The sports wrap: Saina Nehwal rises to 9th spot in latest badminton rankings, and other top stories

The big story: Saina enters top-10, PV Sindhu remains in 6th place

Saina Nehwal made her way back into the top-10 of the Badminton World Federation rankings after moving up by a spot post her win in the Malaysian Grand Prix last month. Rio Olympics silver-medallist PV Sindhu continued to stay at sixth in the table.

Nehwal beat Thailand teenager Pornpawee Chochuwong 22-20, 22-20 at in the final to get a taste of the Malaysian Grand Prix for the first time in her chequered career. It was the first title for the 26-year-old after recovering from a career-threatening knee injury she suffered last year.

India’s highest ranked women’s singles shuttler Sindhu has had equally impressive start to the year, winning the Syed Modi International after beating Indonesian Grigoria Mariska 21-13, 21-14 in the summit event. The 22-year-old added another feather to her cap when her side Chennai Smashers lifted the Pro Badminton League crown.

Badminton

Lakshya Sen was placed No.1 in the latest badminton junior rankings released by the Badminton World Federation on Thursday, reportedTimes of India.

Cricket

BCCI joint secretary Amitabh Chaudhary on Thursday attended the Chief Executive Committee meeting in Dubai. The Indian Board is likely to seek approval from ICC so that two people including Vikram Limaye can attend the ‘Board’ Meeting on Friday.
Shikhar Dhawan smashed 82 off 47 balls to power Delhi to a comfortable six-wicket victory over Services in a north zone leg match of Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament.
The Bangladesh team arrived in Hyderabad on Thursday for the one-off Test match against India, to be held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket stadium from February 9 to 13.
Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen has advised Australia to either learn to play spin quickly or skip the tour to India for the upcoming four-match Test series later this month.
Delhi High Court appointed former DDCA observer Justice Mukul Mudgal has decided to donate his entire fees amounting to Rs. 15 lakh to the Delhi Police Martyrs’ Fund.
Defending champions India crushed England by 10 wickets in the Blind Cricket World Cup on Thursday.
Medium pacers Jhulan Goswami and Sukanya Parida have been ruled out of the ICC Women’s World Cup qualifiers, to be played in Colombo from February 7-21, because of injuries, PTI reported.
Virat Kohli maintained his top spot in the International Cricket Council’s rankings of Twenty20 International batsmen. India moved up two second spot in the team rankings following their 2-1 series win, PTI reported.
The second Australia-New Zealand One-day International at Napier was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of a wet outfield, which was deemed unsuitable for play. The third ODI will be played at Hamilton on February 5th.
New Zealand Cricket have reportedly decided to launch an inquiry into the second Chappell-Hadlee ODI at McLean Park on Thursday.
The Indian Premier League 2017 player auction is likely to take place between February 20-25 after a delay from the originally proposed date of February 4, reportedESPNCricinfo.

Football

England and Chelsea legend Frank Lampard on Thursday called time on his 21-year long career, which saw him emerge as one of the finest midfielders in the world and become the West London club’s highest ever goal-scorer.
Marcelo Leite Pereira has threatened to take legal action against Indian Super League franchise Delhi Dynamos and possibly approach FIFA for non-payment of dues amounting to $25,000, PTI reported.
Eastern Sporting Union bagged their second win of the ongoing Indian Women’s League with a comfortable 3-1 win over FC Pune City at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.
Alakhpura FC climbed to the top of the table in the Indian Women’s League with a hard-fought 1-0 win against the much fancied Rising Student Club at the Ambedkar Stadium in New Delhi on Thursday.

Tennis

Saketh Myneni suffered an injury during a practice session, which will see him miss the Davis Cup tie against New Zealand starting on Friday, reportedThe Indian Express.

Golf

Indian golfer Aditi Ashok picked up from where she had left off last year with a joint-lead after round one of the Gold Coast Classic on Thursday, reported PTI.

Snooker

Pankaj Advani eased his way to a 29th national title, winning the National Snooker Championship with a comprehensive 6-0 win over Pandurangaiah of Railways in Pune on Thursday, reported PTI.