Kidambi Srikanth's loss comes in a surprise as he fell short to World No.51 Shesar Hiren Rhustavito. On the other hand, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal had contrasting wins in the first round of the Asia Badminton Championship.
The last time an Indian had won the All England Championship was way back in 2001 by current national coach Pullela Gopichand, while Prakash Padukone was the first from the country to win the coveted crown in 1980.
This is the first time the prestigious Nationals is returning to the North-East since Guwahati last hosted it in 2010.
A strong Indian badminton team feat Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, Sameer Verma will compete in the Jakarta event.
Sindhu, who lost to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the final last year, will play another Japanese girl in Sunday's final.
Playing her third successive year-ending finale, Sindhu beat Beiwen Zhang 21-9 21-15 in a one-sided women's singles contest to top Group A.
Sindhu, who had finished runners-up in the last edition, gave ample display of her grit as she bounced back from a game down to record her first win over Asian Games champion Tzu Ying since the 2016 Rio Olympics.
The top two players from each group will qualify for the semifinals, after which a knockout draw will be conducted.
Verma beats his Chinese opponent Lu Guangzu 16-21, 21-19, 21-14 in the summit clash, which lasted one hour and 10 minutes.
He would take his colour, brushes and canvas outside to paint and talk with his love. He would stand close to the window and paint, keeping an eye on his muse.
They say the violin mimics the human sound. In his case, it was that of love, of longing. He didn’t know any other way of loving.
Younger people do not have much progressive beliefs; a 2017 survey found that one-third of young people opposed inter-caste marriage.
The pandemic has made it clear that virtual learning is here to stay. In the West, the big question is whether it will dilute the quality of the college experience and education. In India, which grapples with digital divide, the question remains whether this will reach most people at all.
Even after two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, many 'informed' individuals in India continue to deny the virus with unscientific claims and unfounded data. The latest? Omicron will end the pandemic.
Across Asia there are deeply entrenched obstacles to a mode of higher education that is liberal in multiple senses – disciplinary and epistemological but also social and political.
The two incidents in the recent past, one in Mon district of Nagaland and the other at Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, undermined the core principles democracy and federalism.