Connect with us

Sports

Saina Nehwal urges caution on BWF scoring changes, praises Lakshya Sen | Other Sports News

Published

on


Olympic medallist Saina Nehwal has urged the Badminton World Federation (BWF) to exercise caution regarding proposed scoring changes, maintaining that the current 21-point system preserves the sport’s essential intensity and endurance.


The game’s governing body (BWF) has proposed switching to a 3×15 scoring format from the current 3×21 system, with a membership vote on the change scheduled at the BWF Annual General Meeting in Horsens, Denmark on April 25.


“Badminton has a rich tradition, and tournaments like the All England Open Badminton Championships and the BWF World Championships have always been special because of their intensity and endurance factor,” Saina, who joined the advisory board of India’s International Movement to Unite Nations (I.I.M.U.N.), told PTI in an interview.

 

Advertisement


“Any change in scoring or format should be carefully considered. The current 21-point system has worked well and players have adapted to it over many years.


“If changes are introduced, they should ensure that the quality of rallies and the competitive balance of the sport are not affected. At the end of the day, the focus should remain on fair competition and the spirit of the game.” 
According to the revamped BWF World Tour, the five Super 1000 tournaments, to be staged across Asia and Europe, will introduce a new format in singles, with 48 players competing in a group stage followed by knockouts.


Doubles events will feature 32-pair knockout draws, and each Super 1000 tournament will run for 11 days across two weekends.


Saina feels the BWF needs to prioritise player welfare, saying the packed international calendar leaves little room for recovery and can lead to injuries and burnout among elite shuttlers.

Advertisement


“Badminton is always a very tough sport both physically and mentally. The rallies are longer, the speed of the game is higher, and players are competing in tournaments almost every week.


“The Badminton World Federation has tried to structure the calendar, but from a player’s perspective, recovery time is extremely important. Injuries and fatigue can affect performance and also shorten careers.


“I feel the schedule should allow better recovery periods between major tournaments, and teams should have more support for sports science and rehabilitation.” 


 
Lakshya has ability and mindset, All England title is not far away 
Last week, Lakshya Sen finished runner-up at the All England Open after going down to Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi in the men’s singles final, repeating his near-miss at the tournament after finishing second in 2022.

Advertisement


Praising Lakshya for his consistency on the big stage, Saina said: “First of all, reaching the final of All England Open Badminton Championships twice is a big achievement. It’s one of the most prestigious tournaments in badminton and the level there is always extremely high.


“Consistency at that stage shows that Lakshya is doing many things right. Sometimes in sport, the difference between winning and finishing runner-up is just a few points or moments of composure. If a player keeps reaching those stages, it usually means the title is not far away.


“So I would say it’s a very positive sign. It shows he has the ability and the mindset to compete with the best in the world,” added the 2015 All England runner-up.


The 35-year-old from Hyderabad is also impressed with the performance of young Indian shuttlers but said physical strength, match temperament and tactical awareness remains key to consistency.

Advertisement


“Consistency at the top level comes from fitness, discipline and mental toughness over many years. Players need to maintain their level across the entire season, not just in a few tournaments,” said the former world No. 1.


“When PV Sindhu and I were competing regularly, the focus was always on preparation, recovery and staying hungry to improve.


“For the current generation, the key is to keep improving their physical strength, match temperament and tactical awareness so they can perform consistently in the biggest tournaments.” 
Explaining her decision to associate with I.I.M.U.N, Saina, a two-time Commonwealth Games champion, said: “I’ve always believed that sports teaches values like discipline, leadership and resilience, which are also important in life.


“Being part of India’s International Movement to Unite Nations (I.I.M.U.N.) is special because it gives young people a platform to think globally, develop leadership skills and express their ideas confidently.

Advertisement


“If my journey can inspire young students to believe in themselves and work hard toward their goals, I feel that would be a meaningful contribution.

Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Six Nations 2026: ‘Not the end’ for Scotland despite Ireland loss – Tuipulotu

Published

on

After a narrow loss in Rome to open their campaign, Gregor Townsend’s side bounced back with victories against England, Wales and France.

Tuipulotu says Scotland have unquestionably improved over the course of the competition, despite falling short against Ireland.

“I’ve seen what’s gone in behind the scenes and I’m proud of the boys, how they rallied this championship,” he said. “We’ve definitely made progress, there’s no doubt about that.”

Townsend came under heavy pressure after the defeat against Italy in their opener, but he too agreed with Tuipulotu’s assessment that it has been a positive tournament for his side.

Advertisement

“The performances we’ve delivered, especially the three victories, is some of the best rugby I’ve seen us play,” he said.

“Today it’s a reminder and a lesson. The lesson is that we have to be better when we do have opportunities. Another game for us to know what works and what we have to lean into more, double down on more.

“There were tactical and technical things we needed to improve on, which we did in the second half and we were going up against an excellent opponent, who were very good today.”

After last weekend’s exhilarating 50-40 victory over France, the question was whether Scotland could recreate such a performance at a venue with so many demons.

Advertisement

Townsend says it simply isn’t possible to play perfect rugby in every game.

“Ireland are a very good team,” he said. “They have an excellent record here against pretty much every team.

“If you want a perfect performance every week, you’re living in fantasy land. We played some excellent rugby but it wasn’t enough to win.”

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Wales end three-year wait for Six Nations win with inspired performance against Italy

Published

on

Wales ended a three-year Six Nations losing streak with a 31-17 victory over Italy in Cardiff.

Two tries from Aaron Wainwright and another from skipper Dewi Lake gave Wales a 21-0 interval lead which was quickly built on.

Dan Edwards darted over and the Ospreys outside-half added a superb long-range drop goal to four conversions for a personal haul of 16 points.

Wales outside-half Dan Edwards scores his side’s fourth try in their Six Nations victory against Italy

Wales outside-half Dan Edwards scores his side’s fourth try in their Six Nations victory against Italy (PA Wire)

Italy appeared dead and buried at 31-0 down, but they refused to go out with a whimper and Tommaso Di Bartolomeo, Tommaso Allan and Paolo Garbisi scored tries. Garbisi added a conversion.

Advertisement

Wales had not tasted Six Nations victory since 11 March 2023 – 15 games and 1,099 days ago – when they beat Italy in Rome.

But there were clear signs of green shoots in defeats to Scotland and Ireland, and Wales produced the performance nearly 70,000 fans inside Principality Stadium had craved to register a first Six Nations home win since February 2022.

Italy could not back up a first-ever victory over England seven days earlier, as hopes of winning three games in a Six Nations campaign for the first time were snuffed out.

The visitors almost undid a positive start from Wales after Tommaso Menoncello turned over possession and led an Azzurri charge.

Advertisement

(Getty Images)

Wales survived that breakaway and a skewed Garbisi penalty attempt and hit the front after 15 minutes.

Lineout ball was secured to let Eddie James loose and Wainwright took it on with a huge carry that saw the number eight bounce off defenders to score.

Wales were further rewarded when Italy were penalised at the breakdown and chose to go to the corner rather than take the option of three points.

Advertisement

Edwards delivered an excellent kick and Wainwright was the beneficiary of a driving lineout that Italy could not stop.

The extras were added from the touchline and Wales were in dreamland with a third try before the 30-minutes mark.

Aaron Wainwright was outstanding for Wales

Aaron Wainwright was outstanding for Wales (Getty Images)

Lake found his target at the lineout and guided the driving maul over, with Edwards converting again.

Advertisement

It had been clinical stuff from Wales with three tries from as many entries into the Italy 22, and the roof was in danger of coming off the Principality Stadium.

Wales were just as efficient after the break as the forwards dragged in the Azzurri defence and Edwards sped through a gap for the bonus-point try.

Edwards added another conversion and slotted a drop goal from 40 metres before hooker Di Bartolomeo rumbled over to put Italy on the scoreboard.

Wales were reduced to 14 when Archie Griffin was shown a yellow card and Italy produced their most dominant period after the replacement prop returned from 10 minutes in the sin bin.

Advertisement

Allan went over in the corner and Ellis Mee denied Monty Ioane with a try-saving tackle as the winger’s left foot just touched the touchline before grounding the ball.

Italy had the last word as Garbisi went over in the corner after Leonardo Marin was adjudged to be just short of the line, but Welsh joy – and relief – at the final whistle was palpable.

PA

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Knockout St Patricks Event guide

Published

on

After a grand Admin Abuse by YouTuber Kreekcraft, the St Patricks Event has commenced in Knockout. It has replaced the Magma Event to introduce more cosmetics and elimination effects, including the Golden Leprechaun skin and the Lucky Splash effect. Players can get all the exclusive items by spending the new currency called Shamrocks in the St Patricks Event shop at the edge of the lobby.

This guide explains how to get Shamrocks in Knockout, so that you can start collecting the event items from St Patricks shop.


How to get Shamrocks in Knockout St Patricks Event

The St Patricks Event shop (Image via Roblox)The St Patricks Event shop (Image via Roblox)
The St Patricks Event shop (Image via Roblox)

Shamrocks are green plant-like objects that can be collected by any player. They spawn on the map in every round but only when the Shamrock Event is active. This event happens every 60 minutes on a server and its countdown can be seen at the top of the St Patricks shop.

Advertisement

The Shamrock Event is a part of the St Patricks Event. When it begins, two to five Shamrocks appear at random spots on the map. You can collect them by launching your penguin and hitting the Shamrocks.

Shamrocks are also obtainable from the Lucky Crate and Rainbow Lucky Crate. You can buy both these crates from the event shop.


Also check: How to get and use Ice in Knockout


Contents of the Lucky Crate and Rainbow Lucky Crate

The Lucky Crate and Rainbow Lucky Crate (Image via Roblox)The Lucky Crate and Rainbow Lucky Crate (Image via Roblox)
The Lucky Crate and Rainbow Lucky Crate (Image via Roblox)

The Lucky Crate is for free-to-play players. A single crate costs 100 Shamrocks and contains the following things:

  • 50 Shamrocks
  • Shamrock Egg
  • Lucky Splash
  • Cloud9
  • Irish Jig Dance
  • Golden Leprechaun

Rainbow Lucky Crate is the premium version of the Lucky Crate. It costs 149 Robux and has all the contents of the Lucky Crate, but with revealed drop rates:

  • 150 Shamrocks – 40%
  • Shamrock Egg – 25%
  • Lucky Splash – 22%
  • Cloud9 – 10%
  • Irish Jig – 2.5%
  • Golden Leprechaun – 0.5%

The Golden Leprechaun skin has a limited stock. As of this writing, only 9900 copies of this cosmetic are available, so acquire one quickly by opening Lucky Crates or Rainbow Lucky Crates in bulk.


What are all the skins in the Shamrock Egg?

The Shamrock Egg (Image via Roblox)The Shamrock Egg (Image via Roblox)
The Shamrock Egg (Image via Roblox)

The Shamrock Egg, besides being available from the event crates, can also be bought with Shamrocks. It appears briefly next to the St Patricks Event Shop during the Shamrock Event and any player can interact with it.

A Shamrock Egg costs 200 Shamrocks or 99 Robux. It consists of five penguin skins of different rarities, whose drop rates are as follows:

Advertisement
  • Clover – 46.5%
  • Green Shepherd – 30%
  • Pot O’ Gold – 15%
  • Lucky Kreek Craft – 7.3%
  • Leprechaun – 1.2% (limited stock)

Since it belongs to Tier 6, the Shamrock Egg contains some of the rarest skins.


Also check: Roblox Knockout Season 1 pass guide


FAQs on Knockout

What is the best way to earn Shamrocks?

Opening Lucky Crates and Rainbow Lucky Crates is the best way to earn Shamrocks. You have a 40% chance of getting 150 Shamrocks after opening the Rainbow crate.

How long is the Shamrock Event?

The Shamrock Event lasts 10 minutes before going into a cooldown of 50 minutes.

What is the rarity of the Leprechaun skin?

This skin is of Mythic rarity.

Advertisement