Tennis News
At $4.5M Miami Masters, FL, USA

[R2] Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)/ Sania Mirza (IND) bt (8) Maria Kirilenko (RUS)/ Flavia Pennetta (ITA) 46 76(5) 10(4)

Superb comeback victory in super tie-break over seeded pair ... Mostly they will face 2nd seed pair in quarters.

Badminton News
At $120K Yonex Sunrise India Open 2009, Hyderabad (GP Gold)

[F] (2) Diju VALIYAVEETIL (IND)/ Jwala GUTTA (IND) l (3) Flandy LIMPELE (INA)/ Vita MARISSA (INA) 14-21 17-21

Diju and Jwala failed to win title at India Open ... After women doubles Vita Marissa again was instumental for Jwala's loss with Diju in MXD.

Tennis News
At $4.5M Miami Masters, FL, USA

[R1] Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)/ Sania Mirza (IND) bt Iveta Benesova (CZE)/ Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 64 75

[R1] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) bt Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)/ Juan Monaco (ARG) 62 62
[R1] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) l Julien Benneteau (FRA)/ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 63 75 (6)10

[R2] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) vs Frantisek Cermak (CZE)/ Michal Mertinak (SVK)

Sania and Chia-Jung had winning start in Mastrs doubles ... But Mahesh and Mark lost against singles specialist Frenchmen in the first hurdle ... Other hand Lee and Lukas scored very easy victory against South American pair to move into second round.
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At $50K Khorat Challenger, Thailand

[QF] Rajeev Ram (USA,203) bt (SE) Noam Okun (ISR,347) 46 76(5) 64
[SF] Rajeev Ram (USA,203) l (1) Andreas Beck (GER,104) 26 62 46

Doubles
[SF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt Harel Levy (ISR)/ Noam Okun (ISR) 76(5) 36 10(6)

[F] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt (4) Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA)/ Sonchai Ratiwatana (THA) 63 67(5) 10(5)

Good performance by Rajeev to reached semis in singles.

Rohan and Aisam scored very fighting win to won their 6th challenger title ... In semis they had tough match against experienced Israeli pair but they pulled off in super tie-break ... In final they faced local favorite Ratiwatana brothers, who tried comeback winning second set in tie-break but our pair didn't lose focus and scored another super tie-break win to lift another challenger level title.
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At $50K Jersey Challenger, Channel Islands

[QF] Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Brian Battistone (USA) bt Fritz Wolmarans (RSA)/ Michael Yani (USA) 64 57 10(6)

[SF] Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Brian Battistone (USA) l (2) Eric Butorac (USA)/ Travis Rettenmaier (USA) 16 76(11) (7)10

Good performance after last 4 weeks disappointment for Harsh and Brian ... This week they scored 2 super tie-break victories and lost against eventual champion pair in super tie-break.

Badminton News
At $120K Yonex Sunrise India Open 2009, Hyderabad (GP Gold)

[QF] (2) Saina NEHWAL (IND,9) l (5) Julia Pei Xian WONG (MAS,15) 21-12 13-21 18-21

[QF] (3) Jwala GUTTA (IND)/ Shruti KURIAN (IND) bt Chiou Hwee HAW (MAS)/ Yujia LI (SIN) 21-19 21-16
[SF] (3) Jwala GUTTA (IND)/ Shruti KURIAN (IND) l Vita MARISSA (INA)/ Nadya MELATI (INA) 17-21 9-21

[QF] (2) Diju VALIYAVEETIL (IND)/ Jwala GUTTA (IND) bt Tao JIAMING (CHN)/ Xiaoli WANG (CHN) 21-13 21-13
[SF] (2) Diju VALIYAVEETIL (IND)/ Jwala GUTTA (IND) bt Jien Guo ONG (MAS)/ Sook Chin CHONG (MAS) 21-19 21-19

[F] (2) Diju VALIYAVEETIL (IND)/ Jwala GUTTA (IND) vs (3) Flandy LIMPELE (INA)/ Vita MARISSA (INA)

And with Saina's loss our challenge ended in singles ... After winning first game easily Saina played very error-prone game ... She did too many silly mistakes near net.

Jwala and Shruti performed as per their ranking but lost their semis very easily against unranked Indonasian team.

Diju and Jwala also performed as per their ranking to reach final ... They r showing very consistent performance now interesting to see if they lift only title for Indians in India Open.

Football News
At I-League 2008/09 - 27th March

Chirag United dw Dempo 0-0
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28th March
JCT dw Mohun Bagan 1-1

Goal Scored - Amandeep Singh (JCT) 81' and NS Manju (MB) 10'
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Sporting Clube de Goa dw Mahindra United 2-2

Goal Scored - Elijah Obagbemiro Junior (SCG) 28' (P), 77' and Chidi Edeh (MU) 35' (P), Djidjia Douhou Pierre (MU) 53'
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Air-India dw Churchill Brothers 1-1

Goal Scored - Emmanuel Ovieghara (AI) 89' and Felix Chimaokwu (CB) 45+'

Air men scored lae goal to managed draw against leagu leader.

Chess News
Amber Chess Tournament 2009, Nice

Thursday 26 March - Round XI

Blind
Wang Yue - Viswanathan Anand ½ - ½

Rapid
Viswanathan Anand - Wang Yue 1 - 0

As expected Levon Aronian won title after drawing his last games against Topalov with 14 pts ... Anand scored victory in Rapid against Chinese GM Wang Yue playing with white pieces ... Kramnik joined Anand to tied for 2nd place after beating Peter Leko 2-0 to take his tally to 13½ pts ... Other hand Carlsen drew his match against Radjabov after losing Blindfold he scored victory in Rapid.

Tennis News
At $50K Khorat Challenger, Thailand

[QF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt Purav Raja (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) 46 63 13(11)

[SF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs Harel Levy (ISR)/ Noam Okun (ISR)

Nice match for Ashutosh and Purav, if these guys stick together they can be a good pair.

Now Rohan and Aisam should pull title win this week ... They r facing tricky and experienced Israeli pair in semis.

Badminton News
At $120K Yonex Sunrise India Open 2009, Hyderabad (GP Gold)

[R2] Thulasi P.C (IND,UNR) l (6) Yu HIRAYAMA (JPN,31) 11-21 18-21
[R2] Sampada SAHASTRABUDDHE (IND,213) l Beiwen ZHANG (SIN,113) 18-21 17-21
[R2] (Q) Ashwini PONNAPPA (IND,UNR) l (5) Julia Pei Xian WONG (MAS,15) 16-21 16-21
[R2] (2) Saina NEHWAL (IND,9) bt Hung Yung CHAN (HKG,284) 21-8 21-8

[R2] (Q) Sai Praneeth B. (IND)/ Pranav CHOPRA (IND) l (5) Joko RIYADI (INA)/ Candra WIJAYA (INA) 12-21 6-21
[R2] (4) Rupesh KUMAR (IND)/ Sanave THOMAS (IND) l Zhiben CHEN (CHN)/ Tao JIAMING (CHN) 19-21 18-21
[R2] Akshay DIWALKAR (IND)/ Jishnu SANYAL (IND) l (7) Chung Chiat KHOO (MAS)/ Soon Hock ONG (MAS) 18-21 18-21

[R2] (3) Jwala GUTTA (IND)/ Shruti KURIAN (IND) bt Pradnya GADRE (IND)/ Prajakta SAWANT (IND) 21-15 19-21 21-15

[R2] (2) Diju VALIYAVEETIL (IND)/ Jwala GUTTA (IND) bt Xiaolong LIU (CHN)/ Jinhua TANG (CHN) 21-10 21-15
[R2] Mohita SACHDEV (IND)/ Tanveer GILL (IND) l Tantowi AHMAD (INA)/ Puspita Richi DILI (INA) 3-21 6-21

[R3] (16) Anand PAWAR (IND,47) l Long CHEN (CHN,147) 12-21 12-21
[R3] (13) Anup SRIDHAR (IND,48) l Chun Seang TAN (MAS,73) 21-9 19-21 18-21
[R3] (9) Arvind BHAT (IND,28) l (2) Taufik HIDAYAT (INA,7) 14-21 11-21

[QF] (2) Saina NEHWAL (IND,9) vs (5) Julia Pei Xian WONG (MAS,15)

[QF] (3) Jwala GUTTA (IND)/ Shruti KURIAN (IND) vs Chiou Hwee HAW (MAS)/ Yujia LI (SIN)

[QF] (2) Diju VALIYAVEETIL (IND)/ Jwala GUTTA (IND) vs Tao JIAMING (CHN)/ Xiaoli WANG (CHN)

Very disappointing stuff from our singles shuttlers, only Saina managed to reach quarters ... In MXD Diju and Jwala scored good victory against Chinese pair.

Its really sad to see that our players fialing to take advantage of home tournaments.

Tennis News
At $4.5M Miami Masters, FL, USA

[R1] (WC) Sania Mirza (IND,100) l Mathilde Johansson (FRA,65) 61 67(2)

Doubles
[R1] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) vs Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)/ Juan Monaco (ARG)
[R1] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Mark Knowles (BAH) vs Julien Benneteau (FRA)/ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)

As per stat very weird match ... Sania won first set easily but then Mathilde Johansson matches Sania's game ... She won second set in tie break ... Third set also went to tie break where both players had match points on their serves but atlast Mathilde Johansson converted it to won this match in 2 hours 22 mins ... In this match Sania broke Mathilde Johansson's serve 11 times and Mathilde Johansson broke Sania's serve 8 times ... Mathilde Johansson also had 18 double faults in this match ... In total Sania won 109 pts and Mathilde Johansson won 106 pts ... After looking at stats of so many service breaks and double faults it was clear both players struggled to adjust windy condition at stadium.
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Chess News
Amber Chess Tournament 2009, Nice

Tuesday 25 March - Round X

Blind
Viswanathan Anand - Alexander Morozevich 0 - 1

Rapid
Alexander Morozevich - Viswanathan Anand ½ - ½

Levon Aronian take sole lead with full point after Anand and Carlsen lost their respective matches ½-1½ pts ... Anand lost his blindfold game against Morozevich due to a classical blindfold error.

From Report -
The blindfold game between Anand and Alexander Morozevich ended dramatically when Anand dropped his queen due to a classical error. In the position after Black’s 24th move, 24...Nd5, Anand started his calculations with 25.Nxd5 cxd5 26.Qxd5 and in his mind he went many moves deeper. But when he finally had taken his decision he assumed that he had already executed the first move of his plan and moved his queen to d5. When he saw the answer 25...cxd5 he understood what had happened and resigned.

So now before last round Levon Aronian is leading with 13 pts ... Anand and Carlsen r on 2nd position with 12 pts and Kramnik is ½ pt behind them.

Tennis News
At $4.5M Miami Masters, FL, USA

[R1] (WC) Yuki Bhambri (IND,1147) l Diego Junqueira (ARG,73) 46 36

Yuki started match with serving ... Diego broke Yuki's serve in 3rd game and then both hold their serve until 9th game ... Until this Yuki only managed to win 2 points on Diego's serve ... But in 10th game Yuki had 3 break point chances on Diego's serve but he failed to convert ... So Diego won first set in 36 mins with a single break.

Yuki started badly in second set as his serve got broken in first game ... Bur Yuki had different idea he broken Diego Junqueira's serve on luv to make it 1-all ... Then immediately Diego Junqueira again broke Yuki's serve in third game to take initiative ... In 5th game Yuki saved break point before holding his serve ... In 8th game Yuki created 3 break point chances but again failed to convert those ... And in next game Diego again broke Yuki's serve to finished match in 1 hour 16 minutes.

Decent Match considering his first match in Masters and that also against top-75 player.

Match Stats
1st serve %- 71% for DJ, 52 % for Yuki
1st serve points won - 68% for DJ , 62 % for Yuki
2nd serve points won - 65 % for DJ , 48 % for Yuki
No aces for either players.1 double fault for DJ, 6 for Yuki
Breakpoints comnverted - 4 out of 8 for DJ, 1 out of 7 for Yuki.
Total points won - DJ 68, Yuki 55

Badminton News
At $120K Yonex Sunrise India Open 2009, Hyderabad (GP Gold)

[R2] GURUSAI DATT R.M.V (IND,159) l Long CHEN (CHN,147) 17-21 16-21
[R2] (16) Anand PAWAR (IND,47) bt Kai WEN (CHN,84) 21-15 19-21 21-16
[R2] Abhimanyu SINGH (IND,257) l (8) Tsuen Seng LEE (MAS,21) 16-21 10-21
[R2] (3) Chetan ANAND (IND,12) l Wenlong ZHOU (CHN,216) 9-21 24-22 8-21
[R2] Mohit KAMAT (IND,UNR) l (5) Andre Kurniawan TEDJONO (INA,20) 21-11 8-21 10-21
[R2] TANISHAK K (IND,UNR) l Tommy SUGIARTO (INA,54) 18-21 10-21
[R2] DINESH T (IND,UNR) l (7) Sairul Amar AYOB (MAS,26) 15-21 10-21
[R2] (13) Anup SRIDHAR (IND,48) bt Anushuman HAZARIKA (IND,UNR) 21-8 21-8
[R2] Rohan CASTELINO (IND,206) l Beng Hong KUAN (MAS,41) 16-21 8-21
[R2] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,UNR) l Yanbo QIU (CHN,87) 20-22 12-21
[R2] (9) Arvind BHAT (IND,28) bt Yong Zhao Ashton CHEN (SIN,255) 21-10 21-12

[R1] Komala DEWI (INA)/ Debby SUSANTO (INA) bt Dhanya NAIR (IND)/ Anita OHLAN (IND) 21-8 21-17
[R1] Marylen Poau Leng NG (MAS)/ Khe Wei WOON (MAS) bt Meenakshi NAIR (IND)/ Mohita SACHDEV (IND) 21-8 21-7
[R1] Wai Chee KOON (MAS)/ Kwan Yi MONG (MAS) bt Manisha K. (IND)/ Sindhu P.V. (IND) 21-13 21-7
[R1] Chiou Hwee HAW (MAS)/ Yujia LI (SIN) bt Thulasi P.C (IND)/ Siki REDDY (IND) 21-14 21-5
[R1] Jo NOVITA (INA)/ Endang NURSUGIANTI (INA) bt Ashwini PONNAPPA (IND)/ Nitya SOSALE (IND) 21-23 21-15 21-18
[R1] Yu HIRAYAMA (JPN)/ Ayaka TAKAHASHI (JPN) bt Kalita ANAJALI (IND)/ Jyotshna POLAVARAPU (IND) 21-18 21-17
[R1] (4) Laura CHOINET (FRA)/ Weny RAHMAWATI (FRA) bt Radhika K. REDDY (IND)/ Deepti SHALINI (IND) 21-2 21-7
[R1] Jinhua TANG (CHN)/ Huan XIA (CHN) bt Aparna BALAN (IND)/ MEENAKSHI B R (IND) 21-13 21-9

[R1] (1) Tan Fook CHOONG (MAS)/ Wan Wah LEE (MAS) bt Vinayak N.N (IND)/ Vinay Kumar K. REDDY (IND) 21-10 21-23 21-7
[R1] (8) Naoki KAWAMAE (JPN)/ Shoji SATO (JPN) bt Alwin FRANCIS (IND)/ Sanker GOPAN (IND) 21-10 21-9
[R1] Tian LI (CHN)/ Ye SHEN (CHN) bt (Q) GURUPRASAD D (IND)/ Vineeth MANUEL (IND) 21-12 21-14
[R1] (4) Rupesh KUMAR (IND)/ Sanave THOMAS (IND) bt Mohd Lutfi Zaim ABDUL KHALID (MAS)/ Kok Siang TEO (MAS) 23-21 21-17
[R1] Zhiben CHEN (CHN)/ Tao JIAMING (CHN) bt (Q) Jayan JAMES (IND)/ Hersen K.S (IND) 23-21 21-16
[R1] (Q) Sai Praneeth B. (IND)/ Pranav CHOPRA (IND) bt DINESH T (IND)/ Kieran KUMAR (IND) 21-12 21-13
[R1] Wei Shem GOH (MAS)/ Jien Guo ONG (MAS) bt Jaseel P ISMAIL (IND)/ VIDYADHAR J B S (IND) 21-11 21-9
[R1] Alvent Yulianto CHANDRA (INA)/ Hendra Aprida GUNAWAN (INA) bt Anup SRIDHAR (IND)/ Diju VALIYAVEETIL (IND) 21-15 21-7
[R1] Akshay DIWALKAR (IND)/ Jishnu SANYAL (IND) bt (Q) Bennett ANTHONY (IND)/ Suraj P.H (IND) 21-14 17-21 22-20
[R1] (7) Chung Chiat KHOO (MAS)/ Soon Hock ONG (MAS) bt Tarun KONA (IND)/ Arun VISHANU (IND) 21-16 21-17

[R3] (16) Anand PAWAR (IND,47) vs Long CHEN (CHN,147)
[R3] (13) Anup SRIDHAR (IND,48) vs Chun Seang TAN (MAS,73)
[R3] (9) Arvind BHAT (IND,28) vs (2) Taufik HIDAYAT (INA,7)

[R2] (Q) Sai Praneeth B. (IND)/ Pranav CHOPRA (IND) vs (5) Joko RIYADI (INA)/ Candra WIJAYA (INA)
[R2] (4) Rupesh KUMAR (IND)/ Sanave THOMAS (IND) vs Zhiben CHEN (CHN)/ Tao JIAMING (CHN)
[R2] Akshay DIWALKAR (IND)/ Jishnu SANYAL (IND) vs (7) Chung Chiat KHOO (MAS)/ Soon Hock ONG (MAS)

Chetan's inconsistent performance in important tournaments continues ... :-( But as expected 3 A s, Anand, Anup and Arvind, moved into third round.

Expected poor performance in ladies doubles.

Tennis News
At $50K Khorat Challenger, Thailand

[R2] Rajeev Ram (USA,203) bt Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS,196) 75 63
[QF] Rajeev Ram (USA,203) vs (SE) Noam Okun (ISR,347)

Doubles
[QF] Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Izak Van Der Merwe (RSA) l (2) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS)/ Dmitri Sitak (RUS) 46 36

So with this Som will move back to US and work on adding new tools to his game in training ... Rajjev more to quarters in singles.

Badminton News
At $120K Yonex Sunrise India Open 2009, Hyderabad (GP Gold)

[R1] (1) Hongyan PI (FRA,4) bt Trupti MURGUNDE (IND,145) 21-18 21-18
[R1] Shixian WANG (CHN,UNR) bt Neha PANDIT (IND,100) 21-13 21-11
[R1] Wen CHENG (CHN,UNR) bt Aditi MUTATKAR (IND,38) 14-21 21-7 21-7
[R1] (3) Mew Choo WONG (MAS,19) bt (Q) Arundhati PANTAWANE (IND,UNR) 16-21 21-13 21-19
[R1] Kwan Yi MONG (HKG,79) bt Siki REDDY (IND,UNR) 21-19 21-15
[R1] (6) Yu HIRAYAMA (JPN,31) bt Kalita ANAJALI (IND,UNR) 21-15 21-15
[R1] Thulasi P.C (IND,UNR) bt (Q) CHITRALEKHA (IND,UNR) 21-13 19-21 21-16
[R1] Uchida SHIZUKA (JPN,129) bt (Q) Aparna BALAN (IND,UNR) 13-21 21-17 21-14
[R1] Sampada SAHASTRABUDDHE (IND,213) bt Dhanya NAIR (IND,UNR) 21-18 22-20
[R1] (Q) Ashwini PONNAPPA (IND,UNR) bt Mingtian FU (SIN,49) 23-21 21-14
[R1] (5) Julia Pei Xian WONG (MAS,15) bt Sayali GOKHALE (IND,UNR) 21-15 21-23 21-14
[R1] Hung Yung CHAN (HKG,284) bt Mudra DAHINJE (IND,UNR) 14-21 21-5 21-19
[R1] (2) Saina NEHWAL (IND,9) bt Chew Yen Daphne NG (MAS,UNR) 21-6 21-10

[R2] Thulasi P.C (IND,UNR) vs (6) Yu HIRAYAMA (JPN,31)
[R2] Sampada SAHASTRABUDDHE (IND,213) vs Beiwen ZHANG (SIN,113)
[R2] (Q) Ashwini PONNAPPA (IND,UNR) vs (5) Julia Pei Xian WONG (MAS,15)
[R2] (2) Saina NEHWAL (IND,9) vs Hung Yung CHAN (HKG,284)

Qualifier Arundhati Pantawane and our current nationak champion Sayali Gokhale produced creditable fighting performance against world top-20 Malayasian players ... Another qualifier Ashwini Ponnappa went one step ahead and upset top-50 Singaporean player in first round ... Aditi failed to produce winning comeback after her very long injury break against unranked Chinese opponent ... Saina scored easy win to move into next round.

Badminton News
At $120K Yonex Sunrise India Open 2009, Hyderabad (GP Gold)

[R1] GURUSAI DATT R.M.V (IND,159) bt Brice LEVERDEZ (FRA,50) 21-16 21-11
[R1] (16) Anand PAWAR (IND,47) bt Venkatesh PRASAD (IND,UNR) 21-6 21-13
[R1] (8) Tsuen Seng LEE (MAS,21) bt VIDYADHAR J B S (IND,168) 21-15 21-14
[R1] Abhimanyu SINGH (IND,257) bt Yun Lung CHAN (HKG,218) 21-18 15-21 21-13
[R1] Muhammad Roslin HASHIM (MAS,70) bt Sashidhar C.M. (IND,UNR) 21-15 21-11
[R1] Daren LIEW (MAS,79) bt Sourabh VERMA (IND,285) W/O
[R1] (3) Chetan ANAND (IND,12) bt Chong Chieh LOK (MAS,222) 14-21 21-9 22-20
[R1] Wenlong ZHOU (CHN,216) bt Srujan NANDALURI (IND,UNR) 21-18 21-16
[R1] (10) Muhammad Hafiz HASHIM (MAS,32) bt B.Sumeeth REDDY (IND,UNR) 21-11 21-12
[R1] (5) Andre Kurniawan TEDJONO (INA,20) bt Nigel DSA (IND,UNR) 21-8 21-8
[R1] Mohit KAMAT (IND,UNR) bt Abhijeet NAIMPALLY (IND,UNR) 22-20 21-12
[R1] (14) Wei Feng CHONG (MAS,43) bt Utsav MISHRA (IND,UNR) 21-12 21-11
[R1] Kwong Beng CHAN (MAS,156) bt Saurav KAPOOR (IND,UNR) 21-14 21-9
[R1] TANISHAK K (IND,UNR) bt Mathieu LO YING PING (FRA,71) 21-15 21-11
[R1] Tommy SUGIARTO (INA,54) bt (15) KASHYAP P (IND,44) 21-17 17-21 21-14
[R1] DINESH T (IND,UNR) bt Rohit MORE (IND,UNR) 21-19 21-16
[R1] (7) Sairul Amar AYOB (MAS,26) bt Sachin RATTI (IND,UNR) 21-10 21-11
[R1] Anushuman HAZARIKA (IND,UNR) bt Jagadish YADAV (IND,UNR) 21-17 21-14
[R1] (13) Anup SRIDHAR (IND,48) bt Sachin Kumar RANA (IND,UNR) 21-3 21-7
[R1] Chun Seang TAN (MAS,73) bt Thomas KURIAN (IND,UNR) 21-16 21-19
[R1] Rohan CASTELINO (IND,206) bt Ajay Kumar K (IND,UNR) 21-10 21-12
[R1] Beng Hong KUAN (MAS,41) bt Oscar BANSAL (IND,UNR) 21-19 21-1
[R1] Yanbo QIU (CHN,87) bt Vinay Kumar K. REDDY (IND,358) 21-18 21-18
[R1] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,UNR) bt Wee Chung PEI (MAS,103) 21-18 21-5
[R1] Yong Zhao Ashton CHEN (SIN,255) bt Sagar CHOPDA (IND,UNR) 21-16 21-17
[R1] (9) Arvind BHAT (IND,28) bt Pengyu DU (CHN,154) 21-19 7-21 21-13
[R1] (2) Taufik HIDAYAT (INA,7) bt Nandagopal K. (IND,UNR) 21-8 21-13

[R1] Mohita SACHDEV (IND)/ Tanveer GILL (IND) bt Indra MEHATA (NEP)/ Pooja SHRESTHA (NEP) W/O
[R1] Hendri Kurniawan SAPUTRA (SIN)/ Yu Yan Vanessa NEO (SIN) bt Arun VISHANU (IND)/ Aparna BALAN (IND) 21-17 21-18
[R1] Khim Wah LIM (MAS)/ Marylen Poau Leng NG (MAS) bt Jayan JAMES (IND)/ Deepti PRIYADARSHINI (IND) 21-13 21-15
[R1] Muhammad RIJAL (INA)/ Debby SUSANTO (INA) bt Alwin FRANCIS (IND)/ Jyotshna POLAVARAPU (IND) 21-11 21-16
[R1] Zhiben CHEN (CHN)/ Jinkang ZHANG (CHN) bt Pranav CHOPRA (IND)/ Pradnya GADRE (IND) 21-9 21-6
[R1] (2) Diju VALIYAVEETIL (IND)/ Jwala GUTTA (IND) Bye

In first round youngsters Gurusai Datt, Sai Praneeth and Tanishak scored upset win ... Gurusai Datt defeated top French shuttler WR #50 Leverdez, Sai Praneeth defeated Malyasian shuttler WR #103 Wee Chung Pie and Tanishak defeated second number French shuttler WR #71 Mathieu Ping ... But Kashyap, who was making comeback after long injury break, against Indonasian shuttler Sugiarto ... Expected losses in MXD.

In second round Gurusai Datt facing Chinese Long Chen, who upset Malayasian WR #1 Chong Wei Lee in first round.

Chess News
Amber Chess Tournament 2009, Nice

Tuesday 24 March - Round VIII

Blind
Veselin Topalov - Viswanathan Anand ½ - ½

Rapid
Viswanathan Anand - Veselin Topalov ½ - ½

In 9th round Anand faced his next World Championship match opponent, Veselin Topalov ... This much anticipated match ended in a 1-1 tie that allowed Levon Aronian, who defeated Alexander Morozevich 1½-½ and Magnus Carlsen, who defeated Sergey Karjakin 1½-½, to draw level with Anand in the combined standings with 11½ pts.

Now last 2 rounds r remaining, today Anand meeting Russian GM Alexander Morozevich and in last round he is facing Chinese GM Wang Yue.
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Tennis News
At $50K Jersey Challenger, Channel Islands

[R1] Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Brian Battistone (USA) bt (4) Olivier Charrone (FRA)/ Nicolas Tourte (FRA) 36 63 10(4)

[QF] Harsh Mankad (IND)/ Brian Battistone (USA) vs Fritz Wolmarans (RSA)/ Michael Yani (USA)

Atlast win for this pair, that also against seeded French pair ... Good to see they won in super tie-break ... This win was due as this pair lost too many close matches.
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At $4.5M Miami Masters, FL, USA

[R1] Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)/ Sania Mirza (IND) vs Iveta Benesova (CZE)/ Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE)

Sania again partnering Taiwani player, they r facing Czech pair in first round.

Tennis News
At $4.5M Miami Masters, FL, USA

[R1] (WC) Yuki Bhambri (IND,1147) vs Diego Junqueira (ARG,73)

[R1] (WC) Sania Mirza (IND,100) vs Mathilde Johansson (FRA,65)

Yuki having great opportunity to play against top-100 player that also in masters event ... His opponent is clay court specialist and only plays on clay so I m hoping for some miracle here ... If he manage to create biggest upset of his small career then he can meet Andy Roddick in second round.

As expected Sania slide in her ranking, but good news is hence onwards Sania can only go upwards as she is not defending any points until June, Birmingham tournament ... And after that also not much points to defend.

Here she is facing French woman and if she manage to beat her then she will face WR No. 2 Dinara Safina in second round.
------------------------------------------------------------
At $50K Khorat Challenger, Thailand

[R1] (7) Somdev Devvarman (IND,150) l Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS,196) 57 36

[R2] Rajeev Ram (USA,203) vs Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS,196)

Doubles
[R1] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt (WC) Pongsatorn Benjamas (THA))/ Prach Mahathavorn (THA) 64 61
[R1] Purav Raja (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) bt Mathieu Montcourt (FRA)/ Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 63 63

[QF] Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Izak Van Der Merwe (RSA) vs (2) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS)/ Dmitri Sitak (RUS)
[QF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs Purav Raja (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND)

Somdev's disappointing performance in singles on challenger level continues ... Another first round loss, disappointing result from fans point of view ... But may be Som and his team working on developing tools in his game which help him on longterm ... C'mon Som.

As expected our doubles teams scored victories and facing eachother in quarters.

All 4 days missing updates r added in next 3 posts.

Chess News
At the FIDE Women Grand Prix, Istnbul, Turkey

Round 11 - 19 March 2009

GM SEBAG Marie 0 - 1 GM KONERU Humpy

And in thrilling finish Indian GM Koneru Humpy scored victory with black pieces in the last round but her co-leaders Chinese grandmasters couldn't win their matches ... Co-leader Zhao Xue lost her match against IM Elina Danielian playing with black pieces and other co-leader GM Hou Yifan managed only draw against her chinese compatriot WGM Shen Yang.

Final Standing FIDE Women Grand Prix 2009, Istanbul

1 GM KONERU Humpy 2621 IND 8½
2 IM DANIELIAN Elina 2496 ARM 8
3 GM HOU Yifan 2571 CHN 8
4 GM ZHAO Xue 2508 CHN 7½
5 GM SEBAG Marie 2529 FRA 6
6 IM FIERRO Baquero Martha L. 2403 ECU 5½
7 GM CRAMLING Pia 2548 SWE 5½
8 GM STEFANOVA Antoaneta 2557 BUL 5
9 GM CHIBURDANIDZE Maia 2516 GEO 5
10 WGM MAMEDJAROVA Zeinab 2362 AZE 2½
11 WGM SHEN Yang 2448 CHN 2½
12 WIM YILDIZ Betul Cemre 2214 TUR 2

GM Koneru Humpy - "First two rounds the way I played was very good. Just missed 2-3 move combination starting with the third game. Once I lost to Hou Yifan I lost my hope to win the title. I just wanted to play some good games. Overall I could not really play up to my level."
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Amber Chess Tournament 2009, Nice

WOW, what a comeback from World Champion!!!

After 4 rounds he was 7th in the standings, but in next 4 rounds he lost only 1½ pts and now he is sole leader at Amber Chess Tournament with 10½ pts ... Leading Aronian and Carlsen by ½ pt.

In 5th round Anand defeated Vasily Ivanchuk in rapid game and drawing blind game ... In 6th round he won both rapid and blind games against Teimour Radjabov ... In 7th round he joined leader Vladimir Kramnik after winning blind game and drawing rapid game against Sergey Karjakin ... But in 8th round he showed sensational performance defeating co-leader Vladimir Kramnik in blind game and drawing rapid game to take sole lead before today's break.


Sunday 22 March - Round VIII

Blind
Viswanathan Anand - Vladimir Kramnik 1 - 0

Rapid
Vladimir Kramnik - Viswanathan Anand ½ - ½

Saturday 21 March - Round VII

Blind
Sergey Karjakin - Viswanathan Anand 0 - 1

Rapid
Viswanathan Anand - Sergey Karjakin ½ - ½

Friday 20 March - Round VI

Blind
Viswanathan Anand - Teimour Radjabov 1 - 0

Rapid
Teimour Radjabov - Viswanathan Anand 0 - 1

Thursday 19 March - Round V

Blind
Vasily Ivanchuk - Viswanathan Anand ½ - ½

Rapid
Viswanathan Anand - Vasily Ivanchuk 1 - 0

Tennis News
At $50K Bangkok Challenger, Thailand

[QF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt Chris Guccione (AUS)/ Marcio Torres (BRA) 46 63 10(4)
[SF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) l (3) Michail Elgin (RUS)/ Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS) 67(4) 67(5)

Rohan and Aisam won quarters in super tie-break but tey lost semis against Russian pair in tie-breaks ... Better luck in Khorat Challenger.
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At $50K Khorat Challenger, Thailand

[R1] Prakash Amritraj (IND,188) l (1) Andreas Beck (GER,104) 57 67(3)
[R1] (7) Somdev Devvarman (IND,150) vs Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS,196)
[R1] Rajeev Ram (USA,203) bt Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA,167) 75 62

Doubles
[R1] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs (WC) Pongsatorn Benjamas (THA)/ Prach Mahathavorn (THA)
[R1] Purav Raja (IND)/ Ashutosh Singh (IND) vs Mathieu Montcourt (FRA)/ Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)
[R1] Somdev Devvarman (IND)/ Izak Van Der Merwe (RSA) bt (WC) Faris Akhazzan (GBR)/ Peerakiat Siriluethaiwattana (THA) 60 63
[R1] (2) Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) vs Paolo Lorenzi (ITA)/ Bjorn Rehnquist (SWE)

Prakash produced tremendous fighting against top-100 German player but he lost very closely fought match.

Also good doubles win for Som and his South African partner against wild card pair.
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At $50K Jersey Challenger, Channel Islands, Great Britain

[R1] BATTISTONE Brian (USA)/ MANKAD Harsh (IND) vs (4) CHARROIN Olivier (FRA)/ TOURTE Nicolas (FRA)
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At $25K Redding Tournament, CA, USA

[R2] (Q) UBEROI Shikha (IND,623) l (Q) GRANVILLE Laura (USA,UNR) 36 36

Expected loss against more talented Laura Granville, who also won this $25K Redding tournament.
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At $25K Hammond Tournament, LA, USA

[Q1] (Q) UBEROI Shikha (IND,623) l (6) SEMA Yurika (JPN,258) 26 0-3 Retd

Oops, after good performance in last week Shikha retired in her qualifying match ... Hopefully nothing serious injury.

Football News
At I-League 2008/09 - 21st March

JCT bt Sporting Clube de Goa 2-0

Goal scored - MacJames Paul (JCT) 9', Jagpreet Singh (JCT) 81'

JCT shocked 2nd place Sporting to score important victory.
------------------------------------------
22nd March
Air India bt Vasco SC

Goal Scored - Subash Singh (AI) 67'
------------------------------------------
Churchill Brothers bt East Bengal 3-1

Goal Scored - Odafe Okolie (CB) 33' & 74', Ogba Kalu (CB) 47' and Yusuf Yakubu (EB) 90+

Churchill extended their lead to 3 points after scoring easy victory against East Bengal.
------------------------------------------
Mohammedan Sporting bt Mumbai FC 2-0

Goal Scored - Stayajit Bose (MS) 14', Eugene Grey (MS) 70' P

Mohammedan Sporting scored surprising victory over Mumbai FC.
------------------------------------------
23rd March
Dempo SC bt Mahindra United 3-2

Goal Scored - Beto (DSC) 45+, Ranti Martins (DSC) 46' & 88' P, and Izumi Arata (MU) 1', Sushil Kumar Singh (MU) 66'

Izumi Arata scored fastest goal in I-League, he scored goal in 25th seconds after heading cross from Steven Dias ... But they conceded goal in first half injury time and that changed match in favor of Dempo.
------------------------------------------
Mohun Bagan bt Chirag United 2-1

Goal Scored - Marcos Pereira (MB) 44', Baichung Bhutia (MB) 79' and Snehasish Chakraborty (CU) 78'

Taking break for 4 days to njoy Goa beaches!!!

But will update soon when I will comeback on Monday night (23rd march 2009)!!!

Chess News
At the FIDE Women Grand Prix, Istnbul, Turkey

Round 10 - 18 March 2009

GM KONERU Humpy 1 - 0 GM STEFANOVA Antoaneta

Today's last round gurantee exciting finish as Koneru Humpy joined the lead with 2 Chinese girls ... Humpy scored victory against Bulgarian GM Stefanova with white pieces but leader GM Zhao Xue lost against French GM Marie Sebag, whom Humpy playing with black pieces in the last round ... And Armenian IM Elina Danielian managed draw with other Chinese GM Hou Yifan ... So now leaders r on 7½ pts ... C'mon Humpy.
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Tennis News
At $50K Bangkok Challenger, Thailand

[R2] (Q) Rohan Bopanna (IND,317) l (Q) Noam Okun (ISR,393) 64 36 36

Doubles
[QF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs Chris Guccione (AUS)/ Marcio Torres (BRA)

After winning first set Rohan lost control over the match, in second set Okun broke Rohan's serve in 7th and 9th games to captured second set ... In third set Okun broke Rohan's serve in 8th game, in 9th game Rohan saved 2 match points but Okun converted 3rd to won this match.
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At $25K Redding Tournament, CA, USA

[R1] (Q) UBEROI Shikha (IND,623) bt (WC) CHRISTIAN Kaitlyn (USA,UNR) 62 62

[R2] (Q) UBEROI Shikha (IND,623) vs (Q) GRANVILLE Laura (USA,UNR)

Expected victory for Shikha after qualifying for this tournament ... In next round she is facing another qualifier Laura Granville.

By the way Laura is also making comeback (after injury?) like Shikha on the tour ... This is her first tournament after she won $75K Midland tournament in February 2008 ... That time she was ranked in top-75 .. In 2007 she had good result like she reached Wimbledon 4th round beating Martina Hingis ... And in US open she lost in second round against Sania Mirza ... :D From 2002 to February 2008 she remained inside top-80 with singles PB #28 in 2003 and doubles PB #47 in 2007.

In my view not easy match for Shikha though she is playing well this week.

Tennis News
At $50K Bangkok Challenger, Thailand

[R1] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) bt Brydan Klein (AUS)/ Danai Udomchoke (THA) 63 64

[QF] (2) Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) l Harel Levy (ISR)/ Noam Okun (ISR) 26 46
[QF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs Chris Guccione (AUS)/ Marcio Torres (BRA)

Our top-seed pair having winning start and facing another Aussie in quarters ... Kash and Ram lost their quarter-final against Israeli players ... Rohan having good time in measuring Aussies game though in doubles.
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At $25K Redding Tournament, CA, USA

[R1] NGUYEN Kim-Anh (USA)/ UBEROI Shikha (IND) l (4) BRENGLE Madison (USA)/ EL TABAKH Heidi (CAN) 67(6) 46

Fighting performance against seeded pair.

Football News
At the AFC Cup 2009,

Group E
Al Faisaly, Jordan l Dempo SC 3-4

Goal Scored - Moayad Salim Ali Mansour (AlF) 55', Moayad Omar Suleiman Abukeshek (AlF) 72' & 75' and Clifford Miranda (DSC) 23', Anthony Pereira (DSC) 28', Ranty Martins Soleye (DSC) 43' & 70'

Dempo take 3-0 lead at half time but Al Faisaly players produced tremendous fightback and tried to score equalizer but Dempo managed to hang up their advantage to scored important victory ... This was their second voctory in 2 matches.
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Chess News
At the FIDE Women Grand Prix, Istnbul, Turkey

Round 9 - 17 March 2009

GM ZHAO Xue ½ - ½ GM KONERU Humpy

In the ninth round Xue Zhao managed to hold a difficult game against Humpy Koneru ... So Xue kept lead with ½ pt over Yifan.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Amber Chess Tournament 2009, Nice

Tuesday 17 March - Round IV

Blind
Viswanathan Anand - Levon Aronian ½ - ½

Rapid
Levon Aronian - Viswanathan Anand ½ - ½

Both games against Levon Aronian ended in a draw ... After 4 rounds Anand in on T7 position with 4 pts, he is 1½ pts behind leader Kramnik.

Tennis News
Davis Cup 2009,

For Group I Asia/Oceania 2009 third round tie from 08 May to 10 May 2009 AITA announced that Chennai will host this tie against Australia!!! This is happeneing due to Somdev's performance this year at the Chennai Open, the Nungambakkam courts will be hosting this tie ... First time in almost 30 years India will not play a David Cup home tie on grass.
------------------------------------------------------------
At $50K Bangkok Challenger, Thailand

[R1] (Q) Rohan Bopanna (IND,317) bt Rajeev Ram (USA,206) 63 76(6)
[R1] Prakash Amritraj (IND,192) l Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA,164) 36 26
[R1] (8) Somdev Devvarman (IND,150) l Martin Slanar (AUT,275) 36 64 46

[R2] (Q) Rohan Bopanna (IND,317) vs (Q) Noam Okun (ISR,393)

Rohan scored huge much needed upset win over Ram ... Rohan requires as much singles practice before our Davis Cup Australian tie and he is showing good form this week after qualifying for this challenger.

But disappointing performance by Som and Kash .. Kash had tough match but wasn't expecting such easy loss ... Som had good draw but he again failed to take advantage of it.
------------------------------------------------------------
At $35K+H Citta' Di Caltanissetta Challenger, Caltanissetta, Italy, (Clay)

[R1] (1) Brian Battistone (USA)/ Harsh Mankad (IND) l Matwe Middelkoop (NED)/ Antonio Veic (CRO) 46 60 (5)10

And this was 4th consecutive loss without win after starting playing together ... Another super tie-break loss ... Its really heart-breaking.
------------------------------------------------------------
At $25K Redding Tournament, CA, USA

[Q1] (11) UBEROI Shikha (IND,623) bt LIVADARU Anna (GER,UNR) 61 75
[Q2] (11) UBEROI Shikha (IND,623) bt (4) RODIONOVA Arina (RUS,308) 64 63

[R1] (Q) UBEROI Shikha (IND,623) vs (WC) CHRISTIAN Kaitlyn (USA,UNR)

Doubles
[R1] NGUYEN Kim-Anh (USA)/ UBEROI Shikha (IND) vs (4) BRENGLE Madison (USA)/ EL TABAKH Heidi (CAN)

After longtime Shikha won back to back matches to qualify for maindraw ... That;s also scoring win against higher seed ... C'mon Shikha.
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Football News
At the AFC Cup 2009,

Group D

Mohun Bagan l Al Weehdat, Jordan 1-2

Goal Scored - Rakesh Masih (MB) 13' and Mahmoud Shelbayah (AlW) 16', Hassan Abdel Fattah (AlW0 43'

So with 2 defeats in 2 matches is making tough task for Mohun Bagan to move into next round ... Mohun Bagan tried hard in second half to equaliser but they didn't manage in the end.

Tennis News
At $4.5M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R2] (3) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) l MIRNYI Max (BLR)/ RAM Andy (ISR) 67(2) 46
[R2] (4) DLOUHY Lukas (CZE)/ PAES Leander (IND) l DEL POTRO Juan Martin (ARG)/ NALBANDIAN David (ARG) 67(6) 67(5)

In disappointing matches our both seeded pair lost in second round of this Masters event ... Lee and Lukas lost both sets in tie-break against Argentines ... Mahehs and Mark lost against Mad Max and his current partner Ram in straight sets.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chess News
At the FIDE Women Grand Prix, Istnbul, Turkey

Round 8 - 16 March 2009

GM KONERU Humpy 1 - 0 WGM MAMEDJAROVA Zeinab

Humpy scored expected victory against Mamedjarova with white pieces ... Zhao Xue scored upset win over leader Hou Yifan to take lead ... She is on 7 pts, Yifan is on 6½ pts and Humpy on 6 pts ... In next 9th round Humpy is playing against leader Zhao Xue with black pieces.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Amber Chess Tournament 2009, Nice

Saturday 14 March - Round I
Blind
Vishwanathan Anand - Peter Leko 1 - 0

Rapid
Peter Leko - Vishwanathan Anand 0 - 1

Sunday 15 March - Round II
Blind
Gata Kamsky - Vishwanathan Anand ½ - ½

Rapid
Vishwanathan Anand - Gata Kamsky 1 - 0

Monday 16 March - Round III
Blind
Vishwanathan Anand - Magnus Carlsen 0 - 1

Rapid
Magnus Carlsen - Vishwanathan Anand ½ - ½

Anand struggling in this edition of Amber tournament ... In third round he lost against Carlsen with black pieces in Blind and managed draw in Rapid.

Tennis News
At $50K Bangkok Challenger, Thailand

[Q3] Rohan Bopanna (IND,317) bt Ti Chen (TPE,363) 62 61

[R1] Rajeev Ram (USA,206) vs (Q) Rohan Bopanna (IND,317)

Doubles
[R1] (2) Prakash Amritraj (IND)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) bt (WC) Kirati Siributwong (THA)/ Peerakit Siributwong (THA) 64 61
[R1] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) vs Brydan Klein (AUS)/ Danai Udomchoke (THA)

Rohan scored very dominating victory against Ti Chen to move into maindraw ... But their he is facing tough challenge of Rajeev Ram, both having similar style of game so this match would be interesting.

Rohan and Aisam r back together as a pair for 2 weeks Thai challengers, they r top-seed ... Prakash and Rajeev r also together as 2nd seed pair and they started with win against local wild card pair.

Golf News
At $8.5M the WGC-CA Championship, Doral, Florida - Final Standing

1 Phil Mickelson 65 66 69 69 -19 $ 1,400,000.00
2 Nick Watney 66 67 67 70 -18 $ 820,000.00
3 Jim Furyk 68 68 69 67 -16 $ 470,000.00
4 Jeev Milkha Singh 65 71 68 70 -14 $ 360,000.00
T5 Camilo Villegas 67 68 69 71 -13 $ 275,000.00
T9 Kenny Perry 70 64 71 72 -11 $ 142,500.00
T9 Tiger Woods 71 70 68 68 -11 $ 142,500.00
T13 Prayad Marksaeng 65 70 72 71 -10 $ 97,142.86
T13 Ian Poulter 69 67 73 69 -10 $ 97,142.86
T13 Sean O'Hair 67 70 74 67 -10 $ 97,142.86
T20 Ernie Els 70 71 68 70 -9 $ 80,142.86
T20 Padraig Harrington 66 71 71 71 -9 $ 80,142.86
T31 Sergio Garcia 72 72 68 70 -6 $ 68,500.00
T53 Vijay Singh 69 72 71 74 -2 $ 46,000.00
T66 Retief Goosen 65 76 73 76 +2 $ 38,125.00

Jeev scored 2 under in the final round to finish inside top-5 in WGC-CA Championship ... This was Jeev's best finish on US soil and in WGC tournament ... Good to see Jeev take advantage of first good round for strong finish ... This finish also help Jeev to break into top-30 World Golf Ranking, he climbs to his personal best and Indian best ranking, WGR #29.

On last day Jeev started with birdie but then he had bogey-birdie combination on 4 and 5th holes ... Another 2 times he had birdie-bogey combinations on 7th-8th and 12th-14th holes but birdie on 16th hole secured him sole 4th position.

Golf News
At the WGC-CA Championship, Doral, Florida - Round 2

T1 Phil Mickelson 65 66 69 -16
T1 Nick Watney 66 67 67 -16
T3 Camilo Villegas 67 68 69 -12
T3 Jeev Milkha Singh 65 71 68 -12
T5 Jim Furyk 68 68 69 -11
T5 Kenny Perry 70 64 71 -11
T13 Prayad Marksaeng 65 70 72 -9
18 Padraig Harrington 66 71 71 -8
T19 Ian Poulter 69 67 73 -7
T19 Tiger Woods 71 70 68 -7
T19 Ernie Els 70 71 68 -7
T30 Sean O'Hair 67 70 74 -5
T38 Sergio Garcia 72 72 68 -4
T38 Vijay Singh 69 72 71 -4
T54 Retief Goosen 65 76 73 -2

Another mixed round for Jeev but 2 eagles on 1st and 12th holes helped him ... He also had 3 bogeys on 3rd, 5th and Par-5 10th holes ... But also managed birdies on 4th, 7th and 15th holes ... This 4 under round helped him to lift to T3 position 4 strokes behind leader ... Another such last round would help im to finish inside top-5 on final day ... Go Jeev.

Tennis News
At $4.5M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R2] (WC) MIRZA Sania (IND,87) l (12) PENNETTA Flavia (ITA,15) 36 46

Doubles
[R1] (4) DLOUHY Lukas (CZE)/ PAES Leander (IND) bt KNOWLE Julian (AUT)/ MELZER Jurgen (AUT) 64 36 10(8)

[R2] (4) DLOUHY Lukas (CZE)/ PAES Leander (IND) vs DEL POTRO Juan Martin (ARG)/ NALBANDIAN David (ARG)

Sania's this loss was expected after her first round struggle ... In new ranking she will again out of top-100 as last year here she reached in 4th round.

Good super tie-break victory for Lee and Lukas against tricky experienced Austrian pair ... In second round they r facing another tricky Argentine Davis Cup team.
------------------------------------------------------------
At $50K Bangkok Challenger, Thailand

[Q2] Rohan Bopanna (IND,317) bt (WC) Filip Krajinovic (SRB,526) 61 62

[Q3] Rohan Bopanna (IND,317) vs Ti Chen (TPE,363)

[R1] Prakash Amritraj (IND,192) vs Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA,164)
[R1] (8) Somdev Devvarman (IND,150) vs Martin Slanar (AUT,275)

Another easy victory for Rohan against wild-carder ... But now having important match against Taiwani experienced Davis Cupper.
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Chess News
At the FIDE Women Grand Prix, Istnbul, Turkey

Round 7 - 14 March 2009

GM HOU Yifan 1 - 0 GM KONERU Humpy

Hou Yifan defeated Koneru with white pieces to take decisive lead over her ... She is leading by 1½ pts over her with 6½ pts from 7 rounds.

Football News
At I-League 2008/09 - 14th March

Air India l Mahindra United 1-3

Goal scored - Chidi Edeh (MU) 24'& 30', Sushil Kumar (MU) 56' and Kailash Patil (AI) 90'

Mahindra continued with their winning ways to move into standings.
------------------------------------------
Vasco SC l Mohammedan Sporting 0-1

Goal Scored - Suroj Mondal (MS) 19'
------------------------------------------
15th March
Mumbai FC l Churchill Brothers 2-3

Goal Scored - Anees Kutty (MFC) 15', Robert Lalthlamuana (CB) OG 84' and Robert Lalthlamuana (CB) 27' & 56', Odafa (CB) 85'

Churchill's Robert Lalthlamuana did all scored 2 goals with excellent free-kicks but also scored own goal but Odafa saved Churchill and with this win they again leading league standings with39 pts.
------------------------------------------
Sporting Clube de Goa dw East Bengal 1-1

Goal Scored - Joseph Pereira (SCG) 64' and Ishmael (EB) 42'

Sporting managed draw with East Bengal through Pereira's goal ... Sporting also has 39 pts but they are placed second in the league standing on the basis of goal difference.

Golf News
At the WGC-CA Championship, Doral, Florida - Round 2

1 Phil Mickelson 65 66 -13
T3 Kenny Perry 70 64 -10
T5 Prayad Marksaeng 65 70 -9
T5 Camilo Villegas 67 68 -9
T8 Jim Furyk 68 68 -8
T8 Ian Poulter 69 67 -8
T8 Jeev Milkha Singh 65 71 -8
T15 Padraig Harrington 66 71 -7
T15 Sean O'Hair 67 70 -7
T35 Vijay Singh 69 72 -3
T35 Ernie Els 70 71 -3
T35 Tiger Woods 71 70 -3
T35 Retief Goosen 65 76 -3
T58 Sergio Garcia 72 72 E

Jeev had veery mixed second round, he was 5 under for the day after 12 holes but then he scored back to back bogeys on 13th and 14th holes ... Managed birdie on 16th hole but again scored bogey on 17th hole ... But worst came on last hole where he scored double bogey to end day on 1 under ... He need 65/66 third round to remain in top group.

Tennis News
At $4.5M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] CHUANG Chia-Jung (TPE)/ MIRZA Sania (IND) l DULKO Gisela (ARG)/ PEER Shahar (ISR) 16 46

[R1] (3) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) bt KUNITSYN Igor (RUS)/ TURSUNOV Dmitry (RUS) 75 63

Mahesh and Mark scored straight sets victory over tricky Russian pair to move into second round ... But Sania with Taiwanian Chuang lost cheaply in first round.
------------------------------------------------------------
At $50K Bangkok Challenger, Thailand

[Q1] (8) Rohan Bopanna (IND,317) bt Faris Akhazzan (GBR,UNR) 63 62

Expected easy victory for Rohan against unranked opponent.
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Chess News
At the FIDE Women Grand Prix, Istnbul, Turkey

Round 6 - 13 March 2009

GM KONERU Humpy 1 - 0 GM CHIBURDANIDZE Maia

Humpy scored victory with white pieces against Georgian GM Maia Chiburdanidz ... So after 6 round Chinese GM Hou Yifan still leading by ½ pt ... In 7th round Humpy is facing leader GM Hou Yifan with black pieces.

Badminton News
At $200K Wilson Swiss Super Series 2009, Basel

[QF] Saina Nehwal (IND,9) l (3) Lan Lu (CHN,3) 21-18 8-21 17-21

Lan Lu started well taking early lead but Saina kept fighting and made it 9-all ... Again Lan Lu take 16-13 lead but again Saina fought back to 16-all ... And then from 17-all she first-time in the game take lead and won first game ... In second game Lan Lu started strongly taking 0-5 1-7 2-10 4-14 lead to won seecond game 8-21 ... In this game Saina had lot many unforced errors ... Third game started well as both players trying their best, Saina played lot control game than previous game and take early lead 9-6 but Lu fought back to 9-8 ... They changed side when Saina leading 11-8 ... Then Saina runaway to 14-9 lead but again Lu fought back to make it 14-12 ... Thei cat and mouse game continued after Saina taking 17-13 lead Lu crawled back to 17-all and then winning match with consecutive 8 points ... Very hearbreaking loss after leading by 4 points in third game in crucial stage ... Saina missed to score historic win against Chinese top shuttler in this 53 minutes match.

On 12th March 2009 updated list Saina is ranked WR No. 9, her personal best till now.
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Squash News
At $8K NSC Series #3 2009, Kuala Lumpur

[R1] (7) Joshna Chinappa (IND,35) bt Joelle King (NZL,44) 12-10 5-11 11-8 2-11 11-5 (33m)
[R1] Dipika Pallikal (IND,49) l (3) Donna Urquhart (AUS,28) 3-11 11-7 11-3 4-11 7-11 (44m)

[QF] (7) Joshna Chinappa (IND,35) bt (3) Donna Urquhart (AUS,28) 5-11 12-10 10-12 11-8 11-6 (30m)

[SF] (7) Joshna Chinappa (IND,35) l (1) Lauren Briggs (ENG,20) 9-11 10-12 2-11 (33m)

Dipika's fought valiantly against top-30 player but lost in close 5 games.

Though Joshna struggled to 5 games in winning first match but she again upset higher seeded opponent in quarters, who defeated Dipika in first round ... She gave her best in first 2 games against top-seed before losing in semis.

Badminton News
At $200K Wilson Swiss Super Series 2009, Basel

[R2] Chetan Anand (IND,13) l Yu Hsin Hsieh (TPE,19) 21-9 20-22 17-21
[R2] Saina Nehwal (IND,10) bt (6) Lin Zhu (CHN,7) 22-20 11-21 21-11

[R2] Saina Nehwal (IND)/ Anna Rice (CAN) l (2) Eei Hui Chin (MAS)/ Pei Tty Wong (MAS) 16-21 12-21

[QF] Saina Nehwal (IND,10) vs (3) Lan Lu (CHN,3)

Super win by Saina against WR #7 Chinese opponent in 56 mins battle ... In first game Saina was in cotrol after 9-all but Lin won 3 consecutive points from 19-16 to make 19-all .. Saina controlled her nerve to won first game in extra points ... In second game Lin won 10 consecutive points from 11-all to capture second game easily ... In third game Saina take control from 3-all to lead 10-4 and then never gave any chance to Lin for comeback in to the match ... In quarters she is facing another Chinese opponent WR # 3 Lan Lu.

Another loss for Chetan after winning first game easily ... In second game Chetan was doing catching game as Yu Hsin Hsieh take early lead and Yu won game in extra points ... Third game also went same way, Chetan couldn't manage to came out of Yu hold and lost match in 48 mins.
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Golf News
At the WGC-CA Championship, Doral, Florida
T1 Jeev Milkha Singh 65 -7
T1 Retief Goosen 65 -7
T1 Prayad Marksaeng 65 -7
T1 Phil Mickelson 65 -7
T5 Padraig Harrington 66 -6
T9 Camilo Villegas 67 -5
T9 Sean O'Hair 67 -5
T14 Jim Furyk 68 -4
T17 Vijay Singh 69 -3
T17 Ian Poulter 69 -3
T27 Ernie Els 70 -2
T27 Kenny Perry 70 -2
T40 Tiger Woods 71 -1
T54 Sergio Garcia 72 E

Amazing round by Jeev to lead after first round ... He started from back 9 scoring a birdie on first hole but had bogey on next round ... Jeev had some different plan from hole 15 to 5th hole (on front 9) he scored 7 birdies in those 9 holes to joined lead ... He is in company of 2 major champions Retief Goosen and Phil Mickelson with another Asian Thai Prayad Marksaeng.

Jeev Milkha Singh - "It gives me a lot of confidence. It gives me the trust that I can do well at the world stage. I've won on every tour, nearly, in the world. I've won in Europe, I've won in Asia, I've won in Japan. It would be nice to win in the U.S., too."

“I hit the ball pretty well and I think it comes down to putting at the end of the day. I rolled it well so I am pretty pleased with the 65. Honestly, I love this golf course! I think it suits my eye."

Tennis News
At $4.5M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] (WC) MIRZA Sania (IND,87) bt KORYTTSEVA Mariya (UKR,96) 26 63 62

[R2] (WC) MIRZA Sania (IND,87) vs (12) PENNETTA Flavia (ITA,15)

In the first set Sania had horrible stat ... Sania could only managed to get 40% of the 1st serves in and won just 20% of those points ... But interestingly she won 60% of the points on her second serve ... Then Sania managed to improver 1st serve percentage and scored comeback victory in the match which she should won easily ... Now Italian Flavia Pennetta in second round.
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At $35K+H Kyoto Challenger, Japan

[QF] (2) AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND) l (WC) SATO Bumpei (JPN)/ TAKEUCHI Kento (JPN) 64 16 (6)10

After winning first round against local pair Amritraj cousins lost quarters against another local pair in super tie-break.
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At the $15K France F15, Lille

[QF] (1) BATTISTONE Brian (USA)/ MANKAD Harsh (IND) l CRACIUN Teodor-Dacian (ROU)/ IONITA Victor (ROU) 76(4) 67(4) (9)11

This pair isn't working out as they hoped ... They r still searching for their first win as pair.
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Chess News
At the FIDE Women Grand Prix, Istnbul, Turkey

Round 5 - 12 March 2009

IM Martha Fierro 0 - 1 GM KONERU Humpy

After rest day Humpy came back to her winning way, in 5th round she defeated last round co-leader Ecuadorian IM Martha Fierro playing with black pieces ... Chinese GM Yifan Hou still lead by ½ pt with 4½ pts after 5 rounds.

Badminton News
At $200K Wilson Swiss Super Series 2009, Basel

[R1] (Q) Anup Sridhar (IND,42) l Jan O Jorgensen (DEN,32) 22-20 10-21 13-21
[R1] Chetan Anand (IND,13) bt (8) Przemyslaw Wacha (POL,9) 21-9 21-16
[R1] Arvind Bhat (IND,26) l (2) Dan Lin (CHN,2) 21-19 -17-21 -16-21

[R1] Saina Nehwal (IND,10) bt Youn Joo Bae (KOR,37) 21-6 21-17

[R1] Saina Nehwal (IND)/ Anna Rice (CAN) bt Sabrina Jaquet (SUI)/ Huwaina Razi (SUI) 21-10 21-18

[R2] Chetan Anand (IND,13) vs Yu Hsin Hsieh (TPE,19)
[R2] Saina Nehwal (IND,10) vs (6) Lin Zhu (CHN,7)

[R2] Saina Nehwal (IND)/ Anna Rice (CAN) vs (2) Eei Hui Chin (MAS)/ Pei Tty Wong (MAS)

Chetan scored very dominating win against WR #9 in 26 mins .. He didn't give any chance to his opponent to fight back.

Saina also scored easy victory against Korean opponents in 29 mins ... She also started with win in doubles with her Canadian partner in 33 mins ... But in second round she is facing WR #7 Zhu in singles and WR #1 Malayasian pair in doubles.

Very impressive performance by Arvind against Dan Lin ... After winning first game Arvind was leading 10-6 in second game but Dan Lin won next 6 points to take lead ... Arvind again caught him at 16-all but then Dan controlled the match to win it in 1 hour.
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At $4.5M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] (3) BHUPATHI Mahesh (IND)/ KNOWLES Mark (BAH) vs KUNITSYN Igor (RUS)/ TURSUNOV Dmitry (RUS)
[R1] (4) DLOUHY Lukas (CZE)/ PAES Leander (IND) vs KNOWLE Julian (AUT)/ MELZER Jurgen (AUT)

Indian Wells Masters series draw is out ... Mahesh and Mark r 3rd seed, they r in top draw with top-seed Bryans ... In first round they r facing Russian pair, they lost their last match at Dubai Open against Dima and Rik De Voest ... This time they r facing Dima with different partner ... Lee and Lukas r 4th seed, they r in bottom draw with Nestor and Zimo ... In first round they r facing tricky experienced Austrian pair.

Badminton News
At $200K Wilson Swiss Super Series 2009, Basel

[Q1] (2) Anup Sridhar (IND,42) bt Stefan Wojcikiewicz (CAN,61) 21-13 21-10
[Q1] (4) Anand Pawar (IND,47) l Kestutis Navickas (LTU,53) 10-21 19-21

[Q2] (2) Anup Sridhar (IND,42) bt Scott Evans (IRL,54) 10-21 21-14 21-17

[R1] (Q) Anup Sridhar (IND,42) vs Jan O Jorgensen (DEN,32)

After Anand's performance in All England gave hope he perform better here but he lost in straight games against Kestutis Navickas ... Anup started wel with easy victory against Canadian but in final qualifying round he had late start ... He managed to win after losing first game.
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Chess News
At the FIDE Women Grand Prix, Istnbul, Turkey

Round 4 - 10 March 2009

GM KONERU Humpy ½ - ½ WGM Shen Yang

With another draw Humpy is on tied 3rd position ½ pt behind leaders Hou Yifan and Martha Fierro ... So now after today's rest day Humpy need to comeback in her winning ways.
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Football News
At the AFC Cup 2009,

Group E
Dempo SC bt Al Maged, Syria 1-0

Goal Scored - Ranty Martin (DSC) 25'

Dempo played excellent attacking game which was missing in I-League against Syrian side to start with victory in the AFC Cup.

Tennis News
At $4.5M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] (WC) MIRZA Sania (IND,87) vs KORYTTSEVA Mariya (UKR,96)

Doubles
[R1] CHUANG Chia-Jung (TPE)/ MIRZA Sania (IND) vs DULKO Gisela (ARG)/ PEER Shahar (ISR)

Here Sania defending heck of ranking points, exactly 130 pts due to last year's 4th round appearence ... So now interesting to see how she perform this year, early exit find her again outside top-100.
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At $35K+H Kyoto Challenger, Japan

[R1] (4) AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND,192) l MITSUHASHI Junn (JPN,337) 67(5) 76(2) 36

Doubles
[QF] (2) AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND) vs (WC) SATO Bumpei (JPN)/ TAKEUCHI Kento (JPN)

Another unnecessary loss in singles for Kash against 19 yrs old Japanese opponent.
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At the $15K France F15, Lille

[R1] (1) BATTISTONE Brian (USA)/ MANKAD Harsh (IND) BYE

Good to see that these guys r playing futures ... As they need more match practice to succeed as pair on challenger level.
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Chess News
At the FIDE Women Grand Prix, Istnbul, Turkey

Round 3 - 9 March 2009

WIM Betül Cemre Yildiz ½-½ GM KONERU Humpy

Disappointing result for Humpy to drew her match against lowly ranked local girl.
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Badminton News
At $200K Wilson Swiss Super Series 2009, Basel

[Q1] (2) Anup Sridhar (IND,42) vs Stefan Wojcikiewicz (CAN,61)
[Q1] (4) Anand Pawar (IND,47) vs Kestutis Navickas (LTU,53)

[R1] Chetan Anand (IND,13) vs (8) Przemyslaw Wacha (POL,9)
[R1] Arvind Bhat (IND,26) vs (2) Dan Lin (CHN,2)
[R1] Saina Nehwal (IND,10) vs Youn Joo Bae (KOR,37)

[R1] Saina Nehwal (IND)/ Anna Rice (CAN) vs Sabrina Jaquet (SUI)/ Huwaina Razi (SUI)

This week our players playing at Basel in super series event ... As usual tough draw .. :-) But Saina having winnable first round match but can meet 6th seed Chinese opponent in second round.

Chess News
At the FIDE Women Grand Prix 2009, Istnbul, Turkey

The Turkish Chess Federation in collaboration with FIDE and Global Chess is organising the first event for the new Women Grand Prix series 2009/2010 ... This is the first time that such a series is being organised and is a significant development for the chess world ... This will be one of the strongest women tournaments of all times and it is important to point out that there are three ex-world Champions taking part.

Participants in Istanbul 2009

1 GM Koneru Humpy IND 2621
2 GM Hou Yifan CHN 2571
3 GM Antoaneta Stefanova BUL 2557
4 GM Pia Cramling SWE 2548
5 GM Marie Sebag FRA 2529
6 GM Maia Chiburdanidze GEO 2516
7 GM Zhao Xue CHN 2508
8 IM Elina Danielian ARM 2496
9 WGM Shen Yang CHN 2448
10 IM Martha Fierro ECU 2403
11 WGM Zeinab Mamedjarova AZE 2362
12 WIM Betül Cemre Yıldız TUR 2214

Round 1 - 7 March 2009

GM CRAMLING Pia 0-1 GM KONERU Humpy

Round 2 - 8 March 2009

GM KONERU Humpy 1-0 IM DANIELIAN Elina

Humpy having great start winning first 2 games playing with black and white pieces, she is sole leader after 2 rounds ... In third round she is facing local player with black pieces.
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Tennis News
At $35K+H Kyoto Challenger, Japan

[R1] (4) AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND,192) vs MITSUHASHI Junn (JPN,337)

Doubles
[R1] (2) AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ AMRITRAJ Stephen (IND) bt KONDO Hiroki (JPN)/ MATSUI Toshihide (JPN) 57 75 10(5)

Good win against experienced Japanese pair in super tie-break for seeded Amritraj cousin.

Tennis News
At Davis Cup Group I Asia/Oceania 2009, Chinese Taipei, Kaohsiung

India bt Chinese Taipei 3-2

Fourth Rubber
Somdev Devvarman (IND,150) bt Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,59) 61 62 63

Fifth Rubber
Rohan Bopanna (IND,320) l Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE,498) 36 76(6) 67(5)

GREAT SOMI IS BACKKKKKKKKKK!!! Som make me eat my words and I m really happy about that ... :-) He tamed WR #59 and Asia's #1 in straight sets victory ... Undoubtfully Somdev has arrived on the Davis Cup stage!!!

Som started match with holding his serve ... First 3 service games went as per serve and then Som broke Lu's serve converting 3rd break point on 4th game ... Holding his serve in 5th game Som again broke Lu's serve in 6th game and then hold his service game on luv to win the first set.

In second set Lu started with holding his serve and then Som saved 2 break points before holding his serve ... Again after 2-all Som broke Lu's serve in 5th game ... Then after holding his serve Som again broke Lu's serve at 15 in 7th game ... After that Som served for second set and hold easily at 15 to won it.

In third set Som started with breaking Lu's serve after duece but first time he losse focus in the match and lost his serve at 15, first break of his serve in the match ... In 3rd game Lu saved 5 break points before holding his serve ... After holding his serve at 15 Som again break Lu's serve on 2nd break point to lead 3-2 ... Som hold in 6th game after saving 3 break pooints ... Then Lu hold at 30 to make it 4-3 ... Som hold his serve with nice serving at 30 to lead 5-3 ... And broke Lu's serve on 30 to scored biggest upset win abroad by an Indian in Davis Cup since Lee beat Arnaud Boetsch in Frejus in 1993.

In last dead rubber Rohan lost against 17 yrs old Yang, who is current junior French Open and top junior player of 2008 ... Still this was winnable match for Rohan, this loss shows his lack of singles practice before tie ... I really wish he practices singles before our May home tie against Australia.

Golf News
At the Singha Thailand Open - Final Standing


1 Jyoti RANDHAWA 68 68 62 65 -17 $79,250.00
T4 S.S.P. CHOWRASIA 66 62 70 69 -13 $22,575.00
T6 Daniel CHOPRA 67 69 69 63 -12 $15,750.00
T10 Himmat RAI 65 72 68 65 -10 $ 7,744.44
T10 Gaganjeet BHULLAR 64 66 71 69 -10 $ 7,744.44
T19 Anirban LAHIRI 68 67 72 64 - 9 $ 5,866.67
T32 Shiv KAPUR 69 68 68 69 - 6 $ 3,850.00
64 Amandeep JOHL 67 69 72 75 + 3 $ 1,400.00
T66 Digvijay SINGH 63 73 76 76 + 8 $ 1,275.00

Jyoti Randhawa played excellent control round to become the first Indian to lift the Singha Thailand Open King's Trophy. But first round leader Digvijay Singh ended on last place.

Jyoti Randhawa - "The way the course was set up and the way it was playing, I thought I could shoot some low numbers and I did that the last two days and I'm glad I did it."
"That's the mantra now, I need to relax a bit and chill out. You don't practice and work hard during tournaments. You do it before that. I came here, I swam, I went scuba diving and I enjoyed myself. And here I am, I've won a golf tournament. I learned a lot and I think I need to do this more often."
"The two boys (Davies and Chowrasia) got me going. They were on my heels the whole day. S.S.P. made an eagle on the first hole and I needed to wake up and do something and luckily I did. It was good competition."
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Chess News
At XXVI Linares 2009, Spain (Avg. rating 2755) - from February 19th to March 7th 2009

Round 14 - Saturday, 7 March 2009

Teimour Radjabov ½-½ Wang Yue
Leinier Domínguez ½-½ Ivanchuk Vassily
Levon Aronian ½-½ Grischuk Alexander
Viswanathan Anand ½-½ Carlsen Magnus

All four games of the last round were drawn, so Vassily Ivanchuk and Alexander Grischuk ended on top with 8.0 points but Grischuk won title on better tie-break ... Third was Magnus Carlsen and Anand ended on fourth position with 4 points.

Tennis News
At Davis Cup Group I Asia/Oceania 2009, Chinese Taipei, Kaohsiung

India vs Chinese Taipei 2-1

Third Rubber
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE)/ Chu-Huan Yi (TPE) 64 76(0) 67(4) 62

Surprisingly tough match for seasoned pair of Lee and Hesh ... Frankly the way Taiwanese fought here in doubles is going to boost their players morale and tomorrow they will come out with all guns blazing in reverese singles ... From recent form of players it looks like tie will may come down on last match between Rohan and Ti Chen ... Rohan having advantage in it as he is leading 2-0 head to head against Chen but Davis cup is a different cup of tea and with all crowd support Chen can do anything ... Hoping before that Somdev will pull off special performance to beat Lu.

Chess News
At XXVI Linares 2009, Spain (Avg. rating 2755) - from February 19th to March 7th 2009

Round 13 - Friday, 6 March 2009

Magnus Carlsen ½-½ Teimour Radjabov
Alexander Grischuk ½-½ Viswanathan Anand
Vassily Ivanchuk 1-0 Levon Aronian
Wang Yue ½-½ Leinier Domínguez

Anand managed draw from difficult position against Alexander Grischuk ... Vassily Ivanchuk joined Grischuk in a lead when he defeated Levon Aronian ... Magnus Carlsen spoilt big chance of winning the game, in end he maanged to a draw.

Tennis News
At Davis Cup Group I Asia/Oceania 2009, Chinese Taipei, Kaohsiung

India vs Chinese Taipei 1-1

First Rubber
Somdev Devvarman (IND,150) bt Ti Chen (TPE,365) 75 64 64

Second Rubber
Rohan Bopanna (IND,320) l Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,59) 67 26 26

Som started well breaking Chen's serve in third game but Chen broke immediately in next game to make it 2-all ... Som saved a set point on 4-5, Som broke Chen's serve in 11th game and hold it next game to won first set ... In second set Som broke Chen's serve in 5th and 7th games, but while serving for the set at 5-2 Chen broke Som's serve on luv ... Som hold his serve in 10th game to won second set ... In third set Som again started breaking Chen's serve in 3rd game but again lost his serve in next game ... But Som grabbed another break to win set and match ... This is Som'd first Davis Cup victory ... Congratulation Som and knowing many more will follow!!!

Som played his usual backside of the court game ... As usual he was waiting for opponent to make mistake ... He need to add killer shots in his arsenal to finish point early, without this his entry into top-100 will be more difficult.

In second rubber Bops lost first set in tie-break against Lu ... After that Lu dominated the match breaking Rohan's serve twice in 2nd and 3rd set ... In second set Lu broke Bops serve in the 1st anf 5th game to won it 6-2 ... In third st Lu broke Rohan's serve in 3rd and 7th games ... Disappointing stuff from Rohan.

So after first day India and Taiwan tied 1-1.

Football News
At I-League 2008/09 - 5th March

Sporting Clube de Goa bt Dempo SC 2-1

Goal scored - Nathaniel Amos (SCG) 42', Joseph Pereira (SCG) 65' and Peter Carvalho (DSC) 18'
Sporting recaptured lead in I-League after scoring comeback victory against defending champion Dempo in well contested match.
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6th March
Mahindra United bt East Bengal 2-1

Goal Scored - Chidi Edeh (MU) 53' P & 70' P and Sunil Chhetri (EB) 50'

Mahindra United scored their rare back to back victories of this season ... East Bengal take early lead in second half but lost due to needless challenges inside the box that conceded two penalties which converted by reliable Chidi Edeh.
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7th March
Mohammedan Sporting dw Chirag United 2-2

Goal Scored - Suroj Mondal (MS) 58', Mike Okoro (MS) 79' and Subair Muritala (CU) 17', Shankar Oraon (CU) 75'
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JCT dw Air India 1-1

Goal Scored - Eduardo (JCT) 90+' and Gouranga Biswas (AI) 26'

JCT managed to hold Airmen with injury time goal.
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8th March
Vasco SC l Mumbai FC 1-2

Goal Scored - Shehzod Nazarov (VSC) 6' P and Abhishek Yadav (MFC) 10', Kulothungan (MFC) 89'

Mumbai FC managed away win in dying minutes, win was more important considering last 15 minutes they played with 10 men as their goal-keeper Kalyan Chaubey red carded due to harsh tackle.

Badminton News
At $200K Yonex All England Open Super Series 2009, Birmingham

[R2] Diju Valiyaveetil (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) l (2) Yong Dae Lee (KOR)/ Hyo Jung Lee (KOR) 23-21 20-22 14-21

Very close loss against WR #2 Korean team for Diju and Jwala in 48 mins match ... In first game Korean were leading by couple of points from beginning until 14-17 but then our pair made it 17-all and won this game after saving 2 game points ... In second game our pair take 5-1 lead but Korean catched them at 7-all ... This time also Koreans were leading 14-17, again our pair won next 3 poits but Koreans kept pressure taking 17-19 lead ... Our pair fought back making 19-all but Koreans converted 2nd game point to win this crucial game ... In third game Koreans were in control from the start taking 3-11 lead but our pair tried comeback winning next 8 points to make 11-all ... After 14-all Korean pair didn't give any chance to our pair to won consecutive 7 points to win this match.
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Chess News
At XXVI Linares 2009, Spain (Avg. rating 2755) - from February 19th to March 7th 2009

Round 12 - Thursday, 5 March 2009

Teimour Radjabov ½-½ Leinier Domínguez
Levon Aronian ½-½ Wang Yue
Viswanathan Anand ½-½ Vassily Ivanchuk
Magnus Carlsen 1-0 Alexander Grischuk

Another draw for Anand with white pieces against Vassily Ivanchuk ... In other match Magnus Carlsen defeated leader Alexander Grischuk with white pieces ... With this victory Carlsen joined Vassily Ivanchuk in the second place just half a point behind Grischuk.

Tennis News
At Davis Cup Group I Asia/Oceania 2009, Chinese Taipei, Kaohsiung

First Rubber
Somdev Devvarman (IND,150) vs Ti Chen (TPE,365)

Second Rubber
Rohan Bopanna (IND,320) vs Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,59)

Third Rubber
Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE)/ Chu-Huan Yi (TPE)

Fourth Rubber
Somdev Devvarman (IND,150) vs Yen-Hsun Lu (TPE,59)

Fifth Rubber
Rohan Bopanna (IND,320) vs Ti Chen (TPE,365)

So as per lot tomorrow Som will be playing first rubber ... As per ranking Som should win but I m little tentative about his performance due to his recent form and lack of match practice ... But if Som gives winning start then Rohan can put more pressure on Lu in second rubber ... Go India.

Badminton News
At $200K Yonex All England Open Super Series 2009, Birmingham

[R1] Chetan Anand (IND,13) l Andrew Smith (ENG,21) 21-6 17-21 12-21
[R1] Arvind Bhat (IND,27) l (Q) Weijie Gong (CHN,63) 19-21 20-22
[R1] (Q) Anand Pawar (IND,46) l (5) Sony Dwi Kuncoro (INA,5) 20-22 15-21
[R1] (Q) Anup Sridhar (IND,50) l (2) Dan Lin (CHN,2) 13-21 14-21

[R1] Saina Nehwal (IND,10) l (4) Hongyan Pi (FRA,4) 15-21 16-21

[R1] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) l Chiou Hwee Haw (MAS)/ Pek Siah Lim (MAS) 9-21 21-19 18-21

[R1] Diju Valiyaveetil (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) bt (Q) Johannes Schoettler (GER)/ Birgit Overzier (GER) 16-21 21-18 21-12

[R2] Diju Valiyaveetil (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) vs (2) Yong Dae Lee (KOR)/ Hyo Jung Lee (KOR)

Saina lost her match in 34 mins, this loss was expeted after her almost 4 weeks injury break due to shoulder injury ... In the first game Saina showing fighting game after down 6-10 to won next 6 points to lead 12-10 but after that Pi take control to won first game ... Second game was on even until Saina leading 14-13 but again Pi controlled last important points to finished match in 2 straight games.

Anand lost his match against WR #5 Sony in 36 mins but he laso produced fighting performance ... In first game Anand was doing chasing to catch Sony but he take crucial lead winning 5 points from 13-16 down to first time take a lead ... Anand also had 2 game points at 20-18 but Sony won next 4 points to capture first game ... In second game Sony was in the control from the start and didn't give any chance to Anand.

Disappointing result for Chetan to lose match in 36 minutes ... After losing first game easily Smith played well and didn't give small opportunity to Chetan to fightback ... Lost opportunity to move deep into All England Open for Chetan after decent draw.

Arvind tried best against Chinese qualifier but that wasn't enough and lost match in 39 mins ... In the first game Gong controlled from the start, Arvind tried comeback winning 3 points from 16-20 down but Gong captured crucial point to won first game ... Second game was evenly fought at one time Arvind was leading 17-13 but Gong won next 5 points and won match second game in extra points.

Anup didn't produce much fight against WR #2 Dan Lin in 31 mins match.

Jwala and Shruti tried comeback after losing first game but Malaysian pair take decider to finish match in 41 mins.

So only our MXD pair of Diju and Jwala managed to cross first round hurdle in well fought match ... After losing first game to German qualifiers they won crucial close second game but in third they dominated opponentes to won match in 39 mins ... In second round they r facing WR #2 Korean pair.
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Tennis News
At $15K USA F6,

[R1] (JE) BHAMBRI Yuki (IND,1150) l (4) COOK Lester (USA,367) 46 26

This was learning experience against former top-300 player for Yuki.

Badminton News
At $200K Yonex All England Open Super Series 2009, Birmingham

[Q1] Anand Pawar (IND,46) bt (1) Carl Baxter (ENG,35) 18-21 21-17 23-21
[Q1] (3) Anup Sridhar (IND,50) bt Beng Hong Kuan (MAS,48) 21-12 12-21 21-19

[Q1] Chetan Anand (IND)/ Diju Valiyaveetil (IND) l Marcus Ellis (ENG)/ Robin Middleton (ENG) 21-17 17-21 17-21

[Q2] Anand Pawar (IND,46) bt Scott Evans (IRL,55) 21-6 20-22 21-12
[Q2] (3) Anup Sridhar (IND,50) bt Wei Feng Chong (MAS,53) 21-11 21-18

[R1] (2) Chetan Anand (IND,13) vs Andrew Smith (ENG,21)
[R1] Arvind Bhat (IND,27) vs (Q) Weijie Gong (CHN,63)
[R1] (Q) Anand Pawar (IND,46) vs (5) Sony Dwi Kuncoro (INA,5)
[R1] (Q) Anup Sridhar (IND,50) vs (2) Dan Lin (CHN,2)

[R1] Saina Nehwal (IND,10) vs (4) Hongyan Pi (FRA,4)

[R1] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) vs Chiou Hwee Haw (MAS)/ Pek Siah Lim (MAS)

[R1] Diju Valiyaveetil (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) vs (Q) Johannes Schoettler (GER)/ Birgit Overzier (GER)

In the first qualifying match Anand played excellent game to score hard fought win against British No. 2 Carl Baxter in 52 minutes ... In third game Anand was doing chasing all the time, he was down 4-8 in the begining but he won next 5 points to lead 9-8 ... Then again Baxter take 15-18 lead but Anand didn't lose hope and make it 18-all and then converted 2nd match point ... In second match also Anand stretched to 3 games but he was in control.

Anup also stretched to 3 games in the first match but in second match he scored comfortable win.

Our both qualifiers having very tough first round against WR #2 and #5 respectively ... Arvind also having tough match against Chinese player though he is qualifier, Gong last week defeated Chetan Anand in quarters to reached the final of German Open GP.
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Chess News
At XXVI Linares 2009, Spain (Avg. rating 2755) - from February 19th to March 7th 2009

Round 11 - Tuesday, 3 March 2009

Alexander Grischuk ½-½ Teimour Radjabov
Vassily Ivanchuk ½-½ Magnus Carlsen
Wang Yue ½-½ Viswanathan Anand
Leinier Domínguez ½-½ Levon Aronian

Today again Anand managed draw against Wang Yue in unspectacular game ... All other games also ended in the draw.

Tennis News
At $125K+H Bergamo Challenger, Italy

[R1] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND)/ EVANS Brendan (USA) l (1) BRUNSTROM Johan (SWE)/ ROJER Jean-Julien (AHO) 57 26

Early end of week for Kash after his doubles first round loss.
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At $50K Cherbourg Challenger, France

[R1] (1) BATTISTONE Brian (USA)/ MANKAD Harsh (IND) l MONTCOURT Mathieu (FRA)/ SIDORENKO Alexandre (FRA) 46 63 (7)10

This week I was hoping better performance from this pair but another disappoint.
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At $15K USA F6,

[R1] BHAMBRI Yuki (IND)/ WANG Yu Jr. (CHN) l (2) COOK Lester (USA)/ LA PORTE Shane (USA) 26 46

Expected loss but as we already know that transition to mens tour will not be easy ... Lets see how he perform against Cook in the singles.

Badminton News
At $200K Yonex All England Open Super Series 2009, Birmingham

[Q1] Anand Pawar (IND,46) vs (1) Carl Baxter (ENG,35)
[Q1] (3) Anup Sridhar (IND,50) vs Beng Hong Kuan (MAS,48)

[Q1] Chetan Anand (IND)/ Diju Valiyaveetil (IND) vs Marcus Ellis (ENG)/ Robin Middleton (ENG)

[R1] (2) Chetan Anand (IND,13) vs Andrew Smith (ENG,21)
[R1] Arvind Bhat (IND,27) vs Qualifier

[R1] Saina Nehwal (IND,10) vs (4) Hongyan Pi (FRA,4)

[R1] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Shruti Kurian (IND) vs Chiou Hwee Haw (MAS)/ Pek Siah Lim (MAS)

[R1] Diju Valiyaveetil (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) vs Qualifier

Saina Nehwal is playing her first tournament after 4 weeks shoulder injury break and again she is having cruel draw facing WR #4 Hongyan Pi in the first round ... difficult first match after 4 weeks injury break.

Chetan and Arvind also qualified for maindraw ... Anup and Anand r playing in qualifying ... Also Chetan playing with Diju in doubles qualifying.

Also Jwala and Shruti qualified for womens doubles ... And expectedly Diju-Jwala playing MXD maindraw.
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Tennis News
At $125K+H Bergamo Challenger, Italy

[R1] AMRITRAJ Prakash (IND,193) l DORSCH Benedikt (GER,156) 67(5) 36

Very close match with only one break of serve in the complete match ... In the first set Kash had 3 set points at 6-5 but failed to convert ... Tough loss where Kash had decent chance of winning this.
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At $15K USA F6,

[R1] (JE) BHAMBRI Yuki (IND,1150) vs (4) COOK Lester (USA,367)

Doubles
[R1] BHAMBRI Yuki (IND)/ WANG Yu Jr. (CHN) vs (2) COOK Lester (USA)/ LA PORTE Shane (USA)

Yuki using junior exemption for this US futures .. Good decision by him as next week he is playing Miami Masters qualifying so playing this tough futures help him to judge his performance.