Latest BWF Rankings: Saina slips to no.4, Kashyap drops to no.17

Saina Nehwal of India competes against Juliane Schenk of Germany during the Indonesia Open Super Series 2013 women’s singles semi-final on June 15, 2013 in Jakarta, Indonesia. (Getty Images)

Indian badminton icon Saina Nehwal fell one spot to number four in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings.

China’s Li Xuerui and Germany’s Juliane Schenk occupy the number one and two spots respectively. Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon holds the third spot.

India’s top ranked men’s singles player Parupalli Kashyap, who reached the pre-quarterfinals of the ongoing World Badminton Championships in Guangzhou, slipped four places to the 17^th spot. He will turn out for Banga Beats in the much-hyped Indian Badminton League (IBL).

PV Sindhu, who won the Yonex Malaysian Open – her maiden senior singles crown – and later opted out of the Djaram Indonesian Open, retained her last week’s ranking of 12.

Among the other Indian men, RMV Gurusaidutt moved up a notch to the 20^th spot. Ajay Jayaram, who reached the quarterfinals of the Sunrise Indian Open and the Skycity New Zealand Open earlier this year, held on to his 24^th spot.

Sourabh Varma was another Indian shuttler to retain his last week’s ranking of 36. B Sai Praneeth advanced three spots to number 37 while K Srikanth jumped three places to number 40.

Anand Pawar, son of former India international Uday Pawar, also advanced four places to stay put at the 39^th spot. HS Pranoy jumped five places to occupy the 46th spot.

Arvind Bhat clung on to his 71^st spot while old warhorse Chetan Anand moved up four places to be placed 98.

Among the Indian women, Arundhati Pantawane, moved up a notch to the 52^nd spot while PC Thulasi also advanced one spot to 64^th.