Sunday, August 31, 2008

Volleyball News -
The 14th Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

For 3rd position -
(3) India l Pakistan 0-3 (12-25 11-25 20-25)

Final -
(1) Iran bt (2) China 3-1 (25-15 25-18 23-25 25-22)

From beginning I was wary about this Pakistani team, who was unseeded but showed very solid and consistent performance through out this Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship ... Frankly I wasn't expecting such total dominating performance from Pakistan against our team ... From score it looks they didn't give us chance to settle in the match and finished it quickly in 56 mins.

But with this loss our team lost chance of qualifying for World Junior Men's Volleyball Championship final ... Other hand No. 1 seed Iran expectedly won Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship defeating China.
Volleyball News -
The 14th Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

Semi-Finals -
(1) Iran bt Pakistan 3-0 (25-23 25-20 25-20)
(2) China l (3) India 1-3 (25-21 18-25 19-25 23-25)

And China scored fighting win against Indian boys in 88 minutes ... So now Indians having crucial match against Pakistan for 3rd position.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tennis News -
At 2008 US Open,

[R2] Rajeev Ram (USA)/ Bobby Reynolds (USA) l Bruno Soares (BRA)/ Dusan Vemic (SRB) 67(4) 16

MXD -
[R2] Samantha Stosur (AUS)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) l Rennae Stubbs (AUS)/ Robert Lindstedt (SWE) 62 36 (10)12

Junior Boys Qualifying -
[Q2] (12) Sudanwa Sitaram (IND,94) l (1) Jose Hernandez (DOM,60) 64 36 36

Rajeev and Bobby lost their doubles second round match against Serbian & Brazilian pair.

Hesh and Stosur didn't pull this match in closely fought super tie-break.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Tennis News -
At 2008 US Open,

[R2] (7) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dloughy (CZE) bt Eduardo Schwank (ARG )/ Potito Starace (ITA) 64 16 63
[R2] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt Yves Allegro (SUI)/ Horia Tecau (ROU) 63 63

[R3] (7) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dloughy (CZE) vs Rik De Voest (RSA)/ Ashley Fisher (AUS)
[R3] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vs Maximo Gonzalez (ARG)/ Juan Monaco (ARG)

Junior Qualifying -
[Q1] (12) Sudanwa Sitaram (IND,94) bt (WC) Kosaku Hirota (JPN,1024) 62 36 61
[Q1] Akash Wagh (IND,121) l (16) James Seal (USA,103) 26 36

[Q2] (12) Sudanwa Sitaram (IND,94) vs (1) Jose Hernandez (DOM,60)

Lee and Lukas played another 3 setters but managed to win ... Now they will face pair of De Voest & Fisher in third round, who defeated French Open doubles champion in second round.

Other hand Mark and Hesh again scored easy victory and they will face Argentine pair in third round.
Volleyball News -
At The 14th Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

Quarter-Finals -
(3) India bt (7) Australia 3-0 (25-16 25-17 31-29)
Pakistan bt (5) Korea 3-0 (25-18 25-21 27-25)
(1) Iran bt (4) Japan 3-0 (25-23 25-22 25-12)
(2) China bt (8) Qatar 3-0 (25-14 25-17 25-21)

Terrific win by Indian boys to reached semis of this ongoing Asian Junior Volleyball Championship ... Now they need to finish inside top-3 to seal their position in World Championship.

Pakistan keep surprising their opponent and r in semis ... We r facing China and Pak will face Iran.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Tennis News -
At 2008 US Open,

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Al-Qureshi (PAK) l Marc Gicquel (FRA)/ Sebastien Grosjean (FRA) 57 36
[R1] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt Johan Brunstrom (SWE)/ Thomas Johansson (SWE) 63 64

[R2] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vsYves Allegro (SUI)/ Horia Tecau (ROU)

MXD -
[R1] Samantha Stosur (AUS)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) bt Alexa Glatch (USA)/ Scott Lipsky (USA) 63 63

Somewhat surprising loss against French pair, though they were experianced ... But other hand very easy victory for Mark and Hesh in first round.

Good start for Hesh and Stosur in mixed doubles.

---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Nonthaburi Futures, Thailand

[QF] (6) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,527) bt (Q) WILTSHIRE Stephanie (AUS,UNR) 61 46 64
[SF] (6) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,527) vs (Q) YANG Yi (CHN,UNR)

Doubles -
[QF] (4) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) bt SHLOMO Keren (ISR)/ VOGEL Michaela (GER) 62 61
[SF] (4) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) l (Q) GUO Zhi-Xian (CHN)/ YANG Yi (CHN) 36 26

Sanaa and Ankita lost in doubles semis against Chinese qualifiers but Sanaa having chnace of avenge her doubles defeat against same opponent in singles semis ... Sanaa is only seeded player in the draw.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Nonthaburi Futures, Thailand

[SF] (6) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,527) l (Q) YANG Yi (CHN,UNR) 61 36 36

Sanaa lost against Chinese qualifier but at least she performed better than her seedings in this future.
Tennis News -
At 2008 US Open,

[R1] (LL) Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK,211) l Carlos Moya (ESP,41) 46 76(5) 67(2) 26

Doubles -
[R1] Rajeev Ram (USA)/ Bobby Reynolds (USA) bt Scott Lipsky (USA)/ David Martin (USA) 76(5) 67(3) 63
[R2] Rajeev Ram (USA)/ Bobby Reynolds (USA) vs Bruno Soares (BRA)/ Dusan Vemic (SRB)

MXD -
[R1] (5) Cara Black (ZIM)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt Melanie Oudin (USA)/ Donald Young (USA) 63 62

Good start for formodable pair of Lee and Cara in MXD ... Rajeev and Bobby had a terrfic hard fought win over fellow American pair ... Aisam also played very close match against Moya.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Volleyball News -
The 14th Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

Pool E -
(5) Korea bt (8) Qatar 3-0 (25-16 25-17 25-22)
(3) India l (1) Iran 1-3 (24-26 25-23 12-25 18-25)

Pool F -
Pakistan bt (4) Japan 3-0 (25-15 25-22 25-15)
(2) China bt (7) Australia 3-1 (23-25 25-14 25-18 25-23)

Quarter-Finals -
(1) Iran vs (4) Japan
(2) China vs (8) Qatar
(3) India vs (7) Australia
(5) Korea vs Pakistan

Iran scored victory over us to top the group ... Korea finished 3rd with win over Qatar in our pool.

In Group F, China finished on top ... Surprise package Pakistan finished second in the group ahead of Australia and Japan.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tennis News -
At $10K Nonthaburi Futures, Thailand

[R2] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,508) l (Q) WILTSHIRE Stephanie (AUS,UNR) 46 26
[R2] (6) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,527) bt DOKEI Tomoko (JPN,639) 36 63 64
[R2] (5) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,522) l (Q) YANG Yi (CHN,UNR) 64 26 57

[QF] (6) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,527) vs (Q) WILTSHIRE Stephanie (AUS,UNR)

Only Sanaa managed to win her match ... Other hand Rushmi and Ankita lost against qualifier.
Tennis News -
At 2008 US Open,

[R1] (7) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dloughy (CZE) bt Oscar Hernandez (ESP)/ Albert Mondanes (ESP) 67(2) 61 64
[R2] (7) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dloughy (CZE) vs Eduardo Schwank (ARG )/ Potito Starace (ITA)

MXD -
[R1] (5) Cara Black (ZIM)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Melanie Oudin (USA)/ Donald Young (USA)
[R1] Samantha Stosur (AUS)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) vs Alexa Glatch (USA)/ Scott Lipsky (USA)

Lee and Lukas were playing first match after long break so rustiness showed in their game ... But importantly they won, these first 2 rounds r important for them to bring back their tuning.

Mixed doubles draw is out ... Lee is 5th seed with Cara Black and Hesh is unseeded with Stosur ... Both r in same draw and can meet in semis.

---------------------------------------------------------
At €42.5K Como Challenger, Italy

[R1] Mustafa Ghouse (IND)/ Mathieu Montcourt (FRA) l (2) Mariana Hood (ARG)/ Alberto Martin (ESP) 67(4) 26

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Volleyball News -
The 14th Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

Pool E -
(3) India bt (8) Qatar 3-0 (25-14 25-14 25-13)
(1) Iran bt (5) Korea 3-1 (23-25 25-22 25-22 25-23)

Pool F -
Pakistan bt (7) Australia 3-1 (20-25 25-15 36-34 25-16)
(2) China bt (4) Japan 3-1 (25-21 25-20 23-25 25-22)

India started well in second round pool games and scored very easy victory against Australia ... Other hand Pakistan scored upset win over Australia in F Pool.

Iran scored victory over Korea so tomorrow's match against them will decide group winner ... Go India.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Tennis News -
$400K Banglore ATP Tournament,

The ATP Board declared yesterday that they accepted a petition from the Bangalore Open to suspend the 2008 event due to the local promoter’s security concerns. The total event prize money of $400,000 will now be paid into the ATP player pension fund.

In my view that's stupid decision, reason is at same time Australian cricket team will be playing in Banglore (9th October) ... So whats security issue they r blaming? ... This must be the case of orginisers r not able to organise this event (with some internal problems) but blaming on security ... Indian media should try to find real truth behind this decision.

----------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Nonthaburi Futures, Thailand

[R1] (5) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,522) bt SRIPROME Achiraya (THA,UNR) 62 46 61
[R1] (6) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,527) bt (Q) WESTBURY Katherine (THA,UNR) 63 61
[R1] GOSWAMI Parul (IND,689) l WILTSHIRE Stephanie (AUS,UNR) 76(5) 46 06

[R2] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,508) vs WILTSHIRE Stephanie (AUS,UNR)
[R2] (6) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,527) vs DOKEI Tomoko (JPN,639)
[R2] (5) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,522) vs (Q) YANG Yi (CHN,UNR)

Doubles -
[R1] (4) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) bt GOSWAMI Parul (IND)/ MALOO Parija (IND) 63 63

[QF] (4) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) vs SHLOMO Keren (ISR)/ VOGEL Michaela (GER)

So this week better result in Thailand futures as our 3 seeded players in singles second round.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Volleyball News -
The 14th Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

(3) India bt Indonesia 3-0 (25-21 25-18 27-25)

CHN bt TPE 3-0 (25-14 25-21 25-19)
IRI bt QAT 3-0 (25-13 25-13 25-15)
JPN bt KAZ 3-1 (25-19 25-18 21-25 25-13)
KOR bt SRI 3-0 (25-13 25-14 25-20)

India topped the group with another expected victory over Indonesia ... So now in knockout group 'Pool E' we will be clubed with Iran, Qatar and Korea ... And here we r playing against Iran & Qatar as result against Korea in group stage will be forwarded ... So now we need to win at least 1 match against Iran and Qatar to find better draw in quarters but I m hoping winning performance from our team against host and tough Iranian side ... Go boys.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tennis News -
At $10K Nonthaburi Futures, Thailand

[R1] MALOO Parija (IND,703) l (7) CHEN Yi (TPE,529) 46 57
[R1] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,508) bt SHLOMO Keren (ISR,598) 61 62
[R1] SAHOO Shalini (IND,902) l DOKEI Tomoko (JPN,639) 26 36

Doubles -
[R1] (2) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND)/ TANANTA Lavinia (INA) l LU Jia Xiang (CHN)/ LU Jia-Jing (CHN) 36 63 (5)10

So Rushmi having winning start in singles and also good fighting performance by Parija against seeded player.
Chess News -
At World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad, Mersin, Turkey

Indian U-16 team won Gold medal in World Youth U-16 Chess Olympiad at Turkey from 16 to 25th August, 2008.

2nd seed Indian team was 1 pt. behind top-seed Russian team before last round ... But India defeated England with 3½-½ and Russia defeated Azerbaijan narrowly with 2½-1½ ... So India equalizing the scores with Russia, 28.5 points ... But Indian team take the gold after having the better tie-break.

Sethuraman was real star from Indian side on second board scoring 6 wins & 2 draws and overall 7 wins & 3 draws ... He remained undefeated in this Olympiad ... Sundar Shyam also supported well on 3rd board scoring 5 wins & a single loss and overall 7 wins & a loss in 8 games he played.



Indian U-16 Team - IM B Adhiban, IM Sethuraman, IM Sundar Shyam , FM Prasanna Rao, FM K Priyadharshan

Round 10 -
India bt England 3½ - ½

Round 9 -
India bt Switzerland A 4 - 0

Round 8 -
India l Turkey A 1½ - 2½

Round 7 -
India bt Georgia 3½ - ½

Round 6 -
India bt Philippines 2½ - 1½

Round 5 -
India bt Turkey C 3 - 1

Round 4 -
India l Armenia 1 - 3

Round 3 -
India bt Azerbaijan 3 - 1

Round 2 -
India bt Russia 3½ - ½

Round 1 -
India bt Turkey C 3 - 1

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Volleyball News -
The 14th Asian Junior Men's Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran (23rd - 31st August 2008)

Day 2 -
(3) India bt Sri Lanka 3-0 (25-15 25-17 25-12)

KOR bt INA 3-0 (25-19 25-20 25-14)
CHN bt PAK 3-0 (25-22 25-18 25-18)
AUS bt JPN 3-0 (25-17 25-23 25-22)
QAT bt MDV 3-0 (25-14 25-13 25-15)

Day 1 -
(3) India bt (6) Korea 3-1 (25-20 23-25 25-22 25-21)

IRI bt MDV 3-0 (25-10 25-06 25-09)
PAK bt TPE 3-1 (25-22 25-16 23-25 25-18)
INA bt SRL 3-2 (25-16 31-33 23-25 25-23 15-12)
AUS bt KAZ 3-1 (25-19 23-25 25-19 25-20)

So good start for our boys in this Asian Junior.
25th August (11:00 am) (3) India vs Indonesia

Pool A - #1 Iran, #40 Qatar, Maldives
Pool B - #13 Japan, #36 Australia, Kazakhstan, UAE
Pool C - #12 India, #26 Korea, Sri Lanka, Indonesia
Pool D - #6 China, #26 Chinese Taipei, Kuwait, Pakistan

Then top 2 teams from 4 groups will be divided in to 2 groups, E & F ... Winning the group matches r important as other team from same group's result also carry-forward to next stage ... Those matches r on 26th and 27th August.

Pool E - 1A, 2C, 1C, 2A
Pool F - 1B, 2D, 1D, 2B
Then first rest day of the tournament on 28th August.
On 29th August quarter-finals
on 30th August semi-finals
And final on 31st August.
Beijing Olympics 2008,

With 1 Gold medal and 2 Bronze medals India finished on 50th position ... This was their best performance in Olympics ... Now I only hope that our authorities build on this success and try to finish in top-25 in 2012 London Olympics.
Tennis News -

WTA Sunfeast Open, which to be held from October 6-12, 2008 at Mumbai, has been officially cancelled.
---------------------------------------------------------
At 2008 US Open,

Doubles -
[R1] (7) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dloughy (CZE) vs Oscar Hernandez (ESP)/ Albert Mondanes (ESP)
[R1] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vs Johan Brunstrom (SWE)/ Thomas Johansson (SWE)
[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Al-Qureshi (PAK) vs Marc Gicquel (FRA)/ Sebastien Grosjean (FRA)

Lee and Hesh r in top draw and Bops with Aisam in bottom draw.
---------------------------------------------------------
At Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, CT, USA

[F] (2) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) l (4) MELO Marcelo (BRA)/ SA Andre (BRA) 57 26

Mahesh and Mark lost in New Haven final in a one-sided affair ... Where Hesh and Knowles double faulted 7 times and were broken 4 times in the 1 hour and 22-minute final.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Nonthaburi Futures, Thailand

[Q1] (2) BURMAN Shivika (IND) l YANG Zi-Jun (HKG) 06 26
[Q1] MYSORE SREEKANTIAH Shivani (IND) l (WC) KAEWMA Jaruwadee (THA) 26 06
[Q1] REDDY Harshini (IND) l WILTSHIRE Stephanie (AUS) 16 06
[Q1] THAMMANNA Anushri (IND) l SRITAWAN Khanita (THA) 06 06
[Q1] PRATHAP Prerana (IND) bt THONGSANER Kamonwan (THA) 64 63
[Q1] NANDA KUMAR Asha (IND) bt PRATHAP Prathana (IND) 62 62

[Q1] [R1] BURMAN Shivika (IND)/ SAHOO Shalini (IND) l GUO Zhi-Xian (CHN)/ YANG Yi (CHN) 16 26

[Q2] NANDA KUMAR Asha (IND) l YANG Yi (CHN) 46 16
[Q2] PRATHAP Prerana (IND) l (WC) PLIPHUECH Peangthan (THA) 16 06

[R1] (5) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,522) vs SRIPROME Achiraya (THA,UNR)
[R1] MALOO Parija (IND,703) vs (7) CHEN Yi (TPE,529)
[R1] (6) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,527) vs (Q) WESTBURY Katherine (THA,UNR)
[R1] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,508) vs SHLOMO Keren (ISR,598)
[R1] SAHOO Shalini (IND,902) vs DOKEI Tomoko (JPN,639)
[R1] GOSWAMI Parul (IND,689) vs WILTSHIRE Stephanie (AUS,UNR)

Doubles -
[R1](2) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND)/ TANANTA Lavinia (INA) vs LU Jia Xiang (CHN)/ LU Jia-Jing (CHN)
[R1](4) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) vs GOSWAMI Parul (IND)/ MALOO Parija (IND)
---------------------------------------------------------
At €42.5K Como Challenger, Italy

[Q1] Mustafa Ghouse (IND) l Laurent Bondaz (ITA) 67(2) 36
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Motor Sports News -
At GP2 Series 2008, Valencia, Spain

Karun qualified on 12th position on the grid ... But had poor outing, he couldn't finish race in feature and sprint races ... In feature race they had fuel drama as 4 cars tank were empty on the final lap ... Karun made a mistake and contacted Vitaly Petrov on lap 18 ... This mistake turned costly as he penalised for next race.

Karun Chandhok penalised and receives a ten grid place penalty for Spa-Francorchamps, the next GP2 2008 event, after he caused a collision with Vitaly Petrov, who also failed to finish the race.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Tennis News -
At Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, CT, USA

[SF] (2) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) bt BOLELLI Simone (ITA)/ SEPPI Andreas (ITA) 63 57 10(7)

[F] (2) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) vs (4) MELO Marcelo (BRA)/ SA Andre (BRA)

Mahesh and Mark reached first final after their final appearance at Masters Series Monte-Carlo in April ... Bhupathi/ Knowles are trying to win their third title of the season.
----------------------------------------------
At 2008 US Open,

[Q3] Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK,211) l (8) Jan Hernych (CZE,120) 46 36

[R1] (LL) Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK,211) vs Carlos Moya (ESP,41)

Aisam lost in the final round but manage to gain entry as lucky loser.
----------------------------------------------
At $10K Khonkan Futures, Thailand

[F] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) bt NARATTANA Kanyapat (THA)/ WANNASUK Nungnadda (THA) 75 76(6)

Bhambris will be happy after winning doubles title after their very poor outing in singles ... Hopefully this doubles title win push them to perform better in singles in next week's futures.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 14 (22nd August 2008)

Boxing -
Men's Middle (75kg) Semifinal
Vijender Kumar (IND) l Emilio Correa Bayeaux (CUB) 5-8 Pts

Cuban boxer was leading 2-0 after first round
Cuban boxer was leading 4-3 after second round
Cuban boxer was leading 7-3 after third round
Cuban boxer won 8-5


Vijender lost against technically superior Cuban boxer in semis and contained with Bronze in this Olympics ... But he is aimed gold medal in 2012 London Olympics beating same opponent.

In this match Cuban boxer started with different strategy and decided to defend more ... But he scored whenever he got opportunity ... Today he used more straight punches than his favourite upper cuts ... Cuban boxer dominated bout taking lead from first round ... Third round was deciding where Cuban boxer guranteed his win.

But creditable performance by Vijender, who became first Indian boxer to win Olympics medal.

----------------------------------------
Athletics -
Women's 4 x 400m Relay Round 1 - Heat 1

7 India 3:28.83 mins (Geetha SATTI, Manjeet KAUR, Chithra SOMAN, Mandeep KAUR)

Disappointing run by our relay team, where only Geetha run her personal best.
Tennis News -
At Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, CT, USA

[QF] (2) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) bt BUTORAC Eric (USA)/ LIPSKY Scott (USA) 64 64
[SF] (2) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) vs BOLELLI Simone (ITA)/ SEPPI Andreas (ITA)

Another easy victory for Hesh and Mark against American pair.
----------------------------------------------
At 2008 US Open,

Sania withdraw from 2008 US Open due to wrist injury ... Doctor initially suggested her 3 weeks rehabilation and after that they will examine and decide if she need more rest to come out of this injury.

[Q2] Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK,211) bt (21) Leonardo Mayer (ARG,139) 64 76(9)
[Q3] Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK,211) vs (8) Jan Hernych (CZE,120)

Aisam continue his good run in US Open qualifying and now only one match away from qualifying for US Open.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Tennis News -
At $25K Moscow 4 Challenger, Russia (Clay)

[R1] (7) LAKHANI Isha (IND,334) l DRANETS Ekaterina (RUS,548) 63 26 26

Doubles -
[R1] LAKHANI Isha (IND)/ SOKOLOVA Inna (RUS) l NIKOYAN Liudmila (ARM)/ ZHARKOVA Maria (RUS) 46 46

So early end of challenge for Isha on clay.
----------------------------------------------
At $10K Khonkan Futures, Thailand

[SF] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) bt (2) CHEN Yi (TPE) /JOHANSSON Michaela (SWE) 63 62

[F] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) vs NARATTANA Kanyapat (THA)/ WANNASUK Nungnadda (THA)

Such type of performance was expected in singles.
Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 13 (21st August 2008)

Wrestling -
Men's Freestyle 120 kg Qualification

Rajiv Tomer (IND) l Steve Mocco (USA) 0-4

So end of challenge for Tomer.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 12 (20th August 2008)
Susheel Kumar Wins India's Second Medal and Vijender Kumar Ensures Third Medal for India!!!

After 1952 we wins 2 medals in Olympics but after our boxer Vijender qualifying for semis ensured another medal for us ... And this is the first occassion when we r winning 3 medals in same Olympics ... First ever medal in the Boxing and first medal after 56 yrs in the Wrestling.

Wrestling -



India's Sushil Kumar did unthinkable and win Bronze medal for India ... Ukrain's Andriy Stadnik reached final and gave Sushil Kumar second chance ... He had a tall order to win Bronze medal, where it's very rare for anybody to win two rounds in a repechage ... But Sushil Kumar had different plan, he won one bout after another to end up on the podium.

Men's FR 66 kg Bronze
Sushil Kumar (IND) bt Leonid Spiridonov (KAZ) 3-2 (Decision by Points - the loser with technical points)

Men's FR 66 kg Repechage Round 2
Sushil Kumar (IND) bt Albert Batyrov (BLR) 8-4 (Decision by Points - the loser with technical points)

Men's FR 66 kg Repechage Round 1
Sushil Kumar (IND) bt Doug Schwab (USA) 7-4 (Decision by Points - the loser with technical points)

Men's Freestyle 66 kg - 1/8 Finals
Sushil Kumar (IND) l Andriy Stadnik (UKR) 1-8 (Decision by Points - the loser with technical points)

Sushil Kumar failed to impress in this bout ... Disappointing loss but Andriy Stadnik reached final so Suhil having chance of playing in bronze medal Repechage rounds ... Need to win 3 bouts for bronze medal.
----------------------------------------
Boxing -
Men's Middle (75kg) Quarterfinal 4

Vijender Kumar (IND) bt Carlos Gongora (ECU) 9-4

Amazing stuff by Vijender against 19 yrs old south-pow Carlos Gongora ... Carlos Gongora was #7 and Vijender is #17 in ranking ... He played superb technical boxing skill to win this bout ... Vijender was very good in defense and usual nimble footing inside the ring ... He used his long reach and straight punch (jab) in his favour to ensured first Indian medal in boxing.

In semis, on Friday Vijender facing strong Cuban boxer Emilio Correa Bayeaux.


Round 1 Vijender leading 2-0
Good counter-atacking strategy by Vijender ... Used nice straight jab and right hook combination

Round 2 Vijender leading 4-1
With his straight jab Vijender used superb defense and reflexes to avoid Carlos's attack

Round 3 Vijender leading 7-2
This time point win on left hook and straight jab

Round 4 Vijender won 9-4
Carlos was on total attack and won points with left hook and jab ... Vijender won points with nice left hook and on straight jab to secured victory.


Men's Fly (51kg) Quarterfinal 2

Jitender Kumar (IND) l Georgy Balakshin (RUS) 11-15

Today Jitender showed very good defensive skill but he didn't use straight punch to score points and that's hurt in final result ... Jitender had big opportunity but he lost match in third round where European champion Balakshin out-scored him 2-6 to grab important lead.

Jitender entered in to this bout with 11 stiches under his chin due to injury in his last bout against Uzbek Tulashboy Doniyorov ... He showed big heart in playing this boxing bout with pain-killers after this injury.


After 1st round Balakshin was leading 2-1
After 2nd round Balakshin was leading 7-6
After 3rd round Balakshin was leading 13-8
After 4th round Balakshin won 15-11

----------------------------------------
Table Tennis -
Men's Singles Round 2

Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND,79) l Weixing Chen (AUT,31) 1-4 (5-11 12-14 2-11 11-8 10-12) (32m)

Chen didn't give any chance to Sharath and kept pressure to score easy victory.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Tennis News -
At Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, CT, USA

[R1] (2) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) bt GICQUEL Marc (FRA)/ MAHUT Nicolas (FRA) 62 63

[QF] (2) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) vs BUTORAC Eric (USA)/ LIPSKY Scott (USA)

Good easy victory for Hesh and Mark in New Haven first round.
------------------------------------------------------
Leander Paes resign as a India's Davis Cup captain.

Former Davis Cup player S P Mishra seleccted as non-playing captain for Romania tie.
Somdev replaces Bops in the team.

Our team for the Romania tie -
Prakash Amritraj, Somdev Devvarman, Mahesh Bhupathi and Leander Paes
-------------------------------------------------------
At 2008 US Open,

[Q1] Prakash Amritraj (IND,217) l Ryan Sweeting (USA,276) 36 46
[Q1] Rajeev Ram (USA,176) l Peter Polansky (CAN,263) 36 62 67(3)
[Q1] Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK,211) bt Ricardo Mello (BRA,208) 61 16 63

[Q1] Sunitha Rao (IND,158) l Soledad Esperon (ARG,190) 36 46

[Q2] Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK,211) vs (21) Leonardo Mayer (ARG,139)

Again Prakash failed to take advantage of favourable draw, Sunitha again lost due to lack of match practice ... Only Aisam managed to win his match.
-------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Khonkan Futures, Thailand

[R1] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,508) l (Q) KANG Seo-Kyung (KOR,1069) 36 36
[R1] SAHOO Shalini (IND,895) l (WC) MULSAP Sophia (THA,977) 46 36

[R2] (5) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,520) l (Q) CHAN Wing-Yau Venise (HKG,UNR) 26 46

Doubles -
[QF] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) bt (WC) LERTPITAKSINCHAI Nicha (THA)/ VIJUKSANABOON Varanya (THA) 63 62
[SF] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) vs (2) CHEN Yi (TPE) / JOHANSSON Michaela (SWE)

This is THE worst outing for group of Indian tennis players abroad.
Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 11 (19th August 2008)

Athletics -
Women's Long Jump Qual. Round

Anju Bobby George (IND) Fouled out

In bizarre long jumping qualifying Anju Bobby George fouled out herself with 3 fouled jumps.
----------------------------------------
Wrestling
Men's FR 60 kg 1/8 Final

Yogeshwar Dutt (IND) bt Baurzhan Orazgaliyev (KAZ) 8-2 (Decision by Points - the loser with technical points)

Men's FR 60 kg 1/4 Final

Yogeshwar Dutt (IND) l Kenichi Yumoto (JPN) 3-6 (Decision by Points - the loser with technical points)

Kenichi lost in semis so Yogeshwar Dutt also lost opportunity of playing for bronze medal match.
----------------------------------------
Table Tennis -
Men's Singles Round 1 -
Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND) bt Alfredo Carneros (ESP) 6-11 12-10 11-8 9-11 11-6 11-7 (45m)

Match Report -
Achanta lost first game 6-11.
In second game Achanta was leading by 8-5 and then 10-8 but Alfredo crawled back in the game ... But Achanta won 12-10
In third game after taking lead 6-2 Achanta kept upperhand over Alfredo to win it 11-8
After losing first game Achanta making sure that he starts well ... In this fourth game also he take 4-1 lead initially but Alfredo equelled at 8-8 and then 9-9 ... Alfredo managed to win it 9-11. In fifth game Achanta raced up to 5-0 lead ... And then won it easily 11-6.
In 6th game they started neck to neck until 3-3 but then Achanta moved nose ahead 6-3 ... And then finished match on 11-7

Men's Singles Round 2
Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND) vs Weixing Chen (AUT)

So his next round opponent is #31 rank Austria's Chainese import.
Tennis News -
At €64K+H Manerbio Challenger, Italy (Red Clay)

[R1] AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND)/ GHOUSE Mustafa (IND) l (2) KAROL Dusan (CZE)/ NIELSEN Frederik (DEN) 26 67(3)

Challenge over against 2nd seed.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 10 (18th August 2008)

Boxing -
Men's Bantam (54kg) Quarterfinal 3

Akhil Kumar (IND) l Veaceslav Gojan (Maldova) 3-10

1-1 after first round
2-2 after second round
2-6 after third round
3-10 after fourth round

Surprising meltdown ( I know little harsh word but using it from final points ... sorry about it. ) by Akhil ... I think Maldovan Veaceslav Gojan turned in to very good tactical boxer, who matched Akhil's un-orthodox style ... So with that another medal hope evaporated, now all hopes r pinned on Jitender and Vijender.

Akhil and Jitender r un-orthodox style boxers ( having similar style) but they can be struggle against technically good boxer and today I think that happened with Akhil.

----------------------------------------
Athletics -
Men's Triple Jump Qual. Round

35 Renjith Maheswary (IND) 15.77 mtrs

Very poor jump from Renjith, who almost a meter below his season best of 16.53 mtrs and well below his personal best 17.04 mtrs ... He finished 35th in 39th atheletes.
----------------------------------------
Table Tennis -
Women's Singles Preliminary Round

Neha Aggarwal (IND) l Jian Fang Lay (AUS) 1-4 (12-10 8-11 11-13 8-11 4-11) (34mins)

So Neha's challenge got over in first round ... But hopefully this 18 yrs old girl use this Olympics experiance to succeed further in her career.
Tennis News -

Somdev Devvarman climed to his personal best #239 in ATP Singles ranking after excellent run at Washington ATP tournament, he was quarter-finalist there as a qualifier ... Praksh is still leading the list of Indian players, he is on #217.

In doubles Mahehs is on #12, Lee on #16 and Rohan on #47 ... But after winning Delhi Challenger doubles title, Ashutosh climbed to his best ATP doubles ranking, #213 ... Our 5 players r in between 200 to 300 in doubles ATP ranking ... Those r - Ashutosh Singh #213, Mustafa Ghouse #219, Stephen Amritraj #255, Purav Raja #275 and Harsh Mankad #279.

---------------------------------------------------------
At €64K+H Manerbio Challenger, Italy (Red Clay)

[Q3] (7) (WC) AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND,1541) l (3) EICHENBERGER Patrick (SUI,818) 16 16

Doubles -
[R1] AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND)/ GHOUSE Mustafa (IND) vs (2) KAROL Dusan (CZE)/ NIELSEN Frederik (DEN)

Tough doubles first round for our pair.
---------------------------------------------------------
At $10K Khonkan Futures, Thailand

[R1] (5) BHAMBRI Ankita (IND,520) bt GOSWAMI Parul (IND,689) 46 75 63
[R1] MALOO Parija (IND,705) l (2) CHEN Yan-Chong (CHN,395) 26 16
[R1] (6) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND,528) l NARATTANA Kanyapat (THA,977) 63 26 16
[R1] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,508) vs (Q) KANG Seo-Kyung (KOR,1069)
[R1] SAHOO Shalini (IND,895) vs (WC) MULSAP Sophia (THA,977)

Doubles -
[R1] BURMAN Shivika (IND)/ NANDA KUMAR Asha (IND) l (WC) RUNGTEIN Chutharat (THA)/ SRITAWAN Khanita (THA) 36 16
[R1] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND)/ GOSWAMI Parul (IND) l NARATTANA Kanyapat (THA)/ WANNASUK Nungnadda (THA) 26 26
[R1] MALOO Parija (IND)/ SAHOO Shalini (IND) l (2) CHEN Yi (TPE)/ JOHANSSON Michaela (SWE) 16 36
[R1] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) bt (Q) CHAN Wing-Yau Venise (HKG)/ YANG Zi-Jun (HKG) 67(6) 62 10(6)

[QF] (3) BHAMBRI Sanaa (IND)/ BHAMBRI Ankita (IND) vs (WC) LERTPITAKSINCHAI Nicha (THA)/ VIJUKSANABOON Varanya (THA)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Golf News -
At Xerox Classic, Rochester, New York - Final Standing (Nationwide Tour)

T58 Arjun Atwal 69 68 73 77 +7 $ 1,845.00

Arjun slide to 30th position in 2008 money leader standing ... He is almost $11K less than No. 25th golfer ... He need solid tournaments, otherwise it would be difficult for him to Top 25 finish to gran 2009 PGA tour card.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Tennis News - (Last week)
At $50K Panza Challenger, Russia ( clay)

[R1] (8) Isha LAKHANI (IND,334) l Vasilisa DAVYDOVA (RUS,600) 16 36
---------------------------------------------------
At $15K Spain F31, Irun, (Clay)

[Q1] GUNNESWARAN Prajnesh (IND,UNR) bt (13) SANCHEZ-PATINO Santos (ESP,1634) 64 67(3) 61
[Q2] GUNNESWARAN Prajnesh (IND,UNR) bt GRIMAL-FERRER Joan-Marc (ESP,UNR) 63 62
[Q3] GUNNESWARAN Prajnesh (IND,UNR) bt MATESANZ-ARAGONES Eduardo (ESP,UNR) 62 62

[R1] (Q) GUNNESWARAN Prajnesh (IND,UNR) bt (Q) HERNANDEZ-AGUILA Abel (ESP,1363) 64 61
[R2] (Q) GUNNESWARAN Prajnesh (IND,UNR) bt CAZES-CARRERE Thomas (FRA,744) 46 63 62
[QF] (Q) GUNNESWARAN Prajnesh (IND,UNR) l (WC) ALCORTA-OLARRA Guillermo (ESP,1277) 57 36

Excellent run by Prajnesh on red clay in Spain ... He produced big comeback victory in 2nd round, in quarters I feel he must be tired becoz that was his 6th match.

He will get 3 ATP ranking points but importantly he gained huge confidence for future career.

---------------------------------------------------
At $10K Khonkan Futures, Thailand

[Q1] (2) BURMAN Shivika (IND) l WILTSHIRE Stephanie (AUS) 16 16
[Q1] PRATHAP Prathana (IND) l GUO Zhi-Xian (CHN) 06 46
[Q1] NANDA KUMAR Asha (IND) l (3) KANG Seo-Kyung (KOR) 67(6) 16
[Q1] MYSORE SREEKANTIAH Shivani (IND) l PUTRI Trivena Monika (INA) 06 36
[Q1] REDDY Harshini (IND) l ZHENG Jun-Yi (CHN) 36 06
[Q1] THAMMANNA Anushri (IND) l SRITAWAN Khanita (THA) 16 26
[Q1] SRIVASTAVA Dipti (IND) l BINNIE Renee (AUS) 16 16
[Q1] PRATHAP Prerana (IND) l VOGEL Michaela (GER) 46 06

And other hand this poor outing for our girls in Thai futures.
Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 9 (17th August 2008)

Shooting -
Men's 50m Rifle 3 Pos. Qualification

13 Gagan Narang 1167 pts (Standing - 389, Kneeling - 384, Prone - 391)
26 Sanjeev Rajput 1162 pts (Standing - 380, Kneeling - 387, Prone - 395)

Gagan missed finals by 3 points ... But creditable performance from him in not his favourite event.
----------------------------------------
Athletics -
Men's 10,000m Final

26 Surendra Singh (IND) 28:13.97 mins

Surendra couldn't improve his personal best timing of 28:02.89 ... But run reasonably well.
Tennis News -
At Pilot Pen Tennis, New Haven, CT, USA

[R1] (2) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) vs GICQUEL Marc (FRA)/ MAHUT Nicolas (FRA)
----------------------------------------------
At €64K+H Manerbio Challenger, Italy

[Q1] (7) (WC) AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND,1541) Bye
[Q2] (7) (WC) AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND,1541) bt COLLEONI Luca (ITA,UNR) 61 60

[Q3] (7) (WC) AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND,1541) vs (3) EICHENBERGER Patrick (SUI,818)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Golf News -
At Xerox Classic, Rochester, New York - Third Round (Nationwide Tour)

T47 Arjun Atwal 69 68 73 Par

Arjun struggled and lost chance of finishing in top 10.

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 8 (16th August 2008)

Boxing -
Men's Fly (51kg) Round of 16

Jitender Kumar (IND) bt Tulashboy Doniyorov (UZB) 13-6

Jitender leading 4-1 after first round
Jitender leading 5-1 after second round
Jitender leading 11-4 after third round
Jitender won by 13-6 !!!


Quarter-Final -
Jitender Kumar (IND) vs Georgy Balakshin (RUS)

This match was more wrestling than boxing inside the ring ... But Uzbek boxer started that mostly for slow down or distrubing concentration of Jitender, who has hit (left-right combination) & run and then moving all over the ring, ie Cuban style ... Then Uzbek boxer tried to hit Jitender by forearm, shoulder, head and then tackle to break Jitender's momentum ... Judge penalised Uzbek boxer for that in third round but I think after taking big lead in third round Jitender decided to give some back in fourth round.

Anway this was ugly bout but in end win is win .. Now next is European Champion Balakshin ... Go India.


Men's Middle (75kg) Round of 16

Vijender Kumar (IND) bt Angkhan Chomphuphuang (THA) 13-3

Vijender was attacking ... Thai was defending and trying to hold Vijender now and then.
Vijender leading 2-0 after first round

Thai scored his 1st point with right hook ... Vijender scored 3 more points with his powerful straight jabs and right hooks. Another point on straight jab.
Vijender leading 6-1 after second round

Another point for Vijender right hand woking like magic, 3 more points ... He is showing best defending skill in the ring.
Vijender leading 10-1 after third round

Thai boxer attacking, scored point with left hook ... Very impressive straight jabs from Vijender, 2 more points ... Thai scored another point on right hook ... Vijender scored another point to win match 13-3

This was the best clean boxing bout our boxer played ... He was leading from the start and gave no chance to his Thai opponent, who defeated Vijender in controversial semi-final match at President Cup ... This match was treat to watch ... He showed nice attacking and defending techniques ... Now he will face Ecuadorean boxer in quarters.

Quarter-Final -
Vijender Kumar (IND) vs Carlos Gongora (ECU)
----------------------------------------
Athletics
Men's Discus Throw Qual. Round - Group B

22 Vikas GOWDA 60.69 mtrs

Almost 3 mtrs below his personal best.

Women's 400m Round 1 - Heat 2

6 Mandeep KAUR 52.88secs

Disappointing run, 1 sec below her personal best of 52.88secs.

Women's Heptathlon
Long Jump - Group A

Susmita ROY SINGHA 5.98 mtrs 843 pts (4234)

Long Jump - Group B

Pramila Ganapathy GUDANDA 6.11 mtrs 883 pts (4302)
Shobha Jagadeeshppa JAVUR 5.86 mtrs 807 pts (4289)

Javelin Throw - Gp A

Pramila Ganapathy GUDANDA 41.27 mtrs 692 pts (4994)
Susmita ROY SINGHA 39.79 mtrs 663 pts (4897)

Javelin Throw - Gp B

Shobha Jagadeeshppa JAVUR 43.50 mtrs 735 pts (5024)

Women's Heptathlon 800m - Heat 1

5 Susmita ROY SINGHA 2:21.14 808 pts (5705)

Women's Heptathlon 800m - Heat 2

6 Pramila Ganapathy GUDANDA 2:23.46 777 pts (5771)
7 Shobha Jagadeeshppa JAVUR 2:27.50 725 pts (5749)
----------------------------------------
Rowing -
Lightweight Men's Double Sculls Final C

6 Devender Kumar KHANDWAL (IND)/ Manjeet SINGH (IND) 6:44.48

They finished last place in this C Final and 18th in overall standing.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Tennis News -
At $508 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Washington DC, USA

[QF] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND,320) l Igor Kunitsyn (RUS,84) 46 16

So at last tiredness caught with Buji against Kunitsyn, who also play with similar baseline game ... This was Buji's 6th match in this tournament ... But excellent run until quarters for him in this Washington ATP ... This is also helped him to bring his ranking inside top-250 ... Great week for him.

Now he should rest and try as alternare sign up for US qualies before Romanian challenger.
----------------------------------------------------
At $50K New Delhi Challenger IV, India

[QF] (1) MANKAD Harsh (IND)/ SINGH Ashutosh (IND) bt MOTOMURA Gouichi (JPN)/ UDOMCHOKE Danai (THA) 75 63

[SF] (1) MANKAD Harsh (IND)/ SINGH Ashutosh (IND) bt AN Jae Sung (KOR)/ IM Kyu Tae (KOR) W/O
[SF] (3) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ RAJA Purav (IND) bt (WC) BHAMBRI Yuki (IND)/ NEDUNCHERHIYAN Jeevan (IND) 63 64

[F] (1) MANKAD Harsh (IND)/ SINGH Ashutosh (IND) bt (3) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ RAJA Purav (IND) 46 64 11(9)

Terrific performance by Harsh and Ashutosh to win another challenger level doubles title ... Win again experianced Motomura and Udomchoke in quarters was huge one ... But comeback victory in the final was icing on the cake ... Great work guys.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Golf News -
At Wyndham Championship, Greensboro, N.C. - Second Round

-------------- Cut @ -3 ---------------
Jeev Milkha Singh 73 69 +2

So Jeev missed cut by big margin.
----------------------------------------------
At Xerox Classic, Rochester, New York - Second Round (Nationwide Tour)

T17 Arjun Atwal 69 68 -3

2 under round helped Arjun to back in top 20.
Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 7 (15th August 2008)

Boxing -
Men's Bantam (54kg) Round of 16

Akhil Kumar (IND) bt Sergey Vodopyanov (RUS) 9-9 (Judges decided winner on who hit more body punches and Akhil declared winner.)

Quarter-Final -
Akhil Kumar (IND) vs Veaceslav Gojan (Maldova)

Russian leading 2-1 after First round.
Russian leading 6-4 after Second round.
Russian leading 8-7 after Third round. (Akhil reduced lead to 1 pt)
And 9-9 after Four rounds. (Judges declared winner on body count.)


Huge upset victory by Akhil over World Champion Russian Sergey Vodopyanov ... This truly shows Akhil's steely nerves and character ... After 2 rounds he was down by 2 points but still he didn't lose hope and kept playing with his unorthodox style to level points score after 4 rounds ... And then Judges rightly gave their decision to declared Akhil as a winner ... So with this win Akhil is in quarter-final and giving us big hope of another medal.
----------------------------------------
Athletics

Women's 10,000m Final

25 PREEJA Sreedharan 32:34.64

Somewhat disappointing performnace by Preeja ... Who finished 25th in 32 runners and finished 6th in Asians.

Women's Discus Throw Qual. Rnd - Group A

17 Harwant KAUR 56.42 mtrs

So with this poor throw Harmeet failed to qualify for the final, her throw was well below of her personal best 63.05 mtrs or this year's best 61.09 mtrs.

Women's Discus Throw Qual. Rnd - Group B

Krishna POONIA 58.23 mtrs

Krishna also couldn't find her 60+ mtrs performance and out in qualifying ... She was also well below of her personal best 63.41 mtrs.

Women's Heptathlon
100m Hurdles - Heat 1

4 Shobha Jagadeeshppa JAVUR 13.62sec 1033 pts
8 Pramila Ganapathy GUDANDA 13.97sec 983 pts
9 Susmita ROY SINGHA 14.11sec 963 pts

High Jump - Group A

Pramila Ganapathy GUDANDA 1.74mtrs 903 pts (1886)
Shobha Jagadeeshppa JAVUR 1.65mtrs 795 pts (1828)

High Jump - Group B

Susmita ROY SINGHA 1.71mtrs 867pts (1830)

Shot Put - Group B

Shobha Jagadeeshppa JAVUR 13.07 732 pts (2560)
Pramila Ganapathy GUDANDA 11.66 639 pts (2525)
Susmita ROY SINGHA 11.27 613 pts (2443)

200m - Heat 2

7 Pramila Ganapathy GUDANDA 24.34sec 948 pts (3391)
8 Susmita ROY SINGHA 24.92sec 894 pts (3419)

200m - Heat 5

4 Shobha Jagadeeshppa JAVUR 24.62secs 922 pts (3482)

After 4 events, JJ Shobha is on 29th with 3482 pts, Pramila Ganapathy is on 32nd position with 3419 pts and Susmita Singha Roy is on 34th position with 3391 pts.
----------------------------------------
Shooting -
Men's 50m Rifle Prone Qualification

26 Sanjeev RAJPUT 591 pts
35 Gagan NARANG 589 pts

Disappointing performance by Gagan, expected lot better performance from him.
----------------------------------------
Rowing -
Men's Single Sculls Final D (2000m)

3 Bajranglal TAKHAR (IND) 7:09.73

So with this Bajranglal finished on 21st postion in overall ranking.

LWT Men's Double Sculls Semifinal C/D 2

3 Devender Kumar KHANDWAL (IND)/ Manjeet SINGH (IND) 6:40.34

Indian pair is qualify for Final C.
----------------------------------------
Tennis -
Men's Doubles Quarter-final

(7) Leander Paes (IND)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) l (4) Roger Federer (SUI)/ Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) 26 46

Mahesh and Lee both played very tentative tennis ... Both weren't looking sure about their shot-making, ie Lee's volleys and Hesh's backhands ... This loss was due to less practice matches against top-noth pairs ... Their decision of playing less matches backfired on them ... Today Swiss pair played like they wanted to win medal and that fire was missing from our pair.
----------------------------------------
Sailing -
Finn - Race 08

24 Nachhatar Singh JOHAL (IND) 24 pts

Nachhatar Singh Johal wasn't in to contention of top 10 finish from first day, so as expectedly he missed top 10 finish and final in Finn.
Tennis News -
At $508 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Washington DC, USA
The coin toss between Somi & Robert Kendrick.

[R2] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND,320) bt (Q) Robert Kendrick (USA,114) 62 67(5) 75
[QF] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND,320) vs Igor Kunitsyn (RUS,84)

And Somi did it again this time in hard fought battle of 2 hours and 22 minutes to move his first quarter-final in ATP tournament ... Robert Kendrick must be thinking what should be done to beat Buji.

Next he is facing top-90 rank Russian, so interesting to see how he perform against him.

-----------------------------------------
At $100K Istanbul Challenger, Turkey

[QF] (WC) Stephen Amritraj (IND)/ Mustafa Ghouse (IND) l (2) David Skoch (CZE)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK) 26 36

So no magic against 2nd seed by Indian pair.
-----------------------------------------
At $10K Chiang Mai Futures, Thailand

[QF] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,506) l (7) WANNASUK Nungnadda (THA,551) 36 26
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Golf News -
At Wyndham Championship, Greensboro, N.C.

T145 Jeev Milkha Singh 73 +3
----------------------------------------------
At Xerox Classic, Rochester, New York - First Round (Nationwide Tour)

T35 Arjun Atwal 69 -1

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 6 (14th August 2008)

Shooting -
Women's 50m Rifle 3 Pos. Qualification

32 Anjali BHAGWAT 571 pts ( Prone - 191, Standing - 189, Kneeling - 191)
42 Avneet Kaur SIDHU 552 pts ( Prone - 190, Standing - 183, Kneeling - 179)

They weren't in final-8 contention but still very poor display by these 2 finishing so low in field of 43 shooters.
----------------------------------------
Swimming -
Men's 50m Freestyle - Heat 9

7 Virdhawal Khade 22.73sec

Near to his personal best of 22.69sec, Veer finished 40th in 97 swimmers.

Men's 100m Butterfly - Heat 4

7 Ankur POSERIA 54.74sec

Disappointing swimming by Ankur, he was more than a second slower from his personal best of 53.68sec ... He finished 57th in 66 swimmers.
----------------------------------------
Tennis -
Men's Doubles Quarterfinal 2

(7) Leander Paes (IND)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) vs (4) Roger Federer (SUI)/ Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)
----------------------------------------
Judo -
Women -78 kg Preliminary
DIVIYA (IND) l Yalennis CASTILLO (CUB) in 13 secs

Women -78 kg Repechage
DIVIYA (IND) l Sagat ABIKEYEVA (KAZ) in 3 mins 29 secs

So with that Diviya expectedly finish on last position.
----------------------------------------
Sailing and Rowing competitions were abandoned on Thursday, August 14, due to bad weather.
Tennis News -
At $508 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Washington DC, USA

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ QURESHI, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) l (3) Rik De Voest (RSA)/ Ashley Fisher (AUS) 46 46

Cruel reality check for last week's title winner with his regular partner.
-----------------------------------------
At $10K Chiang Mai Futures, Thailand

[R2] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,506) bt (WC) SAENYAUKHOT Natchanok (THA) 62 63
[R2] MALOO Parija (IND,724) l LU Jia-Jing (CHN,664) 36 16
[R2] SAHOO Shalini (IND,886) l (2) CHEN Yan-Chong (CHN,395) 36 46

[QF] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,506) vs (7) WANNASUK Nungnadda (THA,551)

Only old dependable Rushmi remained in the draw.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Football News -
At 2008 AFC Challenge Cup Football Championship, New Delhi, India

HEARTILY CONGRATULATION TO TEAM INDIA AND OUR COACH BOB HOUGHTON TO QUALIFY FOR 2011 AFC CUP!!!

Final - (13th August 2008)
India bt Tajikistan 4-1

Goal Scored - Sunil Chetri (IND) 9', 23' & 75', Baichung Bhutia (IND) 15' and Fatkhullo Fatkhuloev (TJK) 45+

N P Pradeep created opportunity for Sunil in 9th min to scored first goal ... Baichung scored on first touch left footed volley on Samir Naik's pass in 19th minute ... And Sunil scored on long range shot, 25 yards left footer giving no chance to Tajikistan's goalkeeper Tuvchiev Alisher.

Sunil himself created opportunity in 75th minute to score this goal and completed his hat-trick in the final ... What an achievement for him ... So with this India is secured 2011 Asian Championship place.


3rd Position Match -
DPR Kora bt Myanmar 4-0
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Tennis News -
At $50K New Delhi Challenger IV, India

[R2] MANKAD Harsh (IND,581) l (5) ARMSTRONG Miles (AUS,290) 67(1) 75 46

Doubles -
[QF] PRASHANTH Vijay Sundar (IND)/ VIRALI MURUGESAN Ranjeet (IND) l AN Jae Sung (KOR)/ IM Kyu Tae (KOR) 36 36
[QF] (3) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ RAJA Purav (IND) bt EATON Chris (GBR)/ SLABINSKY Alexander (GBR) 62 63
[QF] (WC) BHAMBRI Yuki (IND)/ NEDUNCHERHIYAN Jeevan (IND) bt GHEDIN Riccardo (ITA)/ YSERN Pierrick (FRA) 60 60

Creditable fighting performance by Harsh ... But what a scoreline for teenagers Yuki and Jeevan against experianced players ... They gave the doubles bagel.
Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 6 (13th August 2008)

Archery -
Men's Individual 1/32 Eliminations

Mangal Singh Champia (IND) bt Vaezi Hojjatolah (IRI) 112-98

Men's Individual 1/16 Eliminations

Mangal Singh Champia (IND) l Bair Badenov (RUS) 108-109

We had big hopes from Mangal Singh Champia after his 2nd finish in qualifying ... He started well with winning first match easily ... But against Russian two 7 pts arrows costed him match.
----------------------------------------
Badminton -
Women's Singles Quarterfinal 3

Saina Nehwal (IND,15) l Maria Kristin Yulianti (INA,21) 28-26 14-21 15-21 (59m)

Saina had great opportunity to move into medal match ... After winning closely fought first game in 28 mins she struggled with stamina in 2nd game ... But suddenly she found touch in begining of 3rd game and take lead 11-3 before change-over ... But after that Indonasian player didn't give any chance to Saina ... Saina's UFEs also helped lot in Yulianti's favour ... After change-over Saina managed to win only 4 pts and that tell us all story.
----------------------------------------
Tennis -
Men's Doubles Second Round
(7) Leander Paes (IND)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) bt Marcelo Melo (BRA)/ Andre Sa (BRA) 64 62
(7) Leander Paes (IND)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) vs (4) Roger Federer (SUI)/ Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI)

Another easy victory by Indian Express over tricky Brazilian pair, who r capable of upsetting top pairs with their game ... But our pair scored solid victory in 69 mins to move in quarter-finals of Olympics.

Women's Doubles Second Round
Sania Mirza (IND)/ Sunitha Rao (IND) l (1) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)/ Dinara Safina (RUS) 46 46

Our pair was up 3-0 but from their Russian top-seed tighten the screw, we fought back after 3-4 down to break back but Russians again break to win first set ... In second set also they were break down early but our pair break back but lost serve in 10th game to lost the match.
----------------------------------------
Rowing -
Men's Single Sculls Semifinal C/D 1 (2000m)

4 Bajranglal TAKHAR (IND) 7:23.00

So that means Bajranglal will race for Final D in minor standing.
----------------------------------------
Sailing -
Finn - Race 07

18 Nachhatar Singh JOHAL (IND) 18 pts

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Tennis News -
At $50K New Delhi Challenger IV, India

[R1] MANKAD Harsh (IND,581) bt (WC) BHAMBRI Yuki (IND,1165) 64 64
[R1] (2) AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND,217) l EATON Chris (GBR,369) 67(5) 16

[R2] MANKAD Harsh (IND,581) vs (5) ARMSTRONG Miles (AUS,290)

Doubles -
[R1] PRASHANTH Vijay Sundar (IND)/ VIRALI MURUGESAN Ranjeet (IND) bt KHAN Aqeel (PAK)/ SIPAEYA Sunil Kumar (IND) 62 64
[R1] (3) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ RAJA Purav (IND) bt JONES Greg (AUS)/ STATHAM Jose (rubin) (NZL) 63 61
[R1] (WC) BHAMBRI Yuki (IND)/ NEDUNCHERHIYAN Jeevan (IND) bt (2) SAVIC David (SRB)/ VALTZER Dekel (ISR) 76(3) 46 11(9)

[QF] (1) MANKAD Harsh (IND)/ SINGH Ashutosh (IND) vs MOTOMURA Gouichi (JPN)/ UDOMCHOKE Danai (THA)
[QF] PRASHANTH Vijay Sundar (IND)/ VIRALI MURUGESAN Ranjeet (IND) vs AN Jae Sung (KOR)/ IM Kyu Tae (KOR)
[QF] (3) GAJJAR Rohan (IND)/ RAJA Purav (IND) vs EATON Chris (GBR)/ SLABINSKY Alexander (GBR)
[QF] (WC) BHAMBRI Yuki (IND)/ NEDUNCHERHIYAN Jeevan (IND) vs GHEDIN Riccardo (ITA)/ YSERN Pierrick (FRA)

Very disappointing stuff from Kash ... He lost in the first round against Eaton ... Harsh won his match against Yuki and now face 5th seed Aussie in 2nd round.

In doubles, Yuki and Jeevan produced huge upset defeating 2nd seed pair in long closely fought match.

-----------------------------------------
At $10K Chiang Mai Futures, Thailand

[R1] BURMAN Shivika (IND,981) l (Q) YANG Zi-Jun (HKG,UNR) 16 26
[R1] MALOO Parija (IND,724) bt (Q) WILTSHIRE Stephanie (AUS,UNR) 76(5) 61

[R2] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,506) vs (WC) SAENYAUKHOT Natchanok (THA)
[R2] MALOO Parija (IND,724) vs LU Jia-Jing (CHN,664)
[R2] SAHOO Shalini (IND,886) vs (2) CHEN Yan-Chong (CHN,395)
Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 5 (12th August 2008)

Shooting -
Men's Double Trap Qualification

15 Rajyavardhan Singh RATHORE (IND) 131 pts

Disappointing finish on 15th place in 19 shooters field.

Men's 50m Pistol Qualification

42 Samresh JUNG (IND) 540 pts

Another poor performance by Samresh, he finished 42nd in 45 shooters field.
----------------------------------------
Archery -
Women's Individual 1/32 Eliminations

Laishram Bombayla DEVI (IND) l Iwona MARCINKIEWICZ (POL) 101-103
Dola BANERJEE (IND) l Marie-Pier BEAUDET (CAN) 109-109 (8-10)
Pranitha VARDHINENI (IND) bt Jane WALLER (AUS) 106-100

Women's Individual 1/16 Eliminations

Pranitha VARDHINENI (IND) l Un Sil KWON (DPR) 99-106

Lot more expectations were from Dola.
----------------------------------------
Boxing -
Men's Fly (51kg) Round of 32

Jitender KUMAR (IND) bt Furkan Ulas MEMIS (TUR) RET Round 3 1:21
[R16] Jitender KUMAR (IND) vs Tulashboy DONIYOROV (UZB)

Men's Bantam (54kg) Round of 32

Akhil KUMAR (IND) bt Ali HALLAB (FRA) 12-5
[R16] Akhil KUMAR (IND) vs Sergey VODOPYANOV (RUS)

As expected good start for these boxers ... These 2 with Vijender r our next medal contenders.
----------------------------------------
Rowing -
LWT Men's Double Sculls Repechage 2

5 Devender Kumar KHANDWAL (IND)/ Manjeet SINGH (IND) 7:02.06 mins

----------------------------------------
Swimming -
Men's 100m Freestyle - Heat 3

1 Virdhawal KHADE (IND) 50.07sec NR

Finished top in his heat, but 42nd in 65 swimmers ... But Veer broke his own national record of 50.49sec, which he created at 2nd FINA World Youth Swimming Championships in July 2008.

Men's 200m Breaststroke - Heat 1

2 Sandeep SEJWAL (IND) 2min 15.24sec NR

Sandeep finished 2nd in his heat and 36th in 53 swimmers ... But Sandeep also broke his own national record of 2min 18.23sec by 3 seconds, which he created in 51st MILO/PRAM Malaysia Invitation Open, Kuala Lumpur in May 2008.

-----------------------------------------
Tennis -
Women's Doubles First Round

Sania Mirza (IND)/ Sunitha Rao (IND) bt Tatiana Golovin (FRA)/ Pauline Parmentier (FRA) W/O
[R16] Sania Mirza (IND)/ Sunitha Rao (IND) vs (1) Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS)/ Dinara Safina (RUS)

But our pair next round participation will be depend upon seriousness of Sania's wrist injury.

Men's Doubles First Round

(7) Leander Paes (IND)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) bt Gilles Simon (FRA)/ Gael Monfils (FRA) 63 63
[R16] (7) Leander Paes (IND)/ Mahesh Bhupathi (IND) vs Marcelo Melo (BRA)/ Andre Sa (BRA)

Easy outing for Indian Express ... They mostly played as a warm up match before next challenge.

Monday, August 11, 2008

Tennis News -
At $508 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Washington DC, USA
[R1] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND,320) bt (WC) Taylor Dent (USA,UNR) 76(3) 26 61

In first set they traded breaks but Somi gave dominating performance in tie-break ... In second set Dent was at his best but Somi pulled back with solid performance in third set.

In second round Buji will now face either third-seeded Spaniard Feliciano Lopez or American qualifier Robert Kendrick.

-----------------------------------------
At $100K Istanbul challenger, Turkey

[Q1] Mustafa Ghouse (IND) bt (WC) Kiril Dimitrov (BUL) 63 63
[Q2] Mustafa Ghouse (IND) bt (7) Simeon Ivanov (BUL) 61 64
[Q3] Mustafa Ghouse (IND) l (2) Michel Koning (NED) 16 67(7)

Doubles -
[R1] (WC) Stephen Amritraj (IND)/ Mustafa Ghouse (IND) bt (WC) Jonathan Eysseric (FRA)/ Adem Ozmeral (TUR) 64 64

Good start in this high profile challenger for Stephen and Moose in doubles.
------------------------------------------
At $50K New Delhi Challenger IV, India

[R1] (WC) SIPAEYA Sunil Kumar (IND,485) l (7) EBDEN Matthew (AUS,311) 67(5) 36
[R1] (WC) VARDHAN Vishnu (IND,915) l (3) GOODALL Joshua (GBR,226) 76(4) 46 1-3 Retd
[R1] (WC) GAJJAR Rohan (IND,767) l WARD James (GBR,408) 26 16

Doubles -
[R1] (1) MANKAD Harsh (IND)/ SINGH Ashutosh (IND) bt SHARAN Divij (IND)/ VARDHAN Vishnu (IND) 62 57 10(6)
[R1] (WC) PERANANALLUR CHANDRASEKHAR Vignesh (IND)/ SELVARAJ Ajai (IND) l EATON Chris (GBR)/ SLABINSKY Alexander (GBR) 67(5) 36
[R1] (WC) SINGH Karunuday (IND)/ YANG Tsung-Hua (TPE) l GHEDIN Riccardo (ITA)/ YSERN Pierrick (FRA) 16 16

Nothing to write about our singles performance after GREATEST day at Olympics ... But only want to mentioned that its really courageous by Harsh's part to back on court in a week time after his fathers', Late Ashok Mankad, death ... Who was one of great thinking cricketer India ever produce.
-----------------------------------------
At $10K Chiang Mai Futures, Thailand

[R1] GOSWAMI Parul (IND,693) l (WC) MAHAJAROENKUL Satjaporn (THA,UNR) 61 46 36
[R1] (4) CHAKRAVARTHI Rushmi (IND,506) bt LU Jia Xiang (CHN,935) 46 62 60
[R1] SAHOO Shalini (IND,886) bt BARR Cassandra (AUS,908) 64 61
Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 4
(11th August 2008)

Shooting -
Men's 10m Air Rifle
(Photo credit: Xinhua)



1. Abhinav Bindra (IND) Gold Medal
(596 + 104.5) = 700.5 pts
2. Zhu Qinan (CHN) Silver Medal (597 + 102.7) = 699.7 pts
3. Henri Hakkinen (FIN) Bronze Medal (598 + 101.4) = 699.4 pts

9. Gagan Narang (IND) 595 pts

This is our first individual Gold Medal in Olympics and fist Gold medal after 1980 Moscow Olympics, where our hockey team won their last Olympics medal.

India's Abhinav Bindra won the gold medal in the Men's 10m Air Rifle in Beijing on August 11 with an incredible performance in the final. Bindra shot a total score of 700.5.
China's Zhu Qinan, gold medalist at Athens 2004, won the silver medal with a total score of 699.7.
The bronze medal was won by Finland's Henri Hakkinen, who was leading the field after the qualification round, but was unable to hold off Bindra and Zhu in the final. The Finnish shooter shot a total of 699.4.

Hakkinen shot 598 in the qualification round, giving him a one point lead over Zhu. Bindra was one point further back with 596 ... Bindra signals his intentions early in the final, with a 10.7 on his first shot. None of Bindra's shots in the final dropped below 10.0 ... Hakkinen's performance in the final was solid, but it needed to be better. He averaged 10.14 per shot in the final, compared to Bindra's 10.45 ... Going into the last shot, Bindra and Hakkinen were tied for first place, but Bindra secured the gold medal with his best shot of the final, an outstanding 10.8 ... Conversely, Hakkinen's last shot was his worst, a lowly 9.7. This allowed Zhu to overcome Hakkinen and win the silver medal. Zhu shot 10.5 on his last shot.

Other hand Gagan Narang missed final by 1 pts, he scored 595 pts to finished on 9th in qualifying and Abhinav finished 4th with 596 pts.


----------------------------------------
Badminton -

[R16] Saina Nehwal (IND,15) bt (4) Chen Wang (HKG,6) 21-19 11-21 21-11

[QF] Saina Nehwal (IND,15) vs Maria Kristin Yulianti (INA,21) (47m)

And Saina scored biggest victory of her small career defeating WR No.6 against whom she lost previously ... What a time to produce this huge upset!!! Previously Saina faced problem against top-10 players, with them in first 2 games she always produced tough fight but then in 3rd her challenge was blown off due to her stamina ... But here she turned table in 3rd game to win it easily ... Amazing disply.

[R32] Anup Sridhar (IND,29) l Shoji Sato (JPN,16) 13-21 17-21 (34m)

Not surprised to see Anup lost his match against Shoji Sato ... In first match Anup was struggling with net game due to his ankle injury so Japanese must take advantage of that to beat him in straight games.

----------------------------------------
Boxing -
Men's Feather (57kg) Round of 32

[R1] Anthresh Lalit LAKRA (IND) l Bahodirjon SULTONOV (UZB) 5-9 pts

After 3rd round Lakra was behind by 1 pts (5-6), but in last round Sultonov scored 3 pts without giving any chance to Lakra to score any points.

----------------------------------------
Rowing -
Men's Single Sculls Quarterfinal 4 (2000m)

5 Bajranglal TAKHAR (IND) 7:19.01 mins

Top 3 qualified for semi-final.

----------------------------------------
Tennis -
Women's Singles First Round

Sania Mirza (IND) l Iveta Benesova (CZE) 16 1-2 Retd. (due to right wrist injury)

Disappointing performance by Sania ... If she was injured then she should not participated in this Olympics ... She played 5/6 tournaments on tour and in that her wrist was responding well ... Her game wasn't to her previous best but atleast she was playing without serious injury worry.

----------------------------------------
Swimming -
Men's 200m Butterfly - Heat 1

2 Rehan Jehangir PONCHA (IND) 2:01.89 mins

Rehan finished 2nd in his heat but 40th in 44 swimmers.

----------------------------------------
Sailing -
Finn - Race 05

11 Nachhatar Singh JOHAL (IND) 11 pts

Finn - Race 06

24 Nachhatar Singh JOHAL (IND) 24 pts
Tennis News -
At $475K Los Angeles ATP Tournament, USA
[F] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Eric Butorac (USA) bt Travis Parrott (USA)/ Dusan Vemic (SRB) 76(5) 76(5)

The first-time pairing of Rohan Bopanna and Eric Butorac completed successful week capturing Los Angeles ATP title ... This was Bopanna's first career ATP title in his fifth final appearance ... With this win Rohan is back to top-50 doubles ranking, #44.

Eric Butorac - "It was great. We've never played together before. We started out a little slow and kind of got better with each match. I think we're a pretty good team. We both serve pretty good. I'm left-handed, he's right-handed so there's different looks on the serve. It's a good situation to be in."
-----------------------------------------
At $508 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Washington DC, USA

[Q3] (WC) Somdev Devvarman (IND,320) bt (2) Go Soeda (JPN,119) 75 75

[R1] (Q) Somdev Devvarman (IND,314) vs (WC) Taylor Dent (USA,UNR)

Somi avenged his Vancouver Challenger defeat on big stage against Soeda ... Scored tight sets victory to qualify 2nd year in a row for maindraw of Washington DC ATP tournament.

He is pitted against ex-top-50 player Taylor Dent, who is making comeback on tour after long injury break.

Comments about match from thesabre.com -
Somdev looked good - hit 131mph once on an ace which was pretty cool and he just missed on another serve that hit 130mph ... Go was a good player and came up with some big winners on some balls that Somdev left short a few times ... Somdev hit 2 AMAZING passing shots - can tell he really likes a target at the net.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Golf News -
At the 90th PGA Championship, Bloomfield Township, Michigan - Final Standing

T9 Jeev Milkha Singh 68 74 70 73 + 5 $176,725.00

Jeev became first Indian golfer to finished inside top-10 in Majors ... On first day he became first Indian to lead Major after first round ... Terrific performance by Jeev on tough US condition, he played this event with ankle injury ... This performance gelped Jeev to back in top-60 world golf ranking, he is on #59 position.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Beijing Olympics 2008
Day 3
(10th August 2008)

Badminton -

[R32] Saina Nehwal (IND,15) bt Larysa Gryga (UKR,27) 21-18 21-10 (30m)
[R16] Saina Nehwal (IND,15) vs (4) Chen Wang (HKG,6)

Saina move to R16 and her opponent will be WR #6 Chen Wang of Hong Kong, who r 4th seed in this Olympics.

[R64] Anup Sridhar (IND,29) bt Marco Vasconcelos (POR,89) 21-16 21-14
[R32] Anup Sridhar (IND,29) vs Shoji Sato (JPN,16)

In R32 Anup will meet WR #16 Japanese Shoji Sato ... He need to cut down UFEs and give more consistent perforance.
---------------------------------------------------
Shooting -
Men's Trap Qualification - Day 2 (Final Standing)

8 Mansher SINGH (69 + 48) 117 pts
12 Manavjit Singh SANDHU (70 + 46) 116 pts

Disappointing result for our trap shooters,as they were consider as medal contenders.
---------------------------------------------------
Archery -
Women's Team 1/4 Eliminations

India l China 206-211

Poor individual rounds put tough task for our girls in team event ... They lost in quarter-finals against China.
---------------------------------------------------
Rowing -
Lightweight Men's Double Sculls Heat 2

5 Devender Kumar KHANDWAL (IND)/ Manjeet SINGH (IND) 6:37.13 mins

Finished on last position on their heat, more than 18 sec behind 4th Cuba team.
----------------------------------------------------
Sailing -

Finn - Race 03
23 Nachhatar Singh JOHAL 23 pts

Finn - Race 04
24 Nachhatar Singh JOHAL 24 pts
---------------------------------------------------
Swimming -
Men's 200m Freestyle - Heat 4

7 Virdhawal KHADE 1:51.86 mins

Nothing extrodinary performance by Virdhawal.
Tennis News -
At $508 Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Washington DC, USA

[Q1] (WC) Somdev Devvarman (IND,320) bt (5) Sam Warburg (USA,139) 46 60 63
[Q2] (WC) Somdev Devvarman (IND,320) bt Jamie Baker (GBR,302) 61 75
[Q3] (WC) Somdev Devvarman (IND,320) vs (2) Go Soeda (JPN,119)

Doubles -
[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ QURESHI, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs (3) Rik De Voest (RSA)/ Ashley Fisher (AUS)

In first match Somi scored superb comeback victory over Sam Warburg in 1 hour 38 min ... In this match Somi hit 7 aces and SW with 6 .. SKD with 2 DFs, SW with 4 ... 82 points to 69 pts .. 6 of 8 break points converted by Somdev ... 2 of 3 converted by Warburg, and SKD did not face any BPs after the first set. 66% first serves by Somi .. He won 63% of first serve pts and 64% of second serve pts, while SW won only 64% and 39% ... The difference in the second serve winning percentage tell us story of the match ... Now in 3rd qualifying round Somi is meeting Go Soedo, with whom he lost at Vancouver Challenger.

Match report thesabre.com -
Warburg is a giant. He's probably got at least 6 inches on Sommie and is a power player through and through. Som had a lot of trouble with his serve early on but hung in there in the first set. Warburg also tried a lot of drop shots, but Som was way too quick for that strategy. When Somdev got his first break, he eased up the intensity a bit and promply lost 3 straight. Somdev got up about 3-0 or 4-0 in a hurry for the second set and Warburg mailed the rest of the set in. The third set was more hard fought than the final score may suggest. Sommie came through in the clutch though, winning his first match
point to claim victory.

Baker plays a similar style to Somdev in a lot of ways. They're about the same height and aren't real powerhouses. Somdev was a lot more consistent in the first set and really walked all over him, but Baker recovered pretty nicely in the second set. Somdev was up 6-5 on serve in the 2nd set when Baker started cramping up. After an injury timeout, Som took 3 of the next 4 points to take the match. Even without the cramps, I really think that Somdev takes the match in the tiebreaker; Baker seemed very fatigued both physically and mentally by that point
.
-----------------------------------------
At $475K Los Angeles ATP Tournament, USA

[SF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Eric Butorac (USA) bt Juan Martin Del Porto (ARG)/ Fabio Fognini (ITA) 76(4) 46 10(5)
[F] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Eric Butorac (USA) vs Travis Parrott (USA)/ Dusan Vemic (SRB)

This is Rohan's 5th doubles final but he is still searching for his first doubles title ... In the final they will face another unseed pair of Travis Parrott and Dusan Vemic.
-----------------------------------------
At the 18th World Junior Tennis Finals, TK Prostejov, Czech Republic (Red Clay)

For 3rd Position -
India bt Canada 2-1

Digvijaysingh Mehta (IND) bt Filip Peuwo (CAN) 76(4) 46 61
Ronit Bisht (IND) bt Edward Nguyen (CAN) 76(5) 64
Ronit Bisht (IND)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) l Tomasz Bara (CAN)/ Edward Nguyen (CAN) 26 46

Congratulations to Ronit, Divijay, Ramkumar and Captain Sunil Yajaman for finishing 3rd at the 18th World Junior Tennis Finals ... Very creditable performance by our boys on Red Clay.
------------------------------------------
At $50K New Delhi Challenger IV, India

First Qualifying Round -
(1) Greg Jones AUS bt (WC) Jeevan Neduncherhiyan IND 63 2-1 Retd.
Vijay Sundar Prashanth IND bt Mithun Murali IND 61 64
Prateek Bhambri IND bt (WC) Vidhan Vyas IND 64 63
(8) Hsin-Han Lee TPE bt Ravjeet Singh IND 60 60

(2) Kyu-Tae Im KOR bt (WC) Akash Wagh IND 36 60 61
Ranjeet Virali Murugesan IND bt Christopher Marquis IND 75 61
Vignesh Perananallur Chandrasekhar IND bt Vedant Kapoor IND 62 63
(6) Hiroki Kondo JPN bt (WC) Srirambalaji Narayanaswamy IND 75 63

(3) Tasuku Iwami JPN bt Tushar Liberhan IND 61 62
Vikram B. Reddy IND bt Geoff Gehrke USA 62 61
Faris Akhazzan GBR bt Ajai Selvaraj IND 63 63
(7) Tsung-Hua Yang TPE bt Rahil Makharia IND 64 75

(4) Ashutosh Singh IND bt Rubal Shandilya IND 62 61
(WC) Karunuday Singh IND bt Palash Tiwari IND 75 62
Divij Sharan IND bt (WC) Sudarwa Sitaram IND 63 76(5)
(5) Aqeel Khan PAK bt Monal Chhillar IND 61 62

Second Qualifying Round -
(1) Greg Jones AUS bt Vijay Sundar Prashanth IND 63 76(3)
(8) Hsin-Han Lee TPE bt Prateek Bhambri IND 63 75

(2) Kyu-Tae Im KOR bt Ranjeet Virali Murugesan IND 63 62
(6) Hiroki Kondo JPN bt Vignesh Perananallur Chandrasekhar IND 62 63

(3) Tasuku Iwami JPN bt Vikram B. Reddy IND 62 63
(7) Tsung-Hua Yang TPE bt. Faris Akhazzan GBR 62 63

(4) Ashutosh Singh IND bt (WC) Karunuday Singh IND 75 63
(5) Aqeel Khan PAK bt Divij Sharan IND 46 76(3) 75

Final Qualifying Round -
(1) Greg Jones AUS bt (8) Hsin-Han Lee TPE 75 64
(6) Hiroki Kondo JPN bt (2) Kyu-Tae Im KOR 64 64
(7) Tsung-Hua Yang TPE bt (3) Tasuku Iwami JPN 06 63 64
(5) Aqeel Khan PAK bt (4) Ashutosh Singh IND 63 63


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Golf News -
At the 90th PGA Championship, Bloomfield Township, Michigan - Third Round

T7 Jeev Milkha Singh 68 74 70 + 2

After rain greens were firmer so expecting under par round from Jeev ... But he still remain inside top 10.

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,...