Monday, December 28, 2009

Year 2009 showing some promises for Indian tennis ... In singles rise of Somdev Devvarman, who will definitely enter in top-100 in next few months .. And Yuki Bhambri, who is also showing lots of promise after winning junior Australian Open 2009 title ... He is having game (need little work on his service motion to avoid back injury) to be inside top-50 on ATP tour in couple of years as he is only 17 yrs old ... Sanam Singh showing improvement in his game under UVa tennis coach Brian Boland and can be in mix in a yer or two ... Rohan Bopanna showing consistency in doubles and remain inside top-100 after injury hit year ... He helped India with Somi to be in world group of Davis Cup.

In doubles Leander had excellent 2009 as he won 2 grand slam titles, French Open and US Open, with his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy ... Mahesh Bhupathi also won mixed doubles Australian Open title with Sania Mirza ... Harsh Mankad is also on verge of entering in top-100 doubles title, so if he get some lucky breaks then we can see him joining our other 3 on ATP tours doubles tournaments.

In ladies Sania Mirza showing despite her injury she is good enough to remain around top-50 WTA ranking ... For her this year brought lot of good memories ... After coming out of injury she won her first grand slam title in company of Mahesh and in July 09 she got engaged ... But still no woman player is showing any promises to join Sania ... Poojashree showing improvement but for her still long road to be inside top-250.


ATP 2009 year-end Singles Ranking

126 Devvarman Somdev 441
212 Amritraj Prakash 222
335 Bhambri Yuki 120
390 Vardhan Vishnu 96
392 Bopanna Rohan 95
477 Gajjar Rohan 66
483 Virali-Murugesan Ranjeet 65
614 Roy Rupesh 38
762 Malik Vijayant 19
764 Sharan Divij 19
789 Singh Sanam 16

ATP 2009 year-end Doubles Ranking

7 Bhupathi Mahesh 6,260
8 Paes Leander 5,890
83 Bopanna Rohan 935
104 Mankad Harsh 678
160 Amritraj Prakash 427
211 Raja Purav 318
330 Vardhan Vishnu 180
360 Sharan Divij 158
404 Gajjar Rohan 131
412 Singh Ashutosh 124
507 Devvarman Somdev 95

WTA 2009 year-end Singles Ranking

57 Mirza Sania 1119
339 Venkatesha Poojashree 117
555 Bhambri Sanaa 47
572 Uberoi Shikha 45
632 Chakravarthi Rushmi 38
739 Lakhani Isha 24
760 Burman Shivika 22
800 Maloo Parija 18
801 Goutham Sheethal 18
820 Solanki Sweta 17
831 Bhambri Prerna 16
845 Bhambri Ankita 15

WTA 2009 year-end Doubles Ranking

37 Mirza Sania 2170
280 Uberoi Shikha 203
387 Venkatesha Poojashree 120
457 Bhambri Sanaa 90
488 Chakravarthi Rushmi 78
601 Lakhani Isha 51
604 Solanki Sweta 51
736 Sunkara Rishika 29
748 Burman Shivika 28
773 Bhattacharyya Treta 26
813 Rao Sunitha 22
824 Bhambri Prerna 21

Friday, December 25, 2009

Tennis News
At $450K Aircel Chennai Open 2010, India

Wild cards for Chennai Open r declared ... As expected Somdev Devvarman received wild card in singles, he is also receive wild card for doubles with his UVa team-mate Sanam Singh ... Organizers take good decision giving second wild card to Rohan Bopanna over Yuki Bhambri ... As next Davis Cup World group tie is coming near so Rohan getting more match practice is important ... Third wild card went to Carlos Moya as he is making comeback after injury ... Carlos also received doubles wild card with Yuki Bhambri.

So Yuki missed singles wild card, but also Harsh Mankad get ignored by organizers for doubles wild card.

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At "Glam Slam Showdown of Champions" 2009, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Russia bt Asia 3-0

Elena Dementieva/ Maria Kirilenko bt Sania Mirza/Jie Zheng 64 57 10(8)
Maria Kirilenko bt Jie Zheng 63 46 64
Elena Dementieva bt Sania Mirza 64 76(0)

Though Sania lost her both matches but as from onlooker all players played high quality tennis ... So good fighting performance by Sania in her year end matches.
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At $75K ITF Women's Tournament, Dubai, UAE

[Q1] (6) Poojashree VENKATESHA (IND,330) bt Ekaterina DRANETS (RUS,881) 64 62
[Q2] (6) Poojashree VENKATESHA (IND,330) bt Viktoria YEMIALYANAVA (BLR,587) 76(4) 63
[Q3] (6) Poojashree VENKATESHA (IND,330) l (2) Natalia ORLOVA (RUS,267) 62 26 16

Last week Poojashree played $75K qualifying tournament and performed as per her ranking ... Good to see she is able to stretched top-250 type player to 3 sets.

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Hockey News
At 2010 Hockey World Cup, New Delhi, India

India find themselves in tricky pool with Australia and Spain ... More pver arch-rival Pakistan and England also in their group.

Pool A: Germany, the Netherlands, Korea, New Zealand, Canada and Argentina
Pool B: Australia, Spain, England, Pakistan, India and South Africa

Monday, December 14, 2009

Hockey News
At BDO Men’s Champions Challenge I , Salta, Argentina

For 3rd position
India bt Argentina 3-2

Goal Scored - Vokkaliga Raghunath (IND) 35' PC, Gurbaj Singh (IND) 54', Dhananjay Mahadik (IND) 69' PC and Facundo Callioni (ARG) 22' & 27'

Final
New Zealand bt Pakistan 4-2

After semi-final loss against Pakistan I was thinking mostly Argentina will crush us considering our previous record of these matches ... But while watching this match I had pleasant surprise ... In first half Argentina looks dominating and had good ball possession ... But our defenders and goal keeper Sreejesh were good to holding them ... But Argentina take control through Callioni's 2 field goals in few minutes ... Surprisingly from 0-2 down we started spirited comeback in last minutes of first half ... We received our first penalty corner on hooter of first half and Raghunath scored on that with powerful hit on left side of goal keeper ... In second half our team started positively but couldn't penetrate Argentina defense ... Good move from Tushar Khandekar created chance for Gurbaj and he scored on that ... After that our players kept attacking on Argentinian goal and got penalty corner in dying minutes ... This time Dhananjay Mahadik scored goal to give lead to India ... Argentina also got penalty corner in 70th minute but our players defended well to score good victory and top 3 finish.

New Zealand secured place in next year's Champions Trophy with victory over Pakistan, they were 2-all after first half.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Football News
At SAFF CUP 2009, Bangladesh

U23 INDIAN TEAM WINS SAFF CUP 2009 !!!

Final
India u23 bt Maldives 3-1 in penalty shoot-out (0-0 after FT)

Our u-23 boys did unthinkable to lift SAFF title beating full-side Maldives ... In the final Maldives were better on the field but our defenders and goal keeper Arindam Bhattacharya were exceptional ... In end deserving winner with their fighting performance.

In begining our boys matching their game with Maldives national team and were 0-0 after end of first half ... After little boring first half more action happened in second half but Maldives created more chances than us ... Jewel Rana got injured in second half and that cost us in mid-field ... But goal keeper Arindam Bhattacharya and our defenders managed to hold Maldives ... Sushil Kumar Singh missed only clear chance we had.

In extra-times also Sushil Kumar Singh missed few chances (where he needed to beat opponent's goal keeper) in front of the goal, other hand our goal keeper Arindam Bhattacharya was very busy handling Maldives attack ... So match ended 0-0 after extra times.

Our goal keeper Arindam Bhattacharya declared Player of the tournament and also man of the match for the final.


Penalty Shoot-out (Indians taking first kick)

Khangebam Jeevan Singh (IND) 1-0
Ibrahim Fazeel (MDV) 1-1
Denzil Franco (IND) 2-1
Ahmed Thoriq (MDV) 2-1 (Arindam saved to diving his left side)
Nirmal Chetri (IND) 2-1 (hit wide)
Mukhthar Naseer (MDV) 2-1 (Arindam saved to diving his right side)
Subodh Kumar (IND) 3-1
Ali Ashfaq (MDV) 3-1 (hit over the cross bar)
Hockey News
At BDO Men’s Champions Challenge I , Salta, Argentina

Semi-Final - Saturday - 12 Dec 2009
New Zealand bt Argentina 3-2
India l Pakistan 3-6

Goal Scored - Dhananjay Mahadik (IND) 8' PC & 62' PC, Diwakar Ram (IND) 67' PC and Rehan Butt (PAK) 2' 29' & 64', Sohail Abbas (PAK) 32' PC & 70' PS, Haseem Khan (PAK) 58'

Disappointing result for us ... Again we failed to click against our arch-rival Pakistan, mainly due to our mental block ... Match was fast paced as expected but Pakistan got a start which they were hoping but we equalised through penalty corner ... After that we missed too many chances to score and other hand Pakistan converted most of chances they got ... At half time Pakistan was up 3-1 ... In second half also we missed penalty corners and field goal chances ... Pakistan increased lead through Haseem Khan ... Both teams were trying too hard and that brought 4 goals in last 8 minutes.

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Tennis News
At Australian Open 2010,

At Australian Open Sania Mirza will be pairing with former doubles number one Spanish Virginia Ruano Pascual ... Pascual having huge success in doubles winning 10 grand slam titles ... So good pairing for Sania, they will decide further on their pairing after evaluating their performance at Australian Open.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Football News
At SAFF CUP 2009, Bangladesh

Semi-Finals
Maldives bt Sri Lanka 5-1
India u23 bt Bangladesh 1-0

Goal Scored - Sushil Kumar Singh (IND) 63'

Our u23 boys scored deserving victory over local Bangladesh nantional side ... Our boys played better than them in all department ... We missed many chances but important goal scored by captain Sushil Kumar Singh on free-kick by Robert Lalthalma in second half ... In the final we r facing Maldives, who defeated us in group match ... This is 3rd time we r facing them in the SAFF cup final, until now it's 1-all.
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Boxing News
At President's Cup 2009, Baku, Azerbaijan

Flyweight (49-51 kg) Final
Suranjoy Singh (IND) bt Nordine Oubaali (FRA) 8-1

[QF] Suranjoy Singh (IND) bt Vincenzo Picardi (ITA) 6-4
[SF] Suranjoy Singh (IND) bt Braulio Avila (MEX) 10-4

Indian Suranjoy Singh won his flyweight final bout easily against French boxer Nordine Oubaali to lift title at President's Cup 2009 ... This was the only title Asia 1 team won in this event.
Hockey News
At BDO Men’s Champions Challenge I , Salta, Argentina

Group A - Thrusday - 10 Dec 2009
New Zealand dw China 2-2
India bt Belgium 4-2

Goal Scored - Dhananjay Mahadik (IND) 19' PC, Shivendra Singh (IND) 32', Tushar Khandker (IND) 48', Prabhjot Singh (IND) 70' and Jerome Dekeyser (BEL) PS, Renaud Pangrazio (BEL)

Congrats to Brasa and our team for reaching semis ... But still job is half done, we need to win next 2 matches to qualify for Champions trophy ... From report it looks we won very hard fought match which our team was dominated ... We were up 1-0 after 19th mins then Belgium fought back scoring 2 goals in a minute to take a lead but Indians kept pushing and scored equaliser through Shivendra Singh's deflection who was unmarked in Belgium circle ... In second half both teams started aggressively but Indians kept their upper hand with properly build attacks and they defended also very well ... So with this win they topped Group A as in other match

On Saturday we r facing Pakistan in semis ... Hopefully we keep our this spirited performance against them.

Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Football News
At SAFF CUP 2009 - Group A, Bangladesh

India u23 l Maldives 0-2

Goal Scored - Goal Scored - Ahmed Thoriq (MDV) 16', Ibrahim Fazeel (MDV) 84'

Today we were having big test against Maldives but our young side failed to rise on this occassion ... We conceded early goal in first 15 mins and we never recovered from that ... Also our striker Balwant Singh recieved red card for stupid mistakes, he handled ball inside the box for first yellow card and recieved second yellow card for unnecessary diving inside Maldives penalty box.

In semis on 11th December we r facing tough challenge of local team, Bangladesh, who topped Group B.
Hockey News
At BDO Men’s Champions Challenge I , Salta, Argentina

Group A - Tuesday - 08 Dec 2009
New Zealand bt Belgium 4-1
India bt China 4-1

Goal Scored - Prabhjot Singh (IND) 7' PC, Rajpal Singh (IND) 35', Sarwanjit Singh (IND) 56' PC, Shivendra Singh (IND) 70' and Xishang Jiang (CHN) 41' PS

Good win over Chinese team, with whom we struggled in recent past ... From start we kept attacking on Chinese goal, Prabhjot scored on rebound to give early lead ... After that though we had control over the match still we gave them some chances due to erratic and physical play from our players but we were lucky ... In this match also we showed our age old problem of individual game and long passes ... Hopefully we will take care of that in next game.

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Squash News
At $152K Punj Lloyd PSA Masters 2009, Mumbai, India

[R2] Saurav Ghosal (IND,32) l (2) Amr Shabana (EGY,3) 6-11 11-6 5-11 10-12 (48m)

Creditable performance by Saurav against former WR #1 Amr Shabana ... Where he stretched Amr to 4 games in this 48 mins match.
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Football News
At SAFF CUP 2009 - Group A, Bangladesh

India u-23 bt Nepal 1-0

Goal Scored - Khangebam Jeevan Singh (IND) 18'

Our boys started well knowing winning this match will secure their place in semi finals ... Khangebam Jeevan Singh scored goal on heading after receiving ball from crossbar on free kick by Joaquim Abranches ... After that Nepalese tried hard to equalise but out defense stood tall ... With this win our boys secured their place in semis.

Monday, December 07, 2009

Hockey News
At BDO Men’s Champions Challenge I , Salta, Argentina

Group A - New Zealand (8), Belgium (9), India (12), China (13)
Group B - Pakistan (7), Argentina (10), Canada (11), South Africa (15)

Group A - Sunday - 06 Dec 2009
Belgium bt China 4-3
India dw New Zealand 2-2

Goal Scored - Tushar Khandekar (IND) 30', Shivendra Singh (IND) 51' and Dean Couzins (NZL) 47' PS, Andrew Hayward (NZL) 58' PC

New Zealand hold India in very closely contested match ... Blacks sticks were attacking from the start but Indian defence defended well under Sardara Singh ... Indians managed to take lead before half time ... In second half also Black Stickskept attacking ... They managed to earn Penalty stroke which they converted to make it 1-all ... Again we take lead through field goal but again Black sticks converted penalty corner to make it 2-all ... In this match both teams performed well.
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Squash News
At $152K Punj Lloyd PSA Masters 2009, Mumbai, India

[R1] (WC) Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND,148) l (10) Alister Walker (ENG,13) 4-11 5-11 3-11 (29m)

Easy loss against British player.

Sunday, December 06, 2009

Badminton News
At BWF World Super Series Masters Finals 2009, Malaysia

Mixed Doubles Final
V Diju (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) l Joachim Fischer Nielsen (DEN)/ Christinna Pedersen (DEN) 14-21 18-21

In first game Danish pair take early lead wining 5 points from 1-2 and those lead was enough for them to grab first game ... Second game was lot closer than first one ... Danish pair take early lead 4-6 but Diju and Jwala managed to catch them at 8-all ... But again Danish pair take lead to 9-12, this time also Diju and Jwala caught them and take lead at 13-12 ... Then first time our pair take lead and were leading 16-14 but Danish pair made it 16-all and then won 3 points from 18-all to captured title in 37 mins.

Still creditable performance by Diju and Jwala. who reached final in their first appearance at World Super Series Masters.

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Golf News
At Golf Nippon Series JT Cup 2009, Japan - Final Standing

6 Jeev Milkha Singh 71 69 65 70 -5 ¥4,768,291

Shigeki Maruyama won in extra hole with 9 under score ... But today Jeev had so-so day, on front-9 he scored birdie on 5th hole ... On back-9 he started with back to back bogeys on 10th and 11th holes ... Then managed to birdie on 16th hole to finished on sole 6th position.

Jeev must be disappointed with his performance where he had chance of finishing in top 3 ... After excellent 5 under third round Jeev was in contention for the title but last PAR round let down for Jeev ... He was expecting much here as he won 2 titles here and another title win could help him to re-enter in top 50 GWR.
Squash News
At $152K Punj Lloyd PSA Masters 2009, Mumbai, India

[R1] Saurav Ghosal (IND,32) bt (15) Cameron Pilley (AUS,15) 11-8 11-2 10-12 11-8 (77m)
[R1] (WC) Ritwik Bhattacharya (IND,148) vs (10) Alister Walker (ENG,13)

[R2] Saurav Ghosal (IND,32) vs (2) Amr Shabana (EGY,3)

Saurav scored big win over top-15 Aussie player in this big PSA Masters tournament ... Good to see he scored win in long match at home tournament ... Next he is facing WR #3 and former WR # 1 Amr Shabana.
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Football News
At SAFF CUP 2009 - Group A, Bangladesh

India u-23 bt Afghanistan 1-0

Goal Scored - Jeje Lalpekhlua (IND) 86'

4 times champion Indian side started well in SAFF championship when they defeated Afghanistan 1-0 ... India’s second half substitute Jeje scored the goal just four minutes from time.

Saturday, December 05, 2009

Badminton News
At BWF World Super Series Masters Finals 2009, Malaysia

Womens Singles Semi Finals
Saina Nehwal (IND,8) l Juliane Schenk (GER,9) 18-21 18-21

Mixed Doubles Semi Finals
V Diju (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) bt Robert Mateusiak (POL)/ Nadiezda Kostiuczyk (POL) 21-19 21-11

In Final,
V Diju (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) vs Joachim Fischer Nielsen (DEN)/ Christinna Pedersen (DEN)

Diju and Jwala created history becoming first Indian pair to reached final at World Super Series Masters beating Polish team ... In first game Diju and Jwala take lead winning 5 points from 2-3 and they managed to kept lead most of the game ... But Polish pair caught them at 19-all still Diju and Jwala kept their cool and win next 2 points to grab first game ... Second game was total different story, our pair won first 7 points to take huge early lead ... From their Polish pair were never in this game, nearest they came to 4 points difference ... Diju and Jwala ended in style to won 6 points on a row from 15-11 to win match in 30 mins ... In the final they will face top-seed Danish pair.

Schenk taken early lead in first game Saina won 3 points on a row to make it 6-all but Schenk won 5 points on row from 8-all to open lead ... Saina tried to reduce margin but Schenk kept required lead to grab first game ... Second game was also repeat of first game where Schenk opened early lead and Saina made it 7-all winning 3 points on a row but from here Schenk opened up a lead and maintained that until winning match in 41 mins ... So Saina lost big opportunity of winning this tournament but at least she managed to repeat her last year performance.

Friday, December 04, 2009

Badminton News
At BWF World Super Series Masters Finals 2009, Malaysia

Womens Singles - Group A Match 3
Saina Nehwal (IND,8) bt Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (THA,37) 21-13 21-19

Mixed Doubles - Group B Match 3
V Diju (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) bt Songphon Anugritayawon (THA)/ Kunchala Voravichitchaikul (THA) 21-12 21-8

Saina scored straight games victory over Porntip in 33 mins to secure place in semis ... In first game Saina was in control from the start to win it easily ... second game was lot more closer where Saina take early lead 9-6 but Porntip fought back wining next 4 points and then she take lead over Saina after winning 3 points on a row from 10-all ... This time Saina fought back to make it 13-all and from 15-16 she won next 3 points to take control of the game ... Porntip saved couple of game points but Saina converted 3rd match point to won this match.

With Saina Indian mixed doubles pair Diju and Jwala also joined her in semis with very easy victory over Thai pair in just 20 mins ... They dominated match from start and didn't give any chance to their opponents to fight back.

In semis Saina mostly will face German WR #9 Juliane Schenk, who is in chance of winning Group B.

Diju and Jwala will face Polish pair Robert Mateusiak and Nadiezda Kostiuczyk, who won Group A easily winning all matches without dropping any games.
Tennis News
At $10K Malaysia F6 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

[SF] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,476) l Marin BRADARIC (CRO,723) 75 26 46

Rohan also lost against Croatian and with that I think Indian tennis players will take year-end break before next season.

Somi is currently doing physical training at Austin, Texas mostly with Roddick.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

Badminton News
At BWF World Super Series Masters Finals 2009, Malaysia

Womens Singles - Group A Match 2
Saina Nehwal (IND,8) bt Charmaine Reid (CAN,55) 21-14 21-9

Mixed Doubles - Group B Match 2
V Diju (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) bt Hendra Aprida Gunawan (INA)/ Vita Marissa (INA) 21-18 21-17

Much better performance today as Saina and our MXD team scored win in straight games ... Today Saina produced thumping win against Reid in 32 mins ... She dominated match from the start and never lose control over it.

Diju and Jwala also played well to beat Indonesian pair in straight games.
Tennis News
At $10K Malaysia F6 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

[QF] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,476) bt (8) David RICE (GBR,521) 60 36 61

[SF] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,476) vs Marin BRADARIC (CRO,723)

Doubles
[SF] Pirmin Haenle (GER)/ Vivek Shokeen (IND) l (3) Sergei Betov (BLR)/ Dmitri Zhyrmont (BLR) 63 36 (7)10
[SF] (2) Rohan Gajjar (IND)/ Colin O'Brien (IRL) l Jesse Huta Galung (NED)/ Miliaan Niesten (NED) 26 26

Rohan Gajjar won to moved into semis and facing Croatian ... Hopefully he will take out him to move into the final ... Our challenge got over in doubles.

Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Badminton News
At BWF World Super Series Masters Finals 2009, Malaysia

Womens Singles - Group A Match 1
Saina Nehwal (IND,8) l Mew Choo Wong (MAS,20) 13-21 21-13 14-21

Mixed Doubles - Group B Match 1
V Diju (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) l Anthony Clark (ENG)/ Donna Kellogg (ENG) 15-21 16-21

Saina having good chance of winning this BWF World Super Series Masters Finals ... As all top ladies shuttlers decided to skip this so Saina is highest seeded.

But today bad day for Indians as Saina lost her match in 50 mins against local girl ... Other hand Diju and Jwala's struggled against English pair continued in this 27 mins match.
Tennis News
At $10K Malaysia F6 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

[R1] (3) Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND,484) bt Adam JAYA (MAS,1439) 62 63
[R1] Divij SHARAN (IND,785) bt Manuel SANCHEZ (MEX,1327) 64 46 64
[R1] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,476) bt Yew-Ming SI (MAS,1482) 62 64
[R1] (2) Vishnu VARDHAN (IND,375) bt Mohammed FETOV (SUI,1177) 16 62 30 Retired

[R2] (3) Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND,484) l Colin O'BRIEN (IRL,628) 16 0-2 Retd
[R2] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,476) bt Divij SHARAN (IND,785) 61 64
[R2] (2) Vishnu VARDHAN (IND,375) l Marin BRADARIC (CRO,723) 63 67(5) 46

[QF] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,476) vs (8) David RICE (GBR,521)

Doubles
[R1] (1) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt (ALT) Burnham Arlidge (GBR)/ Andrew Fitzpatrick (GBR) 75 76(5)
[R1] Pirmin Haenle (GER)/ Vivek Shokeen (IND) bt (ALT) Marin Bradaric (CRO)/ Tomislav Brkic (BIH) 46 63 10(7)
[R1] David Rice (GBR)/ Sean Thornley (GBR) bt Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND)/ Ranjeet Virali Murugesan (IND) 60 64
[R1] (2) Rohan Gajjar (IND)/ Colin O'Brien (IRL) bt (WC) Manuel Sanchez (MEX)/ Muhammad Ashaari Bin Zainal Abidin (MAS) 61 61

[QF] Pirmin Haenle (GER)/ Vivek Shokeen (IND) bt (1) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) 76(5) 57 10(8)
[QF] (2)Rohan Gajjar (IND)/ Colin O'Brien (IRL) bt Peerakit Siributwong (THA)/ Peraklat Siriluethaittana (THA) 36 62 10(4)

[SF] Pirmin Haenle (GER)/ Vivek Shokeen (IND) vs (3) Sergei Betov (BLR)/ Dmitri Zhyrmont (BLR)
[SF] (2) Rohan Gajjar (IND)/ Colin O'Brien (IRL) vs Jesse Huta Galung (NED)/ Miliaan Niesten (NED)

And again Vishnu lost against Croatian ... He had chance of finishing in 2 but failed to capitalised on that ... Ranjeet retired from his match so now only Rohan is in singles quarter finals after easy win over Divij.
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Australia F11 Futures 2009,

[R1] Karan RASTOGI (IND,1062) l (8) James LEMKE (AUS,490) 67(1) 26

After stretching Aussie opponent to tie-break Karan lost in straight sets.

Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Football News

For SAFF Cup our 20 members U23 squad is announced.

India Under-23
Goalkeepers - Arindam Bhattacharya (Churchill Brothers SC), Laxmikant Kattimani (Dempo SC)

Defenders - Nirmal Chetri (East Bengal Club), Denzil Franco (Mahindra United), Robert Lalthalma (Churchill Brothers SC), Dharmaraj Ravanan (Mahindra United), Rowilson Rodrigues (Churchill Brothers SC), Ravinder Singh (Air India), Thokchom Naoba Singh (Churchill Brothers SC)

Midfielders - Joaquim Abranches (Dempo SC), Manish Maithani (Mohun Bagan AC), Sheikh Jewel Raja (Dempo SC), Baldeep Singh Jr (JCT), Jagpreet Singh (JCT), Khangebam Jeevan Singh (East Bengal Club)

Forwards - Jeje Lalpeklua (Pune FC), Balwant Singh (JCT), Jagtar Singh (Tata Football Academy), Sushil Kumar Singh (Mahindra United)

Coach - Sukhvinder Singh (Coach)
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Draw of the 2010 AFC Challenge Cup to be played in Sri Lanka next February was held at Colombo ... Defending champions India r in 'Group of Death' ... They r in Group B with World Cup qualifiers North Korea, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan ... Other hand Group A looks weaker with teams Tajikistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and hosts Sri Lanka.

Tournament winner will gain a place in the 2011 Asian Cup, India is already qualified by winning the tournament last year ... So if we able to defend title then the runners-up will qualify for the continental championships in Qatar ... As we r already qualified so we r sending our U-23 team for exposure before Asiad.

Monday, November 30, 2009

Tennis News
At $125K Helsinki Challenger, Finland

Doubles Final
(3) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul_Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt (WC) Henri Kontinen (FIN)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN) 62 76(7)

Another title for Rohan and Aisam ... Excellent straight sets win by Rohan and Aisam over local Davis Cup pair in the final ... Again it simply shows us that how much lethal these two as a pair!!!

So with this win Rohan climbed to #82 doubles ranking.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Golf News
At Omega Mission Hills World Cup, China - Final Standing (Foursomes)

1 Italy 64 66 61 68 -29
T2 Ireland 58 68 64 70 -28
T2 Sweden 64 65 62 69 -28
4 England 66 69 63 64 -26
5 Japan 62 71 64 69 -22

T14 India 67 68 65 72 -16

Jeev and Jyoti helped India to produce their best finish at World Cup team event ... They must be disappointed with finish as they were in chance of top 5 or atleast top 10 finish but in last round they only managed PAR round ... They had 3 birdies and 3 bogeys.
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Tennis News
At ATP World Tour Finals, London, England

Semi Finals
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) l Mike Bryan (USA)/ Bob Bryan (USA) 46 46

Bryans defeated Mahesh and Mark in straight sets to moved into the final ... So with that Mahesh and Mark's 2 yrs doubles partnership got over ... As in 2010 Mahesh is decided to partner Max Mirnyi.
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At $125K Helsinki Challenger, Finland

Doubles Final
(3) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul_Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs (WC) Henri Kontinen (FIN)/ Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)

Tricky match against Finland's doubles Davis Cup pair.

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Tennis News
At ATP World Tour Finals, London, England

Group B
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Max Mirnyi (BLR)/ Andy Ram (ISR) 67(1) 46

Semi Finals
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vs Mike Bryan (USA)/ Bob Bryan (USA)
Max Mirnyi (BLR)/ Andy Ram (ISR) vs Frantisek Cermak (CZE)/ Michal Mertinak (SVK)

So Lee and Lukas lost all 6 sets they played at ATP World Tour Finals ... After US Open they didn't play together for 2 months and I feel that costed them ... In other group match Bryans won to moved into semis.
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At $125K Helsinki Challenger, Finland

Doubles
[SF] (3) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul_Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt Karol Beck (SVK)/ Jiri Krkoska (CZE) 36 75 10(3)

Really good comeback win by Rohan and Aisam to moved into final ... They earning good ranking points in this big event.
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Golf News
At Omega Mission Hills World Cup, China - Third Round Four-balls

1 Ireland 58 68 64 -26
T2 Italy 64 66 61 -25
T2 Sweden 64 65 62 -25

T9 India 67 68 65 -16

Today Jeev and Jyoti scored 8 birdies and a bogey in first 12 holes but in last 6 holes they managed PAR ... After scoring their best round of team World Cup, 7 under, they still dropped down to T9 in standing ... Now leader Ireland having only 1 stroke lead over 2nd place Italy.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Golf News
At Omega Mission Hills World Cup, China - Second Round Foursomes (one ball)

1 Ireland 58 68 -18
2 Sweden 64 65 -15
3 Italy 64 66 -14
4 Japan 62 71 -11

T7 India 67 68 -9

Today Jeev and Jyoti performed well in tough format, Foursomes ... They managed 4 under with 7 birdies and 3 bogeys ... Which helped them to move inside top 10 standing ... But leader Ireland is still 9 shots ahead.
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Badminton News
At $15K Yonex Welsh International 2009,

[R1] (5) Sayali Gokhale (IND,61) vs Carissa Turner (WAL,340) 13-21 21-8 17-21

Very surprising loss of Sayali against local doubles specialist.
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Tennis News
At $10K Malaysia F5 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

Doubles
[F] (2) GAJJAR (IND)/ O'BRIEN (IRL) l (4) BETAU (BLR)/ ZHYRMONT (BLR) 46 36

Gajjar and his Irish partner lost in the final against Belarus pair.
Tennis News
At ATP World Tour Finals, London, England

Group A
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) l Daniel Nestor (CAN)/ Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 46 67(9)

Nestor and Zimo scored their first victory at ATP World Tour Finals beating Mahesh and Mark ... But Mahesh and Mark already qualified for semis with top spot in the group.
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At $125K Helsinki Challenger, Finland

Doubles
[SF] (3) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul_Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs Karol Beck (SVK)/ Jiri Krkoska (CZE)

Rohan and Aisam r only seeded pair remaining in the draw.
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Golf News
At Omega Mission Hills World Cup, China - First Round (Fourballs)

1 Ireland 58 -14
2 Argentina 61 -11
3 Japan 62 -10

T15 India 67 -5

Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell combined to score brilliant 14 under par 58 in the opening round in fourballs ... With that Ireland opened up a good three shot lead over Argentina ... India is T15 with 5 under with USA and Thailand.

Jeev and Jyoti scored bogey in 2nd hole and scored 6 birdies at 3rd, 7th, 10th, 14th, 15th and 18th holes.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Tennis News
At ATP World Tour Finals, London, England

Group B
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Bob Bryan (USA)/ Mike Bryan (USA) 36 46

So with this loss against Bryans chances of reaching semis at ATP World Tour Finals got over for Lee and Lukas ... Again they struggled with returning game and in this match Lee was totally off-color ... This was their second consecutive loss in straight sets ... In other group match Kubot and Marach defeated Ram and Mirnyi in super tie-break saving 3 match points.
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At $125K Helsinki Challenger, Finland

[QF] (3) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul_Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt Frank Moser (GER)/ Rogier Wassen (NED) 76(2) 64

Another good win over experienced players for Rohan and Asiam to moved semis of this big challenger.
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At $10K Malaysia F5 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

Doubles
[SF] (1) SHARAN (IND)/ VARDHAN (IND) l (4) BETAU (BLR)/ ZHYRMONT (BLR) 46 46
[SF] (2) GAJJAR (IND)/ O'BRIEN (IRL) bt JAYA (MAS)/ SI (MAS) 75 76(5)

[F] (2) GAJJAR (IND)/ O'BRIEN (IRL) vs (4) BETAU (BLR)/ ZHYRMONT (BLR)

Only Gajjar with his partner reached in doubles final.
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Chess News
At The FIDE World Chess Cup 2009, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia - November 20th to December 15th 2009

Round Second
Krishnan Sasikiran (IND) vs Etienne Bacrot (FRA) 0-2
R1: 0-1 R2: 0-1

Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND) l Hao Wang (CHN) 0-2
R1: 0-1 R2: 0-1

Sandipan Chanda (IND) l Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS) 0-2
R1: 0-1 R2: 0-1

No fight back from any one, so again Indian challenge got over in second round.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Tennis News
At ATP World Tour Finals, London, England

Group A
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt Mariusz Fyrstenberg (POL)/ Marcin Matkowski (POL) 36 63 10(7)

Mahesh and Mark continued with their good run in ATP World Tour Finals ... In second group match they defeated Polish pair in comeback victory ... After losing first set they played excellent tennis to won this match in super tie-break ... This win also guaranteed their place in semi-final ... Top-seed pair of Nestor and Zimo lost their second match, so now they r out of semi-final spot.
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At $125K Helsinki Challenger, Finland

[R1] (3) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul_Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt Daniele Bracciali (ITA)/ Lovro Zovko (CRO) 75 26 10(6)

[QF] (3) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul_Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs Frank Moser (GER)/ Rogier Wassen (NED)

Good win by Bops and Aisam against experienced pair ... After winning close first set they lost next very easily ... But our pair came strongly in super tie-break to book their place in quarters.
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At $10K Malaysia F5 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

[R2] (1) Vishnu VARDHAN (IND,368) l Ante PAVIC (CRO,873) 67(3) 36
[R2] (3) Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND, 483) l Marin BRADARIC (CRO,677) 61 36 67(2)

Doubles
[QF] (1) SHARAN (IND)/ VARDHAN (IND) bt DOAKMAIKLEE (THA)/ WACHIRAMANOWONG (THA) 75 46 10(6)
[QF] HAENLE (GER)/ SHOKEEN (IND) l JAYA (MAS)/ SI (MAS) 36 57
[QF] (2) GAJJAR (IND)/ O'BRIEN (IRL) bt HUANG (TPE)/ SIRILUETHAIWATTANA (THA) 64 46 10(7)

[SF] (1) SHARAN (IND)/ VARDHAN (IND) vs (4) BETAU (BLR)/ ZHYRMONT (BLR)
[SF] (2) GAJJAR (IND)/ O'BRIEN (IRL) vs JAYA (MAS)/ SI (MAS)

Oh, both Croats defeated their seeded Indian opponents in singles ... Surprising loss of Vishnu against player who was ranked 500 places below him.
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Chess News
At The FIDE World Chess Cup 2009, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia - November 20th to December 15th 2009

Round Second
Krishnan Sasikiran (IND) vs Etienne Bacrot (FRA) 0-1
R1: 0-1

Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND) vs Hao Wang (CHN) 0-1
R1: 0-1

Sandipan Chanda (IND) vs Dmitry Jakovenko (RUS) 0-1
R1: 0-1

Poor start for our players in second round ... All 3 players lost their respective matches ... But task of Sasi and Sandipan is much harder as both lost their matches playing with White.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Tennis News
At ATP World Tour Finals, London, England

Group B
Lukas Dlouhy (CZE)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Lukasz Kubot (POL)/ Oliver Marach (AUT) 36 67(3)

Kubot and Marach produced very solid performance to beat Lee and Lukas ... Lee and Lukas struggled with return game and Kubot and Marach take full advantage of it ... In second set Lee and Lukas fought back but both served a single double fault in tie-break and that was enough for Kubot and Marach to scored victory ... In other Group match Ram and Mirnyi defeated Bryans in straight sets.
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At $10K Malaysia F5 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

[R1] Divij SHARAN (IND, 764) l Marin BRADARIC (CRO, 671) 67(3) 63
[R1] (3) Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND, 483) bt Juan Antonio LOS SANTOS (MAS, UNR) 16 62 63

[R2] (1) Vishnu VARDHAN (IND,368) vs Ante PAVIC (CRO,873)
[R2] (3) Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND, 483) vs Marin BRADARIC (CRO,677)

Doubles
[QF] (1) SHARAN (IND)/ VARDHAN (IND) vs DOAKMAIKLEE (THA)/ WACHIRAMANOWONG (THA)
[QF] HAENLE (GER)/ SHOKEEN (IND) vs JAYA (MAS) / SI (MAS)
[QF] (2) GAJJAR (IND)/ O'BRIEN (IRL) vs HUANG (TPE) / SIRILUETHAIWATTANA (THA)

Divij also lost his first round match ... Young Juan, whos is Malaysian one of top junior, stretched Ranjeet to 3 sets ... In second round Vishnu and Ranjeet r facing Croatian opponents.
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Chess News
At The FIDE World Chess Cup 2009, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia - November 20th to December 15th 2009

Round One Tie-break
Krishnan Sasikiran (IND) bt Erwin L'Ami (NED) 2½-½

Parimarjan Negi (IND) l Vadim Milov (SUI) ½-2½

Sasi produced clinical performance against L'Ami in tie-break but same Milov did against Negi ... In both matches 4th game was cancelled after player taking winning lead.

Monday, November 23, 2009

Tennis News
At ATP World Tour Finals, London, England

Group A
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) bt Frantisek Cermak (CZE)/ Michal Mertinak (SVK) 63 63

Good start for Mahesh and Mark at ATP World Tour Finals with very convincing win over 5th seed pair ... In other Group A match Polish team, Fyrstenberg and Matkowski, defeated top-seed Nestor and Zimonjic.

Today in Group B match Lee and Lukas will face Kubot and Marach.

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At $10K Malaysia F5 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

[R1] (1) Vishnu VARDHAN (IND,368) bt Barry KING (IRL, 606) 63 64
[R1] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,487) l Colin O'BRIEN (IRL,642) 57 57
[R1] Divij SHARAN (IND, 764) vs Marin BRADARIC (CRO, 671)
[R1] (3) Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND, 483) vs Juan Antonio LOS SANTOS (MAS, UNR)

Doubles
[R1] (1) SHARAN (IND)/ VARDHAN (IND) bt DOBSON (USA)/ RAWI (MAS) W/O
[R1] DOAKMAIKLEE (THA)/ WACHIRAMANOWONG (THA) bt PRASHANTH (IND)/ VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND) 26 63 10(8)
[R1] HAENLE (GER)/ SHOKEEN (IND) bt (3) KING (IRL)/ MCGEE (IRL) 64 64
[R1] (2) GAJJAR (IND)/ O'BRIEN (IRL) bt BORODKIN (KAZ)/ KHUSAINOV (KAZ) 60 62

Surprising loss of Gajjar ... Otherwise expected start for our players.
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Golf News
At Dubai World Championship, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

T13 Jeev Milkha Singh 70 72 68 70 -8 € 89712.92

Jeev finished on creditable tied 13th position in this prestigious European tour season ending tournament.
Chess News
At The FIDE World Chess Cup 2009, Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia - November 20th to December 15th 2009

This is a seven-round knockout event with six rounds of matches comprising two games per round, with the winners progressing to the next round. The final seventh round consists of four games. The time control is 90 minutes for the first 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the rest of the game with an addition of 30 seconds per move from move one.

After first round, Surya Shekhar Ganguly scored convincing victory over his Uzbek opponent ... Sandipan Chanda managed draw in R2 to moved into next round ... Negi won R1 with Whites but lost in R2 ... So he with Sasi will be playing tie-break ... Abhijit Kunte, Sriram Jha and Abhijeet Gupta lost against superior players.


Round One
Sriram Jha (IND) l Alexander Grischuk (RUS) ½-1½
R1: ½-½ R2: 0-1

Abhijit Kunte (IND) l Alexei Shirov (ESP) ½-1½
R1: ½-½ R2: 0-1

Abhijeet Gupta (IND) l Nikita Vitiugov (RUS) ½-1½
R1: ½-½ R2: 0-1

Krishnan Sasikiran (IND) - Erwin L'Ami (NED) 1-1
R1: ½-½ R2: ½-½

Surya Shekhar Ganguly (IND) bt Anton Filippov (UZB) 2-0
R1: 1-0 R2: 1-0

Parimarjan Negi (IND) - Vadim Milov (SUI) 1-1
R1: 1-0 R2: 0-1

Sandipan Chanda (IND) bt Mikhail Kobalia (RUS) 1½-½
R1: 1-0 R2: ½-½

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Tennis News
At $50K Champaign Challenger, Illinois, USA

Doubles
[F] (2) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Treat Huey (PHI) l Brian Battistone (USA)/ Dann Battistone (USA) 57 67(5)

Very close loss ... But Battistones were tricky pair, in this tourney they played excellent tennis beating top 2 seeded pair to lift title ... Overall very good year for Harsh, he reached 9 finals winning 3 doubles challenger title ... Still it would be icing on his performance if he manage to finish inside top 100 in 2009 year ending ranking.
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At $125K Helsinki Challanger, Finland

[Q1] (4) Rohan BOPANNA (IND,395) l Mateusz KOWALCZYK (POL,770) 36 46

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Badminton News
At $15K 2009 Bank of Scotland International Badminton Championships, Glasgow

[SF] (3) Aparna Balan (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) l (1) Valeria Sorokina (RUS)/ Nina Vislova (RUS) 21-15 11-21 14-21

[QF] Sourabh Verma (IND,354) l (7) scott Evans (IRL,65) 11-21 13-21
[QF] Sayali Gokhale (IND,73) vs Jeanine Cicognini (SUI,56) 21-19 14-21 15-21

[QF] (3) Aparna Balan (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) bt Ozge Bayrak (TUR)/ Li Shuang (TUR) 21-10 14-21 21-10

Sayali fought well against higher ranked opponent in 46 mins match ... After she won first game, Cicognini take control of the match.

Shruti and Ashwini stretched to 3 games in their quarter-final match but in semis after winning first game against top-seed Russian pair they couldn't managed to convert in victory.
Tennis News
At $50K Champaign Challenger, Illinois, USA

[SF] (2) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Treat Huey (PHI) bt (4) Martin Emmrich (GER)/ Andreas Siljestrom (SWE) 36 61 10(5)

[F] (2) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Treat Huey (PHI) vs Brian Battistone (USA)/ Dann Battistone (USA)

Harsh and Treat broke Emmrich and Siljestrom 10 match winning streak on challenger level with exciting comeback victory in super tie-break ... They came back strongly after losing first set and entered in another final.
Badminton News
At $15K 2009 Bank of Scotland International Badminton Championships, Glasgow

[R2] Sourabh Verma (IND,354) bt Jakub Bitman (CZE,174) 21-9 21-10
[R2] Abhimanyu Singh (IND,250) bt Philippe Charron (CAN,460) 21-10 21-16
[R2] Trupti Murgunde (IND,62) bt Valerie St Jacques (CAN,205) 21-13 21-12
[R2] Sayali Gokhale (IND,73) bt Phyllis Chan (CAN,158) 21-11 21-12
[R2] Gayatri Vartak (IND,224) bt Neha Pandit (IND,85) 21-15 18-21 21-13

[R2] (3) Aparna Balan (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) bt Phyllis Chan (CAN)/ Jocelyn Ko (CAN) 21-10 21-13

[R3] Sourabh Verma (IND,354) bt (9) Kieran Merrilees (SCO,74) 17-21 22-20 21-18
[R3] Abhimanyu Singh (IND,250) l (4) Peter Mikkelsen (DEN,46) 6-21 16-21
[R3] Trupti Murgunde (IND,62) l (3) Linda Zechiri (BUL,38) 13-21 14-21
[R3] Sayali Gokhale (IND,73) bt Renuga Veeran (AUS,144) 13-21 21-13 21-15
[R3] Gayatri Vartak (IND,224) l Jeanine Cicognini (SUI,56) 14-21 12-21

[QF] Sourabh Verma (IND,354) vs (7) scott Evans (IRL,65)
[QF] Sayali Gokhale (IND,73) vs Jeanine Cicognini (SUI,56)

[QF] (3) Aparna Balan (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) vs Ozge Bayrak (TUR)/ Li Shuang (TUR)

Only Sourabh Verma and Sayali Gokhale managed to reach quarters in singles ... Sourabh Verma scored comeback upset win on top-75 local player ... In second round Gayatri Vartak scored upset win over her top-100 team-mate.

Friday, November 20, 2009

Tennis News
At $50K Champaign Challenger, Illinois, USA

[QF] (1) David Martin (USA)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) l Brian Battistone (USA)/ Dann Battistone (USA) 46 64 (4)10
[QF] (2) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Treat Huey (PHI) bt Dominic Inglot (GBR)/ Rylan Rizza (USA) 36 76(5) 10(7)

[SF] (2) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Treat Huey (PHI) vs (4) Martin Emmrich (GER)/ Andreas Siljestrom (SWE)

Very good comeback victory for Harsh and Treat against talented tricky UVa pair ... So another semi-final for them but there they r facing big challenge of Martin Emmrich and Andreas Siljestrom ... This pair is currently hottest pair on challenger level ... Emmrich and Siljestrom are on a 10 matches winning streak in challengers with winning last 2 weeks titles at Charlottesville and Knoxville ... But I feel our team is capable of breaking their hot streak.

Rajeev and David lost their doubles match in super tie-break against Battistones.

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At $50K ITF Pune Tournament, Pune, India

Singles Final
(6) Rika Fujiwara (JPN) bt (3) Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) 57 64 63

Doubles Final
(2) Clerico (ITA)/ Vasylyeva (UKR) bt (1) Bratchikova (RUS)/ Palkina (KGZ) 46 63 13(11)

Singles Semi Finals
(6) Rika Fujiwara (JPN) bt (5) Nina Bratchikova (RUS) 62 62
(3) Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) bt (WC) Sabina Sharipova (UZB) 64 61

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Badminton News
At $250K China Super Series 2009,

[R2] Arvind Bhat (IND,23) l (8) Dwi Kuncoro Sony (INA,9) 15-21 16-21
[R2] (7) Saina Nehwal (IND,6) l (Q) Jingyun Xia (CHN,206) 21-17 8-21 13-21
[R2] Chetan Anand (IND,17) vs Pengyu Du (CHN,39) 19-21 9-21

After losing first game Jingyun Xia outperformed Saina in next 2 games ... Sony scored straight games victory without facing much problem.

In first game Du take early lead and Chetan tried catching game but in second game Du was too strong for Chetan taking early 0-7 lead, after that Chetan challenge was over.

Interesting to note only 1 seeded player is in women quarters, i.e. 6th seed Chinese Yanjiao Jiang ... Today 4 seeded players lost in 2nd round, those r Chinese WR #1 Yihan Wang, Chinese WR #2 Lin Wang, Danish WR #3 Tine Rassmussen and Saina ... 7 out 8 quarter finalists r Chinese and only Malaysian Mew Choo Wong managed to stop all Chinese affair, who upset WR #1.

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At $15K 2009 Bank of Scotland International Badminton Championships, Glasgow

[R1] Sourabh Verma (IND,354) bt Bruce Flockhart (SCO,UNR) 21-12 21-17
[R1] Abhimanyu Singh (IND,250) bt Kenneth Young (SCO,285) 21-11 21-7
[R1] Trupti Murgunde (IND,62) bye
[R1] Arundhati Pantawane (IND,268) l (6) Anu Nieminen (FIN,44) 16-21 19-21
[R1] Sayali Gokhale (IND,73) bt Lauren Smith (ENG,457) 21-3 21-9
[R1] Neha Pandit (IND,85) bt Barbara Matia (FRA,121) 23-21 14-21 21-13
[R1] Gayatri Vartak (IND,224) bt Helena Lewczynska (ENG,UNR) 21-16 21-17

[R1] (3) Aparna Balan (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) bye
[R1] Pradnya Gadre (IND)/ Nitya Sosale (IND) l Heather Olver (ENG)/ Sarah Walker (ENG) 13-21 21-13 12-21

[R2] Sourabh Verma (IND,354) vs Jakub Bitman (CZE,174)
[R2] Abhimanyu Singh (IND,250) vs Philippe Charron (CAN,460)
[R2] Trupti Murgunde (IND,62) vs Valerie St Jacques (CAN,205)
[R2] Sayali Gokhale (IND,73) vs Phyllis Chan (CAN,158)
[R2] Neha Pandit (IND,85) vs Gayatri Vartak (IND,224)

[R2] (3) Aparna Balan (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) vs Phyllis Chan (CAN)/ Jocelyn Ko (CAN)

Trupti is improving her ranking rapidly and again ready to back in top-50 where she was before her injury break ... Last week at Norwegian Internationals she reached in quarters ... This week with our other players she is participating in Scottish championship.
Tennis News
At $50K Champaign Challenger, Illinois, USA

[R1] (2) Rajeev Ram (USA,78) bt Luka Gregorc (SLO,249) 62 76(5)
[R2] (2) Rajeev Ram (USA,78) l (Q) Kaden Hensel (AUS,484) 67 36

Doubles
[R1] (1) David Martin (USA)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) bt (WC) Colt Gaston (USA)/ Ryan Harrison (USA) 63 46 12(10)
[R1] (2) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Treat Huey (PHI) bt Nicholas Monroe (USA)/ Izak Van Der Merwe (RSA) 64 63
[R1] Richard Bloomfield (GBR)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Dominic Inglot (GBR)/ Rylan Rizza (USA) 06 67(2)

[QF] (1) David Martin (USA)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) vs Brian Battistone (USA)/ Dann Battistone (USA)
[QF] (2) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Treat Huey (PHI) vs Dominic Inglot (GBR)/ Rylan Rizza (USA)

This week winning start for Harsh and Treat, next they r facing UVa tricky pair to place in semis ... Rajeev also started with win but surprising loss in singles second round.
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At $50K ITF Pune Tournament, Pune, India

Singles Quarter Finals
(5) Nina Bratchikova (RUS) bt (1) Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) 63 62
(6) Rika Fujiwara (JPN) bt Varatchaya Wongteanchai (THA) 61 61
(3) Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) bt (8) Anastasiya Vasylyeva (UKR) 57 60 64
(WC) Sabina Sharipova (UZB) bt (Q) Chen Astrogo (ISR) 62 63

Doubles Semi Finals
(1) Bratchikova (RUS)/ Palkina (KGZ) bt Lertcheewakarn (THA)/ Wongteanchai (THA) 75 63
(2) Clerico (ITA)/ Vasylyeva (UKR) bt Bhambri (IND)/ Chakravarthi (IND) 63 16 10(6)

So with Sanaa and Rushmi's loss Indian challenge got over in Pune ITF tournament.
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At $10K Malaysia F4 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

[QF] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,494) l (8) Petar JELENIC (CRO,567) 36 67(12)

Petar Jelenic scored back to back win over Indian players to finish Indian challenge from this week tournament ... Gajjar lost very long second set tie-break.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Badminton News
At $250K China Super Series 2009,

[R1] Arvind Bhat (IND,23) bt Wan Ho Shon (KOR,44) 21-18 21-16
[R1] Chetan Anand (IND,17) bt (Q) Valeriy Atrashchenkov (UKR,74) 22-20 25-23
[R1] (7) Saina Nehwal (IND,6) bt Charmaine Reid (CAN,53) 21-6 21-12

[R1] Rupesh Kumar (IND)/ Sanave Thomas (IND) l Kasper Faust Henriksen (DEN)/ Anders Kristiansen (DEN) 19-21 12-21
[R1] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Ashwini Ponappa (IND) l (8) Yu Chin Chien (TPE)\ Wang Pei Rong (TPE) walkover
[R1] (8) Diju Valiyaveetil (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) l Baek Choel Shin (KOR)/ Min Jung Kim (KOR) 14-21 3-11 Retd

[R2] Arvind Bhat (IND,23) vs (8) Dwi Kuncoro Sony (INA,9)
[R2] Chetan Anand (IND,17) vs Pengyu Du (CHN,39)
[R2] (7) Saina Nehwal (IND,6) vs Jingyun Xia (CHN,206)

In first game Arvind and Shon was neck to neck till 11-all but from there Arvind take lead and was leading 18-13 ... Shon did mini comeback and came near to 18-17 ... But Arvind kept his lead and won first game ... In second game Shon take early couple of point lead but Arvind caught with him at 6-all ... From 7-all Arvind won next 6 points and that did trick for him ... As Shon didn't able to overcome this lead ... From 11-20 down Shon won next 5 points but gap was too much .. Arvind won match in 40 mins.

Chetan was doing catching game in first game ... From start he was behind Atrashchenkov ... He was behind 1-6 then 5-12 then 10-16 then 12-18 ... But here Chetan fought back winning next 5 points to make it 17-18 ... Atrashchenkov had couple of game points at 18-20 but Chetan won next 4 points to win first game ... Interestingly Chetan first time take lead in the match at 21-20 ... In second game Chetan take early lead and at one time he was leading 13-10 and 14-12 but Atrashchenkov won next 6 points to take 14-18 lead ... Like first game again from 18-20 Chetan saved couple of game points and earned first match point ... This time Atrashchenkov saved that, then Chetan saved another couple of game points before winning match on second match point in 34 mins.

Saina produced commendable performance in her very easy straight games victory over Reid in just 25 mins ... Next round she is facing local tricky opponent.

Our womens double pair gave walkover to their opponents and MXD pair retired from their match in second game ... Hoping nothing serious injury issue to Jwala.
Tennis News
At $50K Champaign Challenger, Illinois, USA

Somdev decided to skip this tourney due to shoulder injury ... Hopefully he will be fit to play remaining 2 weeks of 2009 challengers season in Europe.
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At $50K ITF Pune Tournament, Pune, India

Singles Second Round
(1) Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) bt (WC) Nirupama Sanjeev (IND) 62 63
(5) Nina Bratchikova (RUS) bt Noppawan Lertcheewakarn (THA) 76(6) 62
Varatchaya Wongteanchai (THA) bt Nudnida Luangnam (THA) 76(3) 76(5)
(6) Rika Fujiwara (JPN) bt Shiho Hisamatsu (JPN) 62 60

(8) Anastasiya Vasylyeva (UKR) bt Sanaa Bhambri (IND) 61 57 75
(3) Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) bt Poojashree Venkatesha (IND) 61 60

(Q) Chen Astrogo (ISR) bt (LL) Sheethal Goutham (IND) 63 46 63
(WC) Sabina Sharipova (UZB) bt (2) Masa Zec-Peskiric (SLO) 63 62

Doubles Quarter Finals
(1) Bratchikova (RUS)/ Palkina (KGZ) bt (Q) Prerna Bhambri (IND)/ Sharipova (UZB) 61 62
Lertcheewakarn/Wongteanchai (THA) bt Astrogo (ISR)/ Jovanovski (SRB) 62 36 11(9)

Bhambri (IND)/ Chakravarthi (IND) bt (4) Shlomo (ISR)/ Venkatesha (IND) 63 26 10(7)
(2) Clerico (ITA)/ Vasylyeva (UKR) bt Solanki (IND)/ Sunkara (IND) 62 63

Indian challenge got over in singles ... Nirupama produced decent performance against top-seed Tammy ... Sheethal also fought well against Astrogo .... But most impressive performance showed by Sanaa against Vasylyeva ... After losing first set easily she showed remarkable resilience in second set ... She won second set after saving 2 match points .. Her efforts were fell short of producing remarkable victory.

In doubles Sanaa and Rushmi r keeping Indian interest alive.

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At $10K Malaysia F4 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

[R2] (Q) Vivek SHOKEEN (IND,888) l (1) Nathan THOMPSON (USA,457) 36 46
[R2] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,494) bt Sebastian LAVIE (NZL,UNR) 61 64
[R2] (Q) N. Vijay Sundar PRASHANTH (IND,999) l (8) Petar JELENIC (CRO,567) 46 36
[R2] (3) Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND,483) l Jaan-Frederik BRUNKEN (GER,594) 67(2) 16
[R2] Karan RASTOGI (IND,1137) l (6) Murad INOYATOV (UZB,502) 67(6) 36

[QF] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,494) vs (8) Petar JELENIC (CRO,567)

Doubles
[QF] (1) Divij SHARAN (IND)/ Vishnu VARDHAN (IND) l Kirati SIRIBUTWONG (THA)/ Nathan THOMPSON (USA) 26 62 (6)10
[QF] Rohan GAJJAR (IND)/ Matt SIMPSON (NZL) l (3) Barry KING (IRL)/ James MCGEE (IRL) 36 57

Only Rohan Gajjar remained in the singles draw after second round.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Tennis News

Singles First Round
(1) Tamarine Tanasugarn (THA) bt Rushmi Chakravarthi (IND) 62 60
(WC) Nirupama Sanjeev (IND) bt (Q) Tamara Curovic (SRB) 76(5) 63
Noppawan Lertcheewakarn (THA) bt Ganna Piven (UKR) 76(3) 63
(5) Nina Bratchikova (RUS) bt (WC) Prerna Bhambri (IND) 64 63

Nudnida Luangnam (THA) bt (4) Ksenia Palkina (KGZ) 57 61 5-0 Retd
Varatchaya Wongteanchai (THA) bt (Q) Kumari-Sweta Solanki (IND) 62 63
Shiho Hisamatsu (JPN) bt Keren Shlomo (ISR) 62 26 75
(6) Rika Fujiwara (JPN) bt Miki Miyamura (JPN) 62 61

(8) Anastasiya Vasylyeva (UKR) bt Nicole Clerico (ITA) 63 62
Sanaa Bhambri (IND) bt Anastasia Malhotra (JPN) 60 64
Poojashree Venkatesha (IND) bt (WC) Rashmi Teltumbde (IND) 62 63
(3) Bojana Jovanovski (SRB) bt (Q) Rishika Sunkara (IND) 64 75

(LL) Sheethal Goutham (IND) bt (Q) Shivika Burman (IND) 76(2) 26 64
(Q) Chen Astrogo (ISR) bt Dalila Jakupovic (SLO) 62 46 61
(WC) Sabina Sharipova (UZB) bt Magali De Lattre (POR) 64 63
(2) Masa Zec-Peskiric (SLO) bt Hae-Sung Kim (KOR) 63 64

Doubles First Round
(1) Bratchikova (RUS)/ Palkina (KGZ) bt Kim (KOR)/ Piven (UKR) 63 64
(Q) Prerna Bhambri (IND)/ Sharipova (UZB) bt (WC) Agrawal (IND)/ Rana (IND) 62 26 10(5)

Astrogo (ISR)/ Jovanovski (SRB) bt (3) Hisamatsu (JPN)/ Miyamura (JPN) 60 61
Lertcheewakarn/Wongteanchai (THA) vs (Q) Curovic (SRB)/ Jakupovic (SLO) 76(1) 62

Bhambri (IND)/ Chakravarthi (IND) bt (WC) Sanjeev (IND)/ Tulpule (IND) 64 46 10(7)
(4) Shlomo (ISR)/ Venkatesha (IND) bt (WC) Shrivastava (IND)/ Teltumbde (IND) 62 64

Solanki (IND)/ Sunkara (IND) bt Bhattacharyya (IND)/ Burman (IND) 75 64
(2) Clerico (ITA)/ Vasylyeva (UKR) bt De Lattre (POR)/ Malhotra (JPN) 60 63

Good start for Nirupama's mini comeback bid against 15 yrs old Serbian top-725 player (JWR #33) ... Sheetal also used lucky loser spot in her favor ... Yesterday Sanaa scored upset win over Anastasia Malhotra.

In doubles also, Nirupama gave tough fight to Sanaa and Rushmi with Radhika Tulpule.

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At $10K Malaysia F4 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

[R1] (Q) Vivek SHOKEEN (IND,888) bt (WC) Adam JAYA (MAS,1488) 61 75
[R1] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,494) bt Raphael LUSTENBERGER (SUI,1360) 63 75
[R1] (Q) N. Vijay Sundar PRASHANTH (IND,999) bt (WC) Razlan RAWI (MAS,UNR) 60 61
[R1] (3) Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND,483) bt Sun-Yong KIM (KOR,818) 76(2) 62
[R1] Karan RASTOGI (IND,1137) bt Yew-Ming SI (MAS,1515) 63 46 63

[R2] (Q) Vivek SHOKEEN (IND,888) vs (1) Nathan THOMPSON (USA,457)
[R2] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,494) vs Sebastian LAVIE (NZL,UNR)
[R2] (Q) N. Vijay Sundar PRASHANTH (IND,999) vs (8) Petar JELENIC (CRO,567)
[R2] (3) Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND,483) vs Jaan-Frederik BRUNKEN (GER,594)
[R2] Karan RASTOGI (IND,1137) vs (6) Murad INOYATOV (UZB,502)

All other Indians had winning start in singles but surprisingly Karan stretched to 3 sets against local player.
Badminton News
At $250K China Super Series 2009,

[R1] Arvind Bhat (IND,23) vs Wan Ho Shon (KOR,44)
[R1] Chetan Anand (IND,17) vs (Q) Valeriy Atrashchenkov (UKR,74)
[R1] (7) Saina Nehwal (IND,) vs Charmaine Reid (CAN,53)

[R1] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Ashwini Ponappa (IND) vs (8) Yu Chin Chien (TPE)\ Wang Pei Rong (TPE)
[R1] (8) Diju Valiyaveetil (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) vs Baek Choel Shin (KOR)/ Min Jung Kim (KOR)
[R1] Rupesh Kumar (IND)/ Sanave Thomas (IND) vs Kasper Faust Henriksen (DEN)/ Anders Kristiansen (DEN)

This week at Chine Super Series, Chetan joined other Indians, who participated in last week Hong Kong Super Series.

Monday, November 16, 2009

Tennis News
At $10K Malaysia F4 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

[R1] Divij SHARAN (IND,777) l Jaan-Frederik BRUNKEN (GER,595) 36 36

Doubles
[R1] (1) Divij SHARAN (IND)/ Vishnu VARDHAN (IND) bt Soong-Jae CHO (KOR)/ Sun-Yong KIM (KOR) 64 46 10(8)
[R1] Thomas OGER (MON)/ Vivek SHOKEEN (IND) l Kirati SIRIBUTWONG (THA)/ Nathan THOMPSON (USA) 63 67(2) (9)11
[R1] Rohan GAJJAR (IND)/ Matt SIMPSON (NZL) bt N. Vijay Sundar PRASHANTH (IND)/ Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND) 67(0) 62 10(6)

[QF] (1) Divij SHARAN (IND)/ Vishnu VARDHAN (IND) vs Kirati SIRIBUTWONG (THA)/ Nathan THOMPSON (USA)
[QF] Rohan GAJJAR (IND)/ Matt SIMPSON (NZL) vs (3) Barry KING (IRL)/ James MCGEE (IRL)

Divij lost in singles first round but in doubles with his partner Vishnu he pulled close victory against Koreans ... But other hand Vivek lost close match in doubles.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Tennis News
At $50K+H Aachen Challenger, Germany

[SF] (1) (WC) Rajeev RAM (USA,97) bt (3) Daniel Brands (GER,106) 63 46 76(6)

[F] (1) (WC) Rajeev RAM (USA,97) bt Dustin Brown (JAM,180) 76 67 76(2)

Doubles Final
(2) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam Qureshi (PAK) bt (3) Philipp Marx (GER)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK) 64 76(6)

For me expected win by Rohan and Aisam against 3rd seed pair ... Really happy for them as they again lifted title playing together ... After winning first set they were stretched in second set but importantly they managed to finish match in 2 sets ... Congrats Bops and Aisam.

Rajeev lifted title in very tight match where all 3 sets went into tie-break.

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At $10K Malaysia F4 Futures, Kuala Lumpur

[Q1] Sudanwa SITARAM (IND,1280) l (16) Kirati SIRIBUTWONG (THA,1253) 46 26
[Q1] (9) N. Vijay Sundar PRASHANTH (IND,999) bye
[Q1] (5) Vivek SHOKEEN (IND,888) bye
[Q1] Ankit SACHDEVA (IND,NR) l Jae-Won CHOI (KOR,1310) 46 06
[Q1] (12)Ronak MANUJA (IND,1127) bt Adirek KHUNDARNPINITVON (THA,1532) 60 75

[Q2] (9) N. Vijay Sundar PRASHANTH (IND,999) bt Sang-Woo NOH (KOR,NR) 75 61
[Q2] (5) Vivek SHOKEEN (IND,888) bt Tomislav BRKIC (BIH,1313) 76(1) 76(12)
[Q2] (12)Ronak MANUJA (IND,1127) bt Wan-Yong PARK (KOR,NR) 76(5) 06 64

[Q3] (9) N. Vijay Sundar PRASHANTH (IND,999) bt (4) Ante PAVIC (CRO,884) 67(5) 40 Retired
[Q3] (5) Vivek SHOKEEN (IND,888) bt Yao-Lun CHANG (TPE,1714) 63 67(5) 63
[Q3] (12)Ronak MANUJA (IND,1127) l (7) Matheson KLEIN (AUS,934) 46 16

[R1] (Q) Vivek SHOKEEN (IND,888) vs (WC) Adam JAYA (MAS,1488)
[R1] (4) Rohan GAJJAR (IND,494) vs Raphael LUSTENBERGER (SUI,1360)
[R1] (Q) N. Vijay Sundar PRASHANTH (IND,999) vs (WC) Razlan RAWI (MAS,NR)
[R1] Divij SHARAN (IND,777) vs Jaan-Frederik BRUNKEN (GER,595)
[R1] (3) Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND,483) vs Sun-Yong KIM (KOR,818)
[R1] Karan RASTOGI (IND,1137) vs Yew-Ming SI (MAS,1515)

A big Indian contingent is playing next 3 weeks in Malaysia ... Vivek and Vijay Sundar qualified for main draw ... They joined Gajjar, Ranjeet, Divij and Karan in main draw.
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Golf News
At UBS Hong Kong Open, Fanling, Hong Kong

T22 S S P Chowrasia 65 69 73 65 -8 € 17427.91
T22 Jyoti Randhawa 66 69 67 70 -8 € 17427.91
T36 Rahil Gsngjee 67 70 68 69 -6 € 10892.44
T36 Jeev Milkha Singh 71 67 70 66 -6 € 10892.44
T48 Shiv Kapur 68 68 72 68 -4 € 7876.07

SSP and Jeev produced better rounds from Indians in final round which helped them to finished inside top-25 and top-40 respectively ... Shiv also scored under par round to finished inside top-50.
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Football News
At AFC Under 19 Qualification 2009, Arbil

India u-19 bt Kuwait u-19 3-0

Goal Scored - Malsawmfela (IND) 45' & 60', Jeje Lalpekhlua (IND) 6'

Indian boys ended their campaign on positive note beating Kuwaiti side easily ... With this Indian boys finished 4th in Group C ... Only top 2 teams, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, moved to final round.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Chess News
At Tal Memorial 2009, Moscow, Russia - 4th to 19th November 2009

Round 9 - Saturday, November 14, 2009
Vassily Ivanchuk ½-½ Vladimir Kramnik
Viswanathan Anand 0-1 Levon Aronian
Peter Svidler ½-½ Boris Gelfand
Ruslan Ponomariov 1-0 Alexander Morozevich
Peter Leko - Magnus Carlsen

Levon Aronian shocked Anand playing with blacks ... He defeated Anand in 25 moves ... With this Anand lost chance of sharing top spot ... Ponomariov defeated Morozevich in 27 moves and in other match Carlsen won his match to moved on tied 2nd place ... In end disappointing result for Anand ... With T2 position Magnus Carlsen become WR #1 in unofficial live ranking.

Tal Memorial 2009 - Final Standing

1 Vladimir Kramnik 6.0
T2 Vassily Ivanchuk 5.5
T2 Magnus Carlsen 5.5
T4 Levon Aronian 5.0
T4 Viswanathan Anand 5.0
6 Boris Gelfand 4.5
7 Ruslan Ponomariov 4.0
8 Peter Svidler 3.5
T9 Peter Leko 3.0
T9 Alexander Morozevich 3.0
Tennis News
At $50K+H Aachen Challenger , Germany

[QF] (1) (WC) Rajeev RAM (USA,97) bt (LL) Louk Sorensen (IRL,336) 75 75
[SF] (1) (WC) Rajeev RAM (USA,97) vs (3) Daniel Brands (GER,106)

Doubles
[SF] (2) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam Qureshi (PAK) bt Yves Allegro (SUI)/ Lovro Zovko (CRO) 63 64

Rohan and Aisam moved into the final with straight sets win over good doubles pair ... Again they r showing how much good they r on this challengers level when playing together.
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At $50K Knoxville Challenger, Tennessee, USA

Doubles
[SF] (2) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Treat Huey (PHI) l Martin Emmrich (GER)/ Andreas Siljestrom (SWE) 26 36
[SF] Somdev DevVarman (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Raven Klaasen (RSA)/ Izak Van Der Merwe (RSA) 36 67(3)

So our both pairs lost in semis and with that hope of almost all Indians final faded.
Chess News
At Tal Memorial 2009, Moscow, Russia - 4th to 19th November 2009

Round 8 - Friday, November 13, 2009
Vladimir Kramnik ½-½ Peter Leko
Magnus Carlsen 1-0 Ruslan Ponomariov
Alexander Morozevich ½-½ Peter Svidler
Boris Gelfand ½-½ Viswanathan Anand
Levon Aronian ½-½ Vassily Ivanchuk

Anand agreed draw in 28 moves ... Only Magnus Carlsen scored win in 31 moves against Ponomariov ... In last round Anand is playing with whites against Levon Aronian ... Anand is still ½ pt behind leader Kramnik.

Friday, November 13, 2009

Hockey News
At BDO Men’s Champions Challenge I , Salta, Argentina

Our team is declared for the 8 nation Champions challenge tournament to be played between 6-13 December in Salta, Argentina ... Overall good selection but surprisingly Prabodh Tirkey's name is missing from the squad ... Also interesting to note that Rajpal Singh replaces Sandeep Singh as Indian Captain for this important tournament, though on Canadian tour Basra used rotation policy for captaincy.

Our team will leave for Madrid on November 23 for a one-week training-cum-competition tour en-route to Salta.


Group A - India, China, New Zealand, Belgium
Group B - Pakistan, Argentina, South Africa, Canada

Match Schedule
Sunday - 06 Dec 2009
India vs New Zealand (16.05 hrs local time)

Tuesday - 08 Dec 2009
India vs China (12.05 hrs local time)

Thursday - 10 Dec 2009
India vs Belgium (16.05 hrs local time)

Saturday - 12 Dec 2009
Semi-finals

Sunday - 13 Dec 2009
Final

Indian Team -
Goalkeepers - Adrian D'Souza, PR Sreejesh
Defenders - Sardar Singh, Sandeep Singh, Gurbaj Singh, Bharat Ajitesh Roy, Dhananjay Mahadik, V Raghunath
Midfielders - Tushar Khandker, Arjun Halappa, Vikram Pillay, Roshan Minz, Danish Mujtaba, Vikas Sharma
Forwards - Rajpal Singh (Capt), Gurvinder Singh Chandi, Shivendra Singh, Deepak Thakur, Sarwanjit Singh, Mandeep Antil, Prabhjot Singh
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Squash News
At $41K Santiago Open 2009, Spain

[R1] Saurav Ghosal (IND,33) bt (6) Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL,27) 11-5 11-8 11-6 (33m)

[QF] Saurav Ghosal (IND,33) l (2) Adrian Grant (ENG,11) 6-11 11-2 11-5 12-14 5-11 (59m)

Recently Saurav is giving consistent performance and I feel he is on verge of big break through ... This week also in ongoing Santiago Open he performed well ... In first round he defeated top-30 Colombian in straight game and then stretched WR #11 British player to 5th game, where Saurav was in chance of finishing match in 4th game.
Tennis News
At $50K Knoxville Challenger, Tennessee, USA

Doubles
[QF] (2) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Treat Huey (PHI) bt Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)/ Filip Prpic (SWE) 67(5) 61 10(4)
[QF] Somdev DevVarman (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (3) Kaden Hensel (AUS)/ Adam Hubble (AUS) 63 61

[SF] (2) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Treat Huey (PHI) vs Martin Emmrich (GER)/ Andreas Siljestrom (SWE)
[SF] Somdev DevVarman (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Raven Klaasen (RSA)/ Izak Van Der Merwe (RSA)

Very good dominating win by Purav and Somi against seeded Aussie pair ... Harsh and Treat also produced good performance after losing first set in tie-break.

Next Purav and Somi r facing South African pair, Harsh and Treat r facing Europeans.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Chess News
At Tal Memorial 2009, Moscow, Russia - 4th to 19th November 2009

Round 7 - Thursday, November 12, 2009

Levon Aronian ½-½ Vladimir Kramnik
Vassily Ivanchuk 1-0 Boris Gelfand
Viswanathan Anand ½-½ Alexander Morozevich
Peter Svidler ½-½ Magnus Carlsen
Ruslan Ponomariov ½-½ Peter Leko

Only Vassily Ivanchuk managed to win his match against Boris Gelfand and all other matches ended in a draw ... With this win Ivanchuk joined Anand on 2nd place with 4.5 pts, but Kramnik maintained his ½ pt lead over them ... Tomorrow Anand facing Boris Gelfand with blacks.
Football News

JCT striker Baljit Singh Sahni, who scored 6 goals in 7 I-League matches, and his teammate Sunil Thakur were seriously injured in a motorcycle accident at Margao ... As per report, Sahni fractured his wrist and needed 25 stitches while Thakur fractured his jaw and required five stitches ... :(

As per JCT coach Parminder Singh - "Doctors will operate on Sahni’s wrist on Thursday morning."

I wish both full recovery, with that Sahni will miss 2/3 months due to injury ... That means Sahni will miss SAFF Cup and AFC Challenge Cup 2010.

------------------------------------------
At AFC Under 19 Qualification 2009, Arbil

India u-19 bt Afghanistan u-19 4-1

Goal Scored - Malsawmfela (IND) 48' & 67', Jeje Lalpekhlua (IND) 62' P & 84' and Mohammad Rahimi (AFG) 21'

At last our boys managed to score win ... After down by a goal at half time they scored 4 goals in second half to secured win.
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At I League 2009-10, India - Round VIII

Mumbai FC dw Sporting Clube de Goa 0-0
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Salgaocar SC dw JCT, Phagwara 0-0
-----------------------------------------

Pune FC l Mohun Bagan 1-3

Goal Scored - Douhou Sey (PFC) 90+' P and Chidi Edeh (MB) 37', 61' & 76'

Chidi Edeh scored hat-trick in win for Bagan.
-----------------------------------------

Churchill Brothers SC bt Chirag United SC 2-0

Goal Scored - Ogba Kalu Nnanna (CB) 5', Odafe Onyeka Okolie (CB) 65'

Churchill Brothers defeated Chirag United to lead table.
------------------------------------------

East Bengal bt Lajong FC 3-0

Goal Scored - Abel Hammond (EB) 35' & 90', Yakubu Yusif (EB) 90+'

East Bengal won their 3rd match in a row.
-----------------------------------------

Air India l Mahindra United 0-4

Goal Scored - Madambillath Mohammed Rafi (MU) 10', Subair Muritala Ali (MU) 41', 49' & 58'

Muritala Ali scored hat-trick to help Mahindra for convincing win in Mumbai derby.
-----------------------------------------

Dempo SC bt Viva Kerela

Goal Scored - Sunil Chetri (DSC) 72', Ranty Martins Soleye (DSC) 81', Joaquim Abranches (DSC) 86' and Karma T. (VK) 17'

Dempo scored 3 goals in last 20 mins to overcome spirited challenge from Viva.
Badminton News
At $250K Hong Kong Super Series 2009,

[R2] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Ashwini Ponappa (IND) l (3) Jing DU (CHN)/ Yang YU (CHN) 9-21 10-21
[R2] (8) Diju Valiyaveetil (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) l Anthony CLARK (ENG)/ Donna KELLOGG (ENG) 29-27 13-21 18-21
[R2] Rupesh Kumar (IND)/ Sanave Thomas (IND) l (6) Alven Yulianto Chandra (INA)/ Hendra Aprida Gunawan (INA) 17-21 21-17 13-21

Rupesh and Sanave produced excellent fighting performance against seeded Indonesian pair in this 55 mins match ... After losing first game they won second one but in decided Indonesian pair were too strong.

Diju and Jwala made shocking exit in 50 mins against unranked British pair ... They mananged to win first game after long battle but then British pair dominated next 2 games ... This was lost opportunity for Diju and Jwala, as they were only seeded pair in bottom draw ... So was in chance of making first final in Super Series ... Chinese 3rd seed pair crushed Jwala and Ashwini in 19 mins ... With that Indian challenge got over in this Hong Kong Super Series ... Hopefully next week all they perform better in China Super Series.
Tennis News
At $50K Knoxville Challenger, Tennessee, USA

[R1] Somdev DevVarman (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (WC) Cory Parr (USA)/ Todd Paul (USA) 64 76(3)

[QF] (2) Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Treat Huey (PHI) vs Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)/ Filip Prpic (SWE)
[QF] Somdev DevVarman (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (3) Kaden Hensel (AUS)/ Adam Hubble (AUS)

Good win by Purav and Somi against tricky pair, who last week upset Harsh and Treat in first round.
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At $50K+H Aachen Challenger, Germany

[R2] (1) (WC) Rajeev RAM (USA,97) bt (WC) Sebastian Rieschick (GER,414) 64 36 75

[QF] (1) (WC) Rajeev RAM (USA,97) vs (LL) Louk Sorensen (IRL,336)

Doubles
[QF] (2) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam Qureshi (PAK) bt Dustin Brown (JAM)/ Jiri Krkoska (CZE) 75 76(6)

Nice to see Aisam and Bops finished this tight match in 2 sets to moved into semis.
Chess News
At Tal Memorial 2009, Moscow, Russia - 4th to 19th November 2009

Round 6 - Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Vladimir Kramnik 1-0 Ruslan Ponomariov
Peter Leko ½-½ Peter Svidler
Magnus Carlsen ½-½ Viswanathan Anand
Alexander Morozevich 0-1 Vassily Ivanchuk
Boris Gelfand 1-0 Levon Aronian

Vladimir Kramnik has once again taken the sole lead with win against Ruslan Ponomariov in 81 moves ... Anand managed only draw with Magnus Carlsen in 36 moves ... Today Anand is playing win whites against Alexander Morozevich.
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Tennis News
At BNP PARIBAS ATP Masters 1000, Paris

[R2] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) l Simon Aspelin (SWE)/ Paul Hanley (AUS) 46 76(6) (7)10
[R2] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) l Jordan Kerr (AUS)/ Travis Parrott (USA) 76(5) 46 (5)10

So our both seeded pairs lost at Paris Masters second round, they had bye in first round ... After US Open both pairs showed little interest in playing together ... Mahesh and Mark played at China Masters but Lee take a long break after his injury ... So these results didn't surprise me.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Badminton News
At $250K Hong Kong Super Series 2009,

[R1] Saina Nehwal (IND,6) l Jie Yao (NED,16) 16-21 12-21
[R1] Arvind Bhat (IND,23) l Chunlai Bao (CHN,14) 19-21 11-21 16-21

[R1] Rupesh Kumar (IND)/ Sanave Thomas (IND) bt (Q) Pak Chu Chow (MAS)/ Chieng Hun Hong (MAS) 21-18 21-9

[R2] Rupesh Kumar (IND)/ Sanave Thomas (IND) vs (6) Alven Yulianto Chandra (INA)/ Hendra Aprida Gunawan (INA)

Jie Yao scored one-sided victory over Saina in just 26 mins ... I would say one of bad day at office for Saina ... In doubles Rupesh and Sanave had comfortable start against Malaysian qualifiers.

In first game Arvind take early lead but Bao caught with him at 12-all but again Arvind take lead and was leading 19-15 .. This time also Bao caught with him winning next 4 points but Arvind won next 2 points to won first game ... In second game Bao take control from the start and didn't give any chance to Arvind to won it easily ... In third game again Arvind take lea from 3-4 ... At one time he was leading 13-8 but from 15-13 Bao won next 3 points to make it 15-16 ... Arvind won next point but after that Bao won next 5 points to completed victory in 48 mins.

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,...