Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal suffered a straight-game defeat at the hands of sixth seed Chinese Shixian Wang in the women’s singles quaterfinals to crash out of the World Badminton Championship here today.

World number two Saina lost 8-21 14-21 to Wang in a 34-minute encounter in to draw curtains on India’s challenge in the high-profile tournament.

The second seed Indian, tipped to be one of the hot favourites to win the title, was not at her best and lagged behind right from the start as the Chinese opened up a 3-0 lead in the first game.

Though Saina caught up with her opponent at 6-6, Wang pocketed eight straight points to surge ahead and held her fort as the Indian’s game crumbled.

The second game was no better as once again the Chinese opened up a 3-0 lead early and kept the distance growing. The Hyderabadi tried her bit but could not sustain for long as her World Championship hopes ended in smoke.

Earlier, mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju suffered 16-21 19-21 defeat at the hands of South Korea’s Sung Hyun Ko and Jung Eun in the quarterfinals.

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Pics courtesy: ibnlive.com

Arjun Atwal became the first Indian and just the sixth Asian-born player to win on the PGA Tour when he secured a one-stroke victory at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday.

Atwal joined Japanese trio Isao Aoki, Shigeki Maruyama and Ryuji Imada and South Koreans KJ Choi and Y.E. Yang in an elite but growing club of champions from world’s most populous continent.

The 37-year-old, who now lives in Florida, sank a pressure-packed seven-foot par putt at the final hole to edge American David Toms at Sedgefield.

His final round of 67 left him on 20-under 260, ignited by an opening day 61. Toms closed with a 64.

“It was a long-time dream of mine to win out here but until it happens you keep doubting yourself and, believe me, I had my doubts teeing up today, even with a three-shot lead,” Atwal, who took up golf at the age of 14 in Kolkata, told reporters.

“Until you do it, you don’t know. My swing wasn’t feeling all that great today. It was a little tight (but) I just grinded it out and got it done somehow.”

Atwal believes his victory will resonate in his homeland.

“I’m pretty sure it’s going to be huge back home,” he said. “My in-laws called my wife on Sunday and said the coverage was just unreal with me leading.

“I know there were a lot of people in India and Dubai that watched me play. I’ve had a lot of messages.”

Atwal was part of what at one stage was a seven-way tie for the lead, but he went ahead with a birdie at the 16th and came to the par-four 18th knowing a par would win.

After driving into the rough, he deliberately lashed a utility club up against the skyboxes beyond the green from where he was granted a free drop.

He hit an adequate but not great chip but caught a lucky break when fellow competitor Scott McCarron had to putt first on the same line.

“That was huge,” Atwal said. “I was really nervous over that putt. It was the most nervous I’ve ever been in my entire life. My heart rate was probably 150 at the time.”

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Pics Courtesy:wallpaperpimper.com

The U.S. Open kicks off at the end of August, and the world’s best female tennis players will compete for the final Grand Slam title of the year. But the real action is off the court, as these women jockey for lucrative endorsement deals with apparel, shoe and racket companies.

Serena Williams may be the No. 1-ranked player, but she can not match the earnings power of Maria Sharapova. Thanks to a bevy of endorsements with blue chip companies like Nike ( NKE – news – people ), Sony ( SNE – news – people )Ericsson ( ERIC – news – people ) and Tiffany ( TIF – news – people ), Sharapova pulled in $24.5 million over the past year, making her the highest-paid female athlete in the world. She earned $1 million from prize money, with the rest derived from endorsements and appearance fees.

Sharapova’s breakthrough came in 2004, when she won her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. Her agents at IMG quickly capitalized on her success and good looks by inking deals with Canon ( CAJ – news – people ), Colgate-Palmolive ( CL – news – people ) and Motorola ( MOT – news – people ).

Our income figures cover June 2009 through June 2010 and include prize money, endorsements, appearance fees and exhibitions. Tennis players dominate the top 10, making up half the list, while golfers nab three spots. Our list of the highest-paid athletes in the world (male or female) included 30% born outside the U.S. This list of highest-paid women is even more international, with women from six different countries making the cut.

Pics Courtesy:frmarkdwhite.wordpress.com

The Williams sisters grab the No. 2 and No. 3 slots on our earnings list. Serena made $20.2 million while Venus earned $15.4 million over the past year. Venus made her debut on the Tour in 1994, and 16 year later both sisters are going strong–currently ranked No. 1 (Serena) and No. 5 (Venus) on the WTA Tour. They are the all-time leaders in career prize money, with Serena at $32.7 million and Venus having made $27.3. The next highest is Lindsay Davenport at $22.2 million. They put some of that cash to use last August when they became minority owners of the National Football League’s Miami Dolphins.

Our No. 4-ranked female athlete is racing’s Danica Patrick, who pulled in $12 million. Patrick is the most popular driver in IndyCar. She has a lucrative deal with her team, Andretti Autosport, that allows her to share team revenues, a rarity in racing.

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David Beckham

British footballer David Beckham has reportedly agreed to design a collection of men’s suitings and evening wear for his fashionista wife Victoria’s clothing line.

The former Spice Girl is said to have convinced the English midfielder to create a collection and he is now working on an autumn/winter 2011 series of garment after giving in to months of requests from her, Daily Star reported online.

“Victoria has been trying to persuade him to do it for a while and he’s finally succumbed. She’s reassured him that he has an eye for fashion,” a source said.

The 36-year-old singer-turned-fashion designer is elated with the efforts of David, who plays for the club Los Angeles Galaxy. “David is hoping to produce a range of men’s couture clothing of fitted suits, smart day wear and an evening range – and Victoria thinks it will go down a storm,” the source added.

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