Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Chess News

At FIDE World Women's Chess Championship 2015, Sochi, Russia

[SF-M3] Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492) 0-1 Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) 1-2
[SF-M4] Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) 0-1 Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492) 2-2

[SF-M5] Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492) ½-½ Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) 2½-2½
[SF-M6] Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) 1-0 Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492) 2½-3½

With Harika's loss in the semis against Mariya Muzychuk, Indian challenge get over from World Women's championship ... Mariya Muzychuk defeated her in sixth game (Blitz game) ... Before that in first Rapid game Mariya defeated Harika with Black to lead 2-1 but Harika responded in next game beating Mariya with Black, 2-all ... In first Blitz game Mariya hold Harika with Black and then took crucial victory in next Blitz game playing with White.

Tennis News

At $5.38M Miami Open, USA

[QF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)/ Arina Rodionova (AUS) 62 64

[SF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs (7) Timea Babos (HUN)/ Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)

They r in the semis with another straight sets win over Rodionova sis ... And facing 7th seed pairing.
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At $100K+H Le Gosier Challenger, Guadeloupe

[R1] (4) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Bjorn Fratangelo (USA)/ Mitchell Krueger (USA)

Good to see Purav is playing indifferent destination with Fabrice.
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At $50K+H San Luis Open, Mexico

[R1] (3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Marcus Daniell (NZL) vs Nils Langer (GER)/ Luca Vanni (ITA)

Tough match for Divij and Marcus considering Marcus's injury.

Chess News

At FIDE World Women's Chess Championship 2015, Sochi, Russia

[SF-M2] Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492) ½-½ Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) 1-1
[SF-M1] Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) ½-½ Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492)

In the second game Harika fail to take advantage of better position and match ended in draw ... So now winner will be decided in Rapid game.

Monday, March 30, 2015

Tennis News

At $5.38M Miami Open, USA

[R2] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/ Alicja Rosolska (POL) 76(4) 64

Sania-Martina continue with their winning form but here they were stretched by their opponents in both sets.

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Chess News

At FIDE World Women's Chess Championship 2015, Sochi, Russia

[SF-M1] Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) ½-½ Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492)

Harika hold Ukrainian girl Mariya Muzychuk with Black in first game of semi-final.

Badminton News

At $275K India Open 2015, New Delhi (Superseries)

Women's Singles Final
(1) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) bt (3) Ratchanok Intanon (THA,8) 21-16 21-14

Men's Singles Final
(2) K. Srikanth (IND,4) bt (6) Viktor Axelsen (DEN,6) 18-21 21-13 21-12

Turn to be terrific day for us as two titles for India as Saina and Srikanth both lift singles titles at Indian Superseries ... So these are first Indian superseries titles for Saina and Srikanth ... Both players win $20,625 winner cheque respectively ... And second time in Superseries tournament two singles titles for us after last year's China open, there also Saina and Srikanth were winners.

Saina gave clinical performance for winning in straight games against Ratchanok ... She always was in control and leading by minimum four points through out the match ... In the first game Ratchanok saved four game points before Saina converted fifth game point ... In the second game Ratchanok tried aggressive game but failed to show consistency ... Other hand Saina played to her strength with cross-court jabs, net game and powerful smashes to complete victory.

Srikanth won their previous meeting at Swiss open but here he started tentatively ... He made uncharacteristic errors on smashes hitting in the net or outside court ... Couple of time he made bad line judgement ... Viktor took advantage to win first game ... In the second game from start Sri took control and was leading 11-4 at side change ... He kept that lead for winning the second game ... In the third game both players were neck to neck from the start ... On side change Viktor was leading 11-9 ... From 10-12 Srikath won next 11 points for winning his second Superseries title ... In that a point at 12-all was turning point ... Srikath hit cross-court smash for winning the rallies and Viktor asked review ... Review came in Sri's favor as shuttle kisses side line ... After Victor lost his concentration and made numerous errors which helped Srikanth ... This win help Sri to come near Lin Dan for WR #3 rank ... Also in this match Srikanth one smash measure at 402 kmph.

Tennis News

At $5.38M Miami Open, USA

[R1] Raven Klaasen (RSA)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Simone Bolelli (ITA)/ Fabio Fognini (ITA) 46 26

This Italian pair having our pair number ... Another easy win for Italian pair.
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At $10K India F3 Futures, Tiruchirapalli

Singles Final
(4) N. Vijay Sundar PRASHANTH (IND,481) bt (5) Ivan GAKHOV (RUS,617) 63 36 76(8)

Doubles Final
Chandril SOOD (IND)/ Lakshit SOOD (IND) bt (1) N.Sriram BALAJI (IND)/ Ranjeet VIRALI-MURUGESAN (IND) 46 75 15-13

Terrific display of courage and big heart to lift second title in two weeks for VSP ... After losing first set Gakhov was all over VSP ... VSP was struggling returning his serve and forehands and in that VSP started struggle with stomach cramps ... VSP hold his nerve and concentrated his service games in the third and in tie-break with little something extra he won it on extra points ... So with this tile win VSP will break inside top-400.

At last Sood brothers lift their first ITF titles ... This title was long due as they were playing well as unit but failing to keep level of game through out the tournament ... Here they won against top-seed Bala and Ranjeet after losing first set ... Importantly they kept their nerves in match tie-break which went to extra points.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Chess News

At FIDE World Women's Chess Championship 2015, Sochi, Russia

[QF-M4] Humpy Koneru (IND,2581) 0-1 Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) 1½-2½
[QF-M3] Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) ½-½ Humpy Koneru (IND,2581)

Humpy lose against Ukrainian girl Mariya Muzychuk in tie-break ... In both games Humpy was in control, first game ended in a draw ... In the second game Humpy was in control till 32 moves and then made a mistake to lose the game ... In the semis Harika is facing Ukrainian girl Mariya Muzychuk.

Badminton News

At $275K India Open 2015, New Delhi (Superseries)

[SF] (2) K. Srikanth (IND,4) bt (Q) Xue Song (CHN,43) 21-16 21-13
[SF] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) bt Yui Hashimoto (JPN,37) 21-15 21-11

[F] (2) K. Srikanth (IND,4) vs (6) Viktor Axelsen (DEN,6)
[F] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) vs (3) Ratchanok Intanon (THA,8)

Before her semi final match began Saina was sure of WR #1 in new ranking update as Carolina Marin lost her semis against Ratchanok ... Saina score dominating win over her Japanese opponent Yui Hashimoto to celebrate her new WR #1 position ... In the final she is facing talented Thai girl Ratchanok Intanon.

Srikanth also enter into the final beating Chinese qualifier in straight games ... After starting cautiously Srikanth dominated match and didn't give much chance to Xue Song with aggressive game ... In the final he is facing Danish Viktor Axelsen.

Tennis News

At $5.38M Miami Open, USA

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt (ALT) Elena Bogdan (ROU)/ Nicole Melichar (USA) 61 60

As expected Sania-Martina start with comfortable win over alternate pair of Bogdan and Melichar ... Next they r facing Canadian-Polish pair of Gabriela Dabrowski and Alicja Rosolska.

Friday, March 27, 2015

Chess News

At FIDE World Women's Chess Championship 2015, Sochi, Russia

[QF-M2] Humpy Koneru (IND,2581) 1-0 Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) 1-1
[QF-M1] Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) 1-0 Humpy Koneru (IND,2581)

[QF-M2] Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492) 1-0 Meri Arabidze (GEO,2374) 1½-½
[QF-M1] Meri Arabidze (GEO,2374) ½-½ Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492)

Humpy bounce back to beat Mariya Muzychuk with White to take this match for tie-break.

Other hand Harika beats defense of Meri Arabidze in long match to qualify for semi-final ... Other three matches are gone to tie-break.

Badminton News

At $275K India Open 2015, New Delhi (Superseries)

[QF] H. S. Prannoy (IND,17) l (6) Viktor Axelsen (DEN,6) 21-16 9-21 18-21
[QF] (2) K. Srikanth (IND,4) bt Takuma Ueda (JPN,23) 21-15 23-25 21-18
[QF] (Q) R. M. V. Gurusaidutt (IND,60) l (Q) Xue Song (CHN,43) 21-15 18-21 13-21

[QF] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) bt Hana Ramadhini (INA,77) 21-15 21-12

[SF] (2) K. Srikanth (IND,4) vs (Q) Xue Song (CHN,43)
[SF] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) vs Yui Hashimoto (JPN,37)

Saina score expected comfortable win over her Indonesian opponent Hana ... Next she is facing Japanese girl Yui Hashimoto for place in the final and becoming WR #1.

Srikanth score hard fought win over Japanese Takuma Ueda ... After winning first game Srikanth struggled against Ueda ... He missed three match points before losing second game in extra points but recovered well for winning final game in almost 80 minutes long match ... In the semis he is facing in-form Chinese qualifier Xue Song.

Guru lose to Xue Song in three games ... After winning first game Guru failed to keep momentum and lost next two games ... Same is happened with Prannoy as he also lose in three games against WR #6 Viktor Axelsen ... Prannoy started well when he won first game but he was outplayed by Viktor in second game ... In third game Prannoy tried fightback but Viktor kept his nerve on important points.

Tennis News

At $5.38M Miami Open, USA

[R1] (8) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Daniel Nestor (CAN) l John Isner (USA)/ Sam Querrey (USA) 36 67(4)

Bad start for us as Rohan-Nestor pair lose their match against big serving American pair in straight sets.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Chess News

At FIDE World Women's Chess Championship 2015, Sochi, Russia

[QF-M1] Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) 1-0 Humpy Koneru (IND,2581)
[QF-M1] Meri Arabidze (GEO,2374) ½-½ Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492)

Humpy is in trouble as Ukrainian Mariya Muzychuk beats her playing White ... Now Humpy need to win next match to take this match in tie-break ... Other hand Meri Arabidze hold Harika playing with White.

Badminton News

At $275K India Open 2015, New Delhi (Superseries)

[R2] (2) K. Srikanth (IND,4) bt Kento MOMOTA (JPN,15) 21-12 15-21 21-15
[R2] PARUPALLI Kashyap (IND,13) l XUE Song (CHN,43) 17-21 11-21
[R2] H. S. Prannoy (IND,17) bt (1) Jan O JORGENSEN (DEN,2) 18-21 21-14 21-14
[R2] R. M. V. Gurusaidutt (IND,50) bt (Q) Sameer VERMA (IND,231) 18-21 21-19 21-18

[R2] (1) Saina NEHWAL (IND,2) bt (Q) Ruthvika Shivani GADDE (IND,193) 21-16 21-17
[R2] Riya PILLAI (IND,198) l Yui HASHIMOTO (JPN,37) 6-21 14-21

[QF] H. S. Prannoy (IND,17) vs (6) Viktor Axelsen (DEN,6)
[QF] (2) K. Srikanth (IND,4) vs Takuma Ueda (JPN,23)
[QF] (Q) R. M. V. Gurusaidutt (IND,50) vs Xue Song (CHN,43)

[QF] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) vs Hana Ramadhini (INA,77)

Prannoy score huge upset win over WR #2 and top-seed Danish player Jan O Jorgensen in comeback win ... After losing the first game Prannoy scored terrific comeback to win next two games comfortably ... Next he is facing another tough challenge of top-10 Danish WR #6 Viktor Axelsen.

Srikanth take revenge of his loss at All England against Japanese opponent Kento Momota in three games ... In the quarters he is facing another Japanese challenge of Takuma Ueda.

Guru score tight win over his compatriot Sameer Verma ... Sameer was 2 points away from a win in second game, 19-all, after winning first game ... But Guru fought back to win next two points and third game ... In the quarters he is having tough challenge of Chinese Xue Song, who beats Kashyap convincingly.

Saina surprisingly stretch by Ruthvika in straight games win ... Next she is facing Indonesian girl Hana Ramadhini ... Other hand expected loss of Riya Pillai against Japanese Yui.

Before that in the first round couple of creditable wins by Indians ... Sameer Verma defeated Danish WR #9 Hans-Kristian Vittinghus in straight games ... And Guru defeated WR #30 Korean Dong Keun Lee in tight three games after saving one match point ... Our doubles pairs fail to cross second round.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Chess News

At FIDE World Women's Chess Championship 2015, Sochi, Russia

[R3-M4] Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS,2529) ½-½ Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492) 2½-1½
[R3-M3] Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492) 1-0 Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS,2529) 2-1

[QF-M1] Mariya Muzychuk (UKR,2524) vs Humpy Koneru (IND,2581)
[QF-M1] Meri Arabidze (GEO,2374) vs Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492)

Harika completes victory after winning with White in first game of tie-break and then with Black she hold Kosteniuk for entering into the quarters.

In the quarters Humpy is facing Ukrainian Muzychuk and Harika is facing Georgian Arabidze ... In first match our both players r playing with Black pieces.

Tennis News

At Miami Open, USA

[R1] (8) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Daniel Nestor (CAN) vs John Isner (USA)/ Sam Querrey (USA)
[R1] Raven Klaasen (RSA)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Simone Bolelli (ITA)/ Fabio Fognini (ITA)

Really tricky match for Lee-Raven against last week's Indian Wells runner up Italian pair against whom our pair lost in second round ... I think it is opportunity of taking revenge.

Other hand Rohan-Daniel is facing big serving American pair of Isner-Querrey.

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Chess News

At FIDE World Women's Chess Championship 2015, Sochi, Russia

[R3-M2] Alisa Galliamova (RUS,2484) 0-1 Humpy Koneru (IND,2581) 0-2
[R3-M1] Humpy Koneru (IND,2581) 1-0 Alisa Galliamova (RUS,2484)

[R3-M2] Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492) 0-1 Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS,2529) 1-1
[R3-M1] Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS,2529) 0-1 Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492)

Humpy is in the quarters with another clean win over her opponent ... Today she beats Galliamova with Black ... Other hand Harika fail to hold Kosteniuk with White so with win Kosteniuk draw their match ... Now they will need to play tie-break.

Tennis News

At Miami Open, USA

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs Marina Erakovic (NZL)/ Andrea Petkovic (GER)

Sania and Martina will try to continue with their good form and facing pairing of Erakovic and Petkovic in first round.
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At $50K ITF Women's Tournament, Quanzhou, China

[R1] Dalila JAKUPOVIC (SLO)/ Ankita RAINA (IND) l (2) Chin-Wei CHAN (TPE)/ Yi-Fan XU (CHN) 26 36

Expected loss and with that Ankita's challenge get over in this tournament.

Monday, March 23, 2015

Chess News

At FIDE World Women's Chess Championship 2015, Sochi, Russia

[R3-M1] Humpy Koneru (IND,2581) 1-0 Alisa Galliamova (RUS,2484)

[R3-M1] Alexandra Kosteniuk (RUS,2529) 0-1 Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492)

[R2-M2] Humpy Koneru (IND,2581) 1-0 Tingjie Lei (CHN,2444) 2-0
[R2-M1] Tingjie Lei (CHN,2444) 0-1 Humpy Koneru (IND,2581)

[R2-M2] Irina Krush (USA,2477) ½-½ Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492) 1-1 (Harika won 2½-1½ in tie-break)
[R2-M1] Dronavalli Harika (IND,2492) ½-½ Irina Krush (USA,2477)

[R1-M2] Ayah Moaataz (EGY) 0-1 Humpy Koneru (IND) 0-2
[R1-M1] Humpy Koneru (IND) 1-0 Ayah Moaataz (EGY)

[R1-M2] Dronavalli Harika (IND) 1-0 Tatev Abrahamyan (USA) 2-0
[R1-M1] Tatev Abrahamyan (USA) 0-1 Dronavalli Harika (IND)

[R1-M2] Mary Ann Gomes (IND,2354) ½-½ Tatiana Kosintseva (RUS,2483) 1-1 (Gomes lost in tie-break 3-4)
[R1-M1] Tatiana Kosintseva (RUS,2483) ½-½ Mary Ann Gomes (IND,2354)

Good start for Humpy and Harika in pre-quarterfinal ... Humy wins her first match with White against Russian Galliamova ... Other hand Harika beats higher ELO rating Russian opponent Kosteniuk in first match with Black ... Before that Harika needed tie-break for win in second round ... In first round Mary Ann Gomes lost close match in tie-break against Tatiana Kosintseva.

Tennis News

At $50K ITF Women's Tournament, Quanzhou, China

[Q3] (2) Ankita RAINA (IND,255) l Chieh-Yu HSU (TPE,289) 57 06

Doubles
[R1] Dalila JAKUPOVIC (SLO)/ Ankita RAINA (IND) vs (2) Chin-Wei CHAN (TPE)/ Yi-Fan XU (CHN)

Very disappointing loss of Ankita against Hsu ... In the doubles also Ankita with Dalila facing tough 2nd seed Chinese-Taipei pair.

Saturday, March 21, 2015

Tennis News

At $5.4M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA


Women's Doubles Final
(1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)/ Elena Vesnina (RUS) 63 64

Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza completed a dream first tournament together, beating Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina in straight sets to win the BNP Paribas Open doubles title ... They also didn't lose a set in this tournament.

After winning the first set Sania-Martina were 2-4 down in the second but they recovered and won next four games to complete victory in two sets.


Sania Mirza - "On paper, obviously we are supposed to be a good team, but it doesn't always turn out that way when you step on the court. So we're really happy we weren't just able to win, but win in such dominating fashion, not losing a set and being down just two times in the whole two weeks. She's one of the best people who can complement the way I play. She's got probably some of the best hands in the world at the net. For me, I need that. I need someone who can finish the balls off where I set them up. And that's really it. Like I said, on paper everything looks great, but you still have to go out there. Names don't do anything. You have to go out and win."

Martina Hingis - "This is something we were hoping for. She hits a big forehand, especially on the right side, and I can move and finish off the point. She prepares, I finish. That's pretty cool to me. I'm very happy we made this move. Obviously we had partners we played well with, like me last year with Flavia, and changing was a big move. I'm very happy it worked out, because you never know what to expect. Winning the tournament in our premier, it's new energy, and hopefully we can keep it up."
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At $75K+H Shenzhen Challenger, China

[SF] (Q) Sanam Singh (IND,402) l Ghem Andre (BRA,171) 62 36 36

Doubles Final
Divij Sharan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) l (4) Gero Kretschmer (GER)/ Alexander Statschko (GER) 16 63 2-10

Sanam's terrific run is ended in the semis against Brazilian ... This week already he won six matches including qualifying so physically it was tough ... Sanam started on positive note for winning the first set but after that he failed to keep momentum and lost next two sets.

After scoring so many comeback wins in their previous matches Saki-Divij fail repeat performance in the final ... German pair started well with winning first set comfortably but afterwards Saki-Divij fought back to win the second ... In match tie-break German pair proved too strong for them.

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At $40K+H Kazan Challenge, Russia

[SF] Yuki Bhambri (IND,284) l Aslan Karatsev (RUS,208) 64 06 46

Yuki lose his semis in three sets but again some doubt increase regarding his physical endurance ... Reason is he struggled with his physical fitness in this match ... Yuki started well after winning the first set but afterwards Aslan used his big serving to his advantage and won the second set without losing a single game ... In the final set also Aslan take early break to lead 1-4 but this time Yuki fought back to make it 4-all ... In 9th game Yuki had couple of break points but one bad line call took that to deuce ... In 10th game also another bad line call against Yuki cost him the game and match.
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At $50K ITF Women's Tournament, Quanzhou, China

[Q1] (2) Ankita RAINA (IND,255) bt Yuan XIN (CHN,1217) 60 76(0)

[Q2] (2) Ankita RAINA (IND,255) bt Ya-Hsuan LEE (TPE,377) 61 76(5)

[Q3] (2) Ankita RAINA (IND,255) vs Chieh-Yu HSU (TPE,289)

Surprisingly tough win for Ankita in the first match but after that in the second match Ankita show some better performance against top-400 player ... Qualifying for main-draw she is facing top-300 Taipei player.
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At $10K India F3 Futures, Tiruchirapalli

Singles Final
(4) N Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,476) bt (1) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,257) 63 64

Doubles Final
(3) Arun-Prakash RAJAGOPALAN (IND)/ Ramkumar RAMANATHAN (IND) bt Anvit BENDRE (IND)/ Akash WAGH (IND) 36 62 10-6

VSP wins his first future title beating RamK in straight sets ... In the semis he defeated 2nd seed Bala ... Last few months he has been in excellent form ... In 2nd leg of Indian challenger in October he qualified for Indore and Pune challengers ... Then importantly he had qualifying into Chennai open ATP and then again qualified for Delhi and Kolkata challengers.

In the doubles Akash-Anvit gives their best performance as pair ... They lost the final against Arun-Prakash and RamK.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Tennis News

At $75K+H Shenzhen Challenger, China

[QF] Sanam Singh (IND,402) bt (2) Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ,118) 64 62

[SF] (Q) Sanam Singh (IND,402) Vs Ghem Andre (BRA,171)

Doubles
[SF] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt (3) Mao-Xin Gong (CHN)/ Hsien-Yin Peng (TPE) 26 76(2) 10-5

[F] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs (4) Gero Kretschmer (GER)/ Alexander Statschko (GER)

Sanam's impressive run is continue as he beats almost 300 ranks higher Nedovyesov comfortably ... In the first set with a single break in 7th game Sanam won it ... In the second set both players shared early breaks but from 2-all Sanam take control for winning it ... Next he is facing unseeded top-175 ranked Brazilian Andre. In the doubles Divij and Sanam score another comeback win in match tie-breaks against 3rd seed Gong-Peng ... In the final they r facing 4th seed German pair.
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At $40K+H Kazan Challenge, Russia

[QF] Yuki Bhambri (IND,284) bt (8) Andrea Arnaboldi (ITA,191) 64 61

[SF] Yuki Bhambri (IND,284) vs Aslan Karatsev (RUS,208)

Yuki score comfortable straight sets win over Italian Arnaboldi ... In the first set Yuki was 1-3 down but from 2-4 Yuki won 10 out of last 11 games for comfortable win ... In the semis he is facing unseeded Russian Aslan Karatsev.

Tennis News

At $5.4M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[SF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Lisa Raymond (USA)/ Samantha Stosur (AUS) 60 64

[F] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs Ekaterina Makarova (RUS)/ Elena Vesnina (RUS)

Sania and Hingis r in the final with another comfortable win over Raymond and Stosur ... In the final they r facing 2nd seed Russian pair of Makarova and Vesnina
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At $75K+H Shenzhen Challenger, China

[R2] (Q) Sanam Singh (IND,402) bt Aldin Setkic (BIH,224) 63 63

[QF] (Q) Sanam Singh (IND,402) vs (2) Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ,118)

Doubles
[QF] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt Andre Ghem (BRA)/ Daniel Munoz-De La Nava (ESP) 46 76(2) 10-5

[SF] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs (3) Mao-Xin Gong (CHN)/ Hsien-Yin Peng (TPE)

Sanam continue with his giant-killing as he beats top-225 Aldin Setkic in convincing manner ... In the quarters he is meeting Kazakh's Nedovyesov.

In the doubles Divij and Saketh score another close comeback win in match tie-break ... In the semis they r facing 3rd seed Gong-Peng.

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At $40K+H Kazan Challenge, Russia

[R2] Yuki Bhambri (IND,284) bt (WC) Karen Khachanov (RUS,369) 46 64 62

[QF] Yuki Bhambri (IND,284) vs (8) Andrea Arnaboldi (ITA,191)

Young Khachanov stretched Yuki before Yuki made comeback in the match ... After losing the first set Yuki wins next two sets comfortably ... In the quarters he is facing top-200 Italian Arnaboldi.

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Tennis News

At BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[QF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt (WC) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)/ Karin Knapp (ITA) 64 62

[SF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs Lisa Raymond (USA)/ Samantha Stosur (AUS)

With another comfortable win Sania with Hingis are in the semis ... They r facing experienced players Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur.
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At $40K+H Kazan Challenge, Russia

[R1] Yuki Bhambri (IND,284) bt (3) Iliya Marchenko (UKR,123)46 76(7) 62

[R2] Yuki Bhambri (IND,284) vs (WC) Karen Khachanov (RUS,369)

Yuki score excellent comeback win over Marchenko in two and half hours match ... After losing the firset Yuki saved a match point in the second set tie-break before winning it ... After that Yuki dominated the final set ... Next he is facing Russian big serving 18 yrs old Karen Khachanov.

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

Badminton News

At $120K Swiss Open 2015, Basel, Switzerland (Grand Prix Gold)

Men's Singles Final
(1) K. Srikanth (IND,4) bt (2) Victor Axelson (DEN,6) 21-15 12-21 21-14

Srikanth lifts his first tile of 2015 season after beating last year's champion Danish Axelson ... After winning the first game Srikanth lost focus in the second ... But Srikanth recovered in the third for completing victory comfortably ... This is a good win considering recent poor results from Srikanth ... I think this is Srikanth's first big triumph in Europe.

Tennis News

At BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Daniel Nestor (CAN) bt Jeremy Chardy (FRA)/ Richard Gasquet (FRA) 76(5) 64

[R2] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)/ Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS) 63 62
[R2] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Daniel Nestor (CAN) l David Ferrer (ESP)/ Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 46 67(3)
[R1] Raven Klaasen (RSA)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Simone Bolelli (ITA)/ Fabio Fognini (ITA) 46 64 2-10

[QF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs (WC) Daniela Hantuchova (SVK)/ Karin Knapp (ITA)

Only Sania with Martina is in quarters with another comfortable win ... Other hand Lee and Rohan lose their second round matches with their partners against Italian and Spanish pairs respectively.
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At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[F] (2) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Daniel Munoz-De-La-Nava (ESP)/ Alexander Nedovyesov (KAZ) 26 57

Purav and Fabrice failed to keep their charge and lost in two sets against unseeded pair.
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At $75K+H Shenzhen Challenger, China

[Q2] Sanam Singh (IND,402) bt Yecong He (CHN,1283) 63 61
[Q2] Sanam Singh (IND,402) bt Wesley Koolhof (NED,741) 63 75

[R1] Sanam Singh (IND,402) bt (7) Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP,160) 63 36 63
[R1] Somdev Devvarman (IND,176) l Zhe Zhang (CHN,193) 64 46 67(5)
[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,237) l (2) Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ,118) 36 64 46

[R2] Sanam Singh (IND,402) vs Aldin Setkic (BIH,224)

Doubles
[R1] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt (2) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) 67(10) 63 10-8

[QF] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs Andre Ghem (BRA)/ Daniel Munoz-De La Nava (ESP)

Sanam qualify for main-draw and then score exciting win over top-160 Spanish player in the first round ... But other hand Buji and Saki fail to come over challenge of their respective opponents in close match.

In the doubles Divij score upset win over Purav and Fabrice with Saki ... After losing close tie-break in the first set Divij-Saki mange to complete victory in next two days.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Badminton News

At $120K Swiss Open 2015, Basel, Switzerland (Grand Prix Gold)

[SF] (1) K. Srikanth (IND,4) bt Ajay Jayaram (IND,43) 17-21 21-15 21-18

Srikanth need comeback win for entering into the final of Swiss open ... Ajay started well and won the first game but after that Srikanth raised his game to win the second ... In the final game also Srikanth kept momentum and won it after winning crucial points.

Tennis News

At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[SF] (2) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (4) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Mao-Xin Gong (CHN) 75 36 10-6

[F] (2) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Daniel Munoz-De-La-Nava (ESP)/ Alexander Nedovyesov (KAZ)

Purav-Fabrice score tight win over Divij and Mao-Xin in super tie-break ... In the final they r facing unseeded pairing of Munoz-De-La-Nava and Nedovyesov.
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At $75K+H Shenzhen Challenger, China

[Q1] Sanam Singh (IND,402) bt Richardo Ghedin (ITA,726) 63 61

[Q2] Sanam Singh (IND,402) vs Yecong He (CHN,1283)

[R1] Somdev Devvarman (IND,176) vs Zhe Zhang (CHN,193)
[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,237) vs (2) Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ,118)

Sanam score dominating win over in-form Italian Richardo Ghedin, who qualified for last week's challenger.

Again tough matches for our players in main-draw as Buji is facing tough challenge against Chinese top player and Saki is facing Nedo.

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At $40K+H Kazan Challenger, Russia

[R1] Yuki Bhambri (IND,284) vs (3) Iliya Marchenko (UKR,123)

Tough first round for Yuki.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Badminton News

At $120K Swiss Open 2015, Basel, Switzerland (Grand Prix Gold)

[QF] (1) K. Srikanth (IND,4) bt (8) Takuma UEDA (JPN,29) 21-11 21-12
[QF] Ajay JAYARAM (IND,43) bt Kazumasa SAKAI (JPN,41) 17-21 23-21 21-15

Srikanth and Ajay r facing each other in the semis as they win their respective quarter-final matches in contrasting style.

Srikanth score comfortable win over top-30 Japanese Takuma Ueda ... Other hand Ajay need to deg deep for his win over Japanese opponent ... After losing the first game he was behind most part of the second game, 7-10, 10-14, 15-18 then 17-19 ... Ajay caught Sakai at 19-all and after that saved two match points before converting his first game point ... After that in the third game from 10-all Ajay took control for winning it comfortably.

Tennis News

At BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Karolina Pliskova (CZE)/ Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK) 62 61
[R1] Raven Klaasen (RSA)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)/ Milos Raonic (CAN) 76(3) 63

[R2] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)/ Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (RUS)

Solid start for Sania-Martina as they begin their campaign with comfortable win ... Next they r facing Russian girls.

Lee-Raven start their campaign with straight sets win over Aisam-Raonic ... After winning the first set in tie-break our pair took control of the match to win the second set more comfortably.

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At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[R1] Somdev Devvarman (IND,176) vs Marton Fucsovics (HUN,165) 06 76(5) 16

Doubles
[QF] (2) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA)/ Sonchat Ratiwatana (THA) 64 26 10-8

[SF] (2) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (4) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Mao-Xin Gong (CHN)

Buji lose in strange match ... He failed to challenge his opponent in two sets which he lost but won the second set in tie-break ... He lost first 8 games before winning his first game in the match.

Purav-Fabrice score tight win over Ratiwatana twins ... Next they r facing Divij and Mao-Xin.

Snooker News

At Indian Open 2015, New Delhi

[R2] Aditya Mehta (IND,50) l (4) Ricky Walden (ENG,8) 2-4 (0-70(63), 27-78, 13-77, 73-18, 76-0, 1-81)

This was a tough match against top-10 player but Aditya gave decent performance ... After losing first 3 games Aditya tried fightback and won next two games ... But Walden again controlled sixth game for completing victory.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Badminton News

At $120K Swiss Open 2015, Basel, Switzerland (Grand Prix Gold)

[R3] (1) K. Srikanth (IND,5) bt Emil HOLST (SUI,57) 14-21 21-15 21-18
[R3] (12) B. Sai Praneeth (IND,36) l (7) Jen Hao HSU (TPE,30) 18-21 12-21
[R3] (16) Anand PAWAR (IND,53) l Kazumasa SAKAI (JPN,41) 21-19 19-21 15-21
[R3] Ajay JAYARAM (IND,43) bt (13) Tzu Wei WANG (TPE,39) 21-17 21-16

[QF] (1) K. Srikanth (IND,4) vs (8) Takuma UEDA (JPN,29)
[QF] Ajay JAYARAM (IND,43) vs Kazumasa SAKAI (JPN,41)

Ajay score straight games win in closely fought match ... Other hand Anand lose his match after winning the first game against his Japanese opponent .. For Sai his Taipei opponent prove too strong.

Surprisingly tough win for Srikanth against local player Holst ... Poor start for Srikanth as he lost first game against his Swiss opponent cheaply ... He recovered well to win the second game comfortably ... But in the third game Holst took early lead ... He was leading with big margin 10-15 but from 14-17 Srikanth won next four points to lead first time in this game, 18-17 ... From 18-all Srikanth won next 3 points to complete this comeback win in 67 minutes ... Next he is facing Japanese Takuma Ueda.

Tennis News

At BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Daniel Nestor (CAN) vs Jeremy Chardy (FRA)/ Richard Gasquet (FRA)
[R1] Raven Klaasen (RSA)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)/ Milos Raonic (CAN)

Men's doubles draw out and our both pairs are in bottom draw ... Raven-Lee are unseeded.
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At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[R1] (2) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (WC) Xin Gao (CHN)/ Zhe Li (CHN) 63 76(3)


[QF] (3) Mao-Xin Gong (CHN)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Hsin-Han Lee (TPE) 76(4) 67(6) 12-10
[QF] (2) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Sanchai Ratiwatana 9THA)/ Sonchat Ratiwatana (THA)

Purav and Fabrice start with straight sets win ... Next they r facing Ratiwatana twins for place in the semis.
Other hand Divij and Mao-xin needs to dig deep for this hard fought win in extra points of super tie-break for entering into the semis.

Snooker News

At Indian Open 2015, New Delhi

[R1] Aditya Mehta (IND,50) bt Mark King (ENG,33) 4-3 (82-7, 60(52)-17, 78(64)-9, 25-104(69), 56-57(50), 45-76, 76-4)

[R2] Aditya Mehta (IND,50) vs (4) Ricky Walden (ENG,8)

Aditya score tight win over top-35 British player Mark King ... Aditya won first 3 frames comfortably but after that Mark made strong comeback ... In the fifth frame Aditya was couple of points from winning the match at 56-50 but instead he lost frame for a single point ... After 3-all frames Aditya recovered to win the final frame ... Next he is facing tough challenge of top-10 British player Ricky Walden.

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Badminton News

At $120K Swiss Open 2015, Basel, Switzerland (Grand Prix Gold)

[R1] (1) K. Srikanth (IND,5) bt Lucas CORVEE (FRA,63) 21-18 21-10
[R1] (12) B. Sai Praneeth (IND,36) bt Luka ZDENJAK (CRO,327) 21-9 21-9
[R1] (16) Anand PAWAR (IND,53) bt Joel KOENIG (SUI,752) 21-11 21-13
[R1] Ajay JAYARAM (IND,46) bt (5) Yun HU (HKG,14) 21-7 21-7

[R2] (1) K. Srikanth (IND,5) bt Dieter DOMKE (GER,60) 21-10 21-14
[R2] (12) B. Sai Praneeth (IND,36) bt Beryno Jiann Tze WONG (MAS,131) 21-11 21-13
[R2] (16) Anand PAWAR (IND,53) bt Daren LIEW (MAS,87) 13-21 22-20 21-16
[R2] Ajay JAYARAM (IND,46) bt Yuhan TAN (BEL,79) 21-7 21-23 21-19

[R1] Manu ATTRI (IND) / B. Sumeeth REDDY (IND) l Wahyu Nayaka ARYA PANKARYANIRA (INA) / Ade YUSUF (INA) 18-21 21-18 16-21
[R1] Pranaav Jerry CHOPRA (IND) / Akshay DEWALKAR (IND) l Angga PRATAMA (INA) / Ricky Karanda SUWARDI (INA) 17-21 13-21

[R3] (1) K. Srikanth (IND,5) vs Emil HOLST (SUI,57)
[R3] (12) B. Sai Praneeth (IND,36) vs (7) Jen Hao HSU (TPE,30)
[R3] (16) Anand PAWAR (IND,53) vs Kazumasa SAKAI (JPN,48)
[R3] Ajay JAYARAM (IND,46) vs (13) Tzu Wei WANG (TPE,)

After his disappointing show at All England Srikanth has chance of redeem himself as top-seed ... So comfortable start for him with our other players ... In that Ajay score impressive win over top-15 Hong Kong player Yun Hu ... In the second round Ajay faced tough challenge from Yuhan Tan ... After winning the first game comfortably Ajay struggled ... Ajay lost second game in extra points but made comeback for tight win.

Other hand inconsistent performance by Manu-Sumeeth in their three games loss.

Tennis News

At BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs Karolina Pliskova (CZE)/ Magdalena Rybarikova (SVK)

Sania-Martina r top-seed at Indian Wells ... They r facing Pliskova-Rybarikova in the first round.
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At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[R1] Somdev Devvarman (IND,176) bt (3) Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ,118) 62 76(6)

[R2] Somdev Devvarman (IND,176) vs Marton Fucsovics (HUN,165)

Buji score straight sets win over an in-form Nedovyesov in straight sets ... Last weekend Nedovyesov helped Kazakh team to win over Italian team in Davis cup ... In the second round he is facing Hungarian opponent.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Tennis News

At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,232) l (2) Hyeon Chung (KOR,121) 75 46 46

Doubles
[R1] Alexander Kudryavtsev (RUS)/ Sanam Singh (IND) l (WC) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Hsin-Han Lee (TPE) 36 46
[R1] (3) Mao-Xin Gong (CHN)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP)/ Kimmer Coppejans (BEL) 75 76(7)

Saki fail to capitalize on his good start due to poor first serve percentage in remaining two sets ... After winning the tight first set Saki managed only below 50% first serve percentage in remaining two sets ... He had 3 break points in the second but failed to convert any of it. In the doubles Divij start his campaign with tight win over European pair with his Chinese partner ... Other hand Sanam lose his match as his partner Kudryavtsev was injured.

Sunday, March 08, 2015

Badminton News

At $500K Yonex All England Open 2015, Birmingham(Superseries Premier)

Women Singles Final
(3) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) l (6) Carolina Marin (ESP,6) 21-16 14-21 7-21

Saina misses big opportunity of lifting All England championship and chance of becoming first Indian woman to lift this title and third Indian title winner after Prakash and Gopichand ... After winning the first game Saina lost her focus and made numerous unforced errors due to Carolina's attacking game which she couldn't cope.

In first game from start Saina opened the lead, 4-2 ... Which she kept increasing 11-6, 15-8 then 18-9 ... Saina had nine game points at 20-11 but Carolina saved five of those before Saina converting sixth game point ... In game two again Saina take early lead 6-1 but Carolina immediately reduced it to 5-6 ... Carolina won 3 points in a row from 9-11 to lead first time in the game 12-11 ... Carolina won 5five points in a row from 12-13 to lead 17-13 ... Again Carolina won four points in a row from 17-14 for winning this second game ... From second game Carolina took control of the match ... In third game Carolina started from her second game performance and took early lead 3-1 then 6-2 ... At break Carolina was leading 11-4 ... From 4-8 Saina lost eight points in a row to fall behind 4-16 ... This was a huge gap in the final game and in title match ... Saina never recovered and lost this title match on first championship point.

Shooting News

At ISSF World Cup Shotgun, Acapulco, Mexico


Trap Men
Gold - Massimo Fabbrizi (ITA)
Silver - Michael Diamond (AUS)
Bronze - Manavjit Singh Sandhu (IND)

Manavjit Singh Sandhu wins Bronze but miss Rio Olympics quota as only top two shooters were awarded quota place.

Manavjit Singh Sandhu faced Portugal's 30-year old Joao Azevedo in the Bronze medal match ... After a neck and neck fight, the two shooters ended up tied with 12 hits out of 15 targets ... Thin in shoot-off Sandhu prevailed on Azevedo shooting 12 to 11 hits in the shoot-off.

Squash News

At $15K Women'Emerson Racquet Club Pro Series 2015 (WSA World Tour), St Louis, USA

[SF] (2) Joshana Chinappa (IND,21) l (8) Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (EGY,50) 2-3

In closely fought match Kanzy beats Joshana for entering into the final.

Tennis News

At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[Q2] Sanam Singh (IND,398) l Omar Jasika (AUS,479) 62 67(2) 36

Doubles
[R1] Alexander Kudryavtsev (RUS)/ Sanam Singh (IND) vs (WC) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Hsin-Han Lee (TPE)
[R1] (3) Mao-Xin Gong (CHN)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP)/ Kimmer Coppejans (BEL)
[R1] (2) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Xin Gao (CHN)/ Zhe Li (CHN)

Sanam fail to raise his game after winning the first set and lose in three sets again 17 yrs old Jasika ... Sanam started well and won the first set comfortably ... But from the second set Sanam's game went down and Jasika took advantage of it to win in tie-break ... Sanam failed to raise his game in the third and Jasika completed win after winning this set.

In the doubles Saki and Sanam r not playing together ... Saki is missing and I am hoping no serious injury issue ... Sanam is partnering Russian Kudryavtsev and they r facing Taipei's wild-card pair ... Divij playing with Chinese partner and they r facing European pair ... Purav and Martin r facing local wild-card pair.

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At Davis Cup Asia/ Oceania Group I ,

India is playing against New Zealand in away tie for place in World group play-off ... This tie will be played at Christchurch on 17th to 19th July.

Badminton News

At $500K Yonex All England Open 2015, Birmingham(Superseries Premier)

[SF] (3) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) bt Sun Yu (CHN,18) 21-13 21-13

[F] (3) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) vs (6) Carolina Marin (ESP,6)

Saina score comfortable win over Chinese girl Sun Yu in straight games for her first final of All England championship ... Match wasn't one-sided as score suggesting as it was going for 50 minutes ... Sun Lu was leading 6-2 in the first game before Saina caught with her at 10-all ... From 10-11 Saina won next four points to lead 14-11 ... Again from 16-13 Saina won next five points for winning the first game ... In the second game also Sun Yu take couple of points early lead at 4-2 ... She maintained this lead till 11-9 but Saina caught her at 11-all ... From 11-12 Saina won next three points to lead 14-12 and afterwards from 14-13 Saina won next seven points for convincing win ... In the final she is facing current World champion Spanish girl Carolina Marin.

Saturday, March 07, 2015

Squash News

At $15K Women'Emerson Racquet Club Pro Series 2015 (WSA World Tour), St Louis, USA

[R1] (2) Joshana Chinappa (IND,21) bt Cecelia Cortes (USA,78) 3-0 (11-9, 11-6, 12-10)
[QF] (2) Joshana Chinappa (IND,21) bt (7) Milou van der Heijden (NED,44) 3-1 (11-7, 11-9, 10-12, 11-6)

[SF] (2) Joshana Chinappa (IND,21) vs (8) Kanzy Emad El-Defrawy (EGY,50)

Joshana is in the semis of this Pro series tournament ... She is facing Egyptian girl in the semis.

Tennis News

At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[Q1] Sanam Singh (IND,398) bt Yecong He (CHN,1279) 60 76(4)
[Q2] Sanam Singh (IND,398) vs Omar Jasika (AUS,479)

[R1] Somdev Devvarman (IND,175) vs (3) Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ,130)
[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,232) vs (2) Hyeon Chung (KOR,121)

Tough main-draw matches for our players as Saki and Buji are facing 2nd and 3rd seeds opponents ... In qualifying Sanam is playing and surprisingly he got stretch in the second set ... In next round he is facing Australian 17 yrs old talented top-500 player Omar Jasika.

Badminton News

At $500K Yonex All England Open 2015, Birmingham(Superseries Premier)

[QF] (3) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) bt (5) Yihan Wang (CHN,5) 21-19 21-6

[SF] (3) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) vs Sun Yu (CHN,18)

Really surprising dominating win by Saina against former WR #1 and Saina's nemesis Yihan Wang in straight games ... Considering Saina's poor performance in their previous meetings it was difficult to say Saina was favorite in this match ... In the first game both players were neck to neck till 12-all ... From 12-13 Saina won 6 points consecutively for healthy lead of 18-12 ... After that Yihan tried to catch Saina but Saina kept advantage for winning this game after converting 2nd game point ... After winning the first game Saina started in attacking manner and take 8-0 lead ... This time surprisingly Yihan failed to raise her game and she lost this game and match without much fight ... In the semis Saina is facing another Chinese youngster Sun Yu ... In their last meeting Saina won close match in three games.

Friday, March 06, 2015

Snooker News

At Shoot-Out 2015, Blackpool, England

[R2] Aditya Mehta (IND,50) l Ben Woollaston (ENG,26) 10-55

Ben Woollaston proves too strong for Aditya in his one-sided loss.

Thursday, March 05, 2015

Snooker News

At Shoot-Out 2015, Blackpool, England

[R1] Aditya Mehta (IND,50) bt Noppon Saengkham (THA,69) 69-54

[R2] Aditya Mehta (IND,50) vs Ben Woollaston (ENG,26)

Aditya score his first career win in Shoot-out tournament ... Next he is facing top-30 British player.

Badminton News

At $500K Yonex All England Open 2015, Birmingham(Superseries Premier)

[R2] H. S. Prannoy (IND,18) l Rajiv Ouseph (ENG,22) 21-17 19-21 18-21
[R2] (3) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) bt (Q) Kim Hyo Min (KOR,67) 21-15 21-15

[R2] Manu Attri (IND)/ Sumeeth Reddy B. (IND) l Gideon Markus Fernaldi (INA)/ Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA) 13-21 21-19 15-21
[R2] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) l (1) Tian Qing (CHN)/ Zhao Yunle (CHN) 10-21 13-21

[QF] (3) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) vs (5) Yihan Wang (CHN,5)

Saina score another straight games win for entering into the quarter final ... There she is meeting her nemesis Yihan Wang, with whom Saina having 1-8 win-loss record.

Prannoy fail to keep momentum and lose in close match after winning the first game against Rajiv ... After losing the first game Rajiv kept his focus and won the second game winning crucial points ... And then Rajiv carry forward same momentum in the third to complete the win.

Ashwini-Jwala fail to put any challenge against WR #1 Chinese pair ... Manu-Sumeeth also fail to capitalize on their excellent upset win over Chinese pair ... They lose to Indonesian pair in three games.

Wednesday, March 04, 2015

Badminton News

At $500K Yonex All England Open 2015, Birmingham(Superseries Premier)

[Q1] Ajay Jayaram (IND,48) bt Tzu Wei Wang (TPE,40) 21-13 21-14
[Q1] Anand Pawar (IND,42) bt Sattawat Pongnairat (USA,66) 21-17 21-11
[Q1] S. Sanjeeth (IND)/ Jagadish Yadav (IND) l Jacco Arends (NED)/ Jelle Maas (NED) 16-21 10-21
[Q1] D. Guru Prasad (IND)/ Venkatesh Prasad (IND) l Markis Kido (INA)/ Agripinna Prima Rahmanto Putra (INA) 9-21 11-21
[Q1] Vladimir Ivanov (RUS)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) l Christopher Coles (ENG)/ Sophie Brown (ENG) 21-19 8-11 retd.

[Q2] Ajay Jayaram (IND,48) bt Anand Pawar (IND,42) 21-9 21-10

[R1] Kashyap Parupalli (IND,12) l (6) Chou Tien Chen (TPE,7) 13-21 12-21
[R1] (4) Srikanth Kidambi (IND,5) l Kento Momota (JPN,14) 18-21 21-12 15-21
[R1] H. S. Prannoy (IND,18) bt Brice Leverdez (FRA,28) 16-21 21-8 21-18
[R1] (Q) Ajay Jayaram (IND,48) l Tian Houwei (CHN,13) 14-21 21-19 14-21
[R1] (3) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) bt Bellaetrix Manuputty (INA,53) 21-8 21-12

[R1] Manu Attri (IND)/ Sumeeth Reddy B. (IND) bt (7) Chai Biao (CHN)/ Hong Wei (CHN) 9-21 21-17 21-17
[R1] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) bt Amelia Alicia Anscelly (MAS)/ Fie Cho Soong (MAS) 21-12 20-22 21-14

[R2] H. S. Prannoy (IND,18) vs Rajiv Ouseph (ENG,22)
[R2] (3) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) vs (Q) Kim Hyo Min (KOR,67)

[R2] Manu Attri (IND)/ Sumeeth Reddy B. (IND) vs Gideon Markus Fernaldi (INA)/ Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA)
[R2] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ Jwala Gutta (IND) vs (1) Tian Qing (CHN)/ Zhao Yunle (CHN)

Manu and Sumeeth score huge win over Chinese 7th seeds Biao and Wei in comeback win, next they r facing Indonesian pair ... Jwala-Ashwini also start with win over Malaysian pair but next they r facing WR #1 Chinese pair.

In the singles Ajay qualify for main-draw with final qualifying win over Anand Pawar ... Ajay give fighting performance in first round against top-15 Chinese player Houwei before losing in three games ... Other hand Kashyap face tough challenge of Chao Tien Chen in the first round and fail to give any fight in his one-sided loss.

Unsuccessful start for Srikanth as top-5 player in All England Open ... As usual his match against Momota stretch to three games but this time Momota prove better player on the court ... After losing first game Srikanth tried fight back winning the second but Momota won the third game comfortably for upset win.

Prannoy score comeback win after losing the first game against French man Leverdez ... Prannoy dominated the second game and halt challenge of Leverdez in the third game for a win ... Next he is facing local favorite Rajiv Ouseph.

Saina score fluent win without losing any sweat ... She dominated Indonesian girl Bellaetrix Manuputty from the start ... Next she is facing Korean qualifier Kim Hyo Min.

Snooker News

At Indian Open Qualifiers 2015,Barnsley, England

[FQR] Aditya Mehta (IND,50) bt Hammad Miah (ENG,95) 4-0 (82(65)-7, 70(60)-25, 67-2, 69-27)

[R1] Aditya Mehta (IND,50) vs Mark King (ENG,33)

Aditya qualify for Indian open which is starting from 10th March ... In single qualifying round he scored comfortable win over lower ranked British player.
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At China Open Qualifying 2015, Barnsley, England

[Q1] Aditya Mehta (IND,53) l Zhang Anda (CHN,100) 2-5 (69(51)-21, 27-74, 22-94, 0-147(86), 0-108(60), 72-4, 0-74(55))

But other hand Aditya lost his match against lower ranked Chinese opponent in China open qualifying.
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At European Tour Event Six 2015, Gdynia, Poland

[Q1] Aditya Mehta (IND,53) l Robin Hull (FIN,70) 3-4 (33-79, 107(79)-0, 57-11, 77(53)-8, 0-72, 52-61, 1-84(79))

Another shocking loss for Aditya against Finnish player ... He was leading 3-1 frames before losing last three frames to Robin Hull.
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At Welsh Open 2015, Cardiff, Wales

[R1] Aditya Mehta (IND,50) bt (A) Sydney Wilson (ENG) 4-0 (68-41, 79-46, 63(56)-19, 77(52)-5)
[R1] Aditya Mehta (IND,50) bt Barry Hawkins (ENG,5) 4-2 (2-82, 74(51)-46, 64-37, 1-101(72), 74-67, 74(74)-52(52))

[R1] Aditya Mehta (IND,50) l Alan McManus (SCO,24) 0-4 (28-65, 8-74, 6-67(50), 31-68(51))

At Welsh open Aditya scored huge upset win over WR #5 Barry Hawkins in six frames ... But he failed to keep that momentum and lost in third round against Scottish player McManus.

Tuesday, March 03, 2015

Squash News

At $150K Women's Windy City Open 2015 (WSA World Series), Chicago, USA

[R1] (12) Dipika Pallikal (IND,11) l (Q) Heba El Torky (EGY,26) 1-3 (9-11, 9-11, 11-5, 6-11) (43m)
[R1] (14) Joshana Chinappa (IND,21) l (8) Nour El Tayeb (EGY,7) 0-3 (8-11, 3-11, 10-12) (35m)

Dipika and Joshna had poor Windy open as both players lost their first round respective matches against Egyptian opponents.
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At $150K Men's Windy City Open 2015 (PSA World Series), Chicago, USA

[Q1] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND,45) l Mohamed Abouelghar (EGY,33) 2-3 (2-11, 5-11, 11-7, 11-3, 6-11) (60m)

[R1] Saurav Ghosal (IND,21) bt Max Lee (HKG,16) 3-2 ( 11-4, 5-11, 11-8, 11-13, 13-11) (76m)

[R2] Saurav Ghosal (IND,21) l (1) Mohamed Elshorbagy (EGY,1) 2-3 (5-11, 11-4, 11-1, 5-11, 7-11) (61m)

Another terrific performance by Saurav against WR #1 Elshorbagy ... In their match Saurav was up 2-1 games before losing next two games ... Before that he dug deep for scoring upset win over Max Lee in extra points of fifth game ... In qualifying Mahesh also put fighting performance against higher ranked Egyptian opponent.

Monday, March 02, 2015

Golf News

At $1.5M Hero Indian Open, New Delhi



1 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 73 65 70 69 -7 € 218,512
2 SSP Chawrasia (IND) 65 67 69 76 -7 € 145,669
T17 Jyoti Randhwa (IND) 74 69 69 71 -1 € 15,864
T17 Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 69 72 73 69 -1 € 15,864
T24 Manav Jain (IND) 73 69 71 71 PAR € 12,849
T24 Rashid Khan (IND) 71 72 71 70 PAR € 12,849
T24 Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 72 72 68 72 PAR € 12,849
T31 Arjun Atwal (IND) 70 70 75 70 +1 € 10,685
T31 S. Chikkarangappa 69 75 68 73 +1 € 10,685

Two weeks back Anirban Lahiri lifted his 2nd European title in three weeks after winning Indian open, which help him to grab him European player of February award ... With this title win Anirban Lahiri move to career high world ranking of #34 and secure invitation for US Masters and WGC tournaments ... He is only 6 places shy of Indian record of #28 rank by Jeev. In the final round SSP was favourite but he struggled and managed only 5 over and other hand Lahiri managed 2 under in windy condition to tie for top spot ... Anirban Lahiri beat compatriot S S P Chawrasia in a play-off on first hole itself.

Tennis News

At Dubai Duty Free Tennis, UAE

Doubles Final
(4) Daniel Nestor (CAN)/ Rohan Bopanna (IND) bt Aisam Qureshi (PAK) / Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 64 61

[SF] (4) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Daniel Nestor (CAN) bt (2) Jean Julien Rojer (FRA)/ Horia Tecau (ROM) 46 76(9) 10-8
[QF] (4) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Daniel Nestor (CAN) bt (Q) Jamie Murray (GBR)/ John Peers (AUS) 64 75
[R1] (4) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Daniel Nestor (CAN) bt (WC) Novak Djokovic (SRB)/ Laslo Djere (SRB) 62 75
[R1] Raven Klaasen (RSA)/ Leander Paes (IND) l (Q) Jamie Murray (GBR) / John Peers (AUS) 62 46 8-10

Last week Rohan-Daniel lifts their second title of 2015 when they scored comfortable win over Zimo-Aisam ... Before that they won entertaining semi-final against Rojer-Tecau saving multiple match points in the second set.
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At WTA Qatar Total Open, Doha (WTA Premier)

Doubles Final
(1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) l Raquel Kops-Jones (USA) / Abigail Spears (USA) 46 46

[SF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) bt Hao-Ching Chan (TPE) / Casey Dellacqua (AUS) 62 64
[QF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) bt Michaella Krajicek (NED) / Barbora Zahlavova Strycova (CZE) 60 61
[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE) bye

Last week Sania finished as runner-up at Qatar open with Su-Wei Hsieh ... But that also end up Sania's partnership with Taipei's Su-Wei Hsieh ... They mutually decide to split and Sania is planning to play with Martina Hingis.

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,...