Friday, October 31, 2008

Badminton News
At World Juniors 2008, Pune, India

[QF] (5/8) Gurusaidutt R. M. V. (IND) bt (2) Sung Min PARK (KOR) 21-16 14-21 21-19

[QF] (1) Saina NEHWAL (IND) bt Lindaweni FANETRI (INA) 21-13 21-13

[SF] (5/8) Gurusaidutt R. M. V. (IND) vs (3/4) Zhengming WANG (CHN)

[SF] (1) Saina NEHWAL (IND) vs (3/4) Shixian WANG (CHN)

In very tight match Gurusaidutt defeated 2nd seed Korean to enter into World Juniors semis ... He pulled off this upset win in 53 mins ... Third game was roller-coaster where both were going neck to neck until final point.

Saina scored very easy victory in quarter-final ... I think her first test of this championship will be against Chinese opponent in semis ... So tomorrow our both players facing Chinese opponent and I m counting wins from them.

----------------------------------------------------------
At $15K 33rd Yonex Hungarian International Champ 2008,

[R1] (3) Anand PAWAR (IND,56) bt (Q) Blagovest KISIOV (BUL,211) 21-9 21-15

[R2] (3) Anand PAWAR (IND,56) vs Sven-Eric KASTENS (GER,112)

Anand Pawar started well In Hungarian open with easy victory over qualifier.

In newly declared world ranking Chetan reached his career best singles ranking of 15.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Tennis News
At €42.5K+H Aachen Challenger, Germany

[QF] BOPANNA Rohan (IND)/ QURESHI Aisam-Ul-Haq (PAK) l BECK Andreas (GER)/ PETZSCHNER Philipp (GER) 75 46 (11)13

This time our pair lost in super tie-break ... I think some rustiness due to not playing together for long period ... But hopefully we will see better results from this pair in next couple of weeks.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $50K+H Louisville Challenger, KY, USA

[QF] AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND)/ YOUNG Donald (USA) l DANCEVIC Frank (CAN)/ VEMIC Dusan (SRB) 67(4) 36
[QF] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ LEVINE Jesse (USA) vs (4) ANDERSON Kevin (RSA)/ WARBURG Sam (USA)
---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Pakistan F3 Futures, Lahore

[SF] ROY Rupesh (IND,1126) bt ALEKSEENKO Gleb (UKR,1279) 62 75

[F] ROY Rupesh (IND,1126) vs TAUBERT Patrick (GER,937)

Doubles -
[F] LIM Hyun-Soo (KOR)/ ROY Rupesh (IND) bt (4) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND)/ KHAN Aqeel (PAK) 67(5) 64 10(6)

Rupesh managed to beat Aqeel 2nd time in 2 days, this time in doubles final ... So scoring another good win against Ukrainian he is in the final, where he faced in form German Taubert ... Rupesh is in good chance to score his first double crown in this level of tennis.
Badminton News
At World Juniors 2008, Pune, India

[R1] Sai Praneeth B. (IND)/ Pranav CHOPRA (IND) bt Sergey SCHERBIN (RUS)/ Anatoly YARTCEV (RUS) 21-10 21-12
[R1] Pratik PATEL (IND)/ Aditya PRAKASH (IND) l Chun Hei LEE (HKG)/ Ka Long NG (HKG) 21-19 20-22 15-21

[R1] Thulasi P.C. (IND)/ Sikki REDDY (IND) bt Menatallah EL TANANY (EGY)/ Noran ELBANNA (EGY) 21-5 21-6
[R1] Pradnya GADRE (IND)/ Shweta KELKAR (IND) bt Langley ALEXANDRA (ENG)/ Lauren SMITH (ENG) 14-21 21-18 21-17

[R3] (5/8) Gurusaidutt R. M. V. (IND) bt Martin CAMPBELL (SCO) 21-6 21-13

[R3] (1) Saina NEHWAL (IND) bt Ying Suet TSE (HKG) 21-9 21-12

[R3] Sai Praneeth B. (IND)/ Pradnya GADRE (IND) l (5/8) Young Woo CHOI (KOR)/ Kyung Eun JUNG (KOR) 18-21 16-21

[R2] Sai Praneeth B. (IND)/ Pranav CHOPRA (IND) l Shohei HOSHINO (JPN)/ Naomasa SENKYO (JPN) 15-21 21-17 17-21

[R2] Thulasi P.C. (IND)/ Sikki REDDY (IND) l Audrey FONTAINE (FRA)/ Marion LUTTMANN (FRA) 19-21 21-14 19-21
[R2] Pradnya GADRE (IND)/ Shweta KELKAR (IND) l Sayaka TAKAHASHI (JPN)/ Eriko TAMAKI (JPN) 14-21 15-21

[R4] (5/8) Gurusaidutt R. M. V. (IND) bt Kam Chung KUAN (MAS) 19-21 21-19 21-12

[R4] (1) Saina NEHWAL (IND) bt (9/16) Shih Han HUNG (TPE) 21-13 21-11

[QF] (5/8) Gurusaidutt R. M. V. (IND) vs (2) Sung Min PARK (KOR)

[QF] (1) Saina NEHWAL (IND) vs Lindaweni FANETRI (INA)

In singles we r having expected results as Saina scored easy victories to move into quarters ... Gurusaidutt is also in quarters but needed comeback victory in fourth round ... He is facing 2nd seed Korean in quarters.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Chess News 
At World Chess Championship, Bonn, Germany October 14 to 30, 2008

Viswanathan Anand becomes the only Champion to have won it in 3 (Knockout, Round-robin and now Match play) different formats!

Viswanathan Anand (IND) bt Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 6½- 4½

 

Game 11 -
Viswanathan Anand (IND) - Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) ½-½

Anand need only ½ point to retain World Championship but in last 3 games Kramnik showed he has different plans.

Anand switches back to 1. e4 and faces a Sicilian (1. c5) ... So it is a Sicilian Najdorf, in this both players having their chances ... Anand has usually done well facing Najdorf as a White ... After 12 moves game look more drawish, I think Kramnik need to take chances with some novelty moves.

Edited - After 24 moves draw agreed ... In end Kramnik needed to fight hard for the draw with no winning chance ... So Viswanathan Anand effortlessly drew and deservedly defended his title of World Chess Champion.
Tennis News
At €2.270M BNP Paribas Masters, Paris, France

[R2] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) l Marcelo Melo (BRA)/ Andre Sa (BRA) 36 26
[R2] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) l Rafel Nadal (ESP)/ Juan Monaco (ARG) 46 26

Leander and Lukas r struggling on indoor courts ... Again they blown off by their Brazilian opponents in 61 mins ... Melo and Sa saved 4 break point chances on their serve but created 12 chances on Lee and Lukas's serve from that converting 3 of them.

I m having least expectation by our this pair in Masters Cup considering their recent record on indoor courts.

Hesh and Mark also lost in one-sided match in 64 mins ... They couldn't managed to convert 3 break point chances they got but Rafa and Juan converted 3 break points from 8 break point chances.

---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Pakistan F3 Futures, Lahore

[QF] (Q) REDDY B Vikram (IND,UNR) l TAUBERT Patrick (GER,937) 46 26
[QF] ROY Rupesh (IND,1126) bt (3) KHAN Aqeel (PAK,621) 06 61 76(4)

[SF] ROY Rupesh (IND,1126) vs ALEKSEENKO Gleb (UKR,1279)

Doubles -
[SF] LIM Hyun-Soo (KOR)/ ROY Rupesh (IND) bt (1) ABDUKHALIKOV Syrym (KAZ)/ VASILIEV Mikhail (RUS) 64 62


[F] (4) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND)/ KHAN Aqeel (PAK) vs LIM Hyun-Soo (KOR)/ ROY Rupesh (IND)

Rupesh scored huge comeback victory against Pakistan's Davis Cupper Aqeel Khan, against him our all players struggle with very few exceptions ... Like the way Rupesh fought back after losing first set 6-0.

Now I wish this victory encourage Rupesh to do well in singles ... He is also in doubles final with Korean Lim.


But Vikram Reddy's fine run ended by German, who troubled our all Indian players who faced him in these futures.
Badminton News
At $200K French Super Series

[R1] Arvind Bhat (IND,37) l (1) Chong Wei Lee (MAS,1) 14-21 3-21
[R1] Kashyap P. (IND,47) l Yi Lu (CHN,29) 8-21 16-21
[R1] Chetan Anand (IND,20) l (3) Jin Chen (CHN,4) 17-21 14-21
[R1] Aditi Mutatkar (IND,38) l (3) Mi Zhou (HKG,3) 21-17 11-21 9-21

As expected Indian challenge got over in French Super Series ... Arvind Bhat lost in 26 mins against WR #1 ... Kashyap produced some fight in second game to extend his match upto 40 mins against higer ranked Chinese opponent ... And Chetan lost in 34 mins but had respectable score against superior Chinese opponent.

Aditi managed to stretch WR #3 Mi Zhou to 3 games after winning first game in their 45 mins match.

----------------------------------------------------
At World Juniors 2008, Pune, India

[R1] (5/8) Gurusaidutt R. M. V. (IND) Bye
[R1] Aditya PRAKASH (IND) bt Kirt Soon TANG (SIN) 21-11 21-15
[R1] Pratik PATEL (IND) l Tien Chen CHOU (TPE) 6-21 17-21
[R1] Prannoy H.S (IND) l Kam Chung KUAN (MAS) 15-21 16-21

[R1] (1) Saina NEHWAL (IND) Bye
[R1] Thulasi P.C. (IND) bt Lianne TAN (GER) 21-9 21-16
[R1] Sikki REDDY (IND) Bye
[R1] Prajakta SAWANT (IND) bt Langley ALEXANDRA (ENG) 21-16 21-15

[R1] Pranav CHOPRA (IND)/ Prajakta SAWANT (IND) l Ryan Agung SAPUTRA (INA)/ Aurien HUDIONO (INA) 16-21 17-21
[R1] Sai Praneeth B. (IND)/ Pradnya GADRE (IND) bt Ingmar SEIDELBERG (EST)/ Laura VANA (EST) 21-13 21-14

[R2] Aditya PRAKASH (IND) l (1) Huan GAO (CHN) 20-22 12-21
[R2] (5/8) Gurusaidutt R. M. V. (IND) bt ? 21-6 21-2

[R2] (1) Saina NEHWAL (IND) bt Ozge BAYRAK (TUR) 21-11 21-8
[R2] Thulasi P.C. (IND) l Mei Hui CHIANG (TPE) 19-21 21-16 21-23
[R2] Sikki REDDY (IND) l (5/8) Porntip BURANAPRASERTSUK (THA) 26-28 9-21
[R2] Prajakta SAWANT (IND) l Shen LIN (CHN) 8-21 6-21

[R2] Sai Praneeth B. (IND)/ Pradnya GADRE (IND) bt James EUNSON (NZL)/ Michelle CHAN (NZL) 21-15 21-12

[R3] (5/8) Gurusaidutt R. M. V. (IND) vs Martin CAMPBELL (SCO)

[R3] (1) Saina NEHWAL (IND) vs Ying Suet TSE (HKG)

[R3] Sai Praneeth B. (IND)/ Pradnya GADRE (IND) vs (5/8) Young Woo CHOI (KOR)/ Kyung Eun JUNG (KOR)

Aditya Prkash had poor draw facing top-seed Chinese in 2nd round, other wise expected results at World Juniors ... Now in (boys & girls) singles and MXD only 1 Indian player or pair r remaining.
Tennis News
At €42.5K+H Aachen Challenger, Germany

[R1] QURESHI Aisam-Ul-Haq (PAK,206) l HUTA GALUNG Jesse (NED,185) 36 16

Doubles -
[R1] BOPANNA Rohan (IND)/ QURESHI Aisam-Ul-Haq (PAK) bt AUCKLAND James (GBR)/ NORMAN Dick (BEL) 67(4) 63 13(11)

[QF] BOPANNA Rohan (IND)/ QURESHI Aisam-Ul-Haq (PAK) vs BECK Andreas (GER)/ PETZSCHNER Philipp (GER)

Tight win in super tie-break for Bops and Aisam ... Now they r facing local German pair in quarters.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $50K+H Louisville Challenger, KY, USA

[R1] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND,214) l WARBURG Sam (USA,157) 76(2) 36 26
[R1] RAM Rajeev (USA,180) l EBELTHITE Colin (AUS,234) 76(5) 57 67(3)

Doubles -
[R1] AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND)/ YOUNG Donald (USA) bt (WC) AGOSTINELLI Bruno (CAN)/ COX Bradley (USA) 64 64

[QF] AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND)/ YOUNG Donald (USA) vs DANCEVIC Frank (CAN)/ VEMIC Dusan (SRB)

Kash and Rajeev lost in very close matches in singles ... Both needs to start winning these matches.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Pakistan F3 Futures, Lahore

[R2] (1) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND,506) l TAUBERT Patrick (GER,937) 26 57
[R2] (Q) REDDY B Vikram (IND,UNR) bt (7) KUKHALASHVILI Lazare (GEO,945) 76(4) 64
[R2] ROY Rupesh (IND,1126) bt (6) ALEKSEENKO Vadim (UKR,827) 57 62 63
[R2] (Q) NELORD Yannick (IND,1838) l (3) KHAN Aqeel (PAK,621) 57 26

[QF] (Q) REDDY B Vikram (IND,UNR) vs TAUBERT Patrick (GER,937)
[QF] ROY Rupesh (IND,1126) vs (3) KHAN Aqeel (PAK,621)

Doubles -
[QF] LIM Hyun-Soo (KOR)/ ROY Rupesh (IND) bt CHEN I-Ta (TPE)/ LEE Hsin-Han (TPE) 57 76(5) 10(4)
[QF] (4) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND)/ KHAN Aqeel (PAK) bt SIRIBUTWONG Kirati (THA)/ SIRIBUTWONG Peerakit (THA) 46 61 11(9)
[QF] FITZPATRICK Andrew (GBR)/ GIDE Rohan (IND) l (2) BAINS Maniel (GBR)/ FILENKOV Alexei (RUS) 46 57

[SF] LIM Hyun-Soo (KOR)/ ROY Rupesh (IND) vs (1) ABDUKHALIKOV Syrym (KAZ)/ VASILIEV Mikhail (RUS)
[SF] (4) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND)/ KHAN Aqeel (PAK) bt (2) BAINS Maniel (GBR)/ FILENKOV Alexei (RUS) 62 62

Good upset wins by Vikram and Rupesh to reach singles quarters ... But Sunil's inconsistency with his game is painful to see, another loss for him against player ranked outside top 900.

In doubles Sunil/ Aqeel r in the final and Rupesh with his Korean partner in the semis.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Chess News
At World Chess Championship, Bonn, Germany October 14 to 30, 2008

Viswanathan Anand (IND) vs Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 6 - 4

Game 10 -
Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) - Viswanathan Anand (IND) 1-0

Kramnik scored dominating victory against Anand in only 29 moves playing with White ... His 18th novelty move Re1 turned tide for him.

Previous 2 games before this game 10 Kramnik had at some moments considerable advantage but couln't convert it into a win ... But in 10th game he had different idea ... Kramnik had in a very aggressive mood when he started with the Nimzo-Indian ... He controlled this game from the start and never gave any chance to Anand ... His game was just perfect ... Anand need to recover quickly from loss after today's rest day ... Many experts r saying now Kramnik is having upper hand after last 3 games and Anand was looking off-colour in those games.
Tennis News
At $50K+H Louisville Challenger, KY, USA

[R1] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ LEVINE Jesse (USA) bt (WC) OUDSEMA Scott (USA)/ SMYCZEK Tim (USA) 64 67(5) 10(6)

Kash and Levine scored super tie-break victory against wild-card pair ... But Rajeev withdrew from doubles due to Isner's back injury.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Pakistan F3 Futures, Lahore

[R1] (1) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND,506) bt (Q) KHAN Jalil (PAK,1448) 61 61
[R1] (Q) REDDY B Vikram (IND,UNR) bt KHAN Yasir (PAK,1448) 75 64
[R1] (Q) YADAV Mandeep (IND,UNR) l (4) LEE Hsin-Han (TPE,655) 26 36
[R1] ROY Rupesh (IND,1126) bt (WC) ASHIQ Tanveer (PAK,1770) 60 60
[R1] (Q) NELORD Yannick (IND,1838) bt MOHAZEBNIA Mohammed (IRI,1027) 16 76(3) 62
[R1] (Q) BAINS Deepinder (IND,UNR) l (8) ABDUKHALIKOV Syrym (KAZ,955) 16 46
[R1] GIDE Rohan (IND,1246) l (WC) KHAN Shahzad (PAK,1668) 62 46 67(6)

[R2] (1) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND,506) vs TAUBERT Patrick (GER,937)
[R2] (Q) REDDY B Vikram (IND,UNR) vs (7) KUKHALASHVILI Lazare (GEO,945)
[R2] ROY Rupesh (IND,1126) vs (6) ALEKSEENKO Vadim (UKR,827)
[R2] (Q) NELORD Yannick (IND,1838) vs (3) KHAN Aqeel (PAK,621)

Vikram Reddy earned his first ranking point and Yannick's win over higher ranked Iranian were notable performances for Indians.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Badminton News
At World Juniors 2008, Pune, India

For 3rd Position

India l Malaysia 2-3

Gurusaidutt R. M. V./ Prajakta SAWANT l Kok Siang TEO/ Kah Mun Vivian HOO 8-21 17-21
Saina NEHWAL bt Siew Fong Florah NG 21-9 21-6
Aditya PRAKASH bt Iskandar Zulkarnain BIN ZAINUDDIN 21-12 20-22 26-24
Sai Praneeth B./ Pranav CHOPRA l Hee Chun MAK/ Kok Siang TEO 14-21 13-21
Sikki REDDY/ Thulasi P. C. l Kah Mun Vivian HOO / Sannatasah BINTI SANIRU 14-21 21-13 9-21

Again our juniors won their singles matches but doubles couldn't bring single win ... So in last 2 matches Indian Juniors lost due to doubles failure ... Hopefully our coaches will work on our doubles teams to produce better result in the future.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Tennis News
At €2.270M BNP Paribas Masters, Paris, France

[R1] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) Bye
[R1] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) Bye

Seeded pairs having first round bye ... In second round Lee and Lukas will face winner between Brazilian pair of Marcelo Melo/ Ander Sa and Australian Jordan Kerr with Finland's Jerkko Nieminen ... Mahesh and Mark will face winner between wild-card French pair of Nicolas Mahut/ Paul-Henri Mathieu and Argentine Juan Monaco with Rafa.
---------------------------------------------------------
At €42.5K+H Aachen Challenger, Germany

[R1] QURESHI Aisam-Ul-Haq (PAK,206) vs HUTA GALUNG Jesse (NED,185)

Doubles -
[R1] BOPANNA Rohan (IND)/ QURESHI Aisam-Ul-Haq (PAK) vs AUCKLAND James (GBR)/ NORMAN Dick (BEL)

So after long break Rohana and Aisam r back as a pair in this challenger.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $50K+H Louisville Challenger, KY, USA

[Q1] SINGH Ashutosh (IND,742) l SIMMONDS Phillip (USA,504) 67(4) 06

[Q1] (1) MANKAD Harsh (IND)/ SINGH Ashutosh (IND) l (WC) COLLINS Shane (USA)/ WITTEN Jesse (USA) 75 46 (6)10

[R1] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND,214) vs WARBURG Sam (USA,157)
[R1] RAM Rajeev (USA,180) vs EBELTHITE Colin (AUS,234)

Doubles -
[R1] (1) ISNER John (USA)/ RAM Rajeev (USA) vs DANCEVIC Frank (CAN)/ VEMIC Dusan (SRB)
[R1] AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND)/ YOUNG Donald (USA) vs (WC) AGOSTINELLI Bruno (CAN)/ COX Bradley (USA)
[R1] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ LEVINE Jesse (USA) vs (WC) OUDSEMA Scott (USA)/ SMYCZEK Tim (USA)

Ashutosh lost in the first round of qualifying ... But more surprising result was loss of Harsh and Ashutosh in doubles as top-seed against American wild-card pair.

Kash having top-150 caliber Warburg in the first round ... In doubles Stephen is partnering Donald Young and Kash is partnering American Jesse Levine.

---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Pakistan F3 Futures, Lahore

[Q1] CHAUHAN Vikas (IND,UNR) bt EJAZ Usman (PAK) 76(4) 26 63
[Q1] JANJUA Gumohit Singh (IND,UNR) bt RAZA Syed Abbas (PAK,UNR) 64 64
[Q1] (4) NELORD Yannick (IND,1838) Bye
[Q1] BAINS Deepinder (IND,UNR) bt AKBAR M. Abid Ali Khan (PAK) 64 60
[Q1] REDDY B Vikram (IND,UNR) Bye
[Q1] MOHAMMED Fariz (IND,UNR) bt TIWARI Palash (IND,UNR) 62 76(5)
[Q1] YADAV Mandeep (IND,UNR) bt MISHRA Pulkit (IND,UNR) 65 64

[Q2] CHAUHAN Vikas (IND,UNR) l (2) KHAN Jalil (PAK,1448) 64 46 26
[Q2] JANJUA Gumohit Singh (IND,UNR) l (3) SIRIBUTWONG Peerakit (THA,1529) 06 06
[Q2] (4) NELORD Yannick (IND,1838) bt WOO Chung Hyo (KOR,UNR) 64 16 26
[Q2] BAINS Deepinder (IND,UNR) bt AKBAR Babar (PAK,UNR) 36 64 60
[Q2] REDDY B Vikram (IND,UNR) bt MOHAMMED Fariz (IND,UNR) 36 16
[Q2] YADAV Mandeep (IND,UNR) bt AFRIDI Mubashir (PAK,UNR) 61 64

[R1] (1) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND,506) vs (Q) KHAN Jalil (PAK,1448)
[R1] (Q) REDDY B Vikram (IND,UNR) vs KHAN Yasir (PAK,1448)
[R1] (Q) YADAV Mandeep (IND,UNR) vs (4) LEE Hsin-Han (TPE,655)
[R1] ROY Rupesh (IND,1126) vs (WC) ASHIQ Tanveer (PAK,1770)
[R1] (Q) NELORD Yannick (IND,1838) vs MOHAZEBNIA Mohammed (IRI,1027)
[R1] (Q) BAINS Deepinder (IND,UNR) vs (8) ABDUKHALIKOV Syrym (KAZ,955)
[R1] GIDE Rohan (IND,1246) vs (WC) KHAN Shahzad (PAK,1668)

Doubles -
[R1] LIM Hyun-Soo (KOR)/ ROY Rupesh (IND) bt (3) ALEKSEENKO Gleb (UKR)/ ALEKSEENKO Vadim (UKR) 64 46 10(7)
[R1] NELORD Yannick (IND,1838)/ TAUBERT Patrick (GER) l SIRIBUTWONG Kirati (THA)/ SIRIBUTWONG Peerakit (THA) 46 16
[R1] (4) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND)/ KHAN Aqeel (PAK) bt ASHIQ Tanveer (PAK)/ KHAN Yasir (PAK) 60 75
[R1] FITZPATRICK Andrew (GBR)/ GIDE Rohan (IND) bt (WC) MALAK Muhammad Waqas (PAK)/ NAZIR Khurram (PAK) 62 61

[QF] LIM Hyun-Soo (KOR)/ ROY Rupesh (IND) vs CHEN I-Ta (TPE)/ LEE Hsin-Han (TPE)
[QF] (4) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND)/ KHAN Aqeel (PAK) vs SIRIBUTWONG Kirati (THA)/ SIRIBUTWONG Peerakit (THA)
[QF] FITZPATRICK Andrew (GBR)/ GIDE Rohan (IND) vs BAINS Maniel (GBR)/ FILENKOV Alexei (RUS)

Last week of back to back 3 futures in Pakitan ... Hopefully our players show improve performance this week ... Importantly I m hoping title from top-seed Sunil this week.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Chess News
At World Chess Championship, Bonn, Germany October 14 to 30, 2008

Viswanathan Anand (IND) vs Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 6 - 3

Game 9 -
Viswanathan Anand (IND) - Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) ½-½

Anand showing well preparation for his title defence against Kramnik ... He surprised Kramnik with his switching from regular first move e4 to d4 ... With that he nullified about 50% of his opponent's opening preparation and with Black went for non-standard positions that do not match Kramnik's style.

Today again Anand started with d4 but this time Kramnik responded with Slav Defense ... Anand showed his preparation playing Rd1 11th move, this move is very rare ... But this time Kramnik was well prepared and was attack with his Bishops ... But Anand demonstrated stubborn defense ... So draw agreed after 45th move ... Kramnik missed his best opportunity up to now in this championship match ... Now Anand needs only half a point to defend his title.
Tennis News
At € 891K Swiss Indoors ATP Tournament, Basel, Switzerland

[F] (2) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt Christopher Kas (GER)/ Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 63 63

Mahesh and Mark scored easy victory against Germans in the final in 61 mins ... This was Mark Knowles's 50th ATP doubles title, other hand Mahesh won his 44th title ... Hesh and Mark saved only break point they faced on their serve but they managed to convert 3 of 4 break point opportunities on their opponent's serve.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $1.049M St. Petersburg ATP Open 2008, Russia

[F] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Max Miryni (BLR) vs Travis Parrott (USA)/ Filip Polasek (SVK)

Rohan need to wait another day to score his second ATP doubles title ... In this well fought final they lost against American and Slovak opponents in 1 hrs 39 mins ... In this match Rohan and Max won 1 pt more than their opponents (74-73) but that wasn't enough to grab title.
At World Juniors 2008, Pune, India

Semi-Finals -

India l South Korea 2-3

Aditya PRAKASH/ Prajakta SAWANT l Gi Jung KIM/ Hye Won EOM 21-23 16-21
Saina NEHWAL bt Youn Joo BAE 14-21 21-15 21-8
Sai Praneeth B./ Pranav CHOPRA l Gi Jung KIM/ Young Woo CHOI 14-21 19-21
Gurusaidutt R. M. V. bt Dong Keun LEE 14-21 21-17 21-18
Sikki REDDY/ Thulasi P. C. l Hye Won EOM/ Kyung Eun JUNG 13-21 9-21

Indian Juniors gave their best to take opportunity of reaching final of WOrld Junior Championship ... Saina Nehwal and Gurusaidutt managed to win their singles matches but our all doubles pair lost against solid South Korean combination.

Very creditable performance by our juniors of reaching World Championship semis ... Our juniors r good in singles but our coaches need to improve our doubles game if we aim for better performance in mixed team event.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Football News
At I-League 2008/09 - 23rd October

Chiragh United dw JCT 0-0

------------------------------------------
24th October
Mohammedan Sporting bt Mahindra United 1-0

Goal Scored - Mike Okoro (MS) 74'
------------------------------------------

Sporting clube de Goa bt Mumbai FC 1-0

Goal Scored - Junior Obagemiro (SCG) 17'
------------------------------------------
25th October
Vasco SC l Churchill Brothers 1-4

Goal Scored - Agnelo Colaco (VSC) 70' and Okolie Odafe Onyeke (CB) 39' ,44' & 62',Felix Chimaokw (CB) 41'
------------------------------------------

Mohun Bagan dw East Bengal 1-1

Goal Scored - Bhaichung Bhutia (MB) 2' and HR Nabi (EB) 38'
------------------------------------------
26th October
Dempo SC bt Air India 3-1

Goal Scored - Ranty Martins (DSC) 38' & 78', Climax Lawrence (DSC) 55' and Ravinder Singh (AI) 60'

In match for grabbing top position Sporting clube de Goa defeated Mumbai FC by a lone goal.
Tennis News
At € 891K Swiss Indoors ATP Tournament, Basel, Switzerland

[QF] (2) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt Jordan Kerr (AUS)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 57 63 10(5)
[SF] (2) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt Jose Acasuso (ARG)/ Agustin Calleri (ARG) 75 62

[F] (2) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vs Christopher Kas (GER)/ Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)

Mahesh and Mark continued with their good performance on indoor courts ... They r in another final against German pair.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $1.049M St. Petersburg ATP Open 2008, Russia

[QF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Max Miryni (BLR) bt Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)/ Marat Safin (RUS) 64 36 13(11)
[SF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Max Miryni (BLR) bt Michal Mertinak (SVK)/ Lovro Zovko (CRO) 75 62

[F] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Max Miryni (BLR) vs Travis Parrott (USA)/ Filip Polasek (SVK)

Rohan and Max Mirnyi saved 3 match points in the Super tie-break to beat Igor Andreev and Marat Safin ... In semis Rohan and Max scored straight sets victory in 66 mins to moved into the final ... So in the final Rohan having chance of winning his second ATP doubles title.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $50K Saguenay Womens Challenger, Canada

[QF] Sunitha Rao (IND,212) l Carmen Klaschka (GER,244) 46 16

Sunitha's inconsistency continued but atleast she scored back to back wins after long time in this Canadian Challenger.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $25K Nigerian Womens Tournament II, Lagos

[SF] (3) LAKHANI Isha (IND,333) l (2) KUCOVA Zuzana (SVK,229) 67(4) 46

Doubles -
[F] (4) LAKHANI Isha (IND)/ CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND) l CHALOVA Elena (RUS)/ SAVINYKH Valeria (RUS) 76(6) 36 (7)10

Isha's fine run ended in doubles final and singles semi-final ... But overall very satisfactory week for her in Nigeria.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $15K+H Nigerian F4, Lagos

[SF] SHARAN Divij (IND,805) bt (3) HAIDER-MAURER Andreas (AUT,365) 76(7) 63

[F] SHARAN Divij (IND,805) l (4) CAPKOVIC Kamil (SVK,375) 46 64 46

Divij scored another upset win over top-375 player to reached the final ... But in the final he couldn't complete his fine run with title win ... But very encouraging performance from him in this Nigerian futures.
At World Juniors 2008, Pune, India

Group Y

India bt Sri Lanka 5-0

Prajakta SAWANT/ Pranav CHOPRA bt Achini RATHNASIRI/ Nuwan HETTIARACHCHI 21-15 21-19
Aditya PRAKASH bt Dilshan KARIYAWASAM 21-10 21-12
Sikki REDDY bt Achini RATHNASIRI 21-10 21-17
Sai Praneeth B./ Pranav CHOPRA bt Nuwan HETTIARACHCHI/ Wijesekera NAYANKANTHA 21-7 21-10
Sikki REDDY/ Thulasi P. C. bt Subodha DAHANAYAKE/ Gayani PERERA 21-7 21-16
----------------------------------------------------

India bt Singapore 4-1

Gurusaidutt R. M. V./ Prajakta SAWANT bt Guorui CHEN/ Lei YAO 21-16 21-16
Saina NEHWAL bt Ting Ting THNG 21-13 21-13
Aditya PRAKASH bt Zong Ren NG 21-9 21-9
Sai Praneeth B./ Pranav CHOPRA bt H C Jeffrey WONG/ Guorui CHEN 21-13 21-9
Saina NEHWAL/ Sikki REDDY l Lei YAO/ Mingtian FU 20-22 12-21

Indian juniors responded powerfully after losing against Hong Kong ... In morning session they crushed Sri Lankan side but in the evening session they scored remarkable victory against Singapore to move into semis ... Aditya Prakash's win was surprising one ... This is first-time Indian Junior team reached semi-final of World Juniors Championship ... They r meeting strong South Koreans for place in the final.
Chess News 
At World Chess Championship, Bonn, Germany October 14 to 30, 2008

Viswanathan Anand (IND) vs Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 5½ - 2½

Game 8 -
Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) - Viswanathan Anand (IND) ½-½

In this game Anand replied with Queen's Gambit ... But Kramnik couldn't find a way to improve his position and that determined outcome of this match ... Now Anand needs only 1 more point in the remaining 4 games.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Badminton News
At $200K Denmark Open Super Series 2008,

[QF] Chetan Anand (IND,20) l (5) Kenneth Jonassen (DEN,6) 21-19 13-21 8-21

Chetan couldn't repeat another top-10 victory after winning first game but still very encouraging performance by him in ths Super Series.
----------------------------------------------------
At World Juniors 2008, Pune, India

Group Y

India bt Russia 4-1

Gurusaidutt R. M. V. bt Nikolay MATAZOV 21-7 21-7
Saina NEHWAL bt Natalia PERMINOVA 21-9 21-14
Sai Praneeth B./ Pranav CHOPRA bt Konstantin ABRAMOV/ Yaroslav EGEREV 21-14 21-9
Thulasi P. C./ Sikki REDDY l Romina GABDULLINA/ Anastasia CHERVYAKOVA 19-21 17-21
Saina NEHWAL/ Gurusaidutt R. M. V bt Sergey SCHERBIN/ Anastasia NAZARCHUK 21-14 21-14
----------------------------------

India l Hong Kong 2-3

Saina NEHWAL bt Tsz Ka CHAN 21-16 21-8
Gurusaidutt R. M. V. l Wing Ki WONG 21-17 15-21 19-21
Sikki REDDY/ Thulasi P. C l Tsz Ka CHAN/ Ying Suet TSE 14-21 19-21
Sai Praneeth B./ Pranav CHOPRA bt Chun Hei LEE/ Ka Long NG 21-13 21-15
Saina NEHWAL/ Gurusaidutt R. M. V. l Wing Ki WONG/ Ying Suet TSE 18-21 21-18 10-21

After winning first match, India lost 2nd match against Hong Kong ... Now they need to win next matches.
Tennis News
At $50K Saguenay Womens Challenger, Canada

[R2] Sunitha Rao (IND,212) bt Ana Timotic (SRB,437) 63 61

[QF] Sunitha Rao (IND,212) vs Carmen Klaschka (GER,244)

After long time Sunitha won back to back matches on tour ... :-) So now she is in quarters, hopefully this winning momentum will take her further in this tournament.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $25K Nigerian Womens Tournament II, Lagos

[QF] (3) LAKHANI Isha (IND,333) bt (7) HENDLER Tamaryn (BEL,455) 63 62
[QF] BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,510) l (2) KUCOVA Zuzana (SVK,229) 46 16

[SF] (3) LAKHANI Isha (IND,333) vs (2) KUCOVA Zuzana (SVK,229)

Doubles -
[QF] (4) LAKHANI Isha (IND)/ CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND) bt ASTROGO Chen (ISR)/ SHLOMO Keren (ISR) 62 62

[SF] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) l CHALOVA Elena (RUS)/ SAVINYKH Valeria (RUS) 76(4) 46 (8)10
[SF] (4) LAKHANI Isha (IND)/ CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND) bt (WC) ABINU Fatimah (NGR)/ IBRAHIM Sabath (NGR) 63 60

[F] (4) LAKHANI Isha (IND)/ CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND) vs CHALOVA Elena (RUS)/ SAVINYKH Valeria (RUS)

Isha scored easy victory over last week's winner and junior top-10 player Tamaryn Hendler ... She is also in double final with Rushmi ... But Ankita couldn't repeat last week's performance and lost agains 2nd seed Kucova.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $15K+H Nigerian F4, Lagos

[QF] SHARAN Divij (IND,805) bt (WC) BABALOLA Abdul-Mumin (NGR,1480) 62 46 75

[SF] SHARAN Divij (IND,805) vs (3) HAIDER-MAURER Andreas (AUT,365)

Divij scored hard fought victory against local wild-card player ... In semis he is facing 3rd seed Austrian.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Chess News 
At World Chess Championship, Bonn, Germany October 14 to 30, 2008

Viswanathan Anand (IND) vs Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 5 - 2

Game 7 -
Viswanathan Anand (IND) - Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) ½ - ½

The second half of the match for the title World Champion is baegan ... The colors are reversed, now the odd-numbered games Anand will have the White ... Today Kramnik replied with Slav Defense after his failure with Nimzo-Indian in last few games.

Draw agreed after 36 moves ... Kramnik's play today was fluctuating ... He started well and had advantage with an extra knight but suddenly went defensive ... Now Anand needs another 1½ pts from remaining 5 games.
Badminton News
At $200K Denmark Open Super Series 2008,

[R2] Chetan Anand (IND,25) bt (4) Sony Dwi Kuncoro (INA,5) 21-18 21-18

[R2] Diju V (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) l (4) Anthony Clark (ENG)/ Donna Kellogg (ENG) 16-21 17-21

[R2] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) l (4) Eei Hui Chin (MAS)/ Pei Tty Wong (MAS) 15-21 15-21

[QF] Chetan Anand (IND,20) vs (5) Kenneth Jonassen (DEN,6)

Chetan scored huge upset over WR Nr. 5 Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro in 36 mins ... Very calculating performance by Chetan to won in straight games ... In first game they were eual until 18-all, but from their Chetan won next 3 points to won first game ... In second game Chetan caught his opponent at 13-all and from their he kept nose ahead to won this game to produced biggest victory in his career ... Chetan showing his recent performance wasn't fluke with this victory.

In next round Chetan facing another tough challenge of local WR Nr. 6 Kenneth Jonassen, who is playing well in this tournament winning first 2 matches inside 30 mins ... In updated ranking Chetan move to #20 in BWF ranking as finalist at last week's Dutch Open.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tennis News
At € 891K Swiss Indoors ATP Tournament, Basel, Switzerland

[R1] (2) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt Marcel Granollers (ESP)/ Feliciano Lopez (ESP) 64 61

[QF] (3) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) l Christopher Kas (GER)/ Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) 36 06
[QF] (2) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vs Jordan Kerr (AUS)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)

Lee and Lukas r struggling on indoor courts ... Here they struggled in the first match but today they lost against German pair in one-sided match ... In this match Lee and Lukas managed to win 30 pts and other hand their German opponent's won 53.

In first round doubles match Hesh and Mark scored easy victory against Spanish opponents ... They saved all 4 break-points on their serve but break opponent's serve thrice in six chances ... Hesh and Mark r only seeded pair remaining in the draw.

---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Pakistan F2, Islamabad 

[SF] (4) KHAN Aqeel (PAK)/ SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND) l (2) ABDUKHALIKOV Syrym (KAZ)/ VASILIEV Mikhail (RUS) 26 16

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Tennis News
At $1.049M St. Petersburg ATP Open 2008, Russia

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Max Miryni (BLR) bt (3) Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)/ Mischa Zverev (GER) 63 64
[R1] Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)/ Rogier Wassen (NED) l Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)/ Marat Safin (RUS) 36 62 (9)11

[QF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Max Miryni (BLR) vs Igor Kunitsyn (RUS)/ Marat Safin (RUS)

Bops managed to solve Youzhny and Zverev's puzzle with help from Mad Max ... Lee and Lukas r still searching their first win against this pair.

They defeated 3rd seed in straight sets ... Bops and Max broke opponent's serve 3 times in 4chances and lost their serve once in 3 break-points ... Now in quarters they will face Russian pair who defeated Aisam and his partner.

---------------------------------------------------------
At € 891K Swiss Indoors ATP Tournament, Basel, Switzerland

[R1] (3) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) bt Jurgen Melzer (AUT)/ Todd Perry (AUS) 26 63 10(6)

[QF] (3) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) vs Christopher Kas (GER)/ Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)

Lee and Lukas needed to produce comeback to move into quarters, where they will face German pair.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $50K Saguenay Womens Challenger, Canada

[R2] Sunitha Rao (IND,212) vs Ana Timotic (SRB,437)

Doubles -
[R1] (4) Veronika Chvojkova (CZE)/ Sunitha Rao (IND) l Carmen Klaschka (GER)/ Sabine Klaschka (GER) 36 36

Sunitha's results r worrying in US hard court season.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $25K Nigerian Womens Tournament II, Lagos

[R2] CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,530) l (6) GLUSHKO Julia (ISR,390) 16 64 36
[R2] (3) LAKHANI Isha (IND,333) bt KIRALY Palma (HUN,504) 62 64
[R2] BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,510) bt DE BEER Surina (RSA,533) 5-0 Retd

[QF] (3) LAKHANI Isha (IND,333) vs (7) HENDLER Tamaryn (BEL,455)
[QF] BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,510) vs (2) KUCOVA Zuzana (SVK,229)

Doubles -
[QF] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) bt MONTEIRO Nicole (NED)/ RILEY Alexandra (USA) 63 63

[SF] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) vs CHALOVA Elena (RUS)/ SAVINYKH Valeria (RUS)

So this week Isha joined Ankta in quarters ... In quarters Ankita facing same opponent wom she defeated in last week's semis.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $15K+H Nigerian F4, Lagos

[R2] SHARAN Divij (IND,805) bt (1) CHEKHOV Pavel (RUS,287) 63 36 63
[R2] PERANAMALLUR-CHANDRASEKHAR Vignesh (IND,1074) l (7) SANON Valentin (CIV,554) 26 26
[R2] VIRALI-MURUGESAN Ranjeet (IND,899) l (3) HAIDER-MAURER Andreas (AUT,365) 63 46 06

[QF] SHARAN Divij (IND,805) vs (WC) BABALOLA Abdul-Mumin (NGR,1480)

Doubles -
[QF] VIRALI-MURUGESAN Ranjeet (IND)/ PERANAMALLUR-CHANDRASEKHAR Vignesh (IND) l (1) CHEKHOV Pavel (RUS)/ KATLIAROV Pavel (BLR) 36 36

Terrific win by Divij over top-seed Russian ... Hopefully this win over top-300 help him to bring back his career on right direction ... I believe he has talent to be minimum top-400 on tour.
Badminton News
At $200K Denmark Open Super Series 2008,

[Q1] Shruti Kurian (IND,161) l Christina Andersen (DEN,171) 13-21 21-10 10-21

[R1] Arvind Bhat (IND,36) l Muhammad Hafiz Hashim (MAS,34) 21-18 15-21 19-21
[R1] Anand Pawar (IND,68) l Choong Hann Wong (MAS,20) 21-17 12-21 18-21
[R1] Chetan Anand (IND,25) bt Stefan Wojcikiewicz (CAN,54) 21-6 21-15

[R1] Aditi Mutatkar (IND,43) l Anna Rice (CAN,32) 18-21 15-21

[R1] Diju V (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) bt Endang Nursugianti (INA)/ Anggun Nugroh (INA) 21-15 21-12

[R1] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) bt Christinna Pedersen (DEN)/ Mie Schjoett-Kristensen (DEN) 21-14 12-21 21-17

[R2] Diju V (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) vs (4) Anthony Clark (ENG)/ Donna Kellogg (ENG)

[R2] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) vs (4) Eei Hui Chin (MAS)/ Pei Tty Wong (MAS)

Danish Super Series is going on ... Chetan continued with his good form winning his match in just 25 mins ... Diju and Jwala also scored straight games victory over Indonesian pair in MXD.

Arvind Bhat started well with winning first game but after that Arvind lost control over the match .. In third game most of the time Arvind was doing catching game with Muhammad Hafiz Hashim ... In end Arvind lost match in 48 mins against similar rank Malaysian player ... Aditi also lost her match in straight games against Canandian player.

Anand Pawar produced creditable fight against top-20 Malaysian player ... He also won first game but he fought back in third game after losing second game easily.

Chetan having tough second round against WR. No. 5 Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro ... Jwala and Shruti scored fighting win over local Danish pair ... Its interesting to note that in second round our all remaining players playing against 4th seed opponents.
Tennis News
At $50K Saguenay Womens Challenger, Canada

[R1] Sunitha Rao (IND,212) bt (LL) Tori Kinard (USA,808) 63 60

Expected easy victory.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $25K Nigerian Womens Tournament II, Lagos

[R1] BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,510) bt (8) CHALOVA Elena (RUS,495) 62 62

[R2] CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,530) vs (6) GLUSHKO Julia (ISR,390)
[R2] (3) LAKHANI Isha (IND,333) vs KIRALY Palma (HUN,504)
[R2] BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,510) vs DE BEER Surina (RSA,533)

Doubles -
[R1] (4) LAKHANI Isha (IND)/ CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND) bt JOVANOVSKI Bojana (SRB)/ WILLIAMS Jodie (GBR) 62 63
[R1] KIRALY Palma (HUN)/ MALOO Parija (IND) l ASTROGO Chen (ISR)/ SHLOMO Keren (ISR) 26 46
[R1] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) bt MARSHALL Lisa (RSA)/ VIERIN Vivienne (ITA) 64 63
[R1] APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND)/ SELAKOVIC Nevena (SRB) l (WC) AKINGBADE Ronke (NGR)/ EKE Hannah (NGR) W/O

[QF] (4) LAKHANI Isha (IND)/ CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND) vs ASTROGO Chen (ISR)/ SHLOMO Keren (ISR)
[QF] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) vs MONTEIRO Nicole (NED)/ RILEY Alexandra (USA)

Ankita continued her winning form scoring another victory over higher ranked opponent.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $15K+H Nigerian F4, Lagos

[R1] VIRALI-MURUGESAN Ranjeet (IND,899) bt (Q) ENOSOREGBE Clifford (NGR,1760) 60 62
[R1] GAJJAR Rohan (IND,809) l (Q) YITZHAKI Noam (ISR,1760) 67(6) 64 67(4)

[R2] SHARAN Divij (IND,805) vs (1) CHEKHOV Pavel (RUS,287)
[R2] PERANAMALLUR-CHANDRASEKHAR Vignesh (IND,1074) vs (7) SANON Valentin (CIV,554)
[R2] VIRALI-MURUGESAN Ranjeet (IND,899) vs (3) HAIDER-MAURER Andreas (AUT,365)

Doubles -
[R1] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND)/ Divij SHARAN (IND) l EMMANUEL Sunday (NGR)/ SHEHU Lawal (NGR) 46 63 (7)10

[QF] VIRALI-MURUGESAN Ranjeet (IND)/ PERANAMALLUR-CHANDRASEKHAR Vignesh (IND) vs (1) CHEKHOV Pavel (RUS)/ KATLIAROV Pavel (BLR)
---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Pakistan F2, Islamabad 

[R2] (Q) NELORD Yannick (IND,1760) l SIKORA Adrian (SVK,1022) 46 63 36
[R2] (LL) GIDE Rohan (IND,1340) l (6) FEAVER James (GBR,799) 46 16

Doubles -
[R1] NELORD Yannick (IND)/ ROY Rupesh (IND) bt (1) FILENKOV Alexei (RUS)/ LEONTE Bogdan-Victor (ROU) 46 76(2) 12(10)

[QF] NELORD Yannick (IND)/ ROY Rupesh (IND) l CHEN I-Ta (TPE)/ LEE Hsin-Han (TPE) 26 26
[QF] (4) KHAN Aqeel (PAK)/ SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND) bt FITZPATRICK Andrew (GBR)/ GIDE Rohan (IND) 76(4) 36 12(10)

[SF] (4) KHAN Aqeel (PAK)/ SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND) vs (2) ABDUKHALIKOV Syrym (KAZ)/ VASILIEV Mikhail (RUS)

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Chess News 
At World Chess Championship, Bonn, Germany October 14 to 30, 2008

Viswanathan Anand (IND) vs Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 4½ - 1½

Game 6 -
Viswanathan Anand (IND) - Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 1-0

After having 2 points lead, Anand started playing positively with White, in order to keeping the gap between them ... Anand rarely loses with White, so Kramnik needed to fired up from game 6 to catch him.

Playing with White Anand started with Nimzo-Indian ... Some new novelty moves used by Anand but otherwise nothing special was happening ... But Kramnik once again blundered on 18th move playing c5 ... And then Anand convincingly outplayed Kramnik and well deservedly won for third time in 47 moves.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Football News
At AFC Cup 2008 - Semi-finals (Second Leg)

Dempo SC l Safa SC, Lebanon 1-4

Goal Scored - Samson Fernandes (DSC) 654' and Mohammed Kassaf (Saf) 12' & 20', Hussein Tahan 85' & 90'

Dempo lost in one-sided match to Lebanon side Safa 4-1 in the second semi-final leg at Hyderabad ... Dempo lost 1-5 on aggregate ... With that their dreams of becoming the first Indian club making it to the AFC Cup finals were dashed.
Tennis News
At $25K Nigerian Womens Tournament II, Lagos

[R1] CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,530) bt (WC) D'OLIVEIRA Eden (RSA,UNR) 61 61
[R1] BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,504) l (6) GLUSHKO Julia (ISR,390) 46 16
[R1] MALOO Parija (IND,627) l (4) TANGPHONG Montinee (THA,340) 36 46
[R1] (3) LAKHANI Isha (IND,333) bt APPINENI Prerana-Mythri (IND,695) 62 61

[R2] CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,530) vs (6) GLUSHKO Julia (ISR,390)
---------------------------------------------------------
At $15K+H Nigerian F4, Lagos

[R1] SHARAN Divij (IND,805) bt IDOKO Candy (NGR,1395) 64 61
[R1] PERANAMALLUR-CHANDRASEKHAR Vignesh (IND,1074) bt HODOROV Tomer (ISR,1180) 63 60

[R2] SHARAN Divij (IND,805) vs (1) CHEKHOV Pavel (RUS,287)
[R2] PERANAMALLUR-CHANDRASEKHAR Vignesh (IND,1074) vs (7) SANON Valentin (CIV,554)

Doubles -
[R1] VIRALI-MURUGESAN Ranjeet (IND)/ PERANAMALLUR-CHANDRASEKHAR Vignesh (IND) bt ENOSOREGBE Clifford (NGR)/ OWUSU Menford (GHA) 63 76(4)
[R1] MAKHARIA Rahil (IND)/ YITZHAKI Noam (ISR) l HAIDER-MAURER Andreas (AUT)/ TUPY Mario (AUT) 36 46

[QF] VIRALI-MURUGESAN Ranjeet (IND)/ PERANAMALLUR-CHANDRASEKHAR Vignesh (IND) vs (1) CHEKHOV Pavel (RUS)/ KATLIAROV Pavel (BLR)

No upsets, expected results as per their ranking.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Pakistan F2, Islamabad

[R1] (Q) BAINS Deepinder (IND,UNR) l (1) LEONTE Bogdan-Victor (ROU,451) 26 06
[R1] (Q) NELORD Yannick (IND,1760) bt (WC) KHAN Yasir (PAK,1437) 64 64
[R1] (LL) GIDE Rohan (IND,1340) bt (Q) SIRIBUTWONG Peerakit (THA,1517) 26 64 64
[R1] ROY Rupesh (IND,977) l TAUBERT Patrick (GER,955) 57 06
[R1] (2) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND,503) l ALEKSEENKO Gleb (UKR,1271) 06 57

[R2] (Q) NELORD Yannick (IND,1760) vs SIKORA Adrian (SVK,1022)
[R2] (LL) GIDE Rohan (IND,1340) vs (6) FEAVER James (GBR,799)

Doubles -
[R1] FITZPATRICK Andrew (GBR)/ GIDE Rohan (IND) bt ASHIQ Tanveer (PAK)/ KHAN Yasir (PAK) 62 62
[R1] (4) KHAN Aqeel (PAK)/ SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND) bt BAINS Deepinder (IND)/ YADAV Mandeep (IND) 60 64
[R1] MOHAMMED Fariz (IND)/ REDDY B Vikram (IND) l SIRIBUTWONG Kirati (THA)/ SIRIBUTWONG Peerakit (THA) 46 26

[QF] (4) KHAN Aqeel (PAK)/ SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND) vs FITZPATRICK Andrew (GBR)/ GIDE Rohan (IND)

Sunil's disastrous performance continue ... Today he lost against 25 yrs old Ukranian player, who is better doubles player on futures but his best singles ranking was #1256 ... Very disappointing performance by Sunil and Rupesh.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Chess News 
At World Chess Championship, Bonn, Germany October 14 to 30, 2008

Viswanathan Anand (IND) vs Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 3½ - 1½

Game 5 -
Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) - Viswanathan Anand (IND) 0-1

So after rest day game 5 started ... Playing with Black Anand again selected the Slav Defense ... Anand had interesting Rg8 move 15th, Kramnik needed to re-think his next moves ... Kramnik made blunder move Nxd4 on 29th move and he resigned on 35th move.

Frankly speaking this is a really bad work of Kramnik's seconds in preparation ... Reason is, Kramnik once again was surprised in the same opening ... Then again he got into time trouble ... After experiencing some problems in the middle of the game, he missed a nice combination before losing his second game ... I think this could prove decisive for the outcome of the championship but still lot many matches r going to play.
Golf News
Chattanooga Classic 2008, Tennessee - Final Standing (Nationwide Tour)

1 Arjun Atwal 66 60 66 72 -24 $90,000
2 Webb Simpson 61 64 70 69 -24 $54,000

Arjun won play-off to win his 1st title on US soil and with winning this Nationwide tour title Arjun also grabbed 2009 PGA Tour card ... This win helped him to move to 15th postion ($248,986) from 34th in 2008 Nationwide Tour Money Leaders ... Top 25 gets next year's PGA tour card, so with only 2 tournaments r remaining Arjun is sure to be back on PGA tour next year.

Atwal had a two-shot lead standing on the 16th tee but drove into a fairway bunker and had to chip out ... He hit a poor 3rd shot into a greenside bunker and managed double bogey ... Other hand Webb Simpson made par and the two were tied.


Arjun Atwal - "I told myself I was still in it, I hadn't lost the lead. I was still in control of my game. I can't control what he does."

Then both managed PAR on 17th and scored birdie on 18th hole ... At the first hole of a sudden death playoff Arjun scored birdie to won the Chattanooga Classic defeating Webb Simpson.

Arjun Atwal - "I've been working for this all my career. I've had a few things going on away from the course. To finally win in America feels really good and getting my card back on the PGA TOUR will be a sweet bonus."

Interview from PGA TOUR site -
NATIONWIDE TOUR MEDIA OFFICIAL: Playoff victory, Chattanooga Classic, first victory until the United States. But you've won elsewhere around the world, that's got to feel good for you.

ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, it does. I've been working for this all my career. Trying to win in America, and it feels really good. And also the fact that I'm getting my card back on the PGA TOUR will be it will be a sweet bonus, I'm looking forward to that.

Q. Today you never lost the lead, but Webb Simpson certainly got close a few times.

ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah.

Q. Tell us about your experience today, and what sort of player Webb is and how you felt during the day?

ARJUN ATWAL: Oh, he's a great player. I had spoken with Webb a couple of times. I knew he was Monday qualifying, and he made a lot of Monday qualifiers on the tour. And then he put himself in position to win here, and he gave it a great shot. Either one of us could have won in that playoff, and it just happened so that he missed that putt.

But he's a great player, he's going to win a lot of tournaments, and it was for me as far as I'm concerned, it was a big grind today. You know, just not with my golf swing as much as with my emotions and my mind to try to keep it in check. And, you know, somehow I got it done, which is good.

Q. Well, as I said, it was awfully close. In the last three holes seemed like it was a bit of a roller coaster. Talk us through the last three holes and the playoff hole.

ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, standing on 16th tee, I was two ahead. Hit my tee. I never felt comfortable off that tee all week. I kind of shoved my drive right into the lip of a bunker. I had to chip it out.

Hit an awful third shot into the greenside bunker. Then didn't get it up and down. So that was a quick double. And he makes a par, so we're tied.

But what I told myself was that still I haven't lost the lead. We're still tied, you know, and I'm still in control of my game. I can't control whatever he does, and, after that, I hit solid shots, you know.

That 17th hole was playing really hard. It was about 230 to the hole. I had a nice little cut 3-iron to the middle of the green.

Q. And you did that after seeing what Webb did.

ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, Webb pulled his in the hazard left over the green, and what a great up and down he had. You know, he was under a tree, and he hit it out to like 30 feet and holed the putt. On 18 we both hit it on in two, about similar distances, and two-putted. So it was a good fight.

Q. That was an awfully good putt you hit, it looked like it had a chance to go in?

ARJUN ATWAL: At first in regulation, I thought that putt was going in. It was turning all the way, and at the hole it just straightened up, but it was all right.

Q. The playoff hole you two-putted and Webb missed that 5-footer and that was the end of it?

ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, Webb hit a good bunker shot and good putt as well. It just slipped out, so.

Q. Do you think that having played all around the world, different parts of the world on different tours, you're a member of four tours?

ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah.

Q. Do you think that experience was a huge factor today, given that Webb is in his first year as a professional?

ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, might have been, you know, but the thing is if you're grinding it, you can have as much experience as you want, and the grind is still the same, I think. You know, it's just like trying to win all over again.

Webb played just great. You know, it wasn't -- you couldn't tell by looking at him that he didn't have any experience, and I don't think it really mattered with him as well.

Q. Well, you move from 34th to 15th on the money list. And it looks like you've, with $248,000, it looks like you've secured your spot on the PGA TOUR. You must be looking forward to getting back there?

ARJUN ATWAL: Yeah, absolutely. It's a great feeling. You know. I wanted that. I've got like you said, all those other cards and all those other tours, and we've moved to Orlando in the last -- we've been there five years. And I just played on the PGA TOUR four years, and I want to get back there and see if I can do a slightly better job of playing there.

Q. So you're going to play the next two weeks, Miccosukee Classic next week and the Tour Championship?

ARJUN ATWAL: I know I'm playing Miami (Miccosukee) next week. I will play Miami next week. But it depends on the Tour Championship. I might go play. There is a tournament in China for the champions of the European Tour and the Asian Tour, and I'm in it. And it's $5 million, so I might go. I am going to Singapore anyway to play the $5 million event there and the Hong Kong Open. So I might make it three in a row over there.

Q. Maybe without the win here, it would have been a more difficult decision?

ARJUN ATWAL: Oh, there was no choice, I wasn't going to go. I was going to play it the rest of the year out here and then go to Singapore, and now I have a choice, I guess.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tennis News
At $50K Calabasas Challenger, USA

[F] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Nathan Healeay (AUS) l (2) Ilia Bozoljac (SRB)/ Dusan Vemic (SRB) 61 36 11(13)

So 5th time qualifier Somi and Healeay wasn't lucky to win super tie-break ... But creditable performance by this pair to won 5 matches, reaching final here boost Somi's doubles ranking ... He moved more than 250+ place to rank #566.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $15K+H Nigerian F4, Lagos

[Q2] (3) MAKHARIA Rahil (IND,1829) l BERMAN Gilad (ISR,UNR) 46 26

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Badminton News
At $50K Yonex Dutch Open 2008,

[F] (6) Chetan Anand (IND,25) l (3) Andre K. Tedjono (INA,22) 15-21 21-11 19-21

[F] Rupesh Kumar (IND)/ Sanave Thomas (IND) l (1) Fran Kurniawan (INA)/ Rendra Wijaya (INA) 18-21 18-21

Tedjono scored his 3rd win over Indian in this tournament in 51 min to win Dutch Open title ... Rupesh and Sanave also lost against top-seed ... So this week no title for our players ... But reaching finals of four stars tournament is creditable but these days our players r playing above expectations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Football News
At I-League 2008/09 - 19th October

Churchill Brothers bt Sporting clube de Goa 3-0

Goal Scored - Okolie Odafe Onyeke (CB) 4' & 54' , Thokchom Naoba Singh (CB) 68'
------------------------------------------

Mohammedan Sporting dw Mohun Bagan 1-1

Goal Scored - Gautam Thakur (MS) 3' and Jose Ramairez Barreto (MB) 24'

Mohun Bagan & Mohammedan Sporting r still searching for their first win in 2nd I-League.
Tennis News
At € 2.27M Madrid ATP Masters, Spain

[SF] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt (5) Jonas Bjorkman (SWE)/ Kevin Ullyett (ZIM) 62 64

[F] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) l (7) Marcin Matkowski (POL)/ Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL) 46 26

One-sided loss against 7th seed Polish pair in the final fo Hesh and Mark ... But reaching final here guranteed their place in season-ending tournament in Beijing.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $50K Calabasas Challenger, USA

[SF] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Nathan Healeay (AUS) bt Brian Battistone (USA)/ Dann Battistone (USA) 26 64 10(8)

[F] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Nathan Healeay (AUS) vs (2) Ilia Bozoljac (SRB)/ Dusan Vemic (SRB)

Somi and Healeay scored another upset win over unorthodox Battistone brothers, who were last week's doubles champion ... In the final they will face 2nd seed Serbian pair.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $25K Nigerian Womens Tournament, Lagos

[F] Ankita BHAMBRI (IND,509) l (7) Tamaryn HENDLER (BEL,445) 36 62 36

Ankita lost chance of winning her first $25K title against 16yrs old, who is top-10 junior player.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $25K Nigerian Womens Tournament II, Lagos

[Q1] GAINI Sharani (IND,UNR) l OYEGOKE Abiodun (NGR,UNR) 06 16
---------------------------------------------------------
At $15K+H Nigerian F4, Lagos

[Q1] (3) MAKHARIA Rahil (IND,1829) Bye
[Q2] (3) MAKHARIA Rahil (IND,1829) l BERMAN Gilad (ISR,UNR) 46 26
---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Pakistan F2, Islamabad 

[Q1] YADAV Mandeep (IND,UNR) bt JAMSHED Usamah (PAK,UNR) 61 61
[Q1] (2) GIDE Rohan (IND,1340) Bye
[Q1] MOHAMMED Fariz (IND,UNR) bt EJAZ Usman (PAK,UNR) 61 60
[Q1] TIWARI Palash (IND,UNR) bt CRAMER Rutger (NED,UNR) 46 63 62
[Q1] REDDY B Vikram (IND,UNR) bt AKBAR Babar (PAK,UNR) 61 62
[Q1] BAINS Deepinder (IND,UNR) bt (6) ASHIQ Tanveer (PAK,1760) 75 62
[Q1] (7) NELORD Yannick (IND,1760) bt AFRIDI Mubashir (PAK,UNR) 60 61
[Q1] MISHRA Pulkit (IND,UNR) bt NAZIR Khurram (PAK,UNR) 62 64
[Q1] CHAUHAN Vikas (IND,UNR) bt AKBAR M. Abid Ali Khan (PAK,UNR) 46 62 61

[Q2] YADAV Mandeep (IND,UNR) l (1) CHEN I-Ta (TPE,1305) 26 46
[Q2] (2) GIDE Rohan (IND,1340) l KIM Sang-Gyun (KOR,UNR) 57 67(3)
[Q2] MOHAMMED Fariz (IND,UNR) l (3) SIRIBUTWONG Peerakit (THA,1517) 64 16 26
[Q2] TIWARI Palash (IND,UNR) l (4) RACHIDI Younes (MAR,1561) 26 75 26
[Q2] REDDY B Vikram (IND,UNR) l (5) KHAN Shahzad (PAK,1658) 46 36
[Q2] BAINS Deepinder (IND,UNR) bt ALI Fahad (PAK,UNR) 61 64
[Q2] (7) NELORD Yannick (IND,1760) bt MISHRA Pulkit (IND,UNR) 63 62
[Q2] CHAUHAN Vikas (IND,UNR) l JELLALI Issam (TUN,UNR) 46 36

[R1] (Q) BAINS Deepinder (IND,UNR) vs (1) LEONTE Bogdan-Victor (ROU,451)
[R1] (Q) NELORD Yannick (IND,1760) vs (WC) KHAN Yasir (PAK,1437)
[R1] (LL) GIDE Rohan (IND,1340) vs (Q) SIRIBUTWONG Peerakit (THA,1517)
[R1] ROY Rupesh (IND,977) vs TAUBERT Patrick (GER,955)
[R1] (2) SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND,503) vs ALEKSEENKO Gleb (UKR,1271)

Doubles -
[R1] NELORD Yannick (IND)/ ROY Rupesh (IND) vs (1) FILENKOV Alexei (RUS)/ LEONTE Bogdan-Victor (ROU)
[R1] FITZPATRICK Andrew (GBR)/ GIDE Rohan (IND) vs ASHIQ Tanveer (PAK)/ KHAN Yasir (PAK)
[R1] BAINS Deepinder (IND)/ YADAV Mandeep (IND) vs (4) KHAN Aqeel (PAK)/ SIPAEYA Sunil-Kumar (IND)
[R1] MOHAMMED Fariz (IND)/ REDDY B Vikram (IND) vs SIRIBUTWONG Kirati (THA)/ SIRIBUTWONG Peerakit (THA)

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Badminton News
At $50K Yonex Dutch Open 2008,

[SF] Aditi Mutatkar (IND,43) l Linda Zechiri (BUL,85) 16-21 21-9 15-21
[SF] (6) Chetan Anand (IND,25) bt (5) Eric Pang (NED,32) 21-10 21-18
[SF] (14) Kashyap Parupalli (IND,58) l (3) Andre K. Tedjono (INA,22) 16-21 17-21

[SF] Rupesh Kumar (IND)/ Sanave Thomas (IND) bt Dean George (ENG)/ Matthew Honey (ENG) 21-11 21-14
[SF] (3) Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) l (1) Lena Frier Kristiansen (DEN)/ Kamilla Rytter Juhl (DEN) 21-16 17-21 20-22


Chetan won his semis match in only 27 mins ... Aditi tried after trying fightback in second game ... Jwala and Shruti lost plot after winning first game against top-seed.

Rupesh and Sanave reached final with easy victory against Britishers.
Chess News 
At World Chess Championship, Bonn, Germany October 14 to 30, 2008

Viswanathan Anand (IND) vs Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 2½ - 1½

Game 4 -
Viswanathan Anand (IND) - Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) - ½-½

Yesterday Anand brilliantly take lead with novelty moves in the match ... In fourth game played with Queen's Gambit and both agreed to draw after 29 moves ... So now they will meet after tomorrow's rest day.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Football News
At I-League 2008/09 - 18th October

JCT Mills Sports Club l Mahindra United 0-1

Goal Scored - Sukhwinder Singh (MU) 53'
------------------------------------------

Air India bt Chiragh United FC 1-0

Goal Scored - Surojit Roy (AI) 71'
------------------------------------------

East Bengal bt Vasco SC Goa 2-0

Goal Scored - Yakubu (EB) 7' & 90'

So atlast Mahindra managed to open their account in 4th round of 2nd I-League.
Tennis News
At € 2.27M Madrid ATP Masters, Spain

[SF] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vs (5) Jonas Bjorkman (SWE)/ Kevin Ullyett (ZIM)
---------------------------------------------------------
At $1.049M St. Petersburg ATP Open 2008, Russia

[Q1] Rohan Bopanna (IND,347) l Konstantin Kravchuk (RUS,301) 67(4) 76(4) 67(3)

So another loss in tie-break for Bops ... Match was lasted for 2 hrs 16 mins and both played 247 pts ... Very long match but Bops lost points on crucial stages.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $50K Calabasas Challenger, USA

[QF] Prakash Amritraj (IND,227) l (1) Vincent Spadea (USA,89) 36 63 67(4)

Terrific effort by Prakash, but he fell just short against a tough experianced player who is one of the toughest to beat in a such close match.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $25K Nigerian Womens Tournament, Lagos

[SF] Ankita BHAMBRI (IND,509) bt (2) Zuzana KUCOVA (SVK,236) 67(5) 61 64

[F] Ankita BHAMBRI (IND,509) vs (7) Tamaryn HENDLER (BEL,445)

Superb win by Ankita over top-250 European player ... Now she should use this opportunity to grab her first $25K tournament title ... But 16 yrs old Belgian looks talented ... C'mon Ankita grab this title.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $15K+H Nigerian F3, Lagos

[F] (3) Rohan GAJJAR (IND)/ Divij SHARAN (IND) bt (1) CHEKHOV Pavel (RUS)/ KATLIAROV Pavel (BLR) 76(6) 67(2) 10(7)

Excellent hard fought win by Gajjar and Sharan in doubles final against top-seed pair.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Chess News 
At World Chess Championship, Bonn, Germany October 14 to 30, 2008

Viswanathan Anand (IND) vs Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) 2-1

Game 3 -
Vladimir Kramnik (RUS) - Viswanathan Anand (IND) 0-1

Anand missed superb winning chances in the 2nd game ... He was a pawn up, but he got himself into time trouble and agreed to draw after having edge.

Now, in the third game he started with Slav Defense ... Today Anand playing like blitz game, it shows how much he is prepared for this game ... After Kramnik's 19th move Clock readings is 0.44 mins - 1.45 hrs.

Anand won in 41 moves playing with Black ... As u know, Vishy take early the initiative in this game and forced Kramnik into a time trouble ... This lead to the blunder on 33 moves (Bd3) and from their White was playing for survival ... Really good game by Anand and he takes the lead in the World Chess Championship match.
Tennis News
At € 2.27M Madrid ATP Masters, Spain

[QF] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt (6) Simon Aspelin (SWE)/ Julian Knowle (AUT) 63 75

Match was closer than what score suggested ... In this match key thing was Hesh-Mark's ability to save break-points on their own serve, they saved all 5 break-points ... Otherhand they converted 2 of 5 break-point chances they got.

So with this win they r in Masters semis ... Mostly their opponent in semis will be Bryans.
Badminton News
At $50K Yonex Dutch Open 2008,

[QF] Aditi Mutatkar (IND,45) bt Rosaria Yusfin Pungkasari (INA,90) 12-21 21-13 21-18
[QF] (6) Chetan Anand (IND,22) bt (13) Ari Yuli W. Hartanto (INA,46) 21-8 21-15
[QF] (14) Kashyap Parupalli (IND,58) bt (11) Dicky Palyama (NED,43) 21-14 21-15

[QF] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Diju V. (IND) l Christinna Pedersen (DEN)/ Joachim Fischer Nielsen (DEN) 10-21 15-21

[QF] Rupesh Kumar (IND)/ Sanave Thomas (IND) bt Kristof Hopp (GER)/ Johannes Schoettler (GER) 21-13 18-21 21-15

[QF] (3) Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) bt Johanna Goliszewski (GER)/ Michaela Peiffer (GER) 21-15 21-10

Aditi showed her recent good form scoring comeback victory against talented Indonesian in this 49 mins match ... In third game Aditi was in control from the start but Rosaria tried fightback from 12-18 to make it to 18-19 in favor of Aditi ... But Aditi played with cool head to won final 2 points and moved into yet another four star tournament semis ... In the semis she will face unseeded Bulgarian Linda Zechiri.

Otherhand Chetan scored straight games victory over top-50 Indonasian opponent in 29 mins ... Chetan performance showed his increased confidence and definetly top quality game.

Kashyap scored upset easy win over top-50 player ... Also our doubles teams reached into semis scoring contrasting wins.

Diju and Jwala's winning run ended in quarters .. But terrific last 3 weeks performance helped them to break into top-50 as a MXD pair playing only 6 tournaments together ... They r on #47.

In newly declared ranking Aditi move up 2 more places to #43.
Tennis News
At $50K Calabasas Challenger, USA

[QF] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Nathan Healeay (AUS) bt Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Alex Kuznetsov (USA) 64 46 10(7)
[QF] Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) l (WC) Lester Cook (USA)/ Shane La Porte (USA) 57 67(6)

[SF] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Nathan Healeay (AUS) vs Brian Battistone (USA)/ Dann Battistone (USA)

Qualifier Somi and Healeay scored another upset win over Prakash and Alex ... But Harsh and Ashutosh lost in close match against qualifier ... Somi and Healeay will meet cranky unorthodox pair of Battistone brothers.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $25K Nigerian Womens Tournament, Lagos

[QF] Rushmi CHAKRAVARTHI (IND,531) l Palma KIRALY (HUN,501) 26 46
[QF] Ankita BHAMBRI (IND,509) bt Vivienne VIERIN (ITA,622) 62 76(6)

[SF] Ankita BHAMBRI (IND,509) vs (2) Zuzana KUCOVA (SVK,236)

Doubles -
[SF] (4) Rushmi CHAKRAVARTHI (IND)/ Isha LAKHANI (IND) l (2) Tamaryn HENDLER (BEL)/ Lisa SABINO (ITA) 26 57
[SF] (3) Sanaa BHAMBRI (IND)/ Ankita BHAMBRI (IND) l Surina DE BEER (RSA)/ Agnes SZATMARI (ROU) 26 36

Ankita in semis, she defeated Vivienne, who upset Isha in previous round ... Now she is having tough match against top-250 Slovakian.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $15K+H Nigerian F3, Lagos

[SF] (3) Rohan GAJJAR (IND)/ Divij SHARAN (IND) bt Komlavi LOGLO (TOG)/ Valentin SANON (CIV) 61 76(1)

[F] (3) Rohan GAJJAR (IND)/ Divij SHARAN (IND) vs (1) CHEKHOV Pavel (RUS)/ KATLIAROV Pavel (BLR)

Gajjar and Sharan's good run in doubles continue ... They r in the final.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Pakistan F1, Islamabad 

[QF] GIDE Rohan (IND)/ ROY Rupesh (IND) bt (1) FILENKOV Alexei (RUS)/ LEONTE Bogdan-Victor (ROU) 76(4) 61

[SF] GIDE Rohan (IND)/ ROY Rupesh (IND) l SIKORA Adrian (SVK)/ TAUBERT Patrick (GER) 67(2) 46

Gide and Rupesh scored upset win against top-seeds but lost in semis ... Hopefully we will see better performance by our contingent in remaining 2 Pakistan futures.

Table Tennis News

At $70K ITTF Challenge Plus Oman Open 2020 , Muscat, Oman [R32] Harmeet Desai (IND,87) bt Jeremy Hazin (CAN,164) 4-0 (12-10, 11-8, 11-4,...