opportunity. 'Campaigns are not being created for the long run," Goyal added. 'They are usually for one season, and then everybody feels the need for a refresh because digital has created attention-deficiency syndrome." Until that mindset changes, IPL may remain a grand stage—but one where few ads deserve an encore.
