Tennis News -
At $15K Kuwait F2, Meshref

[F] (3) FROST Leon (AUS)/ SINGH Navdeep (IND) bt (2) FILENKOV Alexei (RUS)/ GHEDIN Riccardo (ITA) 63 64

Excellent doubles title win for Navdeep with his Australian partner Frost.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Archery News -
At Meteksan World Cup, Antalya, Turkey - RECURVE MEN'S TEAM

India won gold medal beating Malaysia in the final ... Congratulation to the team of Rahul Banerjee, Mangal Singh Champia and Jayanta Talukdar - the World Cup champions!

Final -
INDIA bt MALAYSIA 218 - 215

Semi-Final -
INDIA bt CHINESE TAIPEI 218 - 210

[R2] INDIA bt USA 221 - 211
[R1] INDIA bt KAZAKHSTAN 224 - 219

Tennis News -
At French Open 2008,

[R2] (9) Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt Jose Acasuso (ARG)/ Sebastian Prieto (ARG) 64 64

Another clinical display by Lee and Lukas against Argentinians to move into 3rd round of FO ... They scored victory in just 58 mins, Lee and Lukas broke Argentine's serve 3 times and their service broken 1 time ... Now they have 2 days break before their next match.
-------------------------------------------
At $15K Kuwait F2, Meshref

[SF] (WC) (5) RASTOGI Karan (IND,441) l (6) ARMSTRONG Miles (AUS,460) W/O due to back injury

Hopefully he gets recovered in next 15 days as his next planned assignment is Iran futures from 16th June.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Badminton News -
At $15K Open Volant d'Or de Toulouse, France

[Q1] Ankush Jadhav (IND,328) bt Jean Brice Montagnon (FRA,352) 21-17 21-18
[Q2] Ankush Jadhav (IND,328) bt Arthur Cheung (ENG,593) 24-22 21-13
[Q3] Ankush Jadhav (IND,328) l (6) Maxime Mora (FRA,330) 16-21 14-21

Maindraw -
[R1] Ajay Jayaram (IND,184) bt (Q) Yoann Turlan (FRA,UNR) 21-9 21-10
[R1] (5) Chetan Anand (IND,41) bt (Q) Jordy Hilbink (NED,UNR) 21-13 21-10
[R1] (8) Aditi Mutatkar (IND,63) bt Laura Molina (ESP,78) 21-14 21-14
[R1] Neha Pandit (IND,159) l Patty Stolzenbach (NED,93) 16-21 11-21
[R1] Gayatri Varatak (IND,102) l Weny Rahmawati (FRA,85) 15-21 15-21

[R2] Ajay Jayaram (IND,184) bt Henrik Toth (HUN,158) 21-15 21-8
[R2] (5) Chetan Anand (IND,41) bt Kasper Oedum (DEN,92)
[R1] (8) Aditi Mutatkar (IND,63) bt Patty Stolzenbach (NED,93) 21-8 21-16

[QF] Ajay Jayaram (IND,184) vs Christian Lind Thomsen (DEN,102)
[QF] (5) Chetan Anand (IND,41) vs (3) Andre Kurniawan Tedjono (INA,38)
[QF] (8) Aditi Mutatkar (IND,63) vs Elisa Chanteur (FRA,110)

Chetan is on roll ... He is assure of his re-entry in top-40 WR after this tournament ... In quarters he is facing higer ranked Tedjono, whom he defeated last week in semis.
Ajay and Aditi also showing consistency to move into quarters.

Tennis News -
At French Open 2008,

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) l (1) Bob Bryan (USA)/ Mike Bryan (USA) 16 46

[R2] (9) Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Jose Acasuso (ARG)/ Sebastian Prieto (ARG)

Expected loss for Rohan and Aisam, but better performance in second set by Indo-Pak duo.
-------------------------------------------
At $100K Izmir Challenger, Turkey

[SF] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ BLOOMFIELD Richard (GBR) l THOMPSON Nathan (USA)/ UDOMCHOKE Danai (THA) W/O

Wise decision by Prakash giving walkover, so as to be in time for playing at Surbiton singles qualies which is much important than his doubles assignment.
-------------------------------------------
At $15K Kuwait F2, Meshref

[SF] (WC) (5) RASTOGI Karan (IND,441) vs (6) ARMSTRONG Miles (AUS,460)

Doubles -
[SF] (3) FROST Leon (AUS)/ SINGH Navdeep (IND) bt (1) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ RAJA Purav (IND) 64 46 10(7)

[F] (3) FROST Leon (AUS)/ SINGH Navdeep (IND) vs (2) FILENKOV Alexei (RUS)/ GHEDIN Riccardo (ITA)

After retiring from singles match Navdeep played doubles and now he is in the final.
-------------------------------------------
At $50K Carson Womens Challenger, CA, USA

[QF] (4) FEYS Debbrich (BEL)/ UBEROI Neha (USA) l COUTS Kimberly (USA)/ TATISHVILI Anna (GEO) 36 26

Another disappointing loss for Neha.
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Sumter Futures, SC, USA

[QF] (2) ROLLE Tiya (USA)/ UBEROI Shikha (IND) l BOLENDER Brooke (USA)/ CAPRA Beatrice (USA) 26 57

Its health wise good sign that after singles retirement Shikha came back on court to play doubles.

Tennis News -
At French Open 2008,

[R1] (9) Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA)/ Sonchat Ratiwatana (THA) 62 64
[R1] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) l Stephen Huss (AUS)/ Ross Hutchins (GBR) 46 46

Huge upset by Huss and Hutchins over one of title favorite Mark and Hesh ... So with that Hesh and Mark ended their poor clay season ... Now both r playing in MXD at FO.

But Other hand thumping win for first-time pair Lee and Dlouhy against Ratiwatana twins ... Great start for this pair ... Now after Mahesh's loss our hopes r pinning on lee in doubles.
-------------------------------------------
At $15K Kuwait F2, Meshref

[QF] (WC) (5) RASTOGI Karan (IND,441) bt SINGH Navdeep (IND,833) 62 4-2 Retd.

Navdeep retired from his match but at that time Karan was dominating proceedings.
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Thailand F3, Bangkok

[QF] (1) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,505) l (6) YU Min-Hwa (KOR,654) 16 46
[QF] (Q) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,817) l (WC) ISSARA Khunpak (THA,UNR) 36 63 36

So with these losses Indian challenge is over in Thai futures ... Overall disappointing performance from Bhambris ... Only Parul gathered some points from these futures.

Football News -
At SAFF Championship 2008, Maldives/ Sri Lanka - 3rd June to 14th June 2008

This is 7th edition of this tournament ... India won it 4 times.
1993 W - India R - Sri Lanka
1995 W - Sri Lanka R - India
1997 W - India R - Maldives
1999 W - India R - Bangladesh
2003 W - Bangladesh R - Maldives
2005 W - India R - Bangladesh

The SAFF Championship will be so-hosted for the first time in Maldives and Sri Lanka.

Group A matches will be played in Maldives at National Stadium, Male and Group B matches will be played in Sri Lanka at Sugathadhasa Stadium, Colombo ... Semi-finals will be played at National Stadium, Male and Sugathadhasa Stadium, Colombo on 11th June ... Final will be played at Sugathadhasa Stadium, Colombo on 14th June.

Group A
India, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan

Group B
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Afghanistan

Matches -
3rd June, 2008 - India vs Nepal
5th June, 2008 - India vs Pakistan
7th June, 2008 - India vs Maldives

11th June, 2008 - Semi-finals

14th June, 2008 - Final

Boxing News -
At 1st AIBA President Cup International Tournament, Sinjhuang City, Taipei

81 kg - Light Heavyweight
[R1] Dinesh Kumar (IND) l Abbos Atoeve (UZB) PTS 8:24

Dinesh Kumar couldn't produce much fight to current World champion in 81 kg, Abbos Atoeve of Uzbekistan ... But experience of playing 4 rounds with world champion was invaluable.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tennis News -
At $100K Izmir Challenger, Turkey

[R2] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND,260) l KUDRYAVTSEV Alexandre (RUS,203) 36 36

Doubles -
[R1] BASTL George (SUI)/ GHOUSE Mustafa (IND) l LEVINE Jesse (USA)/ NISHIKORI Kei (JPN) 67(4) 16

[QF] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ BLOOMFIELD Richard (GBR) bt ILHAN Marsel (TUR)/ MELLO Ricardo (BRA) 36 16

[SF] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ BLOOMFIELD Richard (GBR) vs THOMPSON Nathan (USA)/ UDOMCHOKE Danai (THA)

Lack of consistency in performance hurting Kash's progress to move ahead in ranking.
-------------------------------------------
At $50K Carson Womens Challenger, CA, USA

[R1] UBEROI Neha (USA,390) l (Q) ELIE Jennifer (USA,512) 76(3) 16 46

Disappointing loss in singles for Neha.
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Sumter Futures, SC, USA

[R1] UBEROI Shikha (IND,898) l (LL) KRISAN Erica (USA,UNR) 76(6) 0-2 Retd.

Worrying about Shikha's health after her rtetirement from singles match.

Boxing News -
At 1st AIBA President Cup International Tournament, Sinjhuang City, Taipei

Vijender's scored huge victory against the Olympic Gold Medalist Artayev ... Before this Vijender had lost a close bout against Artayev at the Doha Asian Games in December 2006 in the semi finals.

Today Dinesh Kumar is meeting Abbos Atoeve of Uzbekistan on Wednesday, who is the current world champion in 81-kg category.

51 kg - Flyweight
[R1] Jitender Kumar (IND) l Yunusov Anvar (TJK) PTS 4:9

57 kg - Featherweight
[R1] Anthresh Lalit Lakra (IND) l Dmytro Bulenkov (UKR) RSC R4 [RSC - Referee Stop Contest]

75 kg - Middleweight
[R1] Vijender Singh (IND) bt Bakhtiyar Artayev (KAZ) PTS 12:7

[SF] Vijender Singh (IND) vs Angkhan Chomphuphuang (THA)

81 kg - Light Heavyweight
[R1] Dinesh Kumar (IND) vs Abbos Atoeve (UZB)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Football News -
International Friendly Match, Nehru Stadium, Goa

India dw Chinese Taipei 2-2
Goal Scored - NP Pradeep (IND) 40' & 70' and Po-Liang Chen (TPE) 4', Hsieh Meng-Hsuan (TPE) 48'

20 places below in FIFA ranking Taipei surprised Indian side with their fighting performance ... In this second friendly they were better side on the field ... India managed draw by NP Pradeep's 2 strikes.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tennis News -
At $15K Kuwait F2, Meshref

[R2] SINGH Navdeep (IND,833) bt (WC) MUHAMMAD Ahmad Rabeea (KUW,UNR) 63 64
[R2] (WC) (5) RASTOGI Karan (IND,441) bt KLIER David (GER,663) W/O

[QF] (WC) (5) RASTOGI Karan (IND,441) vs SINGH Navdeep (IND,833)

Doubles -
[QF] (1) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ RAJA Purav (IND) bt AL SHATTI Mohammad (KUW)/ SULTAN Ziad (KUW) 61 60
[QF] (3) FROST Leon (AUS)/ SINGH Navdeep (IND) bt AVELLAN Jacob (SWE)/ ERIKSSON Markus (SWE) 62 46 10(7)

[SF] (1) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ RAJA Purav (IND) vs (3) FROST Leon (AUS)/ SINGH Navdeep (IND)

Good to see Navdeep taking advantage of weaker opponent ... Now in singles and doubles Indians r facing eachother ... Go guys.
-------------------------------------------
At $50K Carson Womens Challenger, CA, USA

[R1] UBEROI Neha (USA,390) vs (Q) ELIE Jennifer (USA,512)

Doubles -
[R1] (4) FEYS Debbrich (BEL)/ UBEROI Neha (USA) bt ELIE Jennifer (USA)/ JONES Whitney (USA) 46 62 10(5)

[QF] (4) FEYS Debbrich (BEL)/ UBEROI Neha (USA) vs COUTS Kimberly (USA)/ TATISHVILI Anna (GEO)

Nice comeback victory in doubles for Neha.
-------------------------------------------
At $50K Carson Challenger, CA, USA

[R1] (3) AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND)/ BRIAUD Patrick (USA) l BALL Carsten (AUS)/ RETTENMAIER Travis (USA) 36 36
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Sumter Futures, SC, USA

[R1] UBEROI Shikha (IND,898) vs (LL) KRISAN Erica (USA,UNR)

Doubles -
[R1] (2) ROLLE Tiya (USA)/ UBEROI Shikha (IND) bt FRASER Emily (USA)/ WU Jacqueline (USA) 75 61

[QF] (2) ROLLE Tiya (USA)/ UBEROI Shikha (IND) vs BOLENDER Brooke (USA)/ CAPRA Beatrice (USA)

As expected winning start in doubles and facing lucky loser in singles first round.
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Thailand F3, Bangkok

[R2] (1) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,505) bt (Q) NGUYEN Thuy-Dung (VIE,UNR) 62 64
[R2] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,552) l (Q) KIM Joohyoung (KOR,944) 26 16
[R2] (Q) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,817) bt (Q) YAMAMOTO Ai (JPN,1067) 64 63

[QF] (1) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,505) vs (6) YU Min-Hwa (KOR,654)
[QF] (Q) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,817) vs (WC) ISSARA Khunpak (THA,UNR)

Doubles -
[QF] BINNIE Renee (AUS)/ GOSWAMI Parul (IND) l (2) GASANOVA Elina (RUS)/ TANANTA Lavinia (INA) 67(7) 26

Bhambris struggle against Koreans continues ... Today Sanaa lost in very one-sided match and tomorrow Ankita facing another Korean.

Tennis News -
At French Open 2008,

MXD -
[R1] Nadia Petrova (RUS)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Jie Zheng (CHN)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)

Considering their recent strain relation ... This will be cracker of the match.
-------------------------------------------
At $100K Izmir Challenger, Turkey

[R1] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND,260) bt (7) LEVINE Jesse (USA,147) 76(5) 62
[R2] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND,260) vs KUDRYAVTSEV Alexandre (RUS,203)

Doubles -
[R1] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ BLOOMFIELD Richard (GBR) bt (1) KUZNETSOV Alex (USA)/ PLESS Kristian (DEN) 61 76(8)

[QF] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ BLOOMFIELD Richard (GBR) vs ILHAN Marsel (TUR)/ MELLO Ricardo (BRA)

This was long due win for Kash against top 150 player on the tour ... Lets hope he will built on to move further deep into the tournament ... In doubles also Kash and Bloomfield started with huge upset win over top seed pair ... Go Kash.
-------------------------------------------
At $15K Kuwait F2, Meshref

[R1] SINGH Navdeep (IND,833) bt (1) MAZARAKIS Vasilis (GRE,277) 4-0 Retd.
[R2] SINGH Navdeep (IND,833) vs (WC) MUHAMMAD Ahmad Rabeea (KUW,UNR)

Doubles -
[R1] (1) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ RAJA Purav (IND) bt AL TAWEEL Issam (SYR)/ MAAROUF Hayan (SYR) 63 61

Superb lucky break for Navdeep to go deep into this $15K futures.
-------------------------------------------
At $50K Carson Womens Challenger, CA, USA

[R1] UBEROI Neha (USA,390) vs Qualifier

Doubles -
(4) FEYS Debbrich (BEL)/ UBEROI Neha (USA) vs ELIE Jennifer (USA)/ JONES Whitney (USA)
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Thailand F3, Bangkok

[R1] (1) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,505) bt (Q) WELFORD Tiffany (AUS,UNR) 62 16 62
[R1] (5) MALOO Parija (IND) l (Q) MULSAP Sophia (THA,1012) 36 26
[R1] (7) APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND,703) l (Q) YAMAMOTO Ai (JPN,1067) 06 16

[R2] (1) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,505) vs (Q) NGUYEN Thuy-Dung (VIE,UNR)
[R2] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,552) vs (Q) KIM Joohyoung (KOR,944)
[R2] (Q) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,817) vs (Q) YAMAMOTO Ai (JPN,1067)

Doubles -
[R1] (3) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND)/ BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND) l HONG Da-Jung (KOR)/ KIM Joohyoung (KOR) 36 16
[R1] BINNIE Renee (AUS)/ GOSWAMI Parul (IND) bt APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND)/ SOLANKI Kumari-Sweta (IND) 64 63

[QF] BINNIE Renee (AUS)/ GOSWAMI Parul (IND) vs (2) GASANOVA Elina (RUS)/ TANANTA Lavinia (INA)

Disappointing losses for Parija and Prerana.
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Sumter Futures, SC, USA

[Q3] (2) BURMAN Shivika (IND,1062) l CHANG Stephany (USA,UNR) 16 26

Maindraw -
[R1] UBEROI Shikha (IND,898) vs Qualifier

Doubles -
(2) ROLLE Tiya (USA)/ UBEROI Shikha (IND) vs FRASER Emily (USA)/ WU Jacqueline (USA)

Tennis News -
At 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (May 15-26)

Final-
(1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) bt J.P. Smith (Tennessee) 63 62

Somi won his second consecutive NCAA Singles Championship in just 61 minutes to became one of the greatest in collegiate tennis history.

Devvarman ends the season with a 44-1 singes record, tying the school record for wins in a season he set a year before. He is believed to be the first NCAA Singles Champion to finish the season with one or fewer losses since UCLA’s Jimmy Connors went undefeated in 1971. Since then, NCAA Champions have included Georgia’s Pernfors, Stanford’s John McEnroe, Stanford’s Tim Mayotte, and Texas’s Kevin Curren, all of whom went on to be ranked in the world top 20, but lost multiple times in college during their championship season.

With the victory, Devvarman becomes the 13th player in the 124-year history of the tournament to win consecutive titles, and just the fourth to do so in the past 50 years. He joins Georgia’s Mikael Pernfors (1984 and 1985) and Matias Boeker (2001 and 2002) to win consecutive NCAA Singles Championships since the current 64-player tournament format was adopted in 1977. Devvarman becomes the first player since USC’s Dennis Ralston (1963 and 1964) to win consecutive titles without winning at least one of them on his home courts. He also joins Arizona State’s Sargin Sargsian (1995) and UCLA’s Benjamin Kohlloeffel (2006) as the only players to win the ITA National Indoor Singles Championship and NCAA Singles Championship in the same season. The win was also his 18th career NCAA Singles Tournament victory, extending his record for most in the current tournament format.

Devvarman ends his Cavalier career with a 158-27 career singles record, setting the school record for career victories. He was 88-6 over his final two seasons at Virginia. Devvarman concluded his career on a school record 36-match winning streak.

Somi's comments after title win -
“To end my career like this is very special. I wasn’t just playing for myself, I was playing for Virginia for the last time. I was playing for my teammates and my coaches too. The loss in the team tournament was so hard to take, but this was the best way to try to cheer everyone up a little bit.”
“There was a little bit of a different feel this year than last year. Last year there was a bigger crowd and it was No. 1 vs. No. 2 instead of No. 1 vs. an unseeded player. But that didn’t change how I prepared for the match. I was focused and played well. This one is probably more special because it came in my last match as a Cavalier.”

About the match...
"I knew coming into the match that JP was a good player who relied heavily on his serve. That was a key piece of his game and I knew that. For JP to find a way to beat me he had to serve unbelievable and play a really good return game. Before I went on the court the main thing that coach told me was find a way to hold your own serve. That's the most important thing. That's exactly what I did. I focused really hard on my serve and waited for my chances. JP played a loose game in the first set and I just rode the momentum into the second. Before I knew it I was up two breaks and serving for the match and that pretty much sums up the whole match."

On winning back-to-back NCAA singles titles...
"It's definitely a great feeling. This is the way pretty much anyone would like to end their college career. Two straight singles championships, and I've said it before that people just don't win it single handedly, nobody does. So before I take credit, I have to give credit to all the people behind the scenes that work with me all the time. My coaches, my strength coaches, my parents, my professors and my best friends who always support me. The list just goes on and on. My doctors my trainers, I could go on forever. The entire UVA athletic staff it's just unbelievable. Without that kind of support I don't think this kind of thing is possible. I would really like to thank them and tell them I'm really grateful for what they've given me the last four years."

Virginia's Head coach Brian Boland -
“Somdev came into this match really prepared and focused. As he has all week long, his serve really helped him today. He was able to win a lot of free points because of it. Early on, J.P. was serving well too. But as the match went along, he got fewer first serves in and Somdev was able to take advantage of it, hitting the ball deep and keeping J.P. off the net where he likes to play. It was on serve at 4-3 in the first when J.P. had a bit of a loose game and Somdev broke him. That was the turning point because it gave Somdev all the momentum and he never gave it up.”

“I can’t imagine any program having someone represent it better than Somdev Devvarman represented the University of Virginia. He is a better person than a tennis player and that is saying a lot because he is an incredible player. The guy loves this school. He bleeds orange and blue. His legacy with be with us forever. Having seen for four years how he handles himself and goes about his game, I know he will have a very successful career as a pro.”

On coaching a player like Somdev...
"Just listening to him these last 30 seconds I think sums it up about as well as it can. He's a special guy. He has incredible perspective and is mature beyond his years. The way he approaches his life and his tennis on a day- to-day basis is one thing that makes him so great. He has a certain calmness to him and a level of consistency that allows him to continue to move forward each match and play at a high level. Nobody prepares better than Somdev. He has great intelligence for how to play the game, but most importantly he always knows what his strengths and weaknesses are and plays within himself. You saw that again today. He has a great ability to do the things that he does best over and over, and continue to make other parts of his game more complete which he has done over the course of the last four years."

U can watch more photos on Tulsa site - http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com/view.gal?id=29106

Tennis News -
At $100K Izmir Challenger, Turkey

[R1] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND,260) vs (7) LEVINE Jesse (USA,147)

Doubles -
[R1] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ BLOOMFIELD Richard (GBR) vs (1) KUZNETSOV Alex (USA)/ PLESS Kristian (DEN)
[R1] BASTL George (SUI)/ GHOUSE Mustafa (IND) vs LEVINE Jesse (USA)/ NISHIKORI Kei (JPN)
-------------------------------------------
At $50K Carson Challenger, CA, USA

[R1] (3) AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND)/ BRIAUD Patrick (USA) vs BALL Carsten (AUS)/ RETTENMAIER Travis (USA)
-------------------------------------------
At $15K Kuwait F2, Meshref

[R1] SINGH Navdeep (IND,833) vs (1) MAZARAKIS Vasilis (GRE,277)
[R1] (WC) (5) RASTOGI Karan (IND,441) vs EICHENBERGER Patrick (SUI,730)
[R1] GAJJAR Rohan (IND,830) vs WINTERMANTEL Frank (GER,906)
[R1] RAJA Purav (IND,920) vs (8) GHEDIN Riccardo (ITA,571)

Doubles -
[R1] (1) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ RAJA Purav (IND) vs AL TAWEEL Issam (SYR)/ MAAROUF Hayan (SYR)
[R1] (3) FROST Leon (AUS)/ SINGH Navdeep (IND) vs AL BITAR Ahmed (EGY)/ ARNELL Mathias (SWE)
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Thailand F3, Bangkok

[Q1] (1) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,817) bt (WC) PLIPHUECH Peangthan (THA) 62 62
[Q1] (8) EASWARAMURTHI Ashmitha (IND,1067) l LIM Sae-Mi (KOR,UNR) 06 06

[Q2] (1) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,817) bt KAWATOKO Moe (JPN,UNR) 26 16

Maindraw -
[R1] (1) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,505) vs (Q) WELFORD Tiffany (AUS,UNR)
[R1] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,552) bt (WC) MAHAJAROENKUL Satjaporn (THA,UNR) 61 62
[R1] (5) MALOO Parija (IND) vs (Q) MULSAP Sophia (THA)
[R1] (7) APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND,703) vs (Q) YAMAMOTO Ai (JPN,1067)
[R1] (Q) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,817) bt VIJUKSANABOON Varanya (THA,752) 62 4-1 Retd
[R1] SOLANKI Kumari-Sweta (IND) l (Q) KIM Joohyoung (KOR,944) 16 26

[R2] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,552) vs (Q) KIM Joohyoung (KOR,944)

Doubles -
[R1] (3) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND)/ BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND) vs HONG Da-Jung (KOR)/ KIM Joohyoung (KOR)
[R1] APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND)/ SOLANKI Kumari-Sweta (IND) vs BINNIE Renee (AUS)/ GOSWAMI Parul (IND)

Bhambris r top 2 seeds in singles ... Parul qualified and started well in singles.
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Sumter Futures, SC, USA

[Q1] (2) BURMAN Shivika (IND,1062) Bye
[Q2] (2) BURMAN Shivika (IND,1062) bt KURNIAWAN Tiffany (USA,UNR) 61 4-0 Retd

[Q3] (2) BURMAN Shivika (IND,1062) vs CHANG Stephany (USA,UNR)

Badminton News -
At $15K XXI Spanish International 2008, Madrid

[Q1] Ajay Jayaram (IND,192) bt David Leal (ESP,486) 21-11 21-12
[Q1] Ankush Jadhav (IND,342) l Simon Knutsson (SWE,493) 18-21 11-21
[Q1] Neha Pandit (IND,UNR) bt Lisa Deichgräber (GER,444) 18-21 21-18 21-16

[Q2] Ajay Jayaram (IND,192) bt Hannes Kaesbauer (GER,520) 18-21 21-12 21-16
[Q2] Neha Pandit (IND,UNR) bt (8) Louise Hansen (DEN,298) 25-23 21-15

[Q3] Ajay Jayaram (IND,192) l (3) Steinar Klausen (NOR,123) 16-21 23-21 16-21

Maindraw -
[R1] (5) Chetan Anand (IND,49) bt (Q) Marcel Reuter (GER,153) 21-18 19-21 24-22
[R1] Gayatri Vartak (IND,116) bt Yoana Martinez (ESP,81) 21-18 19-21 21-19
[R1] (8) Aditi Mutatkar (IND,73) bt Maria Febe Kusumastuti (INA,106) 16-21 21-17 21-18
[R1] (Q) Neha Pandit (IND,UNR) bt Solenn Pasturel (ENG,129) 21-13 21-17

[R2] (5) Chetan Anand (IND,49) bt (Q) Andi Hartono (INA,UNR) 21-17 21-15
[R2] Gayatri Vartak (IND,116) l Xin Xu Bing (CHN,197) 12-21 21-11 16-21
[R2] (8) Aditi Mutatkar (IND,73) bt Nathalie Descamps (BEL,111) 21-7 21-16
[R2] (Q) Neha Pandit (IND,UNR) bt (3) Anu Nieminen (FIN,41) 18-21 23-21 21-16

[QF] (5) Chetan Anand (IND,49) bt (Q) Stenny Kusuma (INA,266) 21-7 8-21 21-10
[QF] (8) Aditi Mutatkar (IND,73) l Karina Jorgensen (DEN,138) 21-17 23-25 11-21
[QF] (Q) Neha Pandit (IND,UNR) bt Emelie Lennartsson (SWE,96) 21-9 16-21 21-14

[SF] (5) Chetan Anand (IND,49) bt (1) Andre Kurniawan Tedjono (INA,40) 21-17 9-21 22-20
[SF] (Q) Neha Pandit (IND,UNR) bt Karina Jorgensen (DEN,138) 21-19 15-21 21-19

[Final] (Q) Neha Pandit (IND,UNR) l (6) Maria Elfira Christina (INA,65) 16-21 4-21

[Final] (5) Chetan Anand (IND,49) bt Henri Hurskainen (SWE,107) 23-21 19-21 21-15

Chetan showed his form in India Grand Prix wasn't fluke ... In his title win he had good win against Indonesian WR #40 ... This title win gave him 4000 pts and will moved him around #41 in WR.

Other hand Neha Pandit, who entered as unranked player had a dream run ... Before final she played 6 matches including qualifying, so she must be tired in the final ... Creditable performance by Neha, who received 3400 pts as a finalist and that means she will first time enter into WR inside top-220.

Tennis News -
At 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (May 15-26)

Somi scored good fighting win against Clayton and he become first player to play consecutive 3 NCAA tennis championship finals since Northwestern’s Marty Riessen in the early 1960’s (1962,63,64) to advance to three straight NCAA singles finals .... In the final Somi is playing against another freshman from Tennessee, J. P. Smith.

[SF] (1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) bt (8) Alex Clayton (Stanford) 64 76(3)
[Final] (1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) vs J.P. Smith (Tennessee)

Somi's comments after semi-final win -
On his match today…
“I feel like Alex is a great player. He is only a freshman and he has a long way to go. To be honest, he had a lot of chances in that match, and he came out really well. I have to give him a lot of credit for being a great match. At the same time, I fought really hard, and that is maybe why I came out on top. I served really well. Other than that, today was a really good match, very competitive all the way through. I am pretty glad I came out on top in the end.”

On being down 3-1 in the first set…
“He was serving 3-1, 40-15 if I recall right. He made a couple of errors, I hit a couple of good shots and found a way to break back in, and before I knew it I was serving for the first set. I found a way to win that set.”

On getting closer to the title…
“To be honest, I get nervous before every tennis match. You obviously feel a few nerves before every single match. I felt like that my first round, my second round and today, and I am sure that it will be the same tomorrow. With that being said, every time I step on the court I don’t think about my streak, I don’t think about what record is on the line, I just think about who I am playing and how I can find a way to beat them. I think that is why I have done pretty well this season, and I have my last college match tomorrow. I am going to come out with the same attitude and leave it all on the court.”

On his pre-match ritual…
“I joke around a lot with my coaches. We aren’t nervous or tense, just messing around, playing some games or something like that. When I get on the court, I like to listen to calm music to get myself relaxed and keep myself in the moment as much as I can. It is really enjoyable right now. I am really having a good time with my senior year and I have one more to go.”

On comparing last year, and preparing for tomorrow’s match…
“Last year I had a really tough three-set match in the semifinals against [Illinois’] Kevin Anderson. It was also very hot, and I am glad to be done in two today. Other than that, I have always taken pretty much every match the same way, big or small. I try to hydrate, keep myself calm and relaxed, and try to go out and perform at my best level at every single match. That isn’t going to change from last year, and hopefully I’ll do the same thing tomorrow.”

On tomorrow’s match…
“I think being a senior and No. 1 in the country sometimes could go both ways. A lot of people have been at the top of the game in college tennis. I try to treat every single opponent the same way, whether I am playing a guy unranked, or No. 1 or 2 in the country. I treat every single person and match the same way, with the same amount of respect.”

On the team tournament…
“It was definitely the toughest moment of my tennis career, the hardest moment I have ever had to deal with. I am so passionate about my teammates, the whole tennis program, and we really wanted to win a national championship. At the end of the day, I am always going to look back and not have any regrets because I knew that we played as well as we could. It has definitely helped me stay focused for singles and doubles matches. We have no regrets at all. We left it on the court, and if I could do it again, I’d do it exactly the same way and hope for a different result. Because I have no regrets, I find it easier to deal with. Every time I walk off the court, win or lose, I have no regrets about the way I played.”

On his opponent tomorrow…
“Whoever you play, you have to be ready. Either way I am just ready to play a good match. I have a lot of respect for what they have accomplished. I am sure I am going to have a good match regardless, and I am excited.”
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Golf News -
At BMW PGA Championship, Surrey, England - Final Standing

5 RANDHAWA Jyoti 73 68 69 70 -8 € 190800.00

With this excellent finish Jyoti climbed to #23 on European Tour Order of Merit from #55 and he also moved back to his best ranking in WGR #72.
----------------------------------------------
At Melwood Prince George's County Open - Final Standing (Nationwide Tour)

T25 Arjun Atwal 72 71 71 70 -4

So with this T25 finish Arjun moved by 1 place in 2008 Nationwide Tour Money Leaders, he laso crossed $100K ($104,618) mark on 2008 Nationwide tour playing only 7 tournaments.

Tennis News -
At French Open 2008,

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs (1) Bob Bryan (USA)/ Mike Bryan (USA)
[R1] (9) Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA)/ Sonchat Ratiwatana (THA)
[R1] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vs Stephen Huss (AUS)/ Ross Hutchins (GBR)

Very tough draw for Bops and Aisam agains Bryans ... But I feel its good opportunity for them to produce their best game against WR #1 pair ... Lee and Lukas also having tough draw against Thai Ratiwatana bros.

Tennis News -
At 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (May 15-26)

After winning first set easily somi faced tough challenge from Lukacs before moving to semis ... In semis he is playing freshman #7 Alex Clayton ... Before they faced in semis at the ITA National Indoor Championships, where Somi won 64 64.

[QF] (1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) bt (9) Denes Lukacs (Baylor) 60 67(2) 63
[SF] (1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) vs (8) Alex Clayton (Stanford)

Somdev Comments -
About the match…
“I thought he came out a little nervous in the first set and it gave me a quick and easy service game right at the start. I have been serving well this entire week and that really helped my confidence during the early stages of the match. I cruised to a pretty easy first set and I knew the second set was going to be a battle. I had a few really good chances to break early in the second set but he is really tough and played really well. We played a pretty good second set, breaking each other just once. I had my chances to finish the set and I didn’t take them and he played well. Going into the third set I knew he was going to be tired and I just took advantage of that. I broke him once and served out the match pretty well.”

Do you think about having a long winning streak?
“No, you don’t really think about that kind of stuff when you are on the court. You just play and try to have fun. I know this is my last tournament as a college player and more importantly as a Virginia Cavalier. I am going to enjoy it as much as I can and forget about the wins and losses and go out there and try to play my best tennis.”
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Landisville Futures, PA, USA

[SF] (4) ROLLE Tiya (USA)/ UBEROI Shikha (IND) l (1) BOFFA Stefania (SUI)/ FITZPATRICK Anna (GBR) 67(1) 64 (7)10

Good fighting performance from pair of Shikha and Tiya against top seed pair.

Football News -
International Friendly Match, Nehru Stadium, Goa

India bt Chinese Taipei 3-0
Goal Scored - NP Pradeep (IND) 58', Sunil Chetri (IND) 75' & 89'

Good start for new season for Indain national side ... They scored comfortable win against Taipei side.
---------------------------------------
At AFC Cup 2008 - Quarterfinal

Dempo SC (India) vs Home United (Singapore)

Two legs of matches will be played on 16th and 23rd September, 2008.

Motor Sports News -
At GP2 Series, Monaco - Feature Race

Karun scored podium finish, 3rd position, in Monaco GP ... This was terrific result for Karun, who was 4th until the last lap ... Little slip up by 3rd place Mike Conway and Karun take full advantage of it and scored podium finish at Monaco ... His teammate Bruno Senna won the race.


But in second race Karun and Maldonado crashed on first lap ... Karun needs to be consistent in both races on race weekend, in last race also he faced same problem.

GP2 Series: Karun, third today which is possibly unexpected for you: how did you see it?
Karun Chandhok - I was looking for fourth really, because in the first stint Valles was quite slow and that allowed the top three guys to take off, so I was just sitting there waiting for him to pit: as soon as he pitted I went a lot quicker straight away. Then I was stuck behind Grosjean: again he was slow and in traffic, and behind Tung, so the first two-thirds of the race was just frustrating and I had to be patient, sit in traffic, sit in traffic, sit in traffic. As soon as they got out of the way bang, I could do a good time and I kept doing that, and then after Tung got out of the way it was just me and Mike, and I was making 1.6, 1.7 seconds a lap on him: I was really catching him. Then I don't know what happened: Javi says that Mike braked early at the tunnel, but I have no idea because I didn't see anything: I came out of the tunnel and all I saw was Javi in the middle of the road and Mike sideways, so I had a really good laugh for the rest of the lap, all the way to the line! I have to say that fourth was what I was aiming for, but third is a nice little bonus: it's Monaco, got a podium, happy days.

GP2 Series: You made a good start but then were stuck in traffic: how hard is it to deal with that frustration?
Karun - Yeah, but my race was compromised a bit by qualifying yesterday: I lost four tenths really on what I could have done, so I should have been in the top three, and then you just sit there in traffic and your race is compromised by that. It's a tough race, Monaco: it's not physically demanding by mentally it's very, very tough and you have to really be on the ball for a long time, but the team did a fantastic job, the cars were brilliant, both Bruno and mine, and so it's well deserved for the team: we've had a lot of shit luck this year.

GP2 Series: And a 1-3 shows they're pretty on top of the new car...
Karun - Yeah, we're pretty on the ball. We've been quick everywhere: in Barcelona Bruno finished second and I would have easily had fourth if we didn't have to stack in the pitstop, Istanbul we were quick and I finished fourth there, so I think we've got pace.

GP2 Series: And tomorrow?
Karun - There are a lot of slower guys in front of us! But you can't pass so it's just going to be a race of patience, and wait and see what happens: just sit and wait, hopefully get off the line well, and obviously starting tomorrow where I started today in P6 worked well: I got grandad [Pantano] off the line today, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Tennis News -
At 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (May 15-26)

Somi moved into quarters of singles but top seed pair of Somi and Huey lost against Austin Krajicek and Conor Pollock in doubles second round ... So it was mix day for Somi.

With this singles win Somi becomes the first player to reach the NCAA Singles quarterfinals in three consecutive years, Jose Luis Noriega of San Diego (1990-92) and Stanford’s Dan Goldie (1984-86) r only other players to reach three consecutive quarterfinals since 1977 when the singles tournament was split from the team championship.

Georgia's 4th seed Travis Helgeson lost in Round of 16, so now only Somi is remaining in the draw from top-5 NCAA players.

[R3] (1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) bt (22) Erling Tveit (Mississippi) 63 61
[QF] (1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) vs (9-16) Denes Lukacs (Baylor)

Doubles -
[R2] (1) Somdev Devvarman/ Treat Huey (Virginia) l Austin Krajicek/ Conor Pollock (Texas) 36 46

Somdev Comments -
On the match…
“I thought I played pretty well today. Obliviously through this whole tournament my serving has been my strength and I have returned really well. I have been putting a lot of pressure on their return games, that was pretty much my game plan today.”

Talk about your possible opponents in the next round, Robert Farah or Denes Lukacs?
“Well I have played (Denes) Lukacs before. His game is very good and he is playing really well, he beat one of my teammates earlier. Robert (Farah) has had a great season also; he made the finals of Polo All-American the last time he was in Tulsa. They are both pretty tough opponents, I’m sure they are going to have a battle out there. I am ready for either one.”

Somdev Devvarman and Treat Hughey comments after doubles loss -
On the match…
Treat Hughey
“They played some great tennis. They deserve all the credit. They were serving real big today and they won the points that really turned the match. We were up a break in the first and they stepped up their game just a little. They got a couple breaks here or there and that’s just the way tennis goes. With that they took the momentum and played some great tennis.”
Somdev Davvarman
“They got a couple breaks to go their way and they took advantage of that. They started playing with momentum, I guess, and they served out the match pretty well.”
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At $15K Kuwait F1, Meshref

[F] (2) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ SKUPSKI Ken (GBR) l GHAREEB Mohammad (KUW)/ ORTEGREN Johan (SWE) 46 63 (7)10

Good fighting performance by Rohan and Ken against experianced pair.

Tennis News -
At $50K New Delhi Challenger-II, India (Hard)

Singles Semi-Finals -
(1) Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,78) bt Guillermo Alcaide (ESP,421) 64 63
(4) Go Soeda (JPN,132) bt (7) Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS,211) 76(5) 63

Doubles Final -

Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) bt (1) Brendan Evans (USA)/ Mustafa Ghouse (IND) 75 63

Glorious run for Harsh and Ashutosh to won $50K Challenger's doubles title ... I think this is Ashutosh's first challenger level title ... Hopefully in coming weeks they translate this terrific performance in doubles into singles performance also.

Tennis News -
At 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (May 15-26)

Good win for Somi in windy condition on Tulsa University courts ... Also positive start in doubles.

[R2] (1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) bt Clancy Shields (Boise State) 64 75
[PQF] (1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) vs (22) Erling Tveit (Mississippi)

Doubles -
[R1] (1) Somdev Devvarman/ Treat Huey (Virginia) bt Daniel Buikema/ Mathieu Thibaudeau (Alabama) 76(3) 63
[R2] (1) Somdev Devvarman/ Treat Huey (Virginia) vs Austin Krajicek/ Conor Pollock (Texas A&M)

Somdev Devvarman's comments after the match -
On the match . . .
“I thought I played okay. Clancy (Shields) came out and I didn’t expect him to play as well as he did. He stuck to me from the very beginning, give full credit to him for playing a great match. I feel like I stepped up at some very key times. I served really well today, and I think that was a key for me to win. I found a way to hold serve the entire match, and get broken. I faced only two break points, and I broke him twice. So I played the big points pretty well on his serve on two games, and that pretty much decided the match. I made him work really hard in the service game and that was key.

Did you think you were playing a linebacker?
“He’s a big guy, and hits the ball big. He’s pretty strong and he definitely moves well for his size too. I didn’t think I was playing a linebacker, but I was definitely playing a pretty strong kid out there.”

Coming in ranked as the No. 1 singles player and No. 1 doubles team do you have any added pressure coming into the national championship…
“Not the way I look at it. I look at is as one match at a time. I forget the numbers, the seedings and the rankings. I just try to take one match at a time and see who I have in front of me and see who Trent (Huey) and I have in doubles, and just take it from there. We try to take one match at a time. Who’s ever on the other side we try to get a good scouting report, and just basically try to get through one match.”
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At $10K Landisville Futures, PA, USA

[R2] UBEROI Shikha (IND,898) l MARINO Rebecca (CAN,797) 63 16 67(4)

Doubles -
[QF] (4) ROLLE Tiya (USA)/ UBEROI Shikha (IND) bt DI LEO Phoebe (USA)/ YABE Yukiko (JPN) 63 62
[SF] (4) ROLLE Tiya (USA)/ UBEROI Shikha (IND) vs (1) BOFFA Stefania (SUI)/ FITZPATRICK Anna (GBR)

Shikha needs more match practice in singles.

Tennis News -
At $50K New Delhi Challenger-II, India (Hard)

Singles Quarter-Finals -
(1) Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,78) bt (5) Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK,149) 57 63 75
Guillermo Alcaide (ESP,421) bt Thomas Oger (FRA,283) 76(2) 46 61
(4) Go Soeda (JPN,132) bt (8) Ricardo Mello (BRA,213) 64 36 61
(7) Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS,211) bt (2) Gilles Muller (LUX,126) 75 46 76(2)

Doubles Semi-Finals -
(1) Brendan Evans (USA)/ Mustafa Ghouse (IND) bt (4) Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS)/ Ilia Marchenko (UKR) 75 61
Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) bt (2) Adam Feeney (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) 64 61

Good show by Harsh and Ashutosh in doubles beating another seeded pair ... Aisam also produced decent fight against Lu.
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At $15K Kuwait F1, Meshref

[QF] SINGH Navdeep (IND,828) l (2) GHAREEB Mohammad (KUW,411) 26 16

Doubles -
[SF] (2) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ SKUPSKI Ken (GBR) bt GHEDIN Riccardo (ITA)/ VUKOV Stefano (CRO) 63 64

[F] (2) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ SKUPSKI Ken (GBR) vs GHAREEB Mohammad (KUW)/ ORTEGREN Johan (SWE)
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At $10K Thailand F2, Khonkan

[QF] (LL) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,855) l (5) KIM Sun-Jung (KOR,711) 26 16

Tennis News -
At 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championships, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (May 15-26)

[R1] (1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) bt Ryan Preston (Vanderbilt) 61 63
[R2] (1) Somdev Devvarman (Virginia) vs Clancy Shields (Boise State)

Doubles -
[R1] (1) Somdev Devvarman/ Treat Huey (Virginia) vs Daniel Buikema/ Mathieu Thibaudeau (Alabama)

Somi scored easy victory but his teammates Treat Huey and Dominic Inglot lost in first round.

Somdev Devarrman's Comments after the match -
About the match…
“I felt like he was a little uncomfortable at the start of the match and I was pretty confident with the way that I’ve been playing. I got off to a good start and I held serve early and broke right away and kept that momentum going into the first set. At the start of the second he definitely started playing a lot better, he was a lot more confident and started hitting the ball a lot better and was definitely serving a lot better and until three all in the second set it was definitely a battle. He had a few break points on me and I think I strung together a two good points at three all and I cruised from there.”

Do you think you have a target on your back being the defending champion?
“I’m not sure, you would have to ask the other guys if they see me as a target, but as far as I’m concerned I’m just playing one match at a time and I’m not really sure who I am playing next. As soon as my coach gets a scouting report, I am just going to take one (match) at a time. I hope to stay solid as the tournament goes on.”

Tennis News -
At French Open 2008,

[Q1] Sunitha Rao (IND,156) l Kristina Barrois (GER,202) 62 67(3) 26

This time Sania is not playing in French Open … So frankly lots of glamour lost from French open for we, Indian fans, and also for international fans.

Only Sunitha Rao participated in singles qualifying … Poor loss considering Sunitha's preparation before French open ... This was winnable match after good start but still somehow Sunitha managed to lose this match and with that our singles challenge is over in Men's and Women's section before it started ... Hopefully in 2009 French Open we will see atleast Sania and Somdev in maindraw.
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At $50K New Delhi Challenger-II, India (Hard)

Singles Second Round -
(1) Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,78) bt Peng Sun (CHN,457) 64 61
(5) Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK,149) bt (Q) Vishnu Vardhan (IND,984) 63 75

(3) Kristian Pless (DEN,124) vs Guillermo Alcaide (ESP,421) 67(5) 64
Thomas Oger (FRA,283) bt Samuel Groth (AUS,310) 63 62

(8) Ricardo Mello (BRA,213) bt Colin Ebelthite (AUS,222) 62 76(2)
(4) Go Soeda (JPN,132) bt (WC) Ashutosh Singh (IND,567) 62 36 63

(7) Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS,211) bt Adam Feeney (AUS,270) 75 64
(2) Gilles Muller (LUX,126) bt Rajeev Ram (USA,282) 63 36 76(5)

Doubles Quarter-Finals -
(1) Brendan Evans (USA)/ Mustafa Ghouse (IND) bt Go Soeda (JPN)/ Toshihide Matsui (JPN) 76(6) 76(2)
(4) Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS)/ Ilia Marchenko (UKR) bt Lars Elvström (DEN)/ Kristian Pless (DEN) 62 61

Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) bt (3) Olivier Charroin (FRA)/ Thomas Oger (FRA) 46 76 10(8)
(2) Adam Feeney (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Kamala Kannan (IND) 61 61

In singles good fighting performance by Ashutosh and Rajeev against top-150 players ... Vishnu also showed decent performance against Aisam.

In doubles, performing as per their top 2 ranking Mustafa and Purav won their matches with their partners ... But Harsh and Ashutosh scored huge upset beating 3rd seed French pair in super-tiebreak.

Tennis News -
At $15K Kuwait F1, Meshref

[R1] SINGH Navdeep (IND,828) bt (8) NORBY Rasmus (DEN,638) 46 63 76(3)
[R2] SINGH Navdeep (IND,828) bt (Q) MOORE Ciaran (RSA,1470) 62 61

[QF] SINGH Navdeep (IND,828) vs (2) GHAREEB Mohammad (KUW,411)

Doubles -
[QF] (2) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ SKUPSKI Ken (GBR) bt AL GHAREEB Ali (KUW)/ EICHENBERGER Patrick (SUI) 62 63

[SF] (2) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ SKUPSKI Ken (GBR) vs GHEDIN Riccardo (ITA)/ VUKOV Stefano (CRO)

After scoring good comeback win in first round against seeded player Navdeep scored easy victory in second round against qualifier ... But now tough match against local player, 2nd seed Mohammad Ghareeb.

Rohan and his British partner won their doubles match easily to move into semis.
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At $10K Thailand F2, Khonkan

[R2] (LL) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,855) bt (WC) SAENYAUKHOT Natchanok (THA,UNR) 61 26 62
[R2] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,591) l (SE) KHABIBULINA Albina (UZB,899) 46 46

[QF] (LL) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,855) vs (5) KIM Sun-Jung (KOR,711)

Khabibulina was last week's semi-finalist still Sanaa should won this match ... Parul is taking advantage of weaker draw ... Now in quarters she is facing 5th seed Korean.
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At $10K Landisville Futures, PA, USA

[R1] UBEROI Shikha (IND,898) bt (LL) COVELLO Daniela (CAN,1063) 62 62

[R2] UBEROI Shikha (IND,898) vs MARINO Rebecca (CAN,797)

Doubles -
[R1] (4) ROLLE Tiya (USA)/ UBEROI Shikha (IND) bt (WC) FERGUSON Nancy (AUS)/ LEAKE Grace (USA) 61 64

[QF] (4) ROLLE Tiya (USA)/ UBEROI Shikha (IND) vs DI LEO Phoebe (USA)/ YABE Yukiko (JPN)

Happy to see Shikha is playing in futures ... Good easy start for us, now another Canadian in second round.

Tennis News -
At 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis Championships, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (May 15-26)

In shocking upset top-seed Virginia lost semis against 4th seed and defending champion Georgia ... Somdev won his singles and doubles matches ... But in singles Dominic Inglot lost crucial match to gave advantage to Georgia ... And with that Somdev's dream of winning NCAA championship for UVa was over.

In deciding match Sanam played against higer ranked opponent, Jamie Hunt ... But at the end of second set he was struggling with cramps but still he finished the match.

Quote from NCAA site - Georgia sophomore Jamie Hunt clinched the match 6-0 in the third set of his No. 4 singles against Virginia's Sanam Singh. But the outcome was a foregone conclusion by the time it ended.

Singh, who had already taken two injury timeouts because of cramping, chose to finish the match even though he could barely move. His serves were delivered at grade-school speed, and Hunt simply had to deliver them back.

NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship - Semi-Finals
#1 seed Virginia l #4 seed Georgia 3-4

Doubles -
1. #1 Somdev Devvarman/Treat Huey (V) bt #17 Jamie Hunt/Nate Schnugg (G) 8-6
2. Dominic Inglot/Michael Shabaz (V) bt Luis Flores/Javier Garrapiz (G) 9-7
3. Houston Barrick/Sanam Singh (V) l Travis Helgeson/Christian Vitulli (G) 8-5

Singles -
1. #1 Somdev Devvarman (V) bt #4 Travis Helgeson (G)- 26 63 64
2. #28 Treat Huey (V) l #15 Nate Schnugg (G) 46 26
3. #17 Dominic Inglot (V) l #59 Luis Flores (G) 26 16
4. Sanam Singh (V) l #38 Jamie Hunt (G) 46 63 06
5. Michael Shabaz (V) l #121 Javier Garrapiz (G) 57 36
6. Ted Angelinos (V) bt Christian Vitulli (G) 46 63 62

Order of Finish - Doubles - 3, 1 ; Singles - 3, 2, 5, 6, 1, 4
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At $10K Thailand F2, Khonkan

[R1] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,591) bt (Q) KAEWMA Jaruwadee (THA,UNR) 63 75
[R1] (8) APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND,726) l DUAN Ying-Ying (CHN,827) 46 26
[R1] (1) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,508) l (WC) SAENYAUKHOT Natchanok (THA,UNR) 36 63 46
[R1] (LL) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,855) bt (WC) MULSAP Sophia (THA,1012) 64 63

[R2] (LL) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,855) vs (WC) SAENYAUKHOT Natchanok (THA,UNR)
[R2] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,591) vs (SE) KHABIBULINA Albina (UZB,899)

Doubles -
[R1] GOSWAMI Parul (IND)/ WELFORD Tiffany (AUS) l CHEN Hui (CHN)/ DUAN Ying-Ying (CHN) 16 16
[R1] (Q) KAKHANDKI GADIGEPPA Shweta (IND)/ SOLANKI Kumari-Sweta (IND) l KIM Sun-Jung (KOR)/ LEE Cho-Won (KOR) 63 46 (1)10
[R1] APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND)/ KAWATOKO Moe (JPN) l (Q) KAEWMA Jaruwadee (THA)/ SRITAWAN Khanita (THA) 26 16
[R1] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) l ARAI Maki (JPN)/ YAMAMOTO Ai (JPN) 16 16

Sanaa won match against 15 yrs old Thai qualifier ... Parul started win playing as lucky loser ... But Prerana lost her singles and doubles matches ... And importantly top-seed Ankita lost her singles match and also lost in doubles completing her disappointing performance.

Tennis News -
At $50K New Delhi Challenger-II, India (Hard)

Singles First Round -
(1) Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,78) bt Nick Lindahl (AUS,259) 36 63 60
Peng Sun (CHN,457) bt (Q) Olivier Charroin (FRA,540) 63 62
(Q) Vishnu Vardhan (IND,984) bt (WC) Yuki Bhambri (IND,1210) 61 60
(5) Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK,149) bt Sunil Kumar Sipaeya (IND,436) 63 46 75

(3) Kristian Pless (DEN,124) bt (WC) Harsh Mankad (IND,666) 64 62
Guillermo Alcaide (ESP,421) bt Andrew Coelho (AUS,299) 57 64 64
Thomas Oger (FRA,283) bt Takao Suzuki (JPN,305) 63 3-0 Retd. due to back injury
Samuel Groth (AUS,310) bt (6) Brendan Evans (USA,178) 46 76(8) 64

(8) Ricardo Mello (BRA,213) bt Ilia Marchenko (UKR,341) 62 64
Colin Ebelthite (AUS,222) bt (WC) Mustafa Ghouse (IND,1352) 63 64
(WC) Ashutosh Singh (IND,567) bt Travis Rettenmaier (USA,360) 64 75
(4) Go Soeda (JPN,132) bt (LL) Tushar Liberhan (IND,791) 61 60

(7) Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS,211) bt Toshihide Matsui (JPN,408) 62 64
Adam Feeney (AUS,270) bt Prakash Amritraj (IND,252) 64 75
Rajeev Ram (USA,282) bt (Q) Purav Raja (IND,920) 61 63
(2) Gilles Muller (LUX,126) bt (Q) Rohan Gide (IND,1431) 76(2) 62

Doubles First Round -
(1) Brendan Evans (USA)/ Mustafa Ghouse (IND) Bye
Go Soeda (JPN)/ Toshihide Matsui (JPN) bt Tushar Liberhan (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) 64 62

(4) Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS)/ Ilia Marchenko (UKR) Bye
Lars Elvström (DEN)/ Kristian Pless (DEN) bt Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Travis Rettenmaier (USA) W/O (due to right arm injury to Rettenmaier)

Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) bt Rohan Gide (IND)/ Yannick Nelord (IND) 62 60
(3) Olivier Charroin (FRA)/ Thomas Oger (FRA) Bye

Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Kamala Kannan (IND) bt Srirambalaji Narayanaswamy (IND)/ Sunil Kumar Sipaeya (IND) 64 76(3)
(2) Adam Feeney (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) Bye

[QF] (4) Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS)/ Ilia Marchenko (UKR) bt Lars Elvström (DEN)/ Kristian Pless (DEN) 62 61

Another excellent upset win by Ashutosh over Rettenmaier ... Also surprising but very dominating win by Vishnu over Yuki ... Vishnu gave him hard lesson in their first round match.

But again very disappointing performance from Kash ... Match against Feeney was winnable match for him.

Sunil had close match against Aisam but again he failed to turn his fighting performance into winning performance ... He lost third set 5-7 ... In end another close loss for him, he need to win all these matches to graduate into next level.

In doubles also due to Rettenmaier's injury Kash challenge ended in first round ... Other hand Harsh and Ashutosh having expected winning start, now they will face 3rd seed French pair in doubles quarter-finals.
-------------------------------------------
At $15K Kuwait F1, Meshref

[R1] GAJJAR Rohan (IND,834) l GODAMANNE Harshana (SRI,1020) 46 36
[R1] SINGH Navdeep (IND,828) vs (8) NORBY Rasmus (DEN,638)

Doubles -
[R1] (2) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ SKUPSKI Ken (GBR) bt (WC) ALI Ahmed (KUW)/ QASSIM Abdullah (KUW) 60 61
[R1] (4) FILENKOV Alexei (RUS)/ SINGH Navdeep (IND) l MUHAMMAD Ahmad Rabeea (KUW)/ SIDDIQ Mohammad-Khalid (PAK) 63 16 (8)10

Disappointing start for Rohan in singles.
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Thailand F2, Khonkan

[Q1] (1) (WC) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,855) bt SAOVANA Kamonthip (THA,UNR) 64 63
[Q1] (2) SOLANKI Kumari-Sweta (IND,855) l LIM Sae-Mi (KOR,UNR) 16 46
[Q1] NANDA KUMAR Asha (IND,UNR) l (3) SAIDKHODJAEVA Dilyara (UZB,902) 0-5 Retd.
[Q1] KAKHANDKI GADIGEPPA Shweta (IND,UNR) l BINNIE Renee (AUS,UNR) 16 06

[Q2] (1) (WC) GOSWAMI Parul (IND,855) l KIM Jung-Eun (KOR,UNR) 26 26

Doubles -
[Q1] KAKHANDKI GADIGEPPA Shweta (IND)/ SOLANKI Kumari-Sweta (IND) bt LO Chiao-Fang (TPE)/ YUAN Yue (CHN) 06 64 13(11)

[R1] (1) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,508) vs (WC) SAENYAUKHOT Natchanok (THA,UNR)
[R1] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,591) vs (Q) KAEWMA Jaruwadee (THA,UNR)
[R1] (8) APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND,726) vs DUAN Ying-Ying (CHN,827)

Doubles -
[R1] GOSWAMI Parul (IND)/ WELFORD Tiffany (AUS) vs CHEN Hui (CHN)/ DUAN Ying-Ying (CHN)
[R1] APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND)/ KAWATOKO Moe (JPN) vs (Q) KAEWMA Jaruwadee (THA)/ SRITAWAN Khanita (THA)
[R1] (Q) KAKHANDKI GADIGEPPA Shweta (IND)/ SOLANKI Kumari-Sweta (IND) vs KIM Sun-Jung (KOR)/ LEE Cho-Won (KOR)
[R1] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) vs ARAI Maki (JPN)/ YAMAMOTO Ai (JPN)

Our 4 players were in the qualifying but 3 lost in first round and top-seed Parul lost in final qualifying ... Mostly Parul will get chance of getting into maindraw as luckyloser.

Tennis News -
At 2008 NCAA Division I Men’s & Women’s Tennis Championships, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA (May 15-26)

First, heartily congratulation to Somi for finishing his bachelor's degree in sociology from University of Virginia!!!

UVa is performing as per top-billing, they r in semis ... Good to see Sanam is helping to win crucial doubles matches with his partner, Houston Barrick ... And Somi is showing his class, mostly playing ruthless tennis against top-10 players.

NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship - Quarter-Finals
#1 Seed Virginia bt #9 Seed Baylor 4-2

Doubles –
1. #1 Somdev Devvarman/Treat Huey (Uva) bt David Galic/Denes Lukacs (BU) 8-6
2. Dominic Inglot/Michael Shabaz (Uva) vs Attila Bucko/Lars Poerschke (BU) 7-3 DNF
3. Houston Barrick/Sanam Singh (Uva) bt Dominik Mueller/Jordan Rux (BU) 8-3
(Order of Finish 3, 1)

Singles –
1. #1 Somdev Devvarman (Uva) bt #8 Lars Poerschke (BU) 63 62
2. #28 Treat Huey (Uva) l #9 Denes Lukacs (BU) 46 67(5)
3. #17 Dominic Inglot (Uva) bt David Galic (BU) 67(3) 63 75
4. Sanam Singh (Uva) l Dominik Mueller (BU) 36 46
5. Michael Shabaz (Uva) bt Attila Bucko (BU) 62 64
6. Ted Angelinos (Uva) vs Jordan Rux (BU) 76(2) 36 3-2 DNF
(Order of Finish 5, 4, 1, 2, 3)

NCAA Division I Men's Tennis Championship - Round of 16
#1 Seed Virginia bt #(49-64) Western Michigan 4-0

Doubles -
1. #1 Devvarman/Huey (UVa) led Maravic/Mazlin (UM) 6-5 DNF
2. Shabaz/Inglot (UVa) bt #38 Jung/Sroczynski (UM) 8-4
3. Barrick/Singh (UVa) bt Madden/Navas (UM) 8-3

Singles -
1. #1 Somdev Devvarman (UVa) led #64 Matko Maravic (UM) 75 4-1 DNF
2. #28 Treat Huey (UVa) bt Jason Jung (UM) 64 62
3. #17 Dominic Inglot (UVa) bt Andrew Mazlin (UM) 63 64
4. Sanam Singh (UVa) led Mike Sroczynski (UM) 36 64 2-0 DNF
5. Michael Shabaz (UVa) bt Chris Madden (UM) 63 60
6. Ted Angelinos (UVa) led George Navas (UM) 62 5-4 DNF

Order of Finish - Doubles- 3,2 • Singles- 3,5,2
--------------------------------------------------------
NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championship - Round of 16
No. 8 California bt No. 9 Duke 4-3

Doubles -
1. No. 12 Babos/Kusano (CAL) l No. 7 Granson/Mang (DUKE) 6-8
2. Cossou/Ilcinkas (CAL) vs Iyer/Robinson (DUKE) 7-7 DNF
3. No. 54 Bobusic/Visico (CAL) l Nze/Zsilinszka (DUKE) 6-8
Order of finish: 1, 3* (Duke wins doubles point)

Singles -
No. 20 Susie Babos (CAL) bt No. 125 Tara Iyer (DUKE) 63 76(4)
No. 4 Marina Cossou (CAL) bt No. 21 Ellah Nze (DUKE) 75 76(3)
No. 35 Cristina Visico (CAL) l No. 24 Reka Zsilinszka (DUKE) 16 36
No. 40 Claire Ilcinkas (CAL) bt Melissa Mang (DUKE) 61 46 61
Stephanie Kusano (CAL) l Amanda Granson (DUKE) 46 57
No. 92 Bojana Bobusic (CAL) bt Jessi Robinson (DUKE) 61 60
Order of finish: 6, 3, 5, 4, 2, 1*

So with Duke's loss Tara Iyer's challenge in team event was over.
-------------------------------------------
At $50K New Delhi Challenger-II, India (Hard)

First Qualifying Round -
(1) Olivier Charroin (FRA) bye
(WC) Nikunj Siwach (IND) bt (WC) Rahil Makharia (IND) 64 64
Jitender Mehlda (IND) bt (WC) Mihir Mankad (IND) 62 75
(7) Kamala Kannan (IND) bt Prashant Sawant (IND) 61 61
(2) Tushar Liberhan (IND) bye
Srirambalaji Narayanaswamy (IND) bt Palash Tiwari (IND) 61 61
(WC) Vidhan Vyas (IND) bt Vikas Chauhan (IND) 46 61 76(4)
(6) Rohan Gide (IND) bt Monal Chhillar (IND) 76(4) 60
(3) Purav Raja (IND) bye
Rubal Shandilya (IND) bt Arvind Singh (IND) 60 60
(WC) Vedant Kapoor (IND) bt (WC) Prateek Bhmabri (IND) 62 76(6)
(8) Yannick Nelord (IND) bt Ravjeet Singh (IND) 61 60
(4) Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bye
Shrikant Rathi (IND) bt Hemant Garg (IND) 62 62
Karunuday Singh (IND) bt Ankit Sachdeva (IND) 61 63
(5) Vijayant Malik (IND) bt Yuvraj Haral (IND) 60 60

Second Qualifying Round -
(1) Olivier Charroin (FRA) bt (WC) Nikunj Siwach (IND) 64 61
(7) Kamala Kannan (IND) bt Jitender Mehlda (IND) 62 62
(2) Tushar Liberhan (IND) bt Srirambalaji Narayanaswamy (IND) 64 62
(6) Rohan Gide (IND) bt (WC) Vidhan Vyas (IND) 62 64
(3) Purav Raja (IND) bt Rubal Shandilya (IND) 61 63
(8) Yannick Nelord (IND) bt (WC) Vedant Kapoor (IND) 62 63
(4) Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Shrikant Rathi (IND) 60 61
Karunuday Singh (IND) bt (5) Vijayant Malik (IND) 64 64

Qualifying Final Round -
(1) Olivier Charroin (FRA) bt (7) Kamala Kannan (IND) 61 76(3)
(6) Rohan Gide (IND) bt (2) Tushar Liberhan (IND) 76(7) 76(6)
(3) Purav Raja (IND) bt (8) Yannick Nelord (IND) 62 62
(4) Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Karunuday Singh (IND) 76(7) 62

Good to see our players r taking advantage f weaker draw and 3 players qualified for maindraw.

Hockey News -
At 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament, Ipoh, Malaysia

Final -
India l Argentina 1-2 (1-1)

Goal Scored - Sandeep Singh (IND) 11' PC and Mario Almada (ARG) 14' & 73'

Though in the final we lost against fancied Argentina still our boys gave spirited performance considering their first game performance against Argentina in league match ... May be Sandeep Singh missing 2 penalty corners in second half costed us the final but still overall creditable performance ... And moreover we played Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament's final after 12 yrs, before this we played in 1995.

India bt Malaysia 2-1

Goal Scored - Shivendra Singh (IND) 9', Sandeep Singh (IND) 10' PS and Mohammad Amin Rahim (MAS) 70' PC

We wanted to win this match to booked ticket for the final and our boys didn't disappointed.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Golf News -
At Irish Open, Ireland (European Tour)

T40 SINGH Jeev Milkha 66 76 75 74 +3 € 15250.00

Disappointing finish for Jeev after excellent start in first round.
----------------------------------------
At BMW Charity Pro-Am, Western NC, USA (Nationwide Tour)

T8 Arjun Atwal 69 67 69 70 -11 $ 20,250.00

This performance helped Arjun to move on 14th place in 2008 Nationwide Tour Money Leaders.

Tennis News -
At € 2.27M Hamburg Masters, Germany (clay)

[SF] PAES Leander (IND)/ ROBREDO Tommy (ESP) l (2) NESTOR Daniel (CAN)/ ZIMONJIC Nenad (SRB) 36 63 (2)10

[QF] PAES Leander (IND)/ ROBREDO Tommy (ESP) bt (ALT) LJUBICIC Ivan (CRO)/ SODERLING Robin (SWE) 62 76(3)

Impressive performance by Lee and Tommy ... They lost in semis to eventual winner Nestor and Zimo.
-------------------------------------------
At $50K New Delhi Challenger-I, India (Hard)

Singles Final -
(1) Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,90) bt (7) Brendan Evans (USA,198) 57 76(5) 63

Singles Semi-Finals -
(1) Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,90) bt (4) Go Soeda (JPN,132) 63 61
(7) Brendan Evans (USA,198) bt (3) Kristian Pless (DEN,129) 10 Retd. ( sunstroke )

Singles Quarter-Finals -
(1) Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,90) bt Colin Ebelthite (AUS,234) 61 64
(4) Go Soeda (JPN,132) bt (WC) Mohammed Al Ghareeb (KUW,413)75 75
(3) Kristian Pless (DEN,129) bt Alex Bogdanovic (GBR,255) 26 75 75
(7) Brendan Evans (USA,198) bt Samuel Groth (AUS,342) 76(5) 64

Doubles Final -
Colin Ebelthite (AUS)/ Samuel Groth (AUS) bt Mohammed Al Ghareeb (KUW)/ Ilia Marchenko (UKR) 26 76(5) 10(8)

Doubles Semi-Finals -
Colin Ebelthite (AUS)/ Samuel Groth (AUS) bt Rajeev Ram (USA)/ Prakash Amritraj (IND) 64 64
Mohammed Al Ghareeb (KUW)/ Ilia Marchenko (UKR) bt (WC) Rohan Gajjar (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) 36 76(6) 10(7)

Doubles Quarter-Finals Round -
Colin Ebelthite (AUS)/ Samuel Groth (AUS) bt Ricardo Mello (BRA)/ Gilles Muller (LUX) 75 63
Mohammed Al Ghareeb (KUW)/ Ilia Marchenko (UKR) bt Guillermo Alcaide (ESP)/ Alex Satschko (GER) 61 76(3)

Overall very disappointing outing for Indians in this first week of Delhi challenger.
-------------------------------------------
At $25K Raleigh Challenger, NC, USA (clay)

[QF] (2) ESPERON Soledad (ARG)/ UBEROI Neha (USA) l GAMBALE Mary (USA)/ INOUE Mami (USA) W/O
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Badalona Futures, Spain

[SF] NAGARAJ Sandhya (IND,609) l (4) FERNANDEZ-BRUGUES Eva (ESP,480) 36 36

[QF] NAGARAJ Sandhya (IND,609) bt PARASYUK Julia (RUS,799) 61 62
[R2] NAGARAJ Sandhya (IND,609) bt (Q) CARRERAS Amanda (GBR,783) 26 63 64

Doubles -
[SF] (3) NAGARAJ Sandhya (IND)/ PARASYUK Julia (RUS) l (1) DAVATO Benedetta (ITA)/ SABINO Lisa (ITA) 36 16

Good to see that Sandhya used weak draw in her favor to reached in singles semis.

On Holidays for 3 days!!!

I m going for holidays with my family … My family members already denied permission of carrying laptop to connected with u guys .. ;-) ... We r going at Koyna Lake Resort.

So my next update will be on Monday, 19th May 2008 … So until then have a great time and also sorry for ur inconvenience … :-)

Hockey News -
At 2008 Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament, Ipoh, Malaysia

India bt Pakistan 2-1

Goal Scored - Sandeep Singh (IND) 6' PC, Diwakar Ram (IND) 20' PC and Mohammad Saqlain (PAK) 58' PS

India scored important victory over Pakistan to keep their chances of reaching final of the Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament ... Good win by this young Indian side over arch-rival.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tennis News -

Its official, $175K Sunfeast Open WTA Tournament is shifted to Mumbai from Kolkata ... So first time Sunfeast Open tournament will be played outdoor at the CCI.
-----------------------------------------------
At $10K Thailand F1, Bangkok

[QF] (4) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,595) l (8) HONG Da-Jung (KOR,903) 36 26

Doubles -
[SF] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) l KHABIBULINA Albina (UZB)/ SAIDKHODJAEVA Dilyara (UZB) 67(4) 76(4) (4)10

Sanaa lost her singles match easily but Bhambris fought hard in doubles.

Tennis News -

As per report, Lee is officially parted with his Australian partner Paul Hanley stating, "We were not clicking on court and it was not working out. Paul has some personal issues to sort out and only then will he be able to play better." (Hanley is battling a date rape accusation.) “All I want to say about that issue is that I have known Paul for a long time and I don’t believe he is capable of any such act.”

Lee also announced his new partnership with 25 yrs old #14 Lukas Dlouhy of the Czech Republic for the remaining season ... Dlouhy had made it to 2 Grand Slam doubles finals last year — Roland Garros and US Open with Czech Pavel Vizner, but this year Vizner is pairing Martin Damm.

Lukas is also still searching for regular partner as this year he already tried 5 different partners ... So considering Lukas Dlouhy is solid backcourt player and Lee's razor sharp reflexes on net, we can hope that this pair having ability to click.
------------------------------------------------
At € 2.27M Hamburg Masters, Germany (clay)

[R2] PAES Leander (IND)/ ROBREDO Tommy (ESP) bt (3) ERLICH Jonathan (ISR)/ RAM Andy (ISR) 63 46 10(2)

Good solid victory over seeded pair by Lee and Tommy.
-------------------------------------------------
At $50K Bradenton Challenger, Florida, USA (Green Clay)

[QF] (1) AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND)/ KING-TURNER Daniel (NZL) l LUCHICI Raian (ROU)/ ROSS Brett (USA) 67(4) 06

Another defeat for Stephen on green clay.
-------------------------------------------
At $25K Raleigh Challenger, NC, USA (clay)

[R1] UBEROI Neha (USA,343) l (Q) DEVIDZE Salome (GEO,577) 62 46 26

Doubles -
[QF] (2) ESPERON Soledad (ARG)/ UBEROI Neha (USA) vs GAMBALE Mary (USA)/ INOUE Mami (USA)

After winning first set against qualifier Neha lost her first round match.
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Thailand F1, Bangkok

[QF] (4) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,595) vs (8) HONG Da-Jung (KOR,903)

Doubles -
[SF] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) vs KHABIBULINA Albina (UZB)/ SAIDKHODJAEVA Dilyara (UZB)
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Badalona Futures, Spain

[R1] NAGARAJ Sandhya (IND,609) bt (Q) PRIETO-GARCIA Cynthia (ESP,877) 62 60

[R2] NAGARAJ Sandhya (IND,609) vs (Q) CARRERAS Amanda (GBR,783)

Good easy victory for Sandhya against Spanish qualifier ... Now in second round she is facing another qualifier, who upset top-seed Italian in first round.
--------------------------------------------
At $10K Tampa Futures, Florida, USA

[R1] ROY Rupesh (IND,1098) l (1) STATHAM Jose (NZL,428) 16 26

Doubles -
[R1] ROY Rupesh (IND)/ EL MIHDAWY Adam (USA) l (2) STATHAM Jose (NZL)/ THOMPSON Adam (NZL) 63 36 (10)12

Rupesh decided to play in US futures instead of Indian challengers, but it’s not working according to his plan.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Football News -
At AFC Cup 2008
Group B - Matchday 6

East Bengal Club (IND) l Ahli Sana'a (Yemen) 0-1

Goal Scored - Ali Mohammed Mohammed Al-Nono (AS) 43'

East Bengal lost against last placed Ahli Sana'a and with that their hopes of qualifying for knockout stage was over.

So only Dempo is qualified for knockout stage from India.

Football News -
At AFC Cup 2008
Group A - Matchday 6

Dempo SC (IND) bt Sur Club (Oman) 5-2

Goal Scored - Ranty Martins Soleye (DSC) 30' & 38', Chidi Edeh (DSC) 64' & 90', Climax Lawrence (DSC) 72' and Mohammed Salim Mohammed Al Sinani (SC) 75', Mohsin Saleh Rashid Al Harbi (SC) 86'

Sur Club's Talal Mohamed Mubarak Al Saifi (in 43rd min) and goalkeeper Ahmed Khamis Thunai Al Qulhati (90+ min) received red cards, that was also helped Dempo.

So with this win Dempo booked their ticket to knockout ( quarter-finals ) stage as their goal difference also improve to +1 ... Now second match from their group will decide their standing in the group.

For knockout stage top teams from each group, i.e. 5, and best 3 second teams will consider ... East Bengal need to win their match to qualify for knockout stage.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tennis News -
At $50K New Delhi Challenger-I, India (Hard)

Singles Second Round -
(1) Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,90) bt Thomas Oger (FRA,276) 63 75
Colin Ebelthite (AUS,234) bt (WC) Ashutosh Singh (IND,602) 64 64

(4) Go Soeda (JPN,132) bt Guillermo Alcaide (ESP,435) 64 64
(WC) Mohammed Al Ghareeb (KUW,413) bt (6) Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK,149) 64 76(5)

Alex Bogdanovic (GBR,255) bt Nick Lindahl (AUS,261) 76(4) 36 62
(3) Kristian Pless (DEN,129) bt (Q) Ilia Marchenko (UKR,350) 63 67(5) 76(5)

(7) Brendan Evans (USA,198) bt Adam Feeney (AUS,274) 64 64
Samuel Groth (AUS,342) bt (Q) Travis Rettenmaier (USA,380) 67(3) 64 63

Doubles Quarter-Finals Round -
Rajeev Ram (USA)/ Prakash Amritraj (IND) bt Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) 62 76(3)

(WC) Rohan Gajjar (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (3) Brendan Evans (USA)/ Mustafa Ghouse (IND) 64 63

So our singles challenge ended with Ashutosh's loss but in doubles Prakash and Ram won their match against Harsh and Ashutosh ... Other hand Purav and Rohan Gajjar scored upset easy win over 3rd seed Mustafa and Brendan.

Tennis News -
At $50K Bradenton Challenger, Florida, USA (Green Clay)

[R1] (1) AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND)/ KING-TURNER Daniel (NZL) bt (Q) BJELICA Ivan (SRB)/ FRAYSSINOUX Philippe (FRA) 63 62

[QF] (1) AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND)/ KING-TURNER Daniel (NZL) vs LUCHICI Raian (ROU)/ ROSS Brett (USA)

Easy victory for top-seed pair against European qualifiers.
-------------------------------------------
At $25K Raleigh Challenger, NC, USA (clay)

[R1] UBEROI Neha (USA,343) vs (Q) DEVIDZE Salome (GEO,577)

Doubles -
(2) ESPERON Soledad (ARG)/ UBEROI Neha (USA) bt (Q) GULLICKSON Carly (USA)/ GULLICKSON Chelsey (USA) 64 64

Nice straight sets victory over Gullickson sisters for second seed.
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Thailand F1, Bangkok

[R2] (1) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,512) l MULSAP Sophia (THA,1005) 26 36
[R2] GOSWAMI Parul (IND,910) l (8) HONG Da-Jung (KOR,903) 16 16
[R2] (4) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,595) bt ZHONG Yi (CHN,UNR) 75 Retd.

[QF] (4) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,595) vs (8) HONG Da-Jung (KOR,903)

Doubles -
[QF] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) bt (WC) PHONKAN Daowadueng (THA)/ SAOVANA Kamonthip (THA) 63 67(3) 10(3)

[SF] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) vs KHABIBULINA Albina (UZB)/ SAIDKHODJAEVA Dilyara (UZB)

Unacceptable loss by Ankita against below 1000 rank player ... Mostly lack of competitive match practice will be reason for such poor performance by Bhambri sis ... Now only Sanaa is remaining in the draw.
-------------------------------------------
At $10K Badalona Futures, Spain

[R1] NAGARAJ Sandhya (IND,609) vs (Q) PRIETO-GARCIA Cynthia (ESP,877)

Doubles -
[QF] (3) NAGARAJ Sandhya (IND)/ PARASYUK Julia (RUS) bt KIRPICHEVA Olga (RUS)/ RODRIGUEZ-MENENDEZ Neus (ESP) 63 75

[SF] (3) NAGARAJ Sandhya (IND)/ PARASYUK Julia (RUS) vs (1) DAVATO Benedetta (ITA)/ SABINO Lisa (ITA)

Only 8 pairs participated in doubles, so with this victory Sandhya and her Russian partner r in semis and playing against Italian top-seed pair.

Tennis News -
At € 2.27M Hamburg Masters, Germany (clay)

[R2] (4) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) l BLAKE James (USA)/ FISH Mardy (USA) 26 36

American pair shocked 4th seed with easy victory ... Suddenly Hesh and Mark losing their winning momentum after good start of the year.
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At $10K Thailand F1, Bangkok

[R1] (1) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,512) bt (Q) PANTUSART Prang (THA,UNR) 62 75
[R1] SOLANKI Kumari-Sweta (IND,910) l MULSAP Sophia (THA,1005) 46 63 36
[R1] (Q) NANDA KUMAR Asha (IND,UNR) l (6) LEE Cho-Won (KOR,752) 36 26
[R1] (4) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,595) bt IMAI Rie (JPN,1014) 76(4) 61
[R1] (5) APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND,706) l (Q) VRIENS Mia (AUS,UNR) 26 16

[R2] (1) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,512) vs MULSAP Sophia (THA,1005)
[R2] GOSWAMI Parul (IND,910) vs (8) HONG Da-Jung (KOR,903)
[R2] (4) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,595) vs ZHONG Yi (CHN,UNR)

Doubles -
[R1] (4) APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND)/ GOSWAMI Parul (IND) l TONGSALEE Napaporn (THA)/ VIRATPRASERT Suchanun (THA) 26 16
[R1] KAKHANDKI GADIGEPPA Shweta (IND)/ NANDA KUMAR Asha (IND) l (WC) PHONKAN Daowadueng (THA)/ SAOVANA Kamonthip (THA) 06 06
[R1] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) bt MCDOWELL Shayna (AUS)/ VIJUKSANABOON Varanya (THA) 61 63

[QF] (2) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) vs (WC) PHONKAN Daowadueng (THA)/ SAOVANA Kamonthip (THA)

Good winning start for Bhambri sis in singles and doubles but surprising one-sided loss of Prerana-Mythri in singles.