Tennis News

At $75K+H Leon Challenger, Mexico

[R1] Ruan Roelofse (RSA)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Ariel Behar (URU)/ Alessandro Motti (ITA) 64 64
[R1] (3) Sam Groth (AUS)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt Joao Souza (BRA)/ Yuichi Sugita (JPN) 62 46 12-10

[QF] (3) Sam Groth (AUS)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Andre Ghem (BRA)/ Fabricio Neis (BRA)

Contrasting wins for Indian players with their respective partners ... But at least Lee manages to win this tight match with Sam Groth.

Football News

At World Cup pre-qualifier Asia, Kochi, India

Group D
India l Turkmenistan 1-2 (1-0)
Goal Scored - Sandesh Jhingan (IND) 27' and Arslanmyrat Amanov (TRK) 49', Serdaraly Ataýew (TRK) 70'

In their last group match also Indian side lose against Turkmenistan ... Though in this match Indians took early lead and managed to keep it till half-time ... But Turkmenistan kept their composure and kept trying, they equalized within first 5 minutes of second half ... And winner in 70 minutes so with this loss we finish on last spot in group D.

Tennis News

At $6.8M Miami Open, USA

[R2] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) l Margarita Gasparyan (RUS)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) 46 26

After their winning streak is ended Sania-Martina r struggling to put 2-3 wins in a row ... Hopefully just a minor blip.

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At $50K+H St. Brieuc Challenger, France

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan(IND,220) l Tobias Kamke (GER,184) 67(7) 16

Doubles
[R1] (3) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Jonathan Marray (GBR) vs Egor Gerasimov (BLR)/ Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ)

RamK fail to keep same level of tennis after well fought first set ... Kamke proved too strong for him in the second.

This week Mahesh back on the tour and playing Marray.

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At $75K+H Leon Challenger, Mexico

[R1] Ruan Roelofse (RSA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Ariel Behar (URU)/ Alessandro Motti (ITA)
[R1] (3) Sam Groth (AUS)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Joao Souza (BRA)/ Yuichi Sugita (JPN)

This week Lee is playing with Sam Groth in Mexocan challenger.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 14, Monday 28 March 2016
Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) - Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) ½-½
Anish Giri (NED,2793) - Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) ½-½br /> Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) - Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) ½-½
Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) - Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) 1-0

Russian Sergey Karjakin surprise all experts to become challenger for Magnus Carlsen for World championship ... In the final round he beats talented Fabiano Caruana after 41 moves for winning Candidates tournament by a full point ... Anand only manages draw with black against Peter Svidler after 35 moves ... With that Anand finishes on tied 2nd position with Caruana with 7.5 points.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 13, Sunday 27 March 2016
Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) - Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) ½-½
Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) - Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) ½-½
Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) - Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) 0-1
Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) - Anish Giri (NED,2793) ½-½

Anand hold Giri in 52 moves in Giuoco Piano opening ... Nakamura beat Topalov with black in 40 moves ... Before last round Anand is still half point behind from co-leaders Karjakin and Caruana as both played very long game to draw in 13th round game.

Tennis News

At $75K+H Shenzhen Challenger, China

Doubles Final
Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) l Luke Saville (AUS) / Jordan Thompson (AUS) 63 46 10-12

Heart breaking loss for Saki and Jeevan in extra points of match tie-break ... Our pair started well after winning the first set comfortably ... From the second set Aussie pair started to target Jeevan and he struggled under pressure ... Aussie pair won the second set for taking in match tie-break ... Our pair had 4 match points at 9-5 but they failed to convert it ... Our pair saved one match point at 9-10 but Aussie pair converted second match point for superb comeback win.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 12, Friday 25 March 2016
Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) - Anish Giri (NED,2793) ½-½
Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) - Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) 1-0
Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) - Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) 1-0
Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) - Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) ½-½

After yesterday's win disastrous loss for Anand against Nakamura after 26 moves ... Anand failed to challenge English opening adopted by Nakamura ... Karjakin beats Topalov and definitely will be co-leader with Caruana with 7 points ... Anand will be half point behind ... Interestingly last four games were decisive for Anand, he win 2 with white and lose 2 with black.

Tennis News

At $75K+H Shenzhen Challenger, China

[QF] Saketh Myneni (IND,149) l Adam Pavlasek (CZE,126) 36 16

Doubles
[SF] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt (PR) Roman Jebavy (CZE)/ Jan Satral (CZE) 62 63

[F] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs Luke Saville (AUS) / Jordan Thompson (AUS)

Saki fold up in 37 minutes against Pavlasek ... In complete match Saki only managed to win 2 points on Pavlasek's serve ... Saki lost his serve in 1st and 9th games for losing first set ... In the second set Pavlasek broke him 2nd and 4th game to lead 5-0 and then kept that advantage for winning the match ... Something was's right with Saki in this match as he avoided to put extra efforts.

In the doubles he and Jeevan r in the final with comfortable win over Czech pair ... In the final they r facing Aussie pair.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 11, Thursday 24 March 2016
Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) - Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) 0-1
Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) - Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) ½-½
Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) - Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) 1-0
Anish Giri (NED,2793) - Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) ½-½

Anand used an anti-Berlin Defense system to beat leader Sergey Karjakin with white from drawish condition ... Sergey Karjakin resigned after 70 moves as Anand played patient endgame for his 4th win of the tournament and 2 losses ... With this win Anand rejoin Caruana at top-spot with 6.5 points ... Svidler upset Aronian with black ... Caruana missed winning opportunity against Topalov.

Football News

At World Cup pre-qualifier Asia, Tehran, Iran

Group D
India l Iran 0-4 (0-1)
Goal Scored - Ehsan Hajsafi (IRI) 33' P and 66' P, Sardar Azmoun (IRI) 61' and Alireza Jahanbakhsh (IRI) 78'

Our boys kept Iran at bay for much of the first half until a needless challenge in the box opened the floodgates ... Overall disappointing performance by Indians after first 30 minutes against young Iranian side.

Squash News

At $150K Men's Allam British Open 2016, , Hull, England

[R2] Saurav Ghosal (IND,19) l Marwan El Shorbagy (EGY,11) 6-11 6-11 retd.

Saurav retired from his match due to ankle injury against Marwan El Shorbagy after losing the second game ... Hoping for speedy recovery as he is showing some consistency and form recently.

Tennis News

At $6.8M Miami Open, USA

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Lara Arruabarrena (ESP)/ Raluca Olaru (ROU) 60 64

Expected comfortable winning start for Sania-Martina against little unknown European pair.

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At $7M Miami Masters, USA

[R1] (6) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Florin Meargea (ROM) l Pablo Cuevas (URU)/ Marcel Granollers (ESP) 62 46 4-10

Rohan's poor performance in the doubles continues ... I feel he should start participating with Leander or Mahesh with whom he is planning to participate in Rio Olympics for preparing for the event.

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At $75K+H Shenzhen Challenger, China

[R2] Saketh Myneni (IND,149) bt Go Soeda (JPN,123) 63 61

[QF] Saketh Myneni (IND,149) vs Adam Pavlasek (CZE,126)

Saki scores dominating win over top-125 experienced Japanese Go Soeda ... In the first set Saki took break in 4th game to lead 3-1 and kept this advantage for winning the set ... In the second set he trounced Soeda as Saki broke three times for winning the set and match ... In the quarters he is facing Czech top-130 Adam Pavlasek.

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At $50K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2015, Quanzhou, China

[R2] Ankita RAINA (IND,276) l (7) Elise MERTENS (BEL,168) 46 57

Ankita lose in well fought match against Belgian girl Elise Mertens.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 10, Wed. 23 March 2016
Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) - Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) ½-½
Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) - Anish Giri (NED,2793) ½-½
Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) - Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) 1-0
Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) - Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) ½-½

Anand lose in 33 moves against Caruana in English opening ... Anand now trails Caruana and Sergey Karjakin by half a point.

Tennis News

At $6.8M Miami Open, USA

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs Lara Arruabarrena (ESP)/ Raluca Olaru (ROU)

Sania and Martina r facing Spanish-Romanian pair in the first round.

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At $7M Miami Masters, USA

[R1] (6) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Florin Meargea (ROM) vs Pablo Cuevas (URU)/ Marcel Granollers (ESP)

Only Rohan is playing in Miami.

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At $75K+H Shenzhen Challenger, China

[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,149) bt (5) Lukas Lacko (SVK,98) 75 63

[R2] Saketh Myneni (IND,149) vs Go Soeda (JPN,123)

Doubles
[QF] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt Taro Daniel (JPN)/ Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP) w/o

Saki scores impressive win over top-100 Lukas Lacko in straight sets ... In the first set Saki took crucial break in 12th game for winning the set ... He kept momentum in the second set and won the match with a single break advantage ... Next he is facing experienced Go Soeda.

In the doubles Saki and Jeevan receive walkover due to shoulder injury to Taro.

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At $50K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2015, Quanzhou, China

[R1] Ankita RAINA (IND,276) bt (WC) Yue YUAN (CHN,UNR) 62 63

[R2] Ankita RAINA (IND,276) vs (7) Elise MERTENS (BEL,168)

Good to see Ankita is taking advantage of weaker draw ... Next she is facing top-160 Belgian opponent.

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At $50K+H San Luis Potosi Challenger, Mexico

[QF] Ruan Roelofse (RSA)/ Purav Raja (IND) l (2) Julio Peralta (CHI)/ Hans Podlipink-Castillo (CHI) 76(5) 67(5) 7-10

Purav and Ruan lose in closely fought match against Chilean pair in match tie-break ... Purav-Ruan won the first set in tie-break but Chilean pair fought back for winning the second set in tie-break ... They kept momentum for winning match tie-break, this match was lasted for almost two hours.

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At $25K Australia F4 Futures, Mornington

[R1] (Q) Neeraj ELANGOVAN (IND,UNR) l Jake DELANEY (AUS,1284) 36 67(5)

With Neeraj's loss our all players lose their respective matches in first round.

Squash News

At $130K Women's Allam British Open 2016, Hull, England

[R1] (14) Joshana Chinappa (IND,17) l Donna Urquhart (AUS,23) 10-12, 11-7, 9-11, 5-11 (40m)

Surprising loss of Joshana against Donna Urquhart in four games ... First 3 games were closely fought but Donna dominated the fourth.

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At $150K Men's Allam British Open 2016, , Hull, England

[R1] Saurav Ghosal (IND,19) bt (8) Mathieu Castagnet (FRA,10) 11-6, 8-11, 12-10, 11-6 (67m)

[R2] Saurav Ghosal (IND,19) vs Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY,11)

Saurav scores fighting upset win over top-10 and in-form Frenchman Mathieu Castagnet ... After winning the first game Saurav lost the second, in crucial third game Saurav kept his composure for winning it on extra points ... He kept that momentum for winning the fourth ... Next he is facing WR #11 Marwan Elshorbagy.

Tennis News

At $75K+H Shenzhen Challenger, China

[R1] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt (2) Dino Marcan (CRO)/ Fanko Skugor (CRO) 64 46 17-15

[QF] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs Taro Daniel (JPN)/ Daniel Gimeno-Traver (ESP)

Good real tight win by Saki and Jeevan against 2nd seed Croatian pair in 32 points long super tie-break ... Next they r facing Japanese- Spanish pair.

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At $50K+H San Luis Potosi Challenger, Mexico

[R1] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Luis David Martinez (VEN) l (4) Sergio Galdos (PER)/ Andres Molteni (ARG) 57 46
[R1] Ruan Roelofse (RSA)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (WC) Daniel Garza (MEX)/ Tigre Hank (MEX) 75 67(9) 10-4

[QF] Ruan Roelofse (RSA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (2) Julio Peralta (CHI)/ Hans Podlipink-Castillo (CHI)

Hard fought win for Purav and Ruan against local pair ... Next they r facing 2nd seed Chilean pair ... Other hand another first round loss for Divij with his new Venezuelan partner.

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At $25K Australia F4 Futures, Mornington

[R1] Vinayak Sharma KAZA (IND,753) l Calum PUTTERGILL (AUS,1314) 64 36 26
[R1] Niki KALIYANDA POONACHA (IND,993) l (8) Thomas FANCUTT (AUS,745) 64 26 16

Overall disappointing performance by Vinayak and Niki down under after winning the first set.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 9, Monday 21 March 2016
Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) - Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) ½-½
Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) - Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) 1-0
Anish Giri (NED,2793) - Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) ½-½
Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) - Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) ½-½

After win Anand joins Karjakin on top spot with 5.5 pts ... Anand was terrific on board with Giuoco Piano opening ... He kept pressure on co-leader Aronian throughout the match till Aronian resign on 66th moves.

Tennis News

At $50K+H San Luis Potosi Challenger, Mexico (clay)

[R1] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Luis David Martinez (VEN) vs (4) Sergio Galdos (PER)/ Andres Molteni (ARG)

This week Divij is playing with his new Venezuelan partner and they r facing 4th seed pair in the first round.

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At $25K Australia F4 Futures, Mornington

[R1] Vinayak Sharma KAZA (IND,753) vs Calum PUTTERGILL (AUS,1314)
[R1] Niki KALIYANDA POONACHA (IND,993) vs (8) Thomas FANCUTT (AUS,745)
[R1] (Q) Neeraj ELANGOVAN (IND,UNR) vs Jake DELANEY (AUS,1284)

This week Neeraj joins Vinayak and Niki after qualifying in main-draw.

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At $10K Japan F3 Futures, Kofu

[R1] Karuunuday Singh (IND,529) l Young Seok Kim (KOR,507) 26 16
[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,624) l (WC) Shintaro Imai (JPN,1022) 26 06

Disappointing losses of Sid and KU in the first round.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 8, Sunday 20 March 2016
Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) - Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) ½-½
Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) - Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) 1-0
Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) - Anish Giri (NED,2793) ½-½
Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) - Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) ½-½

Caruana defeated Nakamura convincingly after 33 moves ... Anand manages draw after 51 moves playing with black ... Now Caruana joins Anand and they r half point behind leaders.

Badminton News

At $120K Swiss Open 2016, Basel (Grand Prix Gold)

Men's Singles Final
(13) H. S. Prannoy (IND,27) bt (7) Marc Zwiebler (GER,19) 21-18 21-15

Prannoy lifts his first Swiss open title beating German #1 Marc Zwiebler in straight games ... In the first game both players were exchanging lead but from 17-18 Prannoy wins four points in a row for winning this game ... In the second game Prannoy took control from start and didn't give any chance to Marc for any comeback and completed win in 45 minutes ... This is big boost for him to his bid for qualifying for Rio, he needs to be inside top 16 before cut-off day.

Golf News

At $1.66M Hero Indian Open, Hua Hin (EPGA Tour 2016)

1 SSP Chawrasia (IND) 67 67 68 71 -15 € 246,588
T2 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 68 71 67 69 -13 € 128,506
T6 Rashid Khan (IND) 69 68 69 72 -10 € 41,575
T10 Shiv Kapur (IND) 72 67 70 70 -9 € 25,744
T10 Rahil Gangjee (IND) 69 72 66 72 -9 € 25,744
T20 Arjun Atwal (IND) 70 71 67 73 -7 € 17,212
T23 Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND) 76 66 70 70 -6 € 15,609
T23 Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 72 71 71 68 -6 € 15,609

At last SSP Chawrasia lifts Indian open title after remaining runner-up four time before ... Last year also he was leading after third round but lost play-off to Anirban ... This time he was leading by 4 strokes before final round and managed one under round for winning by two strokes ... Last year's winner Anirban scored three under in the final round for finishing on tied second position ... Rashid, Shiv and Rahil also finished in top ten but Arjun missed chance of finishing in top ten as he scored one over in the final round ... Total 8 Indians in top 25 and whooping 21 Indians as prize winners in this Indian open.

Wrestling News

At 2016 Asian Wrestling Olympic Qualification Tournament, Astana, Kazakhstan

Men's Freestyle 65 kg
[R1] Yogeshwar Dutt (IND) bt Kim Ju-song (PRK) 8-1
[QF] Yogeshwar Dutt (IND) bt Nguyễn Xuân Định (VIE) 12-2
[SF] Yogeshwar Dutt (IND) bt Lee Seung-chul (KOR) 7-0

For Gold medal
Yogeshwar Dutt (IND) bt Yeerlanbieke Katai (CHN) w/0

Men's Greco-Roman 98 kg
[R1] Hardeep Singh (IND) bye
[QF] Hardeep Singh (IND) bt Arslan Saparmamedov (TKM) 9-0
[SF] Hardeep Singh (IND) bt Margulan Assembekov (KAZ) 11-2

For Gold medal
Hardeep Singh (IND) l Xiao Di (CHN) w/o

From Asian Olympics qualifier only two wrestlers manage to grab Rio Olympics quota places ... As expected Yogeshwar Dutt from Men's Freestyle 65 kg and Hardeep Singh from Men's Greco-Roman 98 kg categories.

Yogeshwar Dutt dominated his all matches before getting walkover in the final from his Chinese wrestler ... Hardeep Singh also dominated Greco-Roman 98 kg category ... He won all his matches comfortably before giving walkover to his Chinese opponent in the final.

Shooting News

At Rio Olympics, Brazil

Manavjit Singh Sandhu receives Rio games ticket ... So as expected Sanjeev Rajput's quota place will be swapped with a second men's trap berth for Manavjit Singh Sandhu ... But good to see that they r keeping young Kynan Chenai quota in trap.

Though I still feel Mohammed Asab in double trap was better option instead of Manavjit.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 7, Saturday 19 March 2016
Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) - Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) ½-½
Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) - Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) ½-½
Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) - Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) 1-0
Anish Giri (NED,2793) - Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) ½-½

It was the last round of the first half of the tournament, only Nakamura manages to win beating Topalov ... Other three matches end in draw ... In this match Anand played mixed combination of Queen’s Gambit Declined, the Nimzo Indian or the Ragozin defense against Giri, which ended in draw after 31 moves.

Badminton News

At $120K Swiss Open 2016, Basel (Grand Prix Gold)

[SF] (13) H. S. Prannoy (IND,27) bt Tzu Wei Wang (TPE,52) 12-21 21-14 23-21

[SF] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,6) l (3) Yihan Wang (CHN,7) 11-21 19-21

[F] (13) H. S. Prannoy (IND,27) vs (7) Marc Zwiebler (GER,19)

Prannoy scores impressive comeback win over Taipei's Tzu Wei Wang ... After losing the first game Prannoy fought back for winning the second game comfortably ... In the final game both players were exchanging lead ... Prannoy was 2 match points down at 18-20, he saved both ... He saved another at 20-21 before converting his first at 22-21 for excellent win ... In the final he is facing German #1 Marc Zwiebler.

Other hand Saina lose in straight games against her old nemesis Yihan Wang ... Previously after losing 9 matches Saina was in 3 matches winning streak but today Yihan win it to break that streak.

Tennis News

At $125K+H Irving Challenger, Texas, USA

[SF] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Rosol (CZE) l (2) Chris Guccione (AUS)/ Andre Sa (BRA) 36 26

Guccione and Sa prove too strong for Lee-Rosol pairing in the semis.

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At $75K+H Shenzhen Challenger, China

[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,156) vs (5) Lukas Lacko (SVK,106)

Doubles
[R1] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs (2) Dino Marcan (CRO)/ Fanko Skugor (CRO)

Saki is facing tough challenge in the singles and the doubles in next week's Shenzhen challenger ... As expected Yuki is withdrawn due to elbow injury.

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At $50K+H San Luis Potosi Challenger, Mexico (clay)

[Q1] Divij Sharan (IND) bt (3) Yannik Reuter (BEL,312) 76(4) 64

[Q2] Divij Sharan (IND) l Daniel Elahi Galan (COL,408) 67(6) 36

Really good upset win by Divij against top-400 Belgian Reuter in straight sets ... Colombian Galan proves better that Divij.

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At $25K+H ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2015, Irapuato, Mexico

[R1] (4) Akiko Omae (JPN)/ Prarthana G. Thombare (IND) bt Michaela Honcova (SVK)/Katerina Kramperova (CZE) 60 63
[QF] (4) Akiko Omae (JPN)/ Prarthana G. Thombare (IND) bt Dalma Galfi (HUN)/ Alexandrina Naydenova (BEL) 36 63 10-6
[SF] (4) Akiko Omae (JPN)/ Prarthana G. Thombare (IND) bt (2) Ksenia Lykina (RUS)/ Irina Khromacheva (RUS) w/o

[F] (4) Akiko Omae (JPN)/ Prarthana G. Thombare (IND) l (1) Lyudmyla Kichenok (UKR)/ Nadiia Kichenok (UKR) 16 46

Prarthana Thombare and her Japanese partner Akiko Omae lose one-sided final against Kichenok sisters ... But still really good two weeks for Prarthana as last week's she was winner and this week she finishes as runner-up.

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At $10K Japan F3 Futures, Kofu

[R1] Karuunuday Singh (IND,529) vs Young Seok Kim (KOR,507)
[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,624) vs (WC) Shintaro Imai (JPN,1022)

KU is facing in-form young Korean and Sid is facing local wild-card player.

Badminton News

At $120K Swiss Open 2016, Basel (Grand Prix Gold)

[QF] (13) H. S. Prannoy (IND,27) bt (16) Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (THA,33) 21-18 22-24 21-9

[QF] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,6) bt (7) Sayaka Sato (JPN,13) 13-21 21-15 21-14
[QF] (6) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,12) l Bingjiao He (CHN,20) 13-21 15-21

[SF] (13) H. S. Prannoy (IND,27) vs Tzu Wei Wang (TPE,52)

[SF] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,6) vs (3) Yihan Wang (CHN,7)

Prannoy in the semis after beating Thai Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in three games ... After winning the first game Prannoy had couple of match points in the second which he failed to convert ... He recovered in the third and won it in a dominating fashion ... In the semis he is facing Taipei's Tzu Wei Wang.

Saina needs comeback win over Japanese opponent Sayaka Sato for entering into the semis ... After losing the first game easily Saina fought back for winning next two games convincing fashion ... In the semis she is facing her nemesis Yihan Wang.

Sindhu fail to challenge He and lose match easily.

Tennis News

At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[R2] Saketh Myneni (IND,156) l Zhe Zhang (CHN,193) 64 67(5) 26
[R2] (6) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) l (WC) Zhe Li (CHN, 227) 1-4 retd.

Doubles
[QF] Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) l (1) Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA)/ Sonchat Ratiwatana (THA) w/o

Turn to be terrible day for Indians ... Yuki retires from the match due to shoulder/ arm right elbow injury, same injury which troubled him from October ... Saki also miss opportunity of closing this match in two sets before losing the plot ... Saki won the first set breaking Zhang in 10th game ... In the second set Zhang broke Saki in 1st game, 0-2, but at 4-5 Saki broke him in 10th game, 5-all ... In tie-break Saki missed opportunity at 5-all and Zhang took advantage of it ... Zhang dominated the third set breaking Saki in 6th and 8th game for upset win.

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At $25K USA F10 Futures , Bakersfield, California

[QF] (1) Somdev Devvarman (IND,277) l Sebastian Fanselow (GER,502) 36 26

Disappointing one-sided loss against German Sebastian Fanselow for top-seed Buji.

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At $10K Japan F2 Futures, Nishi-Tokyo

[QF] Sidharth Rawat (IND,624) l Soon Woo Kwon (KOR,644) 06 46

Talented Kwon prove too strong for Sid.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 6, Thursday 17 March 2016
Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) - Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) 1-0
Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) - Anish Giri (NED,2793) ½-½
Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) - Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) 1-0
Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) - Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) ½-½

Anand won his second game in the Candidates with a devastating attack against Peter Svidler after only 24 moves ... Anand used an anti-Marshall system and launched a lightning quick kingside attack, which Svidler was helpless to avoid ... Aronian also score win with white to joining Karjakin in top spot with 4 points ... Anand is in sole second position with 3.5 points.

Badminton News

At $120K Swiss Open 2016, Basel (Grand Prix Gold)

[R3] Sameer Verma (IND,42) l (16) Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (THA,33) 15-21 19-21
[R3] B. Sai Praneeth (IND,37) l (2) Tien Chen Chou (TPE,7) 19-21 6-21
[R3] (13) H. S. Prannoy (IND,27) bt (6) Rajiv Ouseph (ENG,18) 21-13 21-18

[R2] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) bt Kristina Gavnholt (CZE,41) 21-18 21-17
[R2] (6) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,12) bt Yu Po Pai (TPE,23) 21-16 21-16

[QF] (13) H. S. Prannoy (IND,27) vs (16) Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (THA,33)

[QF] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,6) vs (7) Sayaka Sato (JPN,13)
[QF] (6) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,11) vs Bingjiao He (CHN,20)

Sameer fail to continue with his upset win over Chinese player and lose his match against similar ranked Thai opponent ... Sai also lose in straight sets against top-10 Taipei player ... In the first game he was up 19-15 before losing six points in a row.

Sindhu scores comfortable win over her Taiwani opponent for entering into the quarters ... Next she is meeting Chinese girl Bingjiao He, in their last meeting Sindhu lost in straight games against He.

Saina also join Sindhu with straight games win over Czech girl ... In the quarters she is facing Japanese girl Sayaka Sato.

Prannoy scores upset win over Britisher Rajiv in commanding fashion for entering into the quarters, there he is facing Sameer conqueror Thai Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk.

Tennis News

At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[R1] Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt Ti Chen (TPE)/ Go Soeda (JPN)

[QF] Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs (1) Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA)/ Sonchat Ratiwatana (THA)

Due to bad weather all singles matches moved for tomorrow but doubles first round matches were played indoor ... Easy winning start for Yuki-Saki against experienced players ... Next they r facing top-seed Ratiwatanas.

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At $125K+H Irving Challenger, Texas, USA

[QF] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Rosol (CZE) bt John-Patrick Smith (AUS)/ Michael Venus (NZL) 62 64

[SF] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Rosol (CZE) vs (2) Chris Guccione (AUS)/ Andre Sa (BRA)

Another convincing win for Lee-Rosol against good challenger level pair ... Next they r facing 2nd seed Andre Sa and Chris Guccione.

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At $25K USA F10 Futures , Bakersfield, California

[R2] (1) Somdev Devvarman (IND,277) bt (Q) Lucas Renard (SWE,1763) 16 62 63

[QF] (1) Somdev Devvarman (IND,277) vs Sebastian Fanselow (GER,502)

Not a convincing win for Buji as Swedish qualifier Renard stretched him to three sets ... After losing one-sided first set Buji recovered to win next two sets comfortably ... In the quarters he is facing top-500 type German opponent.

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At $10K Japan F2 Futures, Nishi-Tokyo

[R2] Sidharth Rawat (IND,624) bt Issei Okamura (JPN,821) 64 16 76(4)

[QF] Sidharth Rawat (IND,624) vs Soon Woo Kwon (KOR,644)

Sid scores upset win over in-form Issei Okamura, last week's finalist and Sid lost against him in last week, in three sets ... After winning the first set Sid lost the second easily but he recovered in the third and won it in tie-break ... Next he is facing similar ranked 18 yrs old Korean.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 5, Wed. 16 March 2016
Anish Giri (NED,2793) - Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) ½-½
Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) - Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) ½-½
Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) - Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) ½-½
Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) - Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) ½-½

After yesterday's loss today Anand play cautiously to agree draw after 30 moves.

Badminton News

At $120K Swiss Open 2016, Basel (Grand Prix Gold)

[R1] Sameer Verma (IND,42) bt Emil Holst (DEN,48) 21-17 24-22
[R1] B. Sai Praneeth (IND,37) bt Mathias Bonny (SUI,277) 21-14 13-21 21-6
[R1] (11) Ajay JAYARAM (IND,21) bt Jiann Shiarng Chiang (MAS,242) 21-8 21-17
[R1] (13) H. S. Prannoy (IND,24) bt Kalle Koljonen (FIN,132) 21-19 21-19

[R2] Sameer Verma (IND,42) bt (4) Zhengming Wang (CHN,11) 21-19 22-10
[R2] B. Sai Praneeth (IND,37) bt Artyom Savatygin (UZB,161) 21-7 21-10
[R2] (11) Ajay JAYARAM (IND,21) l Kenichi Tago (JPN,63) 21-23 18-21
[R2] (13) H. S. Prannoy (IND,24) bt Lars Schaenzler (GER,170) 21-16 21-13

[R1] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) bt Karin Schnaase (GER,26) 21-7 21-15
[R1] (6) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,12) bt Chloe Magee (IRL,61) 21-19 21-10

[R3] Sameer Verma (IND,42) vs (16) Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (THA,33)
[R3] B. Sai Praneeth (IND,37) vs (2) Tien Chen Chou (TPE,7)
[R3] (13) H. S. Prannoy (IND,24) vs (6) Rajiv Ouseph (ENG,18)

[R2] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) vs Kristina Gavnholt (CZE,41)
[R2] (6) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,12) vs Yu Po Pai (TPE,23)

Expected winning start for Indians in the first round ... Sai and Prannoy take advantage of weaker draw for winning the second round also ... Saina also win without facing any trouble from her German opponent ... Sindhu also join her with straight games win over Magee ... Big upset of the day score by Sameer in the second round when he beats WR #11 Chinese Zhengming Wang in two tight straight games ... But Ajay lose his match against Tago in straight games.

Tennis News

At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[R1] (6) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) bt (Q) Lorenzo Sonego (ITA,380) 61 61

[R2] (6) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) vs (WC) Zhe Li (CHN,227)

Yuki scores dominating win over Italian qualifier ... Next he is facing local wild-card player Zhe Li.

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At $100K Guadalajara Challenger, Mexico

[R1] (4) Adil Shamasdin (CAN)/ Divij Sharan (IND) l Nicolas Barrientos (COL)/ Alejandro Gonzalez (COL) 46 57

Another first round loss for Adil and Divij, this time against Colombian pair.

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At $125K+H Irving Challenger, Texas, USA

[R1] Ruan Roelofse (RSA)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Marco Cecchinato (ITA)/ Inigo Cervantes (ESP) 46 36
[R1] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Rosol (CZE)bt Rogerio Dutra Silva (BRA)/ Giovanni Lapentti (ECU) 63 64

[QF] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Rosol (CZE) vs John-Patrick Smith (AUS)/ Michael Venus (NZL)

Purav-Ruan lose in the first round against European pair ... Other hand expected winning start for Lee-Rosol against South American pair ... Next they r having match against good challenger level pair of John-Patrick Smith and Michael Venus.

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At $25K USA F10 Futures , Bakersfield, California

[R1] (1) Somdev Devvarman (IND,277) bt (WC) Isaiah Strode (USA,1887) 63 63

[R2] (1) Somdev Devvarman (IND,277) vs (Q) Lucas Renard (SWE,1763)

Expected winning start for Buji ... Next he is facing Swedish qualifier.

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At $25K France F6 Futures, Poitiers

[R2] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,432) l Maxime Authom (BEL,455) 26 26

Prajnesh fail to challenge experienced Belgian opponent Maxime Authom.

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At $25K Australia F3 Futures, Mornington

[R1] Vinayak Sharma KAZA (IND,753) l (Q) Cody BRACKENREG (AUS,UNR) 46 62 36

Overall disappointing performance by Kaza and Niki.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 4, Tuesday 15 March 2016
Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) - Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) ½-½
Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) - Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) ½-½
Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) - Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) 1-0
Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) - Anish Giri (NED,2793) ½-½

Karjakin shock Anand with perfectly played game with white ... He beats Anand in 43 moves to lead Candidates tournament.

Tennis News

At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,156) bt (1) Taro Daniel (JPN,86) 16 60 75

Saki scores remarkable comeback win while struggling with cramps against top-seed Taro ... This is Saketh's third win over top-100 player ... First 2 sets were closely fought though both sets scores were one-sided ... Taro won the first set losing a game but Saki fought back for winning the second set without losing single game ... In the third again due to some erratic play from Saki helped Taro for leading 5-3 ... But Saki had different plan he broke Taro in 9th and 11th games, he won four games on trot for completing big win ... In end he was cramping hope nothing serious ... Saki need to work on his fitness and reduce some casual approach while playing important points.

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At $125K+H Irving Challenger, Texas, USA

[R1] Ruan Roelofse (RSA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Marco Cecchinato (ITA)/ Inigo Cervantes (ESP)
[R1] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Lukas Rosol (CZE) vs Rogerio Dutra Silva (BRA)/ Giovanni Lapentti (ECU)

I think After more than 15 yrs Lee is back on challengers ... He and Rosol r 4th seed and they r facing South American pair ... Purav and Ruan r facing European pair.

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At $100K Guadalajara Challenger, Mexico

[R1] Adil Shamasdin (CAN)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Nicolas Barrientos (COL)/ Alejandro Gonzalez (COL)

Divij and Adil r 4th seed and facing Colombian pair in the first round.

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At $25K France F6 Futures, Poitiers

[R1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,432) bt (LL) Luis Diego Chavez Villalpando (BOL,1370) 36 63 61

[R2] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,432) vs Maxime Authom (BEL,455)

Prajnesh scores comeback win over lucky loser Luis Diego ... Next he is facing former top 150 and challenger level player Maxime Authom.

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At $25K USA F10 Futures , Bakersfield, California

[R1] (1) Somdev Devvarman (IND,277) vs (WC) Isaiah Strode (USA,1887)

After almost 4 yrs Buji is back on futures ... He is top-seed and facing local wild-card player in the first round.

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At $25K Australia F3 Futures, Mornington

[R1] Niki KALIYANDA POONACHA (IND,993) l (WC) Alexander CRNOKRAK (AUS,UNR) 36 46

Shocking straight sets loss for Niki against 16 yrs old local player.

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At $10K Japan F2 Futures, Nishi-Tokyo

[R1] Karuunuday Singh (IND,529) l (SE) Gengo Kikuchi (JPN,932) 46 63 57
[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,624) bt Yecong He (CHN,606) 64 62

[R2] Sidharth Rawat (IND,624) vs Issei Okamura (JPN,821)

Sid scores comfortable win over little higher ranked Chinese opponent ... Next he is meeting tough challenge of Okamura, in their last two meeting Okamura win it comfortably.

KU gives fighting performance against in-form Kikuchi in his three sets loss giving good indication that he is recovering well from his injury.

Badminton News

At $120K Swiss Open 2016, Basel (Grand Prix Gold)

[R1] Sameer Verma (IND,42) vs Emil Holst (DEN,48)
[R1] B. Sai Praneeth (IND,37) vs Mathias Bonny (SUI,277)
[R1] (11) Ajay JAYARAM (IND,21) vs Jiann Shiarng Chiang (MAS,242)
[R1] (13) H. S. Prannoy (IND,24) vs Kalle Koljonen (FIN,132)

[R1] (1) Saina Nehwal (IND,3) vs Karin Schnaase (GER,26)
[R1] (6) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,12) vs Chloe Magee (IRL,61)

Our top singles players r playing at Basel ... Only Srikanth and Kashyap r missing due to injury ... In the first round all having winnable matches, only Sameer is playing similar ranked Danish player.

Tennis News

At $2.8M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R2] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) l Vania King (USA)/ Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS) 67(7) 46

Shocking loss of Sania-Martina in the second round against Vania King and Alla Kudryavtseva ... Surprising to see that our pair is losing so early so this is their second loss of the year.

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At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[Q2] Sanam Singh (IND,302) l Jimmy Wang (TPE,378) 63 36 46
[Q2] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND,415) l (3) Marton Fucsovics (HUN,200) 46 26

[R1] (6) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) vs (Q) Lorenzo Sonego (ITA,380)

Doubles
[R1] Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs Ti Chen (TPE)/ Go Soeda (JPN)

And disappointing loss for Sanam after excellent win over top 200 player ... After winning the first set Sanam lose next two sets for ... In the final set he was up with break 3-1, but then he lost 5 out of next 6 games for losing the match ... Jeeval fail to challenge his top 200 opponent Fucsovics.

Yuki is facing Italian Lorenzo Sonego in the first round ... In the doubles only Yuki-Saki r getting chance in main-draw and they r facing Ti Chen and Go Soeda.

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At $25K Australia F3 Futures, Mornington

[R1] Niki KALIYANDA POONACHA (IND,993) vs (WC) Alexander CRNOKRAK (AUS,UNR)
[R1] Vinayak Sharma KAZA (IND,753) vs (Q) Cody BRACKENREG (AUS,UNR)

Niki and Vinayak r playing in Aussie futures.

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At $10K Japan F2 Futures, Nishi-Tokyo

[R1] Karuunuday Singh (IND,529) vs (SE) Gengo Kikuchi (JPN,932)
[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,624) vs Yecong He (CHN,606)

KU is having tough match against last week's finalist Gengo Kikuchi.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 3, Sunday 13 March 2016
Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) - Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) ½-½
Anish Giri (NED,2793) - Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) ½-½
Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) - Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) ½-½
Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) - Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) 0-1

In Ruy Lopez game Anand and Caruana game end in a draw after 40 moves ... Levon Aronian joins Anand and Karjakin on top spot with 2 pts after beating Topalov in 50 moves playing with black.

Golf News

At $1.75M True Thailand Classic, Hua Hin (EPGA Tour 2016)

T7 Jeev Milkha Singh (IND) 73 68 69 67 -11 $45,150.00
T19 Chirag Kumar (IND) 68 68 76 68 -8 $20,125.00
T25 Arjun Atwal (IND) 69 72 74 66 -7 $15,837.50
T25 Rashid Khan (IND) 70 66 73 72 -7 $15,837.50
T35 Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 73 68 70 71 -6 $12,425.00
T45 Himmat Rai (IND) 68 72 72 72 -4 $8,225.00

With five under final round Jeev finishes in top ten in this European and Asian co-sanctioned tournament at Thailand ... This is Jeev's first top ten finish after 2013 ... Arjun scores best final round for Indians, six under, which help him to finish inside top 25 ... Chirag also score four under to finish inside top 20.

Tennis News

At $7M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] (2) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Florin Meargea (ROM) l Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/ Marc López (ESP) 62 46 4-10

Disappointing loss for Rohan-Florin in match tie-break after winning the first set ... Spanish pair outperformed them in match tie-break.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2016, Puebla, Mexico

[R1] (3) Akiko OMAE (JPN)/ Prarthana G. THOMBARE (IND) bt Melissa MORALES (GUA)/ Kirsten-Andrea WEEDON (GUA) 62 60
[QF] (3) Akiko OMAE (JPN)/ Prarthana G. THOMBARE (IND) bt Cristiana FERRANDO (ITA)/ Michaela HONCOVA (SVK) 64 63
[SF] (3) Akiko OMAE (JPN)/ Prarthana G. THOMBARE (IND) bt Victoria RODRIGUEZ (MEX)/ Ana Sofia SANCHEZ (MEX) 75 76(5)

Doubles Final
(3) Akiko OMAE (JPN)/ Prarthana G. THOMBARE (IND) bt (1) Irina KHROMACHEVA (RUS)/ Ksenia LYKINA (RUS) 64 26 10-8

This week Prarthana Thombare wins doubles title at $25K tournament with her Japanese partner ... In the final they defeated top-seed Russian pair in match tie-break ... This is Prarthna's third $25K level doubles title.

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At $50K+H Guangzhou Challenger, China

[Q1] Sanam Singh (IND,302) bt (1) Amir Weintraub (ISR,195) 62 75
[Q1] N Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,) l (2) Marius Copil (ROU,198) 46 36
[Q1] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND,415) bt (WC) Zihao Xia (CHN,UNR) 76(1) 63

[Q2] Sanam Singh (IND,302) vs Jimmy Wang (TPE,378)
[Q2] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND,415) vs (3) Marton Fucsovics (HUN,200)

[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,156) vs (1) Taro Daniel (JPN,86)
[R1] (6) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) vs Qualifier

In qualifying Sanam starts with upset win over top-200 Israeli Amir Weintraub in straight sets ... Next he is facing experienced Jimmy Wang ... Jeevan is also in second qualifying round with win over Chinese un-ranked player ... Next he is facing top-200 Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.

In main-draw really tough draw for Saki as he is facing top-seed and top-90 Japanese Taro Daniel and Yuki is facing qualifier.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 2, Saturday 12 March 2016
Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) - Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) ½-½
Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) - Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) ½-½
Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794)- Anish Giri (NED,2793) ½-½
Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) - Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) 1-0

As per report Anand and Aronian played a theoretical battle with opening Queen's gambit declined where both of them were excellently prepared ... Sergey Karjakin score only win of the day against Nakamura playing with white in 38 moves.

Tennis News

At $2.8M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Casey Dellacqua (AUS)/ Samantha Stosur (AUS) 63 75

[R2] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs Vania King (USA)/ Alla Kudryavtseva (RUS)

Sania-Martina r back on winning track and start with straight sets win over Aussie pair ... Next they r facing American-Russian combination.

Mahesh is out of BNP Paribas Open due to leg injury.

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At $50K+H Zhuhai Challenger, China

[SF] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) l (4) Thomas Fabbiano (ITA,126) 36 36

Yuki lose in straight sets against Fabbiano ... In this match Yuki struggled with his game as his backhand wasn't working and he failed to convert net points ... In the first set Fabbiano broke Yuki in 4th game for winning the set ... In the second set Yuki broke Fabbiano in 2nd game to lead 2-0 ... Fabbiano immediately broke back and after that he also took couple of breaks on 7th and 9th games for convincing win.

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At $10K Japan F1 Futures, Nishi-Tama

[QF] (7) Karuunuday Singh (IND,532) l Issei Okamura (JPN,821) 36 26

KU also fail to stop challenge of Okamura and lose in straight sets.

Chess News

At the World Championship Candidates Tournament 2016, Moscow, Russia

Round 1, Friday 11 March 2016
Sergey Karjakin (RUS,2760) - Peter Svidler (RUS,2757) ½-½
Hikaru Nakamura (USA,2790) - Fabiano Caruana (USA,2794) ½-½
Anish Giri (NED,2793) - Levon Aronian (ARM,2786) ½-½
Viswanathan Anand (IND,2762) - Veselin Topalov (BUL,2780) 1-0

Anand start with a win playing White in 49 moves ... His game wasn't perfect but he played anti-Berlin taking risk and that played of ... Other three games ended in a draw.

Badminton News

At $550K Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2016, Birmingham (Superseries Premier)

[QF] (2) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) l Tai Tzu Ying (TPE,9) 15-21 16-21

Saina lose in straight games against Tai Tzu Ying in straight games and with that All England Championship turn to be disastrous for Indians ... This was Saina's fifth loss in a row against Tai Tzu Ying.

Tennis News

At $50K+H Zhuhai Challenger, China

[QF] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) bt (5) Saketh Myneni (IND,156) 64 76(3)

[SF] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) vs (4) Thomas Fabbiano (ITA,126)

Yuki scores straight sets win over Saki ... Though this match was won in close two sets, still Yuki was never under pressure in this match ... Yuki won the first set with a single break advantage ... In the second set both players hold their respective service games for taking the match in tie-break ... Again Yuki dominated tie-break for straight sets win ... In the semis he is facing top-125 Italian Thomas Fabbiano.

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At $75K+H Abierto de Puebla, Mexico

[QF] Ruan Roelofse (RSA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (3) Marcus Daniell (NZL)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) 64 36 8-10

Purav-Ruan fail to keep momentum after winning the first set and lose their match in match tie-break against seeded Sitak-Daniell.

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At $10K Japan F1 Futures, Nishi-Tama

[SF] Shuichi SEKIGUCHI (JPN)/ Karunuday SINGH (IND) l (1) Liang-Chi HUANG (TPE)/ Ben MCLACHLAN (NZL) 26 36

In the doubles Ku and his Japanese partner lose their match convincingly against top-seed pair.

Badminton News

At $550K Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2016, Birmingham (Superseries Premier)

[R2] (Q) Sameer Verma (IND,41) l (8) Houwei Tian (CHN,8) 21-10 12-21 19-21
[R2] Kidambi Srikanth (IND,10) l (4) Kento Momota (JPN,3) 10-21 13-21
[R2] B. Sai Praneeth (IND,37) l Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (DEN,23) 21-12 11-21 16-21

[R2] (2) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) bt Busanan Ongbumrungphan (THA,17) 21-16 21-9

[QF] (2) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) vs Tai Tzu Ying (TPE,9)

Again old story as only Saina manages to reach in the quarters with convincing victory over Thai girl Busanan Ongbumrungphan ... Busanan little stretched Saina in the first but in the second Saina didn't give her much chance ... In the quarters Saina is facing Taipei girl Tai Tzu Ying, against who Saina generally struggled in the past.

Disappointed by overall performance by our male players in Olympic year ... Srikanth fail to challenge Kento in one-sided loss ... Sai also fail to built on his first round's upset win over Lee Chong Wei ... He lost in three games against his Danish opponent Vittinghus ... After winning the first game Sai didn't managed to keep momnum in next two games ... Sameer gives fighting performance against his Chinese opponent but he also lose in three games ... Sameer won the first game easily but Tian came back to win the second easily ... Sameer tried hard in the third but Tian won important points for completing the win.

Tennis News

At $6.8M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs Casey Dellacqua (AUS)/ Samantha Stosur (AUS)

Sania-Martina r must be eager to start another winning streak with this tournament.

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At $7M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[R1] (2) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Florin Meargea (ROM) vs Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/ Marc López (ESP)
[R1] (WC) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Stan Wawrinka (SUI) vs Steve Johnson (USA)/ Sam Querrey (USA)

Rohan-Florin r 5th seed and facing Spanish pair in the first round ... Mahesh is partnering Stan and they r facing American pair in the first round ... lee is missing this Master as he is recovering from illness.

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At $50K+H Zhuhai Challenger, China

[R2] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) bt Ti Chen (TPE,233) 63 61
[R2] (5) Saketh Myneni (IND,156) bt Luke Saville (AUS,186) 76(4) 76(4)

[QF] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) vs (5) Saketh Myneni (IND,156)

Doubles
[QF] Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs (3) Mao-Xin Gong (CHN)/ Chu-Huan Yi (TPE) 63 36 11-13
[QF] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Ti Chen (TPE) l (4) Yan Bai (CHN)/ Ricaardo Ghedin (ITA) 36 60 8-10

Yuki and Saki r in the quarters with contrasting win ... Yuki played excellent tennis to beat veteran Ti Chen losing only 4 games ... Yuki broke Ti Chen in 5th and 9th games for winning the first set ... In the second set he broke Ti Chen 2nd and 6th games for winning this match comfortably ... Other hand Saki failed to create break points on Luke's serve but he needed to save multiple break points on his serve ... Saki controlled both tie-break for winning on similar score ... In the quarters Indian #1 and #2 r facing each other.

Our both pairs lose their matches in closely fought match tie-breaks.

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At $10K Japan F1 Futures, Nishi-Tama

[R1] (7) Karuunuday Singh (IND,532) bt (WC) Taiki Hashimoto (JPN,UNR) 62 64

[R2] Sidharth Rawat (IND,626) l Issei Okamura (JPN,821) 26 46
[R2] (7) Karuunuday Singh (IND,532) bt (WC) Shoma Kato (JPN,UNR) 60 61

[QF] (7) Karuunuday Singh (IND,532) vs Issei Okamura (JPN,821)

Doubles
[QF] Shuichi SEKIGUCHI (JPN)/ Karunuday SINGH (IND) bt Gengo KIKUCHI (JPN) / Shunrou TAKESHIMA (JPN) 26 75 10-5

[SF] Shuichi SEKIGUCHI (JPN)/ Karunuday SINGH (IND) vs (1) Liang-Chi HUANG (TPE)/ Ben MCLACHLAN (NZL)

KU scores back to back two wins over local wild-card players but Sid lose his match against in-form Okamura ... In the doubles KU is in the semis with his partner after comeback win over Japanese pair.

Badminton News

At $550K Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2016, Birmingham (Superseries Premier)

[R1] H. S. Prannoy (IND,26) l Xue Song (CHN,30) 20-22 15-21
[R1] Ajay Jayaram (IND,21) l Ng Ka Long Angus (HKG,16) 18-21 21-18 19-21
[R1] (Q) Sameer Verma (IND,41) bt Yun Hu (HKG,12) 21-10 21-14
[R1] Kidambi Srikanth (IND,10) bt Rajiv Ouseph (ENG,18) 21-17 21-12
[R1] B. Sai Praneeth (IND,37) bt (2) Lee Chong Wei (MAS,2) 24-22 22-20

[R1] Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,12) l Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (THA,22) 21-18 17-21 12-21
[R1] (2) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) bt Michelle Li (CAN,16) 21-17 21-12

[R1] Manu Attri (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) l Kien Keat Koo (MAS)/ Boon Heong Tan (MAS) 21-16 13-21 15-21
[R1] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) l Samantha Barning (NED)/ Iris Tabeling (NED) 24-26 17-21

[R2] (Q) Sameer Verma (IND,41) vs (8) Houwei Tian (CHN,8)
[R2] Kidambi Srikanth (IND,10) vs (4) Kento Momota (JPN,3)
[R2] B. Sai Praneeth (IND,37) vs Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (DEN,23)

[R2] (2) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) vs Busanan Ongbumrungphan (THA,17)

Terrible start for our players as our players lose their first 4 matches ... Our both doubles pair lose their matches against lower ranked pairs ... Prannoy lose against Chinese opponent ... Ajay misses big opportunity of upsetting Ng Ka Long Angus ... He missed few chances in his loss in three games.

Qualifier Sameer break our losing streak of Indians beating WR #12 Yun Hu in convincing fashion ... In this match Sameer didn't give much chance to Yun Hu as in both games he took lead from the beginning.

Srikanth scores really good win over local favorite and British top singles player Rajiv Ouseph in straight game ... In the first game Rajiv too 5-1 lead but from 12-14 Srikanth won next 5 points to lead first time in this game, 17-14 ... Srikanth kepth that lead for winning this game ... In the second game Srikanth kept control from the start and took 9-4 lead which he kept increasing for winning this game comfortably.

Saina also start with comfortable win over Canadian Michelle Li ... In both games Saina was in control and didn't show any lack of match practice due to injury break.

Sai scores biggest win of his career and also become first Indian to beat Malaysian legend and former WR #1 Lee Chong Wei ... Though this match ended in two games but both games closely fought ... In the first game Lee Chong Wei took 11-3 lead and cruising comfortably ... Sain made amazing comeback in this game as from 7-15 he won next 8 points for 15-all ... After that both players were exchanging points ... Sai saved a game point on 20-19 and converted his third game point for winning this game ... In the second game both players were neck to neck till 6-all than again Lee Chong Wei opened lead to 16-10 ... Again Sai fought back for reducing lead to 12-17 then 16-18 ... At 19-all Sain caught with Lee Chong Wei ... Sai saved a game point at 19-20 and won next three points for completing memorable win in 50 minutes.

Sindhu lose in theee games against Thai girl ... After winning the first game she failed to keep momentum in next two and Porntip took advantage of it.

Tennis News

At $75K+H Abierto de Puebla, Mexico

[R1] Ruan Roelofse (RSA)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Dean O'brien (RSA)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) 63 64
[R1] Adil Shamasdin (CAN)/ Divij Sharan (IND) l (3) Marcus Daniell (NZL)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) 36 67(5)

[QF] Ruan Roelofse (RSA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (3) Marcus Daniell (NZL)/ Artem Sitak (NZL)

Purav-Ruan start with comfortable straight sets win ... But Divij lose his match against New Zealand pair in straight sets.

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At $10K Japan F1 Futures, Nishi-Tama


[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,626) bt (WC) Takumi Tsunematsu (JPN,UNR) 62 64
[R1] (7) Karuunuday Singh (IND,532) vs (WC) Taiki Hashimoto (JPN,UNR)

[R2] Sidharth Rawat (IND,626) vs Issei Okamura (JPN,821)

Doubles
[R1] Shuichi SEKIGUCHI (JPN)/ Karunuday SINGH (IND) bt Issei OKAMURA (JPN)/ Kento TAKEUCHI (JPN) 75 64

[QF] Shuichi SEKIGUCHI (JPN)/ Karunuday SINGH (IND) vs Gengo KIKUCHI (JPN) / Shunrou TAKESHIMA (JPN)

KU is coming on tour after more that 6 months ... He is playing in Japanese futures with Sidharth ... Hoping for injury free these futures for KU and he will able to get required match practice ... Sid start with comfortable win.

Badminton News

At $550K Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2016, Birmingham (Superseries Premier)

[Q1] Sameer Verma (IND,41) bt (3) Ginting Anthony (INA,32) 21-17 21-13
[Q1] Lalita Dahiya (IND,180) l Kati Tolmoff (EST,79) w/o
[Q1] Vineeth Manuel (IND)/ S. Sanjeeth (IND) l Christopher Coles (ENG)/ Adam Hall (SCO) 9-21 10-21

[Q2] Sameer Verma (IND,41) bt Vladimir Malkov (RUS,47) 21-16 21-11

[R1] (Q) Sameer Verma (IND,41) vs Yun Hu (HKG,12)

Lot of withdrawals, Kashyap withdraw due to knee injury so Sai replaces him in main-draw against Wei ... Guru also decide to skip qualifying.

Sameer scores straight games upset win over WR #32 Ginting Anthony in the first qualifying round ... And then score comfortable straight games win over Russian Malkov for place in main-draw ... He will face WR #12 Yun Hu in the first round.

Tennis News

At $7M BNP Paribas Open, Indian Wells, USA

[Q1] Somdev Devvarman (IND,277) l (13) Andrey Rublev (RUS,150) 63 26 57

Another close loss for Buji after winning the first set against Rublev ... Buji faced in-form 18 yrs old Russian Andrey Rublev but Buji started well after winning the first set ... Rublev fought back for winning the second ... In the final set Buji was with him till 5-all but Rublev took important break for the win ... Now after this loss Buji needs to concentrate of futures and challengers for improving his ranking.

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At $50K+H Zhuhai Challenger, China

[R1] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) bt Peter Gojowczyk (GER,186) 62 46 75
[R1] (5) Saketh Myneni (IND,156) bt Zhe Li (CHN,231) 61 64
[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,220) l (3) Jordan Thompson (AUS,123) 67(5) 57

[R2] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) vs Ti Chen (TPE,233)
[R2] (5) Saketh Myneni (IND,156) vs Luke Saville (AUS,186)

Doubles
[R1] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Ti Chen (TPE) bt (PR) Roman Jebavy (CZE)/ Jan Satral (CZE) 62 62
[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) l (4) Yan Bai (CHN)/ Ricaardo Ghedin (ITA) 46 67(3)

[QF] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Ti Chen (TPE) vs (4) Yan Bai (CHN)/ Ricaardo Ghedin (ITA)

Yuki scores a win after huffing and puffing against Gojowczyk ... Yuki started well and were in control in the first set ... Yuki broke Gojowczyk in 5th and 7th games for winning this set ... In the second set also Yuki broke Gojowczyk in 5th game and was leading 3-2 ... From here suddenly came drop in Yuki's performance ... Gojowczyk broke him in 6th game, 3-all, and then again broke Yuki in 10th game when he was serving for staying in the set ... In the final set Gojowczyk broke Yuki in 2nd game to lead 3-0 ... From 1-4 and 15-40 dowm Yuki made amazing comeback in the match ... He hold his serve and then broke Gojowczyk in 7th game, 4-all ... Yuki again broke Gojowczyk in 9th game to lead 5-4 but while serving for the match he got broken ... Yuki again broke Gojowczyk in 11th game and this time he hold after connverting 2nd match point ... Next he is facing experienced Ti Chen.

Excellent convincing win by Saki against top-230 Chinese opponent Zhe Li ... After winning the first set comfortably Saki was down with a break in the second set, 1-3 ... But Saki broke Li immediately and with another break won this match in straight sets ... Next he is facing Aussie top-200 player Luke Saville.

Big missed opportunity for RamK ... In both sets he had his chances which he failed to convert ... In the first set after exchanging breaks this sent went into tie-break ... RamK was leading 5-2 in tie-break before losing next five points to lose the set ... In the second set RamK was up with double break, 4-0 ... Again he failed to keep same intensity and lost next four games, 4-all ... And again after exchanging breaks failed to hold his serve in crucial 11th game ... After that Thompson hold his serve for straight sets win.

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At $75K+H Abierto de Puebla, Mexico

[R1] Ruan Roelofse (RSA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vsDean O'brien (RSA)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX)
[R1] Adil Shamasdin (CAN)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs (3) Marcus Daniell (NZL)/ Artem Sitak (NZL)

Purav and Divij r playing in Mexican challenger with their respective partners ... Divij and Adil having tough match against 3rd seed New Zealand pair.

Badminton News

At $550K Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2016, Birmingham (Superseries Premier)

[Q1] (1) B. Sai Praneeth (IND,37) vs Wei Feng Chong (MAS,46)
[Q1] Sameer Verma (IND,41) vs (3) Ginting Anthony (INA,32)
[Q1] R. M. V. Gurusaidutt (IND,56) vs Vladimir Malkov (RUS,47)
[Q1] Lalita Dahiya (IND,180) vs Kati Tolmoff (EST,79)
[Q1] Vineeth Manuel (IND)/ S. Sanjeeth (IND) vs Christopher Coles (ENG)/ Adam Hall (SCO)

[R1] H. S. Prannoy (IND,26) vs Xue Song (CHN,30)
[R1] Kidambi Srikanth (IND,10) vs Rajiv Ouseph (ENG,18)
[R1] Ajay Jayaram (IND,21) vs Ng Ka Long Angus (HKG,16)
[R1] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,17) vs (2) Lee Chong Wei (MAS,2)

[R1] Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,12) vs Porntip Buranaprasertsuk (THA,22)
[R1] (2) Saina Nehwal (IND,2) vs Michelle Li (CAN,16)

[R1] Manu Attri (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) vs Kien Keat Koo (MAS)/ Boon Heong Tan (MAS)
[R1] Jwala Gutta (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) vs Samantha Barning (NED)/ Iris Tabeling (NED)

Tricky first round matches for our men's players.

Tennis News

At $50K+H Zhuhai Challenger, China

[Q3] (7) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND,415) l (4) Cheong-Eui Kim (KOR,347) 46 46

Doubles
[R1] Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt Zhe Li (CHN)/ Hsien-Yin Peng (TPE) 61 64

Only Jeevan fail to cross final hurdle and lose his match in straight sets against his Korean opponent.

Yuki and Saketh combine well for convincing first round win over Chinese-Taipei pair in straight sets.

Golf News

At $9.5M World Golf Championship - Cadillac Championship, Miami, Florida (PGA Tour 2016)

T28 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 70 70 71 79 +2 $79,428.57

After scoring below PAR rounds in first 3 rounds Anirban was in good position for finishing inside top-10 ... But he must kept one bad round for the last round ... Anirban scored one double bogey, six bogeys and one birdie in his round ... In that he scored five bogeys in a row from 3rd hole to 7th hole and that ended his chance of finishing inside top-10.

Table Tennis

At the World Team Table Tennis Championships 2016 - 2nd Division, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Men's Team event Final
India bt Brazil 3-2

Soumyajit Ghosh (IND) l Hugo Calderano (BRA) 13-15 4-11 7-11
Harmeet Desai (IND) bt Cazuo Matsumoto (BRA) 11-3 8-11 8-11 11-8 11-9
Amalraj Anthony l Thiago Monteiro (BRA) 11-8 7-11 11-5 9-11 9-11
Soumyajit Ghosh (IND) bt Cazuo Matsumoto (BRA) 11-6 14-12 11-9
Harmeet Desai (IND) bt Hugo Calderano (BRA) 4-11 11-5 15-13 11-6

Women's Team event Final
India bt Luxembourg 3-1

Mouma Das (IND) bt Danielle Konsbruck (LUX) 11-1 11-4 13-11
Manika Batra (IND) bt Tessy Gonderinger (LUX) 11-6 11-2 9-11 13-11
Shamini Kumaresan (IND) l Sarah De Nutte (LUX) 4-11 9-11 9-11
Manika Batra (IND) bt Danielle Konsbruck (LUX) 11-5 11-4 11-8

Our both table tennis teams create history after winning second division title for qualifying World Championship Division.

In the final our men's team missed Achanta Sharath Kamal due to injury but Harmeet Desai raised to occasion to help team for winning the title ... Brazil took early lead after winning first match, Soumyajit lost in straight games against Hugo Calderano ... In second match Harmeet Desai scored comeback win over Brazilian Cazuo Matsumoto from 1-2 games down ... Brazil won third match when Thiago Monteiro defeated Amalraj in five games ... In crucial match Soumyajit defeated Matsumoto in straight games ... In deciding rubber Harmeet defeated Hugo Calderano in four games for famous victory ... So in this tournament our men lose only one match in group stage against Nigeria and they took revenge beating same Nigerian team in knock-out stage.

Our women's team scored 3-1 victory over Luxembourg ... In the first match Mouma Das started with straight games win over Konsbruck ... In the second match Manika Batra defeated Gonderinger in four games ... Luxembourg came back winning third match when Sarah De Nutte defeated Shamini Kumaresan in straight games ... But Manika Batra kept her cool winning fourth match against Konsbruck in straight games and completed victory for Indian women ... So our women remain undefeated as this was their 8th win in 8 matches.

Golf News

At $9.5M World Golf Championship - Cadillac Championship, Miami, Florida (PGA Tour 2016)

T7 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 70 70 71 -5

Till now Anirban produces very consistent performance for remain inside top-10 in this big tournament ... Hoping for another consistent performance in last round for Anirban's first top-10 finish on PGA tour for 2016 season.

Tennis News

At $50K+H Zhuhai Challenger, China

[Q1] (1) Sanam Singh (IND,302) bye
[Q1] (7) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND,415) bt Mark Vervoort (NED,1401) 64 64
[Q1] (8) Vijay Sunder Prasanth (IND,419) bt Xiao Gong (CHN,1020) 62 75

[Q2] (1) Sanam Singh (IND,302) l Kewin Krawietz (GER,443) 26 26
[Q2] (7) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND,415) bt Xi Qi (CHN,1251) 62 63
[Q2] (8) Vijay Sunder Prasanth (IND,419) l Richardo Ghedin (ITA,465) 76(3) 67(3) 46

[Q3] (7) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND,415) vs (4) Cheong-Eui Kim (KOR,347)

[R1] (1) Yuki Bhambri (IND,111) vs Peter Gojowczyk (GER,186)
[R1] (5) Saketh Myneni (IND,156) vs Zhe Li (CHN,231)
[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,220) vs (3) Jordan Thompson (AUS,123)

Doubles
[R1] Yuki Bhambri (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs Zhe Li (CHN)/ Hsien-Yin Peng (TPE)
[R1] Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Ti Chen (TPE) vs (PR) Roman Jebavy (CZE)/ Jan Satral (CZE)
[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Thomas Fabbiano (ITA) vs (4) Yan Bai (CHN)/ Ricaardo Ghedin (ITA)

Only Jeevan is in the final qualifying round ... Sanam's poor form of this season continues with another one-sided loss.

With their current form our all top three players having tricky matches in the singles ... In the doubles Yuki and Saki r playing together for the first time.

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At $10K Turkey F9 Futures, Antalya

[R1] (6) Prajnesh GUNNESWARAN (IND,429) bt Barkin YALCINKALE (TUR,842) 62 60
[R2] (6) Prajnesh GUNNESWARAN (IND,429) bt Sarp AGABIGUN (TUR,941) 61 63
[QF] (6) Prajnesh GUNNESWARAN (IND,429) bt Tallon GRIEKSPOOR (NED,563) 67(4) 63 76(4)
[SF] (6) Prajnesh GUNNESWARAN (IND,429) bt Gibril DIARRA (AUT,818) 63 64

[F] (6) Prajnesh GUNNESWARAN (IND,429) l (2) Yannick JANKOVITS (FRA,260) 67(9) 64 36

Prajnesh misses big opportunity of lifting another futures title beating top-260 French opponent ... In the final he was 6-2 up in first set tie-break ... He failed to convert one of set point, in total he had 6 set points which he failed to convert before losing the set ... In the second set he fought back for winning it but he failed to keep momentum in the third and lost this match after almost 3 hours match.

Shooting News

At ISSF World Cup Rifle / Pistol 2016, Bangkok, Thailand

Jitu Rai qualified for the final of 10m Pistol Men Final but this time fail to win medal as he finishes on 5th position.

Table Tennis

At the World Team Table Tennis Championships 2016 - 2nd Division, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Men's Team event
Group stage
INDIA bt VIETNAM 3-0
INDIA bt TURKEY 3-0
INDIA l NIGERIA 0-3
INDIA bt SWITZERLAND 3-0
INDIA bt SLOVAK REPUBLIC 3-0

Knock out stage (for places 25-36)
INDIA bt HUNGARY 3-1
INDIA bt NIGERIA 3-1

For 25-28 places
INDIA bt EGYPT 3-1

Women's Team event
INDIA bt COLOMBIA 3-0
INDIA bt PUERTO RICO 3-1
INDIA bt PORTUGAL 3-0
INDIA bt NIGERIA 3-0
INDIA bt CROATIA 3-0

Knock out stage (for places 25-36)
India bye
INDIA bt PUERTO RICO 3-1

For 25-28 places
INDIA bt SERBIA 3-2

Our table tennis teams create history as both teams achieve promotion to next edition World Championship of Division 1 at Sweden.

Our men's team faced loss against Nigeria in group stage, so due to that loss they finished on 2nd position ... In Knock-out our players won first match against Hungary ... In their second match they faced Nigeria again but this time our team manged to turn table on them ... And in most important match against Egypt our team raised their games for winning it against Egypt, 3-1 ... Now for the top spot of 2nd Edition our men will be playing against Brazil.

Our women's team dominated group stage winning their all matches and in knock-out they received bye and in 2nd match again defeated Puerto Rico 3-1 ... And then in most important match for promotion our girls beat higher ranked Serbian team in comeback win ... Our team were 0-2 matches down but showed terrific resilient for winning next three matches and securing promotion for Division 1 ... For top spot they r facing Luxembourg girls.

Badminton News

At $120K German Open 2016, Mulheim an der Ruhr (Grand Prix Gold)

[QF] P.V. Sindhu (IND,12) l (4) Shixian WANG (CHN,6) 16-21 18-21

Sindhi fail to challenge Shixian Wang and lose her match in straight games ... Not a ideal preparation for Indian players before All England championship.

Shooting News

At ISSF World Cup Rifle / Pistol 2016, Bangkok, Thailand

50m Pistol Men Final
Gold - Jitu Rai IND 191.3 pts
Silver - Pang Wei CHN 186.5 pts
Bronze - Wang Zhiwei CHN 165.8 pts

Jitu Rai shows consistency in his shooting to lift Gold medal at Bangkok World cup beating challenge of two Chinese medal winners ... He raised his performance in right moment for winning this medal after qualifying on 3rd position ... This was good performance after disappointing outing for our experienced shooters Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Naran in yesterday's Mens 10 m Air rifle event ... Only young Pooja Ghatkar gave creditable performance for reaching the final first time and finishing creditable 4th position in Womens 10m Air rifle event.

Badminton News

At $120K German Open 2016, Mulheim an der Ruhr (Grand Prix Gold)

[R3] (11) PARUPALLI Kashyap (IND,17) l (8) SON Wan Ho (KOR,13) 12-21 11-16 retd.
[R3] (6) Srikanth KIDAMBI (IND,10) l (12) Ka Long Angus NG (HKG,16) 21-18 18-21 18-21

[R2] P.V. Sindhu (IND,12) bt Michelle LI (CAN,16) 21-9 21-17

[R2] Manu ATTRI (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) l Sheng Mu LEE (TPE)/ Chia Hsin TSAI (TPE) 10-21 10-21

[QF] P.V. Sindhu (IND,12) vs (4) Shixian WANG (CHN,6)

Sindhu scores comfortable win over top-16 Michelle Li in straight games ... In the quarters she is facing Shixian Wang.

Our challenge in men's singles is finished with losses of Srikanth and Kashyap ... After losing the first game Kashyap retired from midway of the second game due to injury ... Srikanth won the first game against Ng but failed to keep same intensity in next two games.

One-sided loss for Manu and Sumeeth against Taipei pair.

Badminton News

At $120K German Open 2016, Mulheim an der Ruhr (Grand Prix Gold)

[R1] (11) PARUPALLI Kashyap (IND,17) bt Artem POCHTAREV (UKR,68) 21-9 21-9
[R1] Sameer VERMA (IND,41) bt Dmytro ZAVADSKY (UKR,59) 21-9 21-8
[R1] (6) Srikanth KIDAMBI (IND,10) bt Takuma UEDA (JPN,33) 12-21 21-18 21-11
[R1] Kaushal DHARMAMER (IND,204) l (14) Marc ZWIEBLER (GER,19) 4-121 14-21

[R2] (11) PARUPALLI Kashyap (IND,17) bt Joshua MAGEE (IRL,254) 21-12 21-11
[R2] Sameer VERMA (IND,41) l (15) Dong Keun LEE (KOR,22) 21-8 19-21 19-21
[R2] (6) Srikanth KIDAMBI (IND,10) bt Erik MEIJS (NED,113) 15-21 21-6 21-16

[R1] P.V. Sindhu (IND,12) bt Rong SCHAFER (USA,36) 21-11 21-13

[R1] Manu ATTRI (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) bt Marcus ELLIS (ENG)/ Chris LANGRIDGE (ENG) 21-16 19-21 21-17

[R3] (11) PARUPALLI Kashyap (IND,17) vs (8) SON Wan Ho (KOR,)
[R3] (6) Srikanth KIDAMBI (IND,10) vs (12) Ka Long Angus NG (HKG)

[R2] P.V. Sindhu (IND,12) vs Michelle LI (CAN,16)

[R2] Manu ATTRI (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) vs Sheng Mu LEE (TPE)/ Chia Hsin TSAI (TPE)

Expected wins for Indian players with no upset ... But still fighting performance by Sameer in his loss against top-25 Korean player ... He started well winning the first game but lost next to in closely fought match ... Also good win by our doubles pair Manu and Sumeeth against similar ranked British pair.