Thursday, August 31, 2017

Squash News

At $100K Women's JP Morgan China Open 2017, Shanghai

[Q1] (1) Joshna Chinappa (IND,14) bt (WC) Duan Siyu (CHN,UNR) 11-1, 11-2, 11-5 (13m)
[Q1] Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND,22) bt Jenny Duncalf (ENG,27) 12-10, 9-11, 8-11, 11-3, 11-5 (50m)

[Q2] (1) Joshna Chinappa (IND,14) bt Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND,22) 7-11, 11-5, 11-6, 7-11, 11-8 (56m)

[R1] (Q) Joshna Chinappa (IND,14) vs (1) Nour El Sherbini (EGY,1)

Joshna scored impressive win over Dipika in the final qualifying ... And facing tough challenge of WR #1 Nour El Sherbini.

At $100K Men's JP Morgan China Open 2017, Shanghai

[Q1] (2) Saurav Ghosal (IND,27) bt (WC) Zhou Zhitao (CHN,UNR) 11-2, 11-1, 11-1 (18m)
[Q2] (2) Saurav Ghosal (IND,27) bt Omar Abdel Meguid (EGY,30) 11-9, 6-11, 11-9, 11-1 (51m)

[R1] (Q) Saurav Ghosal (IND,27) vs (4) Fares Dessouky (EGY,10)

Saurav in the main-draw with impressive win over similar ranked Egypatian.

Wednesday, August 30, 2017

Tennis News

At US Open 2017, New York, USA

Mixed Doubles
[R1] (7) Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/ Rohan Bopanna (IND) vs Heather Watson (GBR)/ Henri Kontinen (FIN)
[R1] (2) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) vs Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)/ Fabrice Martin (FRA)

The mixed draw is out and after ages, Lee is missing from this draw ... Rohan-Gabriela is having a tough match against Wimbledon finalists, Watson and Kontinen .. Rohan-Gabriela lost against them at Wimbledon ... Sania-Ivan r facing French Open singles winner Latvian Jelena Ostapenko with Martin.

At $50K+H Quito Challenger 2017, Ecuador (clay)

[R1] (8) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,224) l Marcelo Arevalo (ESA,315) 36 75 46

Prajnesh struggle in transition to challenger level continues ... Another close loss against experience player.

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Boxing News

At 2017 AIBA World Boxing Championships, Hamburg, Germany

Light flyweight - 49kg
[R32] Amit Phangal (IND) bt Federico Serra (ITA) 4-1
[R16] Amit Phangal (IND) bt Carlos Quipo (ECU) 5-0

[QF] Amit Phangal (IND) l Hasanboy Dusmatov (UZB) 0-5

Flyweight - 52kg
[R32] Kavinder Bisht (IND) bt Ryusei Baba (JPN) 3-2
[R16] Kavinder Bisht (IND) bt Mohamed Flissi (ALG) 3-2

[QF] Kavinder Bisht (IND) l Kim In-kyu (KOR) 0-4


Bantamweight - 56kg
[R32] Gaurav Bidhuri (IND) bt Sam Goodman (AUS) 5-0
[R16] Gaurav Bidhuri (IND) bt Mykola Butsenko (UKR) 4-1

[QF] Gaurav Bidhuri (IND) bt Bilel Mhamdi (TUN) 3-0

[SF] Gaurav Bidhuri (IND) vs Duke Ragan (USA)

Wildcard entrant Gaurav Bidhuri on Tuesday became only the fourth Indian boxer ever to secure himself a medal in the World Championships after he defeated Tunisia's Bilel Mhamdi to enter the semifinals of the World Championship ... Vijender Singh (2009), Vikas Krishan (2011) and Shiva Thapa (2015) have been the country's only other medallists at the World Championship.

Kavinder Bisht fine run ended in the quarters against Korean boxer ... But there was a slight disappointment as well for the contingent when another impressive debutant Amit Phangal bowed out in the quarterfinal stage ... Amit went down to Olympic champion and 2nd seed Hasanboy Dusmatov of Uzbekistan in a unanimous verdict.

Before that, Kavinder notched up a remarkable 3-2 victory over Algeria's two-time world medallist Mohamed Flissi to make the last eight stage.

This is an impressive performance from youngsters after experienced boxers lost their bouts ... Shiva Thapa in the lightweight 60kg category, bowed out without exchanging a single blow, forced to give a walkover after being laid low by food poisoning and high fever ... Vikas Krishan (75kg) was ousted after a second-round loss ... Manoj Kumar (69kg) went down in a split verdict to 4th seed Venezuelan Gabriel Maestre Perez.

Monday, August 28, 2017

Tennis News

At $50K+H Quito Challenger 2017, Ecuador (clay)

[R1] (8) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,224) vs Marcelo Arevalo (ESA,315)

Prajnesh is playing in Ecuador and having match against experienced player, Marcelo Arevalo.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Badminton news

At TOTAL BWF World Championships 2017, Glasgow, Scotland

Courtesy OGQ FB page
Women's Singles Final
(4) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,4) l (7) Nozomi Okuhara (JPN,12) 19-21 22-20 20-22

Take a bow Sindhu, we r very proud of your performance and your Silver medal!

After losing the first game Sindhu showed her desire and kept fighting ... She managed to win the second game on her 4th game point, which she won after 73 shots rally after Okuhara saved 3 game points ... In the final game, Sindhu was up 19-17 but then credit should go to Japanese girl Okuhara, who showed heart to fight back winning next 3 points and converted 2nd match point for World Championship ... This match turned into the longest women's match in World Championship, 1 hour 50 minutes.

For me, a turning point of the match when Sindhu lost 11-5 advantage in the first game to lose the game because after that Okuhara always kept Sindhu under pressure ... In the final game, Sindhu was trying catching game as she was more tired on the court.

Golf News

At €1.8M Made In Denmark 2017, , Farsø, Denmark (Europen Tour)

T19 SSP Chawrasia (IND) 67 68 71 69 -9 € 21,285

SSP finished inside top-20 on the European tour but I think he missed the big opportunity of strong finish ... After two rounds he was in top-5 standing but last two rounds didn't help him for a strong finish.

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Badminton News

At TOTAL BWF World Championships 2017, Glasgow, Scotland

[SF] (4) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,4) bt (9) Chen Yufei (CHN,10) 21-13 21-10
[SF] (12) Saina Nehwal (IND,16) l (7) Nozomi Okuhara (JPN,12) 21-12, 17-21, 10-21

[F] (4) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,4) vs (7) Nozomi Okuhara (JPN,12)

Sindhu has reached into her first World Championship title match against Japanese girl, Nozomi Okuhara ... In the semis, Sindhu scored very dominating win over current Junior World Champion Chen Yufei ... In her ruthless perfomance she didn't gave any chance to Chen ... Now, one match away from World crown.

Saina failed to repeat her 2015 World Championship performance and lost to Okuhara after winning the first game ... After losing the first game Okuhara played patient game and recovered everything Saina played ... This forced to make unforced errors from Saina as she tried to close points with attacking game ... In the third game, Saina was tired and failed to challenge Okuhara ... Still, creditable performance from Saina as she lifted another World Championship medal after post-surgery.

Tennis News

At US Open 2017, New York, USA

Doubles
[R1] (4) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Shuai Peng (CHN) vs Petra Martic (CRO)/ Donna Vekic (CRO)
[R1] (10) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Pablo Cuevas (URU) vs Bradley Klahn (USA)/ Scott Lipsky (USA)
[R1] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Andre Begemann (GER) vs (11) Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/ Marc Lopez (ESP)
[R1] Leander Paes (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Janko Tipsarevic (SRB)/ Viktor Troicki (SRB)

The doubles draw is out ... Divij-Andre having a tough match against Lopezs ... Lee-Purav r facing Serbian pair and Rohan-Pablo r facing American duo ... Sania-Shuai r playing against Croatian pair.

At $60K ITF Women's Tournament 2017, Artvin, Turkey

Courtesy FB page
Doubles Final
Gabriela Ce (BRA)/ Ankita Raina (IND) bt (4) Elitsa Kostova (BUL)/ Yana Sizikova (RUS) 62 63

Ankita lifted the doubles title in this big ITF tournament partnering Brazilian girl Gabriela Ce, this was her 4th ITF title of the season ... In the final, they defeated 4th seed Elitsa Kostova and Yana Sizikova convincingly.

At $25K Poland F10 Futures 2017, Poznan

[SF] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,261) vs (3) Mats Moraing (GER,344) 46 57

Sumit lost in the straight sets against his German opponent ... In this match, Sumit created more break point chances but he failed to convert those, converted one from six chances. ... Other hand Moraing converted all three chances.

Friday, August 25, 2017

Badminton News

At TOTAL BWF World Championships 2017, Glasgow, Scotland

[QF] (8) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,10) l (1) Wan Ho Son (KOR,1) 14-21 18-21

[QF] (4) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,4) bt (5) Yu Sun (CHN,6) 21-14 21-9
[QF] (12) Saina Nehwal (IND,16) bt (16) Kirsty Gilmour (SCO,31) 21-19 18-21 21-15

[SF] (4) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,4) vs (9) Yufei Chen (CHN,10)
[SF] (12) Saina Nehwal (IND,16) vs (7) Nozomi Okuhara (JPN,12)

The first time India will be winning multiple medals in World Championship and if our both players win their respective semi-final then we will be witnessing historic World Chmpionship final between Indians.

Sindhu confirms her third World Championship medal with dominating win inside 40 mins against Chinese girl, Yu Sun ... In the semis, she is facing another Chinese girl, Yufei Chen.

Saina also joins Sindhu in the semis and confirms her 2nd World Championship medal after 2015 World Championship silver medal ... In the quarters, she defeated giant-killer Scottish girl, Kirsty Gilmour in three games ... In the semis, she is facing Japanese girl, Nozomi Okuhara.

Srikanth lost in the straight games against Korean WR #1 Wan Ho Son.

Tennis News

At $50K+H Manerbio Challenger 2017, Italy

[QF] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Johan Brunstorm (SWE) l Romen Arneodo (ITA)/ Hugo Nys (FRA) 26 57

Jeevan and Johan lost in the straight sets against Nys and Arneodo.

At $60K ITF Women's Tournament 2017, Artvin, Turkey

[SF] (WC) Berfu Cengiz (TUR)/ Karman Kaur Thandi (IND) l (4) Elitsa Kostova (BUL)/ Yana Sizikova (RUS) 76(5) 16 7-10
[SF] Gabriela Ce (BRA)/ Ankita Raina (IND) bt (3) Prarthana G. Thombare (IND)/ Ana Veselinovic (MNE) 62 62

Ankita and Ce in the final with dominating win over Prarthana and her partner Ana ... In the final, they r facing 4th seed pair, who scored a comeback win over Karman and her local partner Cangiz in the match tie-break.

At $25K Poland F10 Futures 2017, Poznan

[QF] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,261) bt (8) Hubert Hurkacz (POL,409) 26 63 62

[SF] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,261) vs (3) Mats Moraing (GER,344)

Sumit scored really good comeback win over talented 20 yrs old Polish player, Hubert Hurkacz ... Next, he is facing German Mats Moraing.

At $25K Turkey F31 Futures 2017, Istanbul (Clay)

[R2] (7) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,440) bt Muhammet Haylaz (TUR,736) 63 61

[QF] (7) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,440) l (4) Ivan Nedelko (RUS,382) 16 76 (5) 16

Sasi lost in the quarters, so he is still not showing taking the next step.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Football News

At the AIFF Tri-Nation Series 2017, Mumbai, India

India dw St. Kitts and Nevis 1-1 (1-0)
Goal Scored - Jackichand Singh (IND) 38' and G'Vaune Amory (SKN) 72'

Indian men failed to make it ten wins out of ten but still emerged as champions of the international triangular series ... This was struggling draw for us.

Tennis News

At US Open 2017, New York, USA

[Q2] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,156) l (14) Nicholas Mahut (FRA,113) 36 76(5) 26

RamK lost in three sets against experienced Mahut ... In this match, his serve wasn't working but still he worked hard on the court ... After losing the first set he fought back for winning the second in the tie-break ... But as per report, he was looking tired in the third ... After broken down in 5th game, 2-3, RamK had 3 break points on Mahut's serve in next game, 0-40, which he failed to convert and then again got broken in 7th game for losing the match.

At $60K ITF Women's Tournament 2017, Artvin, Turkey

[R2] (6) Ankita Raina (IND,270) bt Ana Vrljic (CRO,420) 61 46 64

[QF] (6) Ankita Raina (IND,270) l (4) Ayla Aksu (TUR,260) 63 46 16

Doubles
[QF] (WC) Berfu Cengiz (TUR)/ Karman Kaur Thandi (IND) bt (1) Oksana Kalashnikova (GEO)/ An-Sophie Mestach (BEL) 76(5) 64
[QF] (3) Prarthana G. Thombare (IND)/ Ana Veselinovic (MNE) bt Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)/ Michaela Honcova (SVK) 36 62 10-8
[QF] Gabriela Ce (BRA)/ Ankita Raina (IND) bt (2) Natela Dzalamidze (RUS)/ Valeria Savinykh (RUS) 75 63

[SF] (WC) Berfu Cengiz (TUR)/ Karman Kaur Thandi (IND) vs (4) Elitsa Kostova (BUL)/ Yana Sizikova (RUS)
[SF] (3) Prarthana G. Thombare (IND)/ Ana Veselinovic (MNE) vs Gabriela Ce (BRA)/ Ankita Raina (IND)

Ankita lost after winning the first set against Ayla Aksu ... Before that, Ankita struggled in the match against Vrljic ... After winning the first set Ankita was struggling to hold her serve ... In the last set, there was the fury of breaks but Ankita survived.

In the doubles, Karman with her Turkish partner Berfu Cengiz scored upset win over top-seed pair in straight sets ... Next, they r facing 4th seed Kostova-Sizikova.

Prarthana with her partner Veselinovic scored comeback win over Amanmuradova-Honcova for entering into the semis ... They will meet Ankita and Gabriela, who defeated 2nd seed Russian pair in straight sets ... This was a super effort from Ankita as she was playing her third match of the day.


At $25K Poland F10 Futures 2017, Poznan

[R1] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,264) bt Maciej Rajski (POL,541) 63 62

[QF] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,261) vs (8) Hubert Hurkacz (POL,409)

Sumit took revenge of loss against Rajski in dominating fashion ... Next, he is facing third Polish player in a row, this time top-400 typeHubert Hurkacz.

Badminton News

At TOTAL BWF World Championships 2017, Glasgow, Scotland

[R3] (8) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,10) bt (14) Anders Antonsen (DEN,18) 21-14 21-18
[R3] (15) Sai Praneeth B. (IND,19) l (6) Tien Chen Chou (TPE,4) 21-19 10-21 12-21
[R3] (13) Ajay Jayaram (IND,17) l (5) Long Chen (CHN,8) 11-21 10-21

[R3] (4) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,4) bt (13) Ngan Yi Cheung (TPE,17) 19-21 23-21 21-17
[R3] (12) Saina Nehwal (IND,16) bt (2) Ji Hyun Sung (KOR,3) 21-19 21-15

[R3] (15) Pranaav Jerry Chopra (ND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l (7) Praveen Jordan (INA)/ Debby Susanto (INA) 24-22 18-21 18-21

[QF] (8) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,10) vs (1) Wan Ho Son (KOR,1)

[QF] (4) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,4) vs (5) Yu Sun (CHN,6)
[QF] (12) Saina Nehwal (IND,16) vs (16) Kirsty Gilmour (SCO,31)

This was a huge win for Saina considering her recent struggle with form and inconsistency in her game ... In both games Saina was down early but she fought back to take control ... In the first game, Sung took 2-7 lead but Saina caught her at 8-all ... Sung again took lead 8-12 and then 13-17 but again Saina came back to catch her at 17-all ... And from 19-all Saina won next 2 points for winning the game ... In the second game, Sung again opened 4-8 lead, on break she was leading 7-11 ... But Saina won 4 points in a row from 10-12 to take a lead and from 15-14 she gave only one point to Sung for a good win ... Next, she is facing Scottish giant killer Kirsty Gilmour, who defeated Chinese top-10 player Bingjiao He in the previous round.

Another good win for Srikanth against talented young Danish player Antonsen in straight games ... Next, he is facing WR #1 Korean Wan Ho Son, in their last two meetings Srikanth managed to win.

Surprising struggled of Sindhu against Cheung ... She lost the first game against Cheung and then had 3 game points at 20-17 but Cheung saved those ... Cheung saved another at 21-20 but Sindhu converted 5th game point for taking the match into the final game ... In the final game, Sindhu was in the control from the start ... Cheung crawled back to 12-all from 12-8 down but still, Sindhu regained the lead ... She won this game comfortably and in the quarters meeting Chinese girl, Yu Sun.

Sai lost in three games against Chou after winning the first game ... Sai failed to challenge Chou in last two games ... Ajay lost one-sided match against Long Chen.

Another close loss for Sikki, this time in MXD ... In the first game, Sikki-Pranaav had a game point at 20-19 and in the end that turned crucial ... After losing the first game Sikki-Pranaav won the second game but Indonesian pair proved better in the final game.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Tennis News

At US Open 2017, New York, USA

[Q1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,156) bt Paul-Henri Mathieu (Fra,213) 64 64

[Q2] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,156) vs (14) Nicholas Mahut (FRA,113)

RamK started with a solid win against former WR #12 Paul-Henri Mathieu in straight sets ... In the first set, RamK broke Mathieu in 3rd game to lead 2-1 and kept that advantage for winning the set ... In the second set, RamK took crucial break on Mathieu's serve in 7th game, 4-3 ... And then hold his service games for completing excellent victory ... In this match, RamK's serve worked like wonder, he hit 16 aces (in that last 2 aces on last 2 points of the match) and 81% first-serve win percentage ... Next, he is facing another experienced Frenchman Nicholas Mahut.

At $710K Connecticut Open 2017, New Haven, USA (Premier)

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) l (ALT) Nicole Melichar (USA)/ Anna Smith (GBR) 57 67(4)

Not the best preparation for US Open for Sania ... She and her Romanian partner Monica Niculescu lost in tight two sets against the alternate pairing of Nicole Melichar and Anna Smith.

At $50K+H Manerbio Challenger 2017, Italy

[R1] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Johan Brunstorm (SWE) bt Kamil Majcharzak (POL)/ Grzegorz Panfil (POL) 64 62

[QF] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Johan Brunstorm (SWE) vs Romen Arneodo (ITA)/ Hugo Nys (FRA)

Jeevan with his new partner Swede Johan Brunstorm r in the quarter ... They scored straight games win.

At $60K ITF Women's Tournament 2017, Artvin, Turkey

[R1] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,339) l Anastasiya Vasylyeva (UKR,410) 76(10) 36 57

Karman failed to complete win against Vasylyeva ... When play resumed she lost her serve in 11th game and then Vasylyeva hold for completing the win.

At $25K Turkey F31 Futures 2017, Istanbul (Clay)

[R1] (7) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,440) bt (WC) Mert Alkaya (TUR,UNR) 61 64

[R2] (7) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,440) vs Muhammet Haylaz (TUR,736)

Expected comfortable wining start for Sasi against local un-ranked player ... Next, he is facing another local player, Muhammet Haylaz.

Badminton News

At TOTAL BWF World Championships 2017, Glasgow, Scotland

[R2] (8) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) bt Lucas Corvee (FRA,63) 21-9 21-17
[R2] Sameer Verma (IND,29) l (16) Rajiv Ouseph (ENG,20) 20-22 9-21
[R2] (15) Sai Praneeth B. (IND,19) bt Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA,26) 14-21 21-18 21-19
[R2] (13) Ajay Jayaram (IND,17) bt Mark Caljouw (NED,51) 21-13 21-18

[R2] Rituparna Das (IND,46) l (16) Kirsty Gilmour (SCO,27) 16-21 13-21
[R2] (12) Saina Nehwal (IND,16) bt Sabrina Jaquet (SUI,36) 21-11 21-12
[R2] Tanvi Lad (IND,93) l (2) Ji Hyun Sung (KOR,3) 9-21 19-21

[R2] Sanjana Santosh (IND)/ Arathi Sara Sunil (IND) l (14) Yixin Bao (CHN)/ Xiaohan Yu (CHN) 14-21 15-21
[R2] N. Sikki Reddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) l (2) Kamilla Rytter Juhl (DEN)/ Christinna Pedersen (DEN) 22-24 21-17 15-21

[R3] (8) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,10) vs (14) Anders Antonsen (DEN,18)
[R2] (15) Sai Praneeth B. (IND,19) vs (6) Tien Chen Chou (TPE,4)
[R2] (13) Ajay Jayaram (IND,17) vs (5) Long Chen (CHN,8)

[R3] (12) Saina Nehwal (IND,16) vs (2) Ji Hyun Sung (KOR,3)

Sai had tough match against Indonesian Ginting ... After losing the first game Sai dig deep and fought back for winning next two games to win this match after 72 mins ... Next, he is having another tough match against top-5 Taipei player, Tien Chen Chou ... Sai lost convincingly against Chou in both matches.

Srikanth scored a comfortable win over lowly ranked Frenchman ... Next, he is facing top-20 Danish player, Anders Antonsen ... Ajay also scored expected win over his Dutch opponent ... Next, having real test against Chinese former WR #1 Long Chen,.

Saina scored dominating win over Swiss girl Jaquet ... Next, she is having real test against former Korean WR #1 Ji Hyun Sung, who scored straight games win over Tanvi Lad.

Sameer stretched Rajiv in the first game but failed to challenge him in the second ... Rituparna also failed to challenge Kirsty in her straight games loss.

Sikki and Ashwini produced fighting performance against very experienced 2nd seed Danish pair ... In the first game, they saved 23 game points for 20-all and then had a game point for them ... But failed to win and then Danish pair converted 4th game point ... Indian pair won the second game and in the third, they were neck to neck with Danish pair ... 11-all and then 15-16 but from here Danish pair won 5 points in a row for completing victory ... Sanjana and Arathi lost in straight games against their Chinese opponents.

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Tennis News

At US Open 2017, New York, USA

[Q1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,225) l (24) Yannick Hanfmann (GER,133) 16 46
[Q1] Yuki Bhambri (IND,158) vs (22) Go Soeda (JPN,131) 64 16 36

Disappointing loss for Yuki against Soeda after winning the first set ... In the first set, Yuki saved few break points on his serve but took crucial break in 10th game for winning the set ... In the second set, from 1-0 Yuki lost momentum as he lost next 9 games in a row ... He lost his serve in 3rd, 5th and 7th games to lose the set easily ... In the final set, Soeda broke him in 2nd game to lead 0-3 ... And that break advantage was enough for Soeda to win this set and match

Prajnesh lost in the straight sets but showed some heart in the 2nd set against Hanfmann.


At $60K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Artvin, Turkey

[R1] (6) Ankita Raina (IND,270) bt (WC) Basak Akbas (TUR,UNR)
[R1] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,339) vs Anastasiya Vasylyeva (UKR,410) 76(10) 36 5-5 (interrupted)

[R2] (6) Ankita Raina (IND,270) vs Ana Vrljic (CRO,420)

Doubles
[QF] (WC) Berfu Cengiz (TUR)/ Karman Kaur Thandi (IND) vs (1) Oksana Kalashnikova (GEO)/ An-Sophie Mestach (BEL)
[QF] (3) Prarthana G. Thombare (IND)/ Ana Veselinovic (MNE) vs Akgul Amanmuradova (UZB)/ Michaela Honcova (SVK)
[QF] Gabriela Ce (BRA)/ Ankita Raina (IND) vs (2) Natela Dzalamidze (RUS)/ Valeria Savinykh (RUS)

Dominating winning start for Ankita against a local teenager... Next, she is facing Croatian veteran Ana Vrljic.

In the first set, Karman was up with early break and then she had couple of set points on her serve at 5-3 and 40-15 ... But Karman failed to capitalized those and after long tie-break she managed to win the set ... In the second set, Vasylyeva broke Karman in 2nd game for 3-0 lead ... She kept that advantage for winning the second and took the match into the third ... In the third, Karman was break down but she broke Vasylyeva in 10th game when she was serving for the match.


At $25K Poland F10 Futures 2017, Poznan

[R1] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,264) bt (Q) Adrian Andrzejczuk (POL,987) 64 61

[R2] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,264) vs Maciej Rajski (POL,541)

Comfortable winning start for Sumit against a local qualifier Next, he is facing Maciej Rajski, two weeks back he deated Sumit in close match

Badminton News

At TOTAL BWF World Championships 2017, Glasgow, Scotland

[R1] (15) Sai Praneeth B. (IND,19) bt Wei Nan (HKG,44) 21-18 21-17
[R1] (13) Ajay Jayaram (IND,17) bt Luka Wraber (AUT,114) 21-14 21-12

[R2] (4) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,5) bt Hyo Min Kim (KOR,42) 21-16 21-14

[R1] Arjun M.R. (IND)/ Ramchandran Shlok (IND) l Min Chun Liao (TPE)/ Heng Su Cheng (TPE) 14-21 21-19 14-21
[R1] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) l Hiroyuki Endo (JPN)/ Yuta Watanabe (JPN) 8-21 12-21

[R1] N. Sikki Reddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) bt Ririn Amelia (INA)/ Anna Ching Yik Cheong (MAS) 21-15 21-13
[R1] Meghana Jakkampudi (IND)/ Poorvisha S Ram (IND) l Eefje Muskens (NED)/ Selena Piek (NED) 21-13 16-21 8-21

[R2] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Maneesha K (IND) l (14) Mathias Christiansen (DEN)/ Sara Thygesen (DEN) 18-21 20-22
[R2] (15) Pranaav Jerry Chopra (ND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) bt Yogendran Khrishnan (MAS)/ Prajakta Sawant (IND) 21-12 21-19
[R2] B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) l (13) Yilyu Wang (CHN)/ Dongping Huang (CHN) 17-21 21-18 5-21

[R2] (15) Sai Praneeth B. (IND,19) vs Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA,26)
[R2] (13) Ajay Jayaram (IND,17) vs Mark Caljouw (NED,51)

[R2] N. Sikki Reddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) vs Kamilla Rytter Juhl (DEN)/ Christinna Pedersen (DEN)

[R3] (15) Pranaav Jerry Chopra (ND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) vs (7) Praveen Jordan (INA)/ Debby Susanto (INA)

Sai completed win in straight games against little tricky Hong Kong player ... Ajay also started with a comfortable win over his lowly ranked Austrian opponent ... Next Ajay is facing Below 50 ranked Dutch player but Sai having tough match against Indonesian Ginting, Sai lost against him in their last meeting.

Expected losses of our MXD pairs against their respective seeded opponents ... Other hand, seeded Pranaav and Sikki also won their match against Prajakta and Yogendran ... Next, they r facing 7th seed Indonesian pair.

Ashwini and Sikki r in the second round with win over their Malaysian and Indonesian opponents in the straight games, Next, they r having really tough match against 2nd seed Danish pair.

Japanese pair proved too strong for young Satwik and Chirag ... Our other two pairs also lost their matches in three games.

Hockey News

At 10th Asia Cup 2017, Bangladesh

Group A - India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan
Group B - South Korea, Malaysia, China and Oman

Program
11th October
India vs Japan (15:00 hrs)
Pakistan vs Bangladesh (17:30 hrs)

12th October
Malaysia vs CHina (15:00 hrs)
Korea vs Oman (17:30 hrs)

13th October
Pakistan vs Japan (15:00 hrs)
India vs Bangladesh (17:30 hrs)

14th October
China vs Oman (15:00 hrs)
Korea vs Malaysia (17:30 hrs)

15th October
Bangladesh vs Japan (15:00 hrs)
India vs Pakistan (17:30 hrs)

16th October
Malaysia vs Oman (15:00 hrs)
Korea vs China (17:30 hrs)

18th, 19th and 21st October
Super four matches

22nd October
Final and 3rd place matches

The schedule for 10th Asia Cup announced by AHF ... The men's Asia Cup 2017, which will be hosted by the Bangladesh Hockey Federation ... The tournament will take place from October 11 to 22 ... India and Pakistan r in the same group ... The winner will get direct entry into World Cup 2018.

Tennis News

At US Open 2017, New York, USA

[Q1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,225) vs (24) Yannick Hanfmann (GER,133)
[Q1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,156) vs Paul-Henri Mathieu (Fra,213)
[Q1] Yuki BHambri (IND,158) vs (22) Go Soeda (JPN,131)

All our three players having tough matches but the same we can expect in the grand slam qualifying ... RamK is facing former WR #12 ageing Frenchman ... Yuki having challenge of Go Soeda.

At $664K Winston-Salem Open 2017, USA

[R1] (WC) Leander Paes (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Paolo Lorenzi (ITA)/ Franko Skugor (CRO) 76(3) 36 5-10

Lee-Purav partnership started with a loss ... After winning the first set they failed to push advantage for winning the match.

At $60K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Artvin, Turkey

[R1] (WC) Berfu Cengiz (TUR)/ Karman Kaur Thandi (IND) bt Veronika Kapshay (UKR)/ Julia Wachaczyk (GER) 63 46 10-5
[R1] (3) Prarthana G. Thombare (IND)/ Ana Veselinovic (MNE) bt Anastasia Potapova (RUS) / Valeriya Strakhova (UKR) 64 46 10-8
[R1] Gabriela Ce (BRA)/ Ankita Raina (IND) bt Dea Herdzelas (BIH)/ Tereza Mrdeza (CRO) 75 64

In the doubles, our three players started with a win with their respective partners.

Monday, August 21, 2017

Badminton News

At TOTAL BWF World Championships 2017, Glasgow, Scotland

[R1] (8) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) bt Sergey Sirant (RUS,71) 21-13 21-12
[R1] Sameer Verma (IND,29) bt Pablo Abian (ESP,37) 21-8 17-4 retd.

[R1] Rituparna Das (IND,46) bt Airi Mikkela (FIN,54) 2-0 retd.
[R1] Tanvi Lad (IND,93) bt Chloe Birch (ENG,85) 17-21 21-10 21-19

[R1] Manu Attri (IND)/ Sumeeth B. Reddy (IND) l Chung Eui Seok (KOR)/ Kim Dukyoung (KOR) 20-22 11-21

[R1] Sanjana Santosh (IND)/ Arathi Sara Sunil (IND) bt Natalya Voytsekh (UKR)/ Yelyzaveta Zharka (UKR) 21-15 21-18

[R1] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Maneesha K (IND) bt Tam Chun Hei (HKG)/ Ng Tsz Yau (HKG) 24-22 21-17
[R1] Yogendran Khrishnan (MAS)/ Prajakta Sawant (IND) bt Lu Ching Yao (TPE)/ Chiang Kai Hsin (TPE) 21-15 13-21 21-18
[R1] B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) bt Sawan Serasinghe (AUS)/ Setyana Mapasa (AUS) w/o

[R2] (8) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) vs Lucas Corvee (FRA,63)
[R2] Sameer Verma (IND,29) vs (16) Rajiv Ouseph (ENG,20)

[R2] (4) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,5) vs Hyo Min Kim (KOR,42)
[R2] (12) Saina Nehwal (IND,16) vs Sabrina Jaquet (SUI,36)
[R2] Rituparna Das (IND,46) vs (16) Kirsty Gilmour (SCO,27)
[R2] Tanvi Lad (IND,93) vs (2) Ji Hyun Sung (KOR,3)

[R2] Sanjana Santosh (IND)/ Arathi Sara Sunil (IND) vs (14) Yixin Bao (CHN)/ Xiaohan Yu (CHN)

[R2] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Maneesha K (IND) vs (14) Mathias Christiansen (DEN)/ Sara Thygesen (DEN)
[R2] (15) Pranaav Jerry Chopra (ND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) vs Yogendran Khrishnan (MAS)/ Prajakta Sawant (IND)
[R2] B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) vs (13) Yilyu Wang (CHN)/ Dongping Huang (CHN)

Expected comfortable winning start for Srikanth against lower ranked Russian ... Next, he is facing below 60 ranked Frenchman, Lucas Corvee ... Saina is facing Swiss girl Jaquet in the second round ... Sindhu is having tricky opponent, Korean Hyo Min Kim ... In their last meeting in 2016, Kim defeated Sindhu in straight games.

Sameer was up 17-4 in the second after winning the first game when his Spaniard opponent Pablo Abian retired from the match ... Next, he is facing local favorite Rajiv Ouseph.

Tanvi scored excellent comeback after losing the first game against a local player, Chloe Birch ... Next. she is facing WR #3 Korean Ji Hyun Sung ... Rituparna also moved to the second round as her opponent retired after playing only 2 points ... Next, she is facing 16th seed Scottish girl, Kirsty Gilmour.

In the doubles, Sanjana and Arathi started with straight games win against Ukrainian pair ... Other hand, Sumeeth, and Manu lost in the first round against Korean pair..

Our all three MXD pairs started with a contrasting win ... Sumeeth-Ashwini received walkover from their Aussie pair but facing seeded Chinese pair in the second ... Satwik-Maneesha started with straight games win over Hong Kong pair and facing Danish seeded pair in the second round ... Prajakta with her Malaysian partner started with three games win over Taipei pair ... Next, they r facing Indian seeded pair Pranaav-Sikki.

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Golf News

At $5.8M Wyndham Championship 2017, Greensboro, North Carolina (PGA Tour)

T28 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 65 66 68 72 -9 $36,153.00

Again last round cost Anirban top-10 finish ... After the end of the third round he was T11 but in the last round he scored 2 over and got slide below top-25.

At $1.5M Fiji International 2017, Natadola Bay (European Tour)

T20 Rahil Gangjee (IND) 69 72 70 72 -5 $11,496
T24 Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 75 71 69 69 -4 $9,968

Rahil and Shubhankar finished inside top-25 standing in Fuji tournament.

Tennis News

At $664K Winston-Salem Open 2017, USA

[R1] (WC) Leander Paes (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Paolo Lorenzi (ITA)/ Franko Skugor (CRO)

Purav and Divij have split and both r participating with different partners in US Open ... Divij will be playing with German Andre Begemann and Purav will be playing with Leander.

This week Purav and Lee have received wild card in Winston-Salem Open, so here they can honed their skill before US Open.


At $710K Connecticut Open 2017, New Haven, USA (Premier)

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) vs (WC) Eugenie Bouchard (CAN)/ Sloane Stephens (USA)

This week Sania is playing with Monica Niculescu and they r facing good singles players Stephens and Bouchard in the first round.

At $60K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Artvin, Turkey

[R1] (6) Ankita Raina (IND,271) vs (WC) Basak Akbas (TUR,UNR)
[R1] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,340) vs Anastasiya Vasylyeva (UKR,409)

Ankita is facing local teenager in the first round ... Karman is facing former top-150 Ukrainian player, Anastasiya Vasylyeva.

Badminton News

At TOTAL BWF World Championships 2017, Glasgow, Scotland

[R1] (8) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) vs Sergey Sirant (RUS,71)
[R1] Sameer Verma (IND,29) vs Pablo Abian (ESP,37)
[R1] (15) Sai Praneeth B. (IND,19) vs Wei Nan (HKG,44)
[R1] (13) Ajay Jayaram (IND,17) vs Luka Wraber (AUT,114)

[R1] (4) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,5) bye
[R1] Rituparna Das (IND,46) vs Airi Mikkela (FIN,54)
[R2] (12) Saina Nehwal (IND,16) bye
[R1] Tanvi Lad (IND,93) vs Chloe Birch (ENG,85)

[R1] Manu Attri (IND)/ Sumeeth B. Reddy (IND) vs Chung Eui Seok (KOR)/ Kim Dukyoung (KOR)
[R1] Arjun M.R. (IND)/ Ramchandran Shlok (IND) vs Liao Min Chun (TPE)/ Cheng Heng Su (TPE)
[R2] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) vs Hiroyuki Endo (JPN)/ Yuta Watanabe (JPN)

[R1] Sanjana Santosh (IND)/ Arathi Sara Sunil (IND) vs Natalya Voytsekh (UKR)/ Yelyzaveta Zharka (UKR)
[R1] N. Sikki Reddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) vs Ririn Amelia (INA)/ Anna Ching Yik Cheong (MAS)
[R1] Meghana Jakkampudi (IND)/ Poorvisha S Ram (IND) vs Eefje Muskens (NED)/ Selena Piek (NED)

[R1] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Maneesha K (ND) vs Tam Chun Hei (HKG)/ Ng Tsz Yau (HKG)
[R1] (15) Pranaav Jerry Chopra (ND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) bye
[R1] Yogendran Khrishnan (MAS)/ Prajakta Sawant IND) vs Lu Ching Yao (TPE)/ Chiang Kai Hsin (TPE)
[R1] B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) vs Sawan Serasinghe (AUS)/ Setyana Mapasa (AUS)

In this World Championship, we r participating with the biggest contingent and here we can except multiple medals considering our players recent performances.

Football News

At the AIFF Tri-Nation Series 2017, Mumbai, India

India bt Mauritius 2-1 (1-1)
Goal Scored - Robin Singh (IND) 37', Balwant Singh (IND) 62' and Mervyn Jocelyn (MAU) 15'

India came back from a goal down to beat Mauritius 2-1 in the opening game of the AIFF Tri-Nation series at the Mumbai Football Arena ... The Indians next face Caribbean side St. Kitts & Nevis on Thursday.

Saturday, August 19, 2017

Tennis News

At $5M Cincinnati Masters 2017, USA

[QF] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) l (2) Lukasz Kubot (POL)/ Marcelo Melo (BRA) 16 76(5) 7-10

Rohan-Ivan lost in the match tie-break against 2nd seed Kubot and Melo.

At $2.5M Western & Southern Open 2017, Cincinnati, USA (Premier 5)

[SF] (4) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Shuai Peng (CHN) l Su-Wei Hsieh (TPE)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) 46 67(6)

Sania and Peng lost in the straight sets against Niculescu and Hsieh.

At $15K Thailand F6 2017, Nonthaburi

Singles Final
(6) N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,502) vs Jacob Grills (AUS,652) 67(4) 57

VSP lost in the tight two sets against his Aussie opponent Grills ... I was expecting for the title for VSP as he defeated convincingly the same opponent in JUne.

Friday, August 18, 2017

Tennis News

At $5M Cincinnati Masters 2017, USA

[R2] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) bt Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL)/ Fabio Fognini (ITA) 57 75 10-8

[QF] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) vs (2) Lukasz Kubot (POL)/ Marcelo Melo (BRA)

Rohan-Ivan scored comeback win against Cabal and Fognini ... In the quarters, they r facing 2nd seed Melo-Kubot.

At $2.5M Western & Southern Open 2017, Cincinnati, USA (Premier 5)

[QF] (4) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Shuai Peng (CHN) bt Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)/ Raluca Olaru (ROU) 63 67(1) 10-3

Sania and Shuai Peng r into the semis after beating their Romanian opponents in the match tie-break.

At $25K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Nonthaburi, Thailand

[SF] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,337) l (1) Luksika Kumkhum (THA,179) 67(1) 36

Karman gave fighting performance against top-200 Thai girl Kumkhum in her loss ... Recently Karman has showed some an encouraging performances.

At $25K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Leipzig, Germany

[QF] (7) Ankita Raina (IND,271) l (3) Valentyna Ivakhnenko (RUS,240) 26 64 36

Ankita produced creditable performance against higher ranked Russian girl ... After losing the first set she tried fightback winning the second, but Russian girl proved better player in the third.

At $15K Thailand F6 2017, Nonthaburi

[SF] (6) N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,502) bt (WC) Pruchya Isarow (THA,969) 61 67(4) 63

[F] (6) N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,502) vs Jacob Grills (AUS,652)

VSP stretched to three sets by his Thai opponent, Pruchya Isarow ... In the final set, while serving for the match VSP saved a break point before winning it ... Next, he is facing Aussie player, Jacob Grills.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Badminton News

At $8K Eurasia Bulgarian Open 2017, Sofia, Bulgaria (International Series)

[R1] Lakshya Sen (IND,167) bt (1) Sam Parsons (ENG,90) 21-17 21-9
[R2] Lakshya Sen (IND,167) bt (Q) Kiran George (IND,385) 21-12 21-10
[QF] Lakshya Sen (IND,167) bt Dinuka Karunaratna (SRI,171) 21-19 21-14
[SF] Lakshya Sen (IND,167) bt Michal Rogalski (POL,203) 20-22 21-18 21-15

Men's Singles Final
Lakshya Sen (IND,167) bt (2) Zvonimir Durkinjak (CRO,102) 18-21 21-12 21-17

16 yrs old Lakshya Sen lifted his first International Series title outside India ... Overall this was his 2nd International Series title as before this he won Indian International Series title in late 2016 ... Here in Bulgaria, he defeated British top-seed in the first round and Croatian 2nd seed in the final for comeback win ... I am having big hopes from this young lad.

Tennis News

At $5.6M Cincinnati Masters 2017, USA

[R2] (LL) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,180) l (WC) Jared Donaldson (USA,60) 46 62 46

RamK lost in three sets against Donaldson ... Few weaknesses were visible in this match though this was fighting performance ... RamK needs to mix his game, don't need to rush to the net for serve and volley for every serve, need to work hard on his backhands as against top-100 player his backhand weakness is a liability and he needs to be patient in constructing the point.

In the first set, till 8 games both players hold their respective service games ... Donaldson broke RamK in the 9th game and then hold for winning the set ... RamK won the second set comfortably as he broke Donaldson in the 4th and 8th games ... In the final set, Donaldson kept a lot of pressure on RamK's serve ... He took a crucial break in the 3rd game to lead 1-3 ... In the 10th game RamK saved 3 match points and had a break point but Donaldson holds with some big serve and completed victory.


At $2.5M Western & Southern Open 2017, Cincinnati, USA (Premier 5)

[R2] (4) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Shuai Peng (CHN) bt Julia Goerges (GER)/ Olga Savchuk (UKR) 75 64

[QF] (4) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Shuai Peng (CHN) vs Irina-Camelia Begu (ROU)/ Raluca Olaru (ROU)

Sania and Peng r in the quarters with straight sets win over Goerges and Savchuk ... Next, they r facing Romanian pair, Irina-Camelia Begu and Raluca Olaru.

At $25K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Nonthaburi, Thailand

[QF] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,732) l (1) Luksika Kumkhum (THA,179) 26 06
[QF] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,337) bt Kyoka Okamura (JPN,397) 63 62

[SF] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,337) vs (1) Luksika Kumkhum (THA,179)

Karman scored a comfortable win over Japanese Okamura for entering into the semis ... She is having the tough challenge of top-200 Thai girl, Luksika Kumkhum ... Luksika scored dominating win over young Pranjala ... Pranjala was a break up at 2-0 but afterward lost next 12 games in a row.

At $25K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Leipzig, Germany

[R2] (7) Ankita Raina (IND,271) bt Alice Matteucci (ITA,396) 63 64

[QF] (7) Ankita Raina (IND,271) vs (3) Valentyna Ivakhnenko (RUS,240)

Ankita entered into the quarters with straight sets win over Italian girl ... Next, she is facing top-250 Russian girl, Valentyna Ivakhnenko.

At $15K Thailand F6 2017, Nonthaburi

[QF] (6) N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,502) bt Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul (THA,558) 63 64

VSP into the semis with straight sets win over Thai Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul.

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Tennis News

At $5.6M Cincinnati Masters 2017, USA

[R1] Leander Paes (IND)/ Alexander Zverev (GER) l Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/ Marc Lopez (ESP) 62 67(2) 6-10

Lee and Sascha lost in the match tie-break against Spanish pair ... They started well after winning the first set comfortably but failed to complete the win.

At $25K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Nonthaburi, Thailand

[R2] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,732) bt (8) Yuuki Tanaka (JPN,322) 61 67(3) 62
[R2] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,337) bt (4) Shiho Akita (JPN,247) 63 75

[QF] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,732) vs (1) Luksika Kumkhum (THA,179)
[QF] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,337) vs Kyoka Okamura (JPN,397)

Pranjala scored impressive win over 8th seed Japanese girl, Yuuki Tanaka ... Pranjala won the first set comfortably and was up 3-0 in the second, but from here she lost the focus ... Yuuki fought back for winning the second se in the tie-break ... In the third, both players exchanged early break but afterwards Pranjala dominated for winning it comfortably.

Karman also scored huge straight sets win against top-250 Japanes opponent, Shiho Akita ... After winning the first set Karman was double break up in the second, 5-2 ... Twice she failed to hold while serving for the match but she again broke Shiho in 11th and then hold for completing the victory.


At $25K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Leipzig, Germany

[R1] (7) Ankita Raina (IND,271) bt Bibiane Schoofs (NED,288) 63 2-3 retd.

[R2] (7) Ankita Raina (IND,271) vs Alice Matteucci (ITA,396)

Ankita is in the second round when her opponent Bibiane Schoofs retired in the second set .... But before this Ankita won the first set ... Next, she is facing Italian girl, Alice Matteucci.

At $15K Thailand F6 2017, Nonthaburi

[R2] (7) Sidharth Rawat (IND,505) l (Q) Blake Ellis (AUS,1386) 26 64 57
[R2] (6) N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,502) bt Jumpei Yamasaki (JPN,649) 76(2) 36 63

[QF] (6) N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,502) vs Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul (THA,558)

VSP needed three sets for completing win over his Japanese opponent, Yamasaki ... Next, he is facing Thai Wishaya Trongcharoenchaikul ... Sid lost against Aussie Junior top-25 player, Blake Ellis, in three sets.

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Tennis News

At $5M Cincinnati Masters 2017, USA

[R1] (LL) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,180) bt (Q) Christopher Eubanks (USA,374) 67(5) 61 64

RamK got a lucky and received lucky loser spot after late withdrawal of Gaël Monfils ... He was facing American qualifier and 6'7" giant player Eubanks ... In the first set, RamK struggled with returning game due to huge services from Eubanks and in the tie-break, a single mini-break was enough for Eubanks to win this set ... In the second set, RamK won 5 games in a row from 1-all and in that, he broke Eubanks in 4th and 6th games ... In the final set, RamK too crucial break in the 3rd game to lead 3-1 ... Eubanks tried to put pressure on RamK's serve but he managed to hold ... While serving for the match at 5-4 Eubanks put pressure on RamK's serve but after two deuces RamK wins with an excellent volley from the net ... The commentators were impressed with his attitude and exuberance in this match ... This win gives him big pay cheque $33K and 61 (45+16) ATP points, which will be propelled him a couple of places ahead of Yuki on next Monday rankings ... Very healthy competition between these two for India's #1 spot.

At $25K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Nonthaburi, Thailand

[R1] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,732) bt Pei-Chi Lee (TPE,497) 64 62
[R1] (Q) Natasha Palha (IND,768) l Chieh-Yu Hsu (TPE,349) 26 16

[R2] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,732) vs (8) Yuuki Tanaka (JPN,322)

Pranjala scored impressive win against in-form Taipei player Pei-Chi for entering into the second round ... Next, she is facing 8th seed Japanese girl, Yuuki Tanaka.

At $15K Thailand F6 2017, Nonthaburi


[R1] (7) Sidharth Rawat (IND,505) bt (WC) Jirat Navasirisomboon (THA,931) 64 63
[R1] (4) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,440) l (Q) Wei-de Lin (TPE,1285) 67(6) 67(4)
[R1] (6) N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,502) bt Karunuday Singh (IND,690) 3-0 retd.

[R2] (7) Sidharth Rawat (IND,505) vs (Q) Blake Ellis (AUS,1386)
[R2] (6) N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,502) vs Jumpei Yamasaki (JPN,649)

VSP completed win within 10 mins when KU retired after playing only 3 games ... Hopefully, no serious injury issue for KU ... Sid scored expected win over local wild-card player ... Next, he is facing junior top-25 Aussie player, Blake Ellis ... Surprised loss of Sasi in the two tie-breaks against Taipei qualifier.

Monday, August 14, 2017

Tennis News

At Davis Cup 2017 - World Group Play-off, Edmonton, Canada

Indian Davis Cup team for Canada tie - Yuki Bhambri, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Saketh Myneni, Rohan Bopanna
Reserves - Prajnesh Gunneswaran, N Sriram Balaji
Captain - Mahesh Bhupathi
Coach - Zeeshan Ali

The Indian team has been announced and they have selected Saki, bizzare selection ... I think it's premature to include Saki in this Davis cup tie, he is still a long way from gaining full match fitness ... May be for the doubles but I really doubt about his match fitness to survive on the court for the five setters.

At $4.6M Rogers Cup 2017, Montreal, Canada

Doubles Final
(7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) l (5) Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA)/ Nicolas Mahut (FRA) 46 63 6-10

Rohan-Ivan failed to lift Rogers Masters as they lost in the match tie-break against French pair ... After losing the first set they tried comeback winning the second but French pair proved strong in the match tie-break.

At $5.6M Cincinnati Masters 2017, USA

[Q2] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) l (14) Maximilian Marterer (GER,122) 67(6) 67(2)

RamK failed to qualify for the main-draw of Cincinnati Masters as he lost against German Marterer ... In this match, both players failed to break opponent's serve and in the tie-breaks, Marterer was a better player.

At $2.5M Western & Southern Open 2017, Cincinnati, USA (Premier 5)

[R1] (4) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Shuai Peng (CHN) bye

This week also Sania is playing with Peng ... Hopefully, Peng is fit again for this challenge.

At $25K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Nonthaburi, Thailand

[Q3] (11) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,732) bt (4) Ksenia Palkina (KZG,589) 67(6) 61 62
[Q3] (5) Dhruthi Tatachar Venugopal (IND,616) l (13) Aiko Yoshitomi (JPN,755) 26 46
[Q3] Kanika Vaidya (IND,905) l (12) Varunya Wongteanchai (THA,738) 26 46
[Q3] (14) Natasha Palha (IND,768) bt (8) Sara Tomic (AUS,661) 62 63

[R1] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,732) vs Pei-Chi Lee (TPE,497)
[R1] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,337) bt Kamila Kerimbayeva (KAZ,335) 63 62
[R1] (Q) Natasha Palha (IND,768) vs Chieh-Yu Hsu (TPE,349)

[R2] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,337) vs (4) Shiho Akita (JPN,247)

Karman started with a thumping win over similar ranked Kazakh opponent but next, she is facing top-250 Japanese opponent, Shiho Akita.

In the final qualifying, Pranjala and Natasha scored impressive win over former 200 player Ksenia Palkina and in-form Sara Tomic respectively ... Both having tough matches against Taiwan players in their first round matches.

Golf News

At $10.5M PGA Championship 2017, Charlotte, USA

T75 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 72 73 76 78 +15 $19,100.00

Disastrous final round which included 2 birdies and whopping 9 bogeys pushed Anirban on the bottom place of the standing ... He struggled in all four and his putting got worsen round after round.

Athletics News

At IAAF World Championships London 2017, Great Britain

Overall forgettable World Championship for us ... Some bright spots - Davinder Singh Kang finished a disappointing 12th in the men's javelin's throw final, came up with a best throw of 80.02m in his third attempt to end 12th in a 13-man field ... Nirmala Sheoran reached upto the semifinals in women's 400m race.

Sunday, August 13, 2017

Tennis News

At $4.6M Rogers Cup 2017, Montreal, Canada

[SF] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) bt (6) Raven Klaasen (RSA)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) 46 76(8) 11-9

[F] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) vs (5) Pierre-Hugues Herbert (FRA)/ Nicolas Mahut (FRA)

Rohan-Dodig scored excellent comeback win over Rajeev-Klaasen ... After losing the first set they needed to dig deep for comeback ... They won the long tie-break and in the match tie-break also our pair was 3-6 down ... They converted 2nd match point and facing another French pair in the final.

At $5.6M Cincinnati Masters 2017, USA

[Q1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) bt (4) Dusan Lajovic (SRB,68) 76(1) 64
[Q1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,213) l (14) Maximilian Marterer (GER,122) 26 67(2)

[Q2] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) vs (14) Maximilian Marterer (GER,122)

Doubles
[R1] Leander Paes (IND)/ Alexander Zverev (GER) vs Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/ Marc Lopez (ESP)
[R1] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) bye

RamK started with upset win over top-70 Serbian Dusan Lajovic in straight sets ... In the first set, he was break up at 5-2 but got broken while serving for the set at 5-3 ... RamK kept his composure for winning the tie-break losing only a single point ... RamK started the second set with early break and was leading 4-2 ... He kept that advantage for completing another win over top-100 player ... Next, he is facing German Maximilian Marterer, who defeated Prajnesh ... Prajnesh gave decent perfomance in his first Master qualifying match ... After losing the first set easily he stretched Marterer to the tie-break in the second.

Lee managed some coup as he is partnering Sascha in Cincinnati and playing his first Masters of 2017.

Friday, August 11, 2017

Tennis News

At $4.6M Rogers Cup 2017, Montreal, Canada

[QF] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) bt (ALT) Gael Monfils (FRA)/ Benoit Paire (FRA) 62 75

[SF] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) vs (6) Raven Klassen (RSA)/ Rajeev Ram (USA)

Rohan and Dodig r in the semis with straight sets win over French pair ... Next, they r facing Rajeev Ram and Klassen.

At $150K Jinan Challenger 2017, China

Doubles Final
(3) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) l (1) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Hsien-Yin Peng (TPE) 64 46 4-10

Vishnu and Bala failed to repeat last week's result as they lost the final against the same Taiwani pair who they defeated last week ... Here also they started positively after winning the first set but failed to capitalize on the same.

At $25K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Koksijde, Belgium

[QF] (3) Ankita Raina (IND,269) l (8) Ganna Poznikhirenko (UKR,323) 46 75 26


Doubles
[R1] (2) Ankita RAINA (IND)/ Bibiane SCHOOFS (NED) bt Luna MEERS (BEL)/ Chelsea VANHOUTTE (BEL) 64 63
[QF] (2) Ankita RAINA (IND)/ Bibiane SCHOOFS (NED) bt Vinciane REMY (FRA)/ Marie TEMIN (FRA) 75 2-1 retd.
[SF] (2) Ankita RAINA (IND)/ Bibiane SCHOOFS (NED) bt Albina KHABIBULINA (UZB)/ Anastasiya VASYLYEVA (UKR) 46 63 10-7

Final
(2) Ankita RAINA (IND)/ Bibiane SCHOOFS (NED) bt Marie BENOIT (BEL)/ Magali KEMPEN (BEL) 36 63 11-9

Her Ukrainian opponent proved better player for Ankita ... After losing the first set Ankita managed to win the second but she was overpowered by her opponent in the third.

Ankita with her Dutch partner Bibiane Schoofs lifted the doubles title beating local pair ... They needed comeback wins in the semis and final after losing the first set.


At $15K Germany F10 Futures 2017, Wetzlar

[QF] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,268) l Maciej Rajski (POL,686) 46 63 67(3)

After losing the first set Sumit fought back for winning the second ... In the third, Sumilt lost the tie-break.

At $15K Thailand F5 2017, Nonthaburi

[SF] Karunuday Singh (IND,689) l Kuan Lee (TPE,627) 06 36

KU was no match to Lee in this match.

Athletics News

At IAAF World Championships London 2017, Great Britain

Davinder Singh Kang has become the first Indian to qualify for the final round of the javelin throw World Championships with the final throw as he sent the spear to a distance of 84.22m ... Neeraj Chopra failed to cross the automatic final round qualification mark of 83m in his three attempts with his best effort of 82.26m.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Tennis News

At $2.4M Rogers Cup 2017, Toronto, Canada (WTA Tour)

[QF] (4) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Shuai Peng (CHN) l Nadiia Kichenok (UKR)/ Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) w/o

Sania-Shuai gave walkover to their opponents due Peng's right knee injury.

At $150K Jinan Challenger 2017, China

[SF] (3) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt (2) Ti Chen (TPE)/ Chu-Huan Yi (TPE) 64 36 10-5

[F] (3) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs (1) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Hsien-Yin Peng (TPE)

Vishnu-Bala continue their good run and enter into the final ... They defeated 2nd seed Taipei pair in the match tie-break and facing another Taipei pair for the title.

At $15K Thailand F5 2017, Nonthaburi

[R1] Karunuday Singh (IND,689) bt (Q) Yuanfeng Li (CHN.1152) 36 62 64
[R2] Karunuday Singh (IND,689) bt (3) Nam Hoang Ly (VIE,472) 75 61
[QF] Karunuday Singh (IND,689) bt Soichiro Moritani (JPN,765) 64 61

[SF] Karunuday Singh (IND,689) vs Kuan Lee (TPE,627)

After longtime good run for KU ... He is in the semis with some good wins including one over top-500 player.

At $15K ITF Women Tournament 2017, Nonthaburi, Thailand

[QF] Dhruthi Tatachar Venugopal (IND,547) vs Sara Tomic (AUS,661) 26 64 26

Dhruthi lost in three sets against Sara.

Wednesday, August 09, 2017

Tennis News

At $4.6M Rogers Cup 2017, Montreal, Canada

[R2] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS)/ Dominic Thiem (AUT) 76(3) 64

Rohan-Ivan r in the quarters with straight sets win over Thiem-Khachanov.

At $2.4M Rogers Cup 2017, Toronto, Canada (WTA Tour)

[R2] (4) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Shuai Peng (CHN) bt (ALT) Lauren Davis (USA)/ Alison Riske (USA) 76(8) 63

Sania-Shuai scored straight sets win over American pair ... They won the second set comfortably after stretched in the first set tie-break.

At $150K Jinan Challenger 2017, China

[R2] Vishnu Vardhan (IND,424) l (6) Ricardas Berankis (LTU,196) 46 46

Doubles
[QF] (3) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Di Wu (CHN)/ Zhizeng Zhang (CHN) 76(4) 63

Somewhat expected loss against Berankis for Vishnu ... But in the doubles, he and Bala scored impressive straight sets win over local Chinese pair for entering into the semis.

At $25K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Koksijde, Belgium

[R2] (3) Ankita Raina (IND,269) bt (WC) Deborah Kerfs (BEL,530) 63 36 61

[QF] (3) Ankita Raina (IND,269) vs (8) Ganna Poznikhirenko (UKR,323)

Ankita scored win in three sets ... She dominated the final set after losing the third set ... Next, she is facing Ukrainian opponent.

At $15K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Nonthaburi, Thailand

[R1] Dhruthi Tatachar Venugopal (IND,547) bt (Q) Kajsa Rinaldo Persson (SWE,699) 62 61
[R2] Dhruthi Tatachar Venugopal (IND,547) bt (1) Nicha Lertpitaksinchai (THA,379) 46 75 64

[QF] Dhruthi Tatachar Venugopal (IND,547) vs Sara Tomic (AUS,661)

Dhruthi in the quarters with huge comeback upset win over top-seed local girl Lertpitaksinchai ... Next, having tough match against Sara Tomic.

At $15K Germany F10 Futures 2017, Wetzlar

[R2] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,268) bt (Q) Christian Hirschmueller (GER,695) 63 57 75

[QF] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,268) vs Maciej Rajski (POL,686)

Surprisingly Sumit stretche to tight three sets in his win against German qualifier ... Next, he is having Polish challenge.

Tuesday, August 08, 2017

Tennis News

At $150K Jinan Challenger 2017, China

[R1] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,419) l Alexander Kudryavtsev (RUS,329) 36 26
[R1] N.Sriram Balaji (IND,295) l (3) Go Soeda (JPN,138) 26 26
[R1] (PR) Saketh Myneni (IND,438) l (2) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS,124) 26 26

[R2] Vishnu Vardhan (IND,424) vs (6) Ricardas Berankis (LTU,196)

Doubles
[R1] (3) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Saketh Myneni (IND)/ N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND) 62 62

[QF] (3) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs Di Wu (CHN)/ Zhizeng Zhang (CHN)

Bad results in the singles as nobody managed to challenge their opponent ... In the doubles, expected dominating win by Vishnu-Bala against Saki-VSP ... Next, they r facing Chinese pair ... In the singles, Vishnu is facing former top-50 Berankis.

At $100K Aptos Challenger 2017, California, USA

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) l (3) Henri Laaksonen (SUI,93) 36 26

RamK lost easily against Laaksonen ... I was expecting better match from RamK after his recent performances.

At $15K Germany F10 Futures 2017, Wetzlar

[R1] (Q) Tejas Chaukulkar (IND,1419) l Juan Galarza (ARG,481) 46 26
[R1] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,268) bt (Q) Eduardo Dischinger (BRA,979) 63 64

[R2] (2) Sumit Nagal (IND,268) vs (Q) Christian Hirschmueller (GER,695)

Sumit in the second round with straight sets win over Brazilian qualifier ... Next, he is facing German qualifier ... Tejas Chaukulkar qualified for the main-draw but lost against top-500 Argentine opponent in the first round.

Monday, August 07, 2017

Tennis News

At $4.6M Rogers Cup 2017, Montreal, Canada

[R1] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) bye

Rohan is playing with Dodig and having a bye in the first round.

At $2.4M Rogers Cup 2017, Toronto, Canada (WTA Tour)

[R1] (4) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Shuai Peng (CHN) bye

Sania and Shuai Peng r 4th seed.

At $150K Jinan Challenger 2017, China

[R1] (Q) Sidharth Rawat (IND,574) l (7) Soon Woo Kwon (KOR,203) 26 46
[R1] Vishnu Vardhan (IND,424) bt Ti Chen (TPE,267) 76(3) 63
[R1] (Q) N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,519) l Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN,350) 46 46

Doubles
[R1] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND)/ Sidharth Rawat (IND) l Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB)/ Mario Vilella Martinez (ESP) 26 16

Good to see Vishnu pulled excellent straight sets upset win over experienced Ti Chen in the first round ... Vishnu served 21 aces and did not get broken once in the entire match ... VSP and Sid failed to challenge their opponents in the first round.

At $100K Aptos Challenger 2017, California, USA

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) vs (3) Henri Laaksonen(SUI,93)

Tough first round match for RamK against Laaksonen.

At $25K ITF Womens Tournament 2017, Koksijde, Belgium

[R1] (3) Ankita Raina (IND,269) bt (Q) Yvonne Cavalle-Reimers (ESP,410) 64 60

[R2] (3) Ankita Raina (IND,269) vs (WC) Deborah Kerfs (BEL,530)

Ankita started with a comfortable win over her Spanish opponent ... Next, she is facing local wild-card player, Kerfs.

Saturday, August 05, 2017

Tennis News

At $150K Jinan Challenger 2017, China

Doubles Final
(2) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt (1) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Hsien-Yin Peng (TPE) 63 64

Bala-Vishnu lifted another challenger title after winning Fergana challenger ... In the final, they defeated Taipei pair Peng-Hsieh comfortably ... In both sets they took a single break.

At $150K Jinan Challenger 2017, China

[Q1] (3) N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,519) bt Mousheg Hovhannisyan (USA,1240) 46 61 60
[Q1] (4) Sidharth Rawat (IND,574) bt Srgey Betov (BLR,762) 26 63 63

[R1] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,419) vs Alexander Kudryavtsev (RUS,329)
[R1] (Q) Sidharth Rawat (IND,574) vs (7) Soon Woo Kwon (KOR,203)
[R1] N.Sriram Balaji (IND,295) vs (3) Go Soeda (JPN,138)
[R1] Vishnu Vardhan (IND,424) vs Ti Chen (TPE,267)
[R1] (Q) N. Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND,519) vs Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN,350)
[R1] (PR) Saketh Myneni (IND,438) vs (2) Evgeny Donskoy (RUS,124)

VSP and Sid qualified for the main-draw of big Jinan challenger ... Both lost the first set before winning next two sets comfortably ... But not easy matches for our players in the main-draw ... Saki having tough match against 2nd seed Donskoy and Bala is facing experienced 3rd seed Go Soeda.

Friday, August 04, 2017

Tennis News

At $2M Citi Open 2017, Washington, USA

[QF] (Q) Yuki Bhambri (IND,200) l Kevin Anderson (RSA,45) 46 64 36

Doubles
[QF] (WC) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Donald Young (USA) l (4) Bob Bryan (USA)/ Mike Bryan (USA) 57 46

Yuki's impressive journey ended in Citi Open ... Very proud of with his performance in this match also ... His serve is a weak link but his return is extremely good ... We can say, maybe need to work on the serve but that is easier to say than done.

In the first set, Yuki had 2 break points on Anderson's serve but Anderson saved those with big serves ... After that, both players were holding their respective service games till the 9th game ... While serving for staying in the set, Yuki played one loose game from 30-0 and Anderson took advantage after breaking Yuki for winning the set ... In the second set, Yuki broke Anderson in the 1st game, 2-0, and then kept that advantage for winning this set ... In the third set, in the 2nd game Yuki played one bad service game of the match to lose it and suddenly he was 0-3 down ... After that, it was difficult to break big serve machine and that one break advantage was enough for Anderson to win this set and match.

Rohan-Donald lost in the straight sets against Bryans.


At $728K Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex 2017, Los Cabos, Mexico

[SF] (4) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) l (2) Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL)/ Treat Huey (PHI) 63 46 7-10

Divij-Purav lost after winning the first set against Cabal-Huey ... In the second set, they were a break up at 4-3 but lost next three games losing their serve twice ... Cabal-Huey proved better in the match tie-break.

At $250K Citi Open 2017, Washington, USA (WTA Tour)

[SF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) l Eugenie Bouchard (CAN)/ Sloane Stephens (USA) 61 57 8-10

Sania-Monica lost the match in the match tie-break against Bouchard-Stephens after winning the first set comfortably.

At $125K Chengdu Challenger 2017, China

[SF] (2) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Cheong-Eui Kim (KOR)/ Soon Woo Kwon (KOR) 76(2) 62

[F] (2) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs (1) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Hsien-Yin Peng (TPE)

Bala-Vishnu r in the another challenger final ... They defeated Korean pair in the straight sets and facing top-seed Taiwani pair in the final.

At $15K ITF Women Tournament 2017, Nonthaburi

[SF] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,748) l (2) Haruka Kaji (JPN,335) 36 36

Pranjala lost in the straight sets but she is showing progress in her game.

Thursday, August 03, 2017

Tennis News

At $2M Citi Open 2017, Washington, USA

[R3] (Q) Yuki Bhambri (IND,200) bt Guido Pella (ARG,97) 67(5) 63 61

[QF] (Q) Yuki Bhambri (IND,200) vs Kevin Anderson (RSA,45)

Yuki continued with his powerful performance for reaching his first ATP 500 tournament's quarterfinal ... Today, most of the part he was the best player on the court with his skillful game and shot selection ... Next, he is facing South African Kevin Anderson, who scored upset win over Dominic Theim.

This was tough match for Yuki against the consistent baseliner Pella, who liked long rallies ... In the first set, Yuki broke Pella in 1st game, 0-1, but Pella broke back in 4th game, 2-all ... Pella again broke him 6th game 2-4 but this time Yuki broke back in next game for 3-4 ... In the tie-break, Yuki was 3-5 down but he made 5-all ... Pella won last 2 points for winning the set ... In the second set, Yuki got broke in 1st game, 0-2 ... From here he made an excellent comeback in the match ... He won next 5 games breaking Pella in 4th and 6th games to lead 5-2 ... Yuki took medical break but was ready to face Pella's serve ... After that both players hold their respective service games, so Yuki won the set comfortably ... After the set, Yuki again took medical break, Yuki started the match after sprayed and taped abdomen ... In the third set, Yuki was on terrific touch ... He broke Pella in 1st and 3rd games for leading 4-0 ... Then Pella hold, 4-1, but Yuki again broke him in 7th game for solid win.


At $728K Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex 2017, Los Cabos, Mexico

[QF] (4) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Wesley Koolhof (NED)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) 63 64
[QF] Blaz Kavcic (SLO)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) l (2) Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL)/ Treat Huey (PHI) 57 36

[SF] (4) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (2) Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL)/ Treat Huey (PHI)

Divij-Purav scored comfortable win over Koolhof-Sitak and took revenge of their last week defeat against same opponents in Atlanta Open ... Next, they r facing 2nd seed Cabal-Huey, who defeated Jeevan and his partner in straight sets.

At $250K Citi Open 2017, Washington, USA (WTA Tour)

[QF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) bt Jamie Loeb (USA)/ Ashley Weinhold (USA) 63 62

Sania-Monica r in the semis with comfortable win over American pair.

At $125K Chengdu Challenger 2017, China

[R2] (Q) Sidharth Rawat (IND,574) l (PR) James Ward (GBR,1081) 36 16

Doubles
[QF] (2) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Yuya Kibi (JPN)/ Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN) 75 76(1)

[SF] (2) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs Cheong-Eui Kim (KOR)/ Soon Woo Kwon (KOR)

James Ward proved too strong for Sid.

Bala and Vishnu in the semis with two tight sets win over Japanese pair ... In the semis, they r facing Korean pair.


At $15K ITF Women Tournament 2017, Nonthaburi

[QF] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,748) bt (WC) Watsachol Sawasdee (THA,UNR) 64 76(4)

[SF] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,748) vs (2) Haruka Kaji (JPN,335)

Pranjala is in the semis with the straight sets win over Sawasdee ... Next, she is having tough match against top-350 Japanese player Haruka Kaji.

Wednesday, August 02, 2017

Tennis News

At $2M Citi Open 2017, Washington, USA

[R2] (Q) Yuki Bhambri (IND,200) bt (6) Gael Monfils (FRA,22) 63 46 75

[R3] (Q) Yuki Bhambri (IND,200) vs Guido Pella (ARG,97)

Doubles
[R1] (WC) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Donald Young (USA) bt Daniel Nestor (CAN)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) 62 63

Yuki scored his best win of the career, when he defeated former top-10 Frenchman and defending champion Gael Monfils ... Next, he is facing Argentine Guido Pella.

In the first set, Yuki broke Monfils in the 8th game, 5-3, and that break was enough for winning the set ... In the second set, Yuki broke him in the 1st game, 1-0, but it seems Yuki lost focus ... As he lost next four games, in that losing his twice in 2nd and 4th games, to 1-4 down ... When Monfils was serving for the set at 3-5, Yuki broke him to bring it back on the serve, 4-5 ... Yuki tensed while serving for staying in the set as he committed 2 double faults at 30-all for losing the game and set ... In the final set, earlier Yuki had few break points which he failed to convert ... Both players hold their respective service games till 10th game ... Yuki took a crucial break in 11th game and then comfortable hold for the memorable win ... High-quality tennis in the final set as Monfils was serving big but Yuki hanged there ... He used net approach smartly to disrupt Monfils game, as he won all 16 points on net approaches ... Yuki's serving was also really good, sometimes felt that he lacked some power in groundies but overall his game looking good.

Comprehensive win for Rohan-Donald against established doubles players Nestor and Qureshi.


At $728K Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex 2017, Los Cabos, Mexico

[R1] Blaz Kavcic (SLO)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) bt (WC) Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) 76(3) 36 11-9

[QF] Blaz Kavcic (SLO)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs (2) Juan Sebastian Cabal (COL)/ Treat Huey (PHI)

Jeevan-Blaz scored hard fought win over local wild-card pair ... Next, they r facing 2nd seed Cabal and Huey.

At $15K ITF Women Tournament 2017, Nonthaburi

[R2] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,748) bt (6) Makoto Ninomiya (JPN,458) 57 62 64

[QF] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,748) vs (WC) Watsachol Sawasdee (THA,UNR)

Pranjala scored impressive comeback win over talented Japanese girl and top 450 type Ninomiya, who is also top-40 doubles player on WTA tour ... Next, she is facing Thai teenager Sawasdee.

Tuesday, August 01, 2017

Tennis News

At $728K Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel presentado por Cinemex 2017, Los Cabos, Mexico

[R1] (4) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/ Scott Lipsky (USA) 76(6) 76(5)

Purav-Divij started their title defense with a closely fought win against Gonzalez-Lipsky ... In the first set our pair was 1-4 down before making comeback into the match.

At $125K Chengdu Challenger 2017, China

[R1] (Q) Sidharth Rawat (IND,574) bt Sam Barry (IRL,393) 46 75 3-2 retd.
[R1] N.Sriram Balaji (IND,295) l Ti Chen (TPE,267) 63 36 46

[R2] (Q) Sidharth Rawat (IND,574) vs (PR) James Ward (GBR,1081)

Doubles
[R1] (2) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Yusuke Takahashi (JPN)/ Kento Takeuchi (JPN) 62 63

Sid is in the second round as Sam retired from the match in the third set citing leg injury ... In this match, after losing the first set Sid made comeback for winning the second and in the third after the 5th game Sam retired ... Next, he is facing a tough challenge of former top 100 player James Ward, who is on comeback trail.

Bala started well against Ti Chen as he won the first set ... He failed to keep momentum as Ti Chen won next two sets ... But Bala with Vishnu had a comfortable winning start in the doubles against Japanese pair.


At $15K ITF Women Tournament 2017, Nonthaburi

[R1] (Q) Mahak Jain (IND,872) l (7) Pei-Chi Lee (TPE,505) 26 76(7) 16
[R1] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,748) bt (WC) Chanikarn Silakul (THA,UNR) 64 60

[R2] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,748) vs (6) Makoto Ninomiya (JPN,458)

Pranjala started with a comfortable win and facing top-500 Japanese player Makoto Ninomiya in the second round ... Mahak won the second set in the tie-break but otherwise her Taiwani opponent overpowered her.

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,...