Golf News

At $1.75M Hero Indian Open 2019, New Delhi, India

T10 S. Chikkarangappa (IND) 74 70 66 74 -4 € 25,182
T10 Rashid Khan (IND) 72 70 72 70 -4 € 25,182
T27 Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 69 73 71 75 PAR € 14,334
T39 Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 72 74 74 71 +3 € 9,660
T45 SSP Chawrasia (IND) 74 72 71 75 +4 € 7,323
T54 Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND) 74 71 73 75 +5 € 5,297
T69 Rahil Gangjee (IND) 70 74 77 80 +13 € 2,905
T69 Gaurav Pratap Singh (IND) 73 73 73 82 +13 € 2,905

Not a good home tournament for our players as all struggled on the final day ... Only Chikka and Rashid Khan, who scored the 2-under round, managed to finish inside the top-10 ... Big names like Shubhankar, Gaganjeet, and SSP failed to finish inside the top-25.

Tennis News

At $77.8K+H Mouratoglou Open 2019, Sophia Antipolis (Biot), France (Red clay)

[R1] (4) Leander Paes (IND)/ Benoit Paire (FRA) vs Andrei Vasilevski (BLR)/ Andrea Vavassori (ITA)

Lee is back with Benoit Paire ... They r the 4th seeds and facing Vasilevski and Vavassori.

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At $54K+H Ferrero Challenger 2019, Villena, Spain (Red clay)

[R1] (1) Marcelo Demoliner (BRA)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Pedro Sousa (POR)/ Mark Vervoort (NED)
[R1] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Fabricio Neis (BRA)/ David Vega Hernandez (ESP)

Divij is back on the court and playing with a Brazilian Marcelo Demoliner in the Spanish challenger ... They r the top-seeds and facing Sousa and Vervoort ... Jeevan and Purav r the 3rd seeds and they r facing Vega Hernandez and Neis.

Badminton News

At $350K YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2019, New Delhi (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500)

Men's Singles Final
(3) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,7) l (2) Viktor Axelsen (DEN,4) 7-21 20-22

Srikanth failed to overcome challenges of the former WR #1 Danish player, Viktor Axelsen ... He lost the first game easily and in the second game, Sri was down early but he caught Axelsen at 12-all ... He had 2 game points at 20-18 but failed to convert ... Axelsen won next 4 points to complete the victory.

Hockey News

At the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019, Malaysia

Final
India l Korea 1-1 (1-0) PS 2-4
Goal Scorers - Simranjeet Singh (IND) 9' and Jang Jong Hyun (KOR) 47' PS

Another poor performance by our players in the crunch match ... We should win this final by at least 3 to 4 goals but again poor finishing cost us the match ... In the last quarter, another stupid foul from Amit Rohidas earned the penalty stroke for the Koreans ... Hyun converted for an equalizer and then, Korea stunned India 4-2 in the penalty shoot-out to lift the Azlan Shah Cup hockey title.

Badminton News

At $350K YONEX-SUNRISE India Open 2019, New Delhi (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500)

[R1] (3) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,7) bt Wing Ki Vincent Wong (HKG,37) 21-16 18-21 21-19
[R1] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,55) bt Cheuk Yiu Lee (HKG,34) 14-21 21-18 21-10
[R1] Prannoy H. S. (IND,24) bt (6) Kantaphon Wangcharoen (THA,17) 14-21 21-18 21-14

[R1] (2) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) bt Mugdha Agrey (IND,71) 21-8 21-13

[R1] (6) Manu Attri (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) bt Ravi (IND)/ Lakshay Saroha (IND) 21-14 21-7

[R1] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) bt (6) Wenmei Li (CHN)/ Yu Zheng (CHN) 22-20 21-19
[R1] Shruti K.P (IND)/ Aparna Balan (IND) bt Rudrani Jaiswal (IND)/ Anubha Kaushik (IND) 21-10 21-5

[R2] (3) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,7) bt Guangzu Lu (CHN,18) 21-11 21-16
[R2] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,55) bt Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (THA,58) 21-11 21-13
[R2] Prannoy H. S. (IND,24) bt Jan O Jorgensen (DEN,22) 21-19 20-22 21-17

[R2] (2) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) bt Joy Xuan Deng (HKG,37) 21-11 21-13

[R2] (6) Manu Attri (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) bt Kaixiang Huang (CHN)/ Zekang Wang (CHN) 25-23 21-18

[R2] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) bt Xiaofei Chen (CHN)/ Chaomin Zhou (CHN) 21-18 21-14
[R2] Shruti K.P (IND)/ Aparna Balan (IND) bt Wing Yung Ng (HKG)/ Nga Ting Yeung (HKG) 21-19 7-21 21-17

[QF] (3) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,7) bt Sai Praneeth B (IND,20) 21-23 21-11 21-19
[QF] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,55) bt Tzu Wei Wang (TPE,32) 21-16 21-11
[QF] Prannoy H. S. (IND,24) l (2) Viktor Axelsen (DEN,4) 10-21 16-21

[QF] (2) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) bt (8) Mia Blichfeldt (DEN,22) 21-19 22-20

[QF] (6) Manu Attri (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) bt Pranav Chopra (IND)/ Shivam Sharma (IND) 21-10 21-12

[QF] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l (1) Apriyani Rahayu (INA)/ Greysia Polii (INA) 10-21 18-21
[QF] Shruti K.P (IND)/ Aparna Balan (IND) l (2) Jongkolphan Kititharakul (THA)/ Rawinda Prajongjai (THA) 8-21 11-21

[SF] (3) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,7) bt Yuxiang Huang (CHN,30) 16-21 21-14 21-19
[SF] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,55) l (2) Viktor Axelsen (DEN,4) 11-21 17-21

[SF] (2) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) l (3) Bingjiao He (CHN,7) 21-23 18-21

[SF] (6) Manu Attri (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) l Ricky Karandasuwardi (INA)/ Angga Pratama (INA) 12-21 17-21

Men's Singles Final
(3) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,7) vs (2) Viktor Axelsen (DEN,4)

The Indian Open is going on, but only Srikanth manages to enter into the final ... He is facing the former WR #1 Danish player, Viktor Axelsen, for the title.

Sindhu again lost to her Chinese counterpart Bingjiao He in the close match ... Kashyap also reached to the semis but lost against Axelsen ... Prannoy and Sai reached to the quarters before losing to Axelsen and Srikanth respectively.

In the doubles, Manu and Sumeeth reached the semis before losing to the Indonesian pair ... Ashwini and Sikki started with an upset win over the 6th seeds Chinese pair before losing to the WR #5 Indonesian pair in the quarters ... Balan and Shriti also reached the quarters before losing to the WR #10 Thai pair.

Hockey News

At the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019, Malaysia

India bt Poland 10-0 (6-0)
Goal Scorers - Vivek Prasad (IND) 1', Sumit Kumar (IND) 7', Varun Kumar (IND) 18' PC and 25' PC, Surender Kumar (IND) 19', Simranjeet Singh (IND) 29', Nilakanta Sharma (IND) 36', Mandeep Singh (IND) 50' and 51', Amit Rohidas (IND) 55'

A comfortable win for the Indians, our players were scoring goals at their will ... A good outing for the Indians before tomorrow's final against Korea.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Marbella Challenger 2019, Spain

[QF] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) l (ITF) David Perez Sanz (ESP)/ Oriol Roca Batalla (ESP) 64 26 3-10

Thought this was a tough match for Purav and Jeevan ... Turned out to be like that as our pair lost after winning the first set against a local Spanish pair.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Kofu, Japan

[R2] (3) Ankita Raina (IND,168) l Lara Salden (BEL,629) 64 46 26

Another disappointing loss for Ankita against Salden after winning the first set.

Hockey News

At the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019, Malaysia

India bt Canada 7-3 (4-0)
Goal Scorers - Varun Kumar (IND) 12' PC, Mandeep Singh (IND) 20', 27' and 29', Amit Rohidas (IND) 39', Vivek Prasad (IND) 55', Nilakanta Sharma (IND) 58' and Mandeep Singh (IND) 58' and Mark Pearson (CAN) 35' PC, Fin Boothroyd (CAN) 50', James Wallace (CAN) 57' PC

The Indian completed a good win against the Canadian on a brilliant second quarter hat-trick by Mandeep Singh ... Both teams played fast-paced attacking game ... We showed improvement from previous matches but still need work hard on clumsy defending.

Tennis News

At $9.3M Miami Open 2019, Florida, USA (ATP Masters 1000)

[QF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) l (3) Bob Bryan (USA)/ Mike Bryan (USA) 36 46

Rohan and Shapo lost in straight sets against Bryans.

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At $54K+H St. Brieuc Challenger 2019, France

[R1] (1) Philipp Oswald (AUT)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Jamie Cerretani (USA)/ Marc-Andrea Huesler (SUI) 64 26 8-10

Not getting desired results for Lee with Philipp ... They faced another first-round loss after winning the first set against Huesler and Cerretani.

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At $54K+H Marbella Challenger 2019, Spain

[R1] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (ITF) Riccardo Bonadio (ITA)/ Pete Heller (GER) 75 62

[QF] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (ITF) David Perez Sanz (ESP)/ Oriol Roca Batalla (ESP)

Purav and Jeevan started with straight sets win over the ITF pair in the first round ... Next, they r facing another ITF pair but this would be a tougher challenge from the Spanish pair.

Hockey News

At the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019, Malaysia

India bt Malasiya 4-2 (2-1)
Goal Scorers - Sumit Kumar (IND) 17', Sumit Kumar Jr. (IND) 27', Varun Kumar (IND) 37' PC and Mandeep Singh (IND) 58' and Razie Rahim (MAS) 27', Firhan Ashari (MAS) 57'

The Indian scored a scrappy win over the host and secure the 2nd spot in the Azlan Shah Cup ... So with that, they will qualify for the final ... We had a disorganized game but the Malaysian side played more inconsistent games to handover win to India.

Tennis News

At $54K+H St. Brieuc Challenger 2019, France

[R1] (1) Philipp Oswald (AUT)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Jamie Cerretani (USA)/ Marc-Andrea Huesler (SUI)

This week, Lee and Philipp r the top-seeds and facing a pairing of Huesler and Cerretani.

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At $54K+H Marbella Challenger 2019, Spain

[R1] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (ITF) Riccardo Bonadio (ITA)/ Pete Heller (GER)

Purav and Jeevan r back on the court and r the 3rd seeds in the Marbella Challenger ... They r facing the ITF pair in the first round.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Kofu, Japan

[R1] (3) Ankita Raina (IND,168) bt (WC) Mana Kawamura (JPN,857) 60 61

[R2] (3) Ankita Raina (IND,168) vs Lara Salden (BEL,629)

Ankita breezed past against a local wild-card player in the first round ... Next, she is facing a Belgian girl, Salden.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Canberra, Australia

[Q1] (8) Mahak Jain (IND,514) bt Bojana Marinkov (AUS,784) 64 62

[Q2] (8) Mahak Jain (IND,514) l (2) Romy Koelzer (GER,408) 36 57

Mahak continues to play in Australia ... She lost in the second qualifying round against the top-400 typer German girl, Romy Koelzer ... Before that, she won the first qualifying match comfortably.

Hockey News

At the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019, Bhubaneswar, India

India dw Korea 1-1 (1-0)
Goal Scorers - Mandeep Singh (IND) 28' and Jonghyun Jang (KOR) 60' PC

The Indian side conceded a goal just 22 seconds from the final hooter and the Koreans drew this match ... We are failing to score in this tournament and that cost us ... When the last 8 minutes were remaining, the match was stopped due to heavy rain ... After re-starting the Koreans kept attacking and had many chances ... They converted the last penalty corner of the match to spoil Indian celebration.

Tennis News

At $9.3M Miami Open 2019, Florida, USA (ATP Masters 1000)

[R2] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) bt (7) Marcel Granollers (ESP)/ Nikola Mektic (CRO) 61 62

Rohan and Shapo scored a dominating against the 7th seeds Mektic and Granollers losing only 3 games.

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At $54K+H Zhangjiagang Challenger 2019, China

Doubles Final
(4) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) l (3) Max S Purcell (AUS)/ Luke Saville (AUS) 26 67(5)

Bala and Hach Verdugo lost in the final against the 3rd seeds Aussie pair in straight sets ... Still, a good week for Bala after a long time.

Table Tennis News

At Oman Open, Muscat, Oman (Seamaster 2019 ITTF Challenge Plus)

[R1] Amalraj Anthony (IND,144) bt Kirill Skachkov (RUS,53) 4-2 (12-14, 5-11, 11-6, 11-9, 11-5, 11-7)
[R1] Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (IND,28) bt Martin Allegro (BEL,109) 4-2 (11-8, 11-9, 6-11, 11-8, 6-11, 12-10)

[R2] Amalraj Anthony (IND,144) bt Tristan Flore (FRA,139) (11-6, 14-12, 11-7, 11-8)
[R2] Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (IND,28) bt Aliaksandr Khanin (BLR,92) 4-1 (7-11, 11-7, 11-9, 11-8, 11-7)

[R3] Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (IND,28) bt Amalraj Anthony (IND,144) 4-1 (6-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-4, 11-4)

[QF] Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (IND,28) bt Emmanuel Lebesson (FRA,36) 4-1 (11-9, 11-7, 11-9, 6-11, 12-10))

[SF] Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (IND,28) l (1) Mattias Falck (SWE,15) 3-4 (8-11, 11-7, 9-11, 11-9, 9-11, 11-9, 10-12)

A good outing for Sathiyan in the Oman Open ... He lost the semis against the top-20 Swede Mattias Falck ... Falck won the final game 10-12 ... Amalraj also gave a decent performance before losing to Sathiyan in the 3rd round.

Golf News

At $3M Maybank Championship 2019, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (European Tour)

T20 Chikkarangappa S (IND) 75 69 68 69 -7 € 29,810
T30 Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 71 68 74 70 -5 € 21,506
T41 SSP Chawrasia (IND) 69 74 70 72 -3 € 15,011
T48 Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 68 75 75 68 -2 € 11,324
T48 Viraj Madappa (IND) 70 72 70 74 -2 € 11,324
T66 Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND) 72 72 72 74 +2 € 5,399

Chikka scored a 3-under final round to finish inside the top-20 ... Shubhankar also managed a 2-under final round to finish in the top-30.

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At $6.7M Valspar Championship 2019, Palm Harbor, Florida, USA (PGA Tour)

T30 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 70 71 75 68 PAR $39,817.00

Anirban's last 3-under round helped him to a decent finish inside the top-30 in the Valspar Championship.

Tennis News

At $9.3M Miami Open 2019, Florida, USA (ATP Masters 1000)

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) bt Austin Krajicek (USA)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) 75 26 10-6

[R2] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs (7) Marcel Granollers (ESP)/ Nikola Mektic (CRO)

Rohan and Shapo r in the second round with the match tie-break win over Krajicek and Sitak ... Next, they r facing the 7th seeds Mektic and Granollers.

Hockey News

At the 28th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019, Bhubaneswar, India

India bt Japan 2-0 (1-0)
Goal Scorers - Varun Kumar (IND) 24' PC, Simaranjeet Singh (IND) 55'

The five-times champion India started on the positive note and scored a comfortable win over the current Asian Games champion Japan ... We scored a goal each in both halfs ... We are playing with a lot of youngsters, so a good outing for them.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Zhangjiagang Challenger 2019, China

[SF] (4) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) bt (1) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Christopher Rungkat (INA) 64 63

Bala and Hach Verdugo r in the final with a comfortable win over the top-seeds Hsieh and Rungkat.

Tennis News

At $9.3M Miami Open 2019, Florida, USA (ATP Masters 1000)

[R1] (Q) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,84) l Jaume Munar (ESP,61) 67(3) 46

Prajnesh lost in the first round, despite close score he struggled with his game ... A bad day in the office for Prajnesh, he made numerous unforced errors ... His 1st service percentage was down and he was over-hitting ... After losing the first set in the tie-break, he committed 3 double faults to lose his serve in the 3rd game to down 1-2 ... He again lost his serve in the 5th game to double break down, 1-4 ... He broke Munar in the 8th game when he was serving for the match, 3-5 bt Munar took Prajnesh's error-prone game advantage to complete win in the 10th game.

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At $54K+H Zhangjiagang Challenger 2019, China

[QF] Luca Margaroli (SUI)/ Vishnu Vardhan (USA) l (1) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Christopher Rungkat (INA) 64 16 6-10
[QF] (4) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) bt (WC) Runhao Hua (CHN)/ Zhizhen Zhang (CHN) 36 76(4) 10-5

[SF] (4) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) vs (1) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Christopher Rungkat (INA)

Bala and Hach Verdugo scored a comeback win in the match tie-break after losing the first set against the local wild-card pair ... Next, they r facing the top-seeds, Rungkat and Hsieh, who defeated Vishnu and Luca in the match tie-break.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Kofu, Japan

[R2] (4) Ankita Raina (IND,168) l Momoko Kobori (JPN,255) 67(3) 46

A disappointing loss of Ankita against the top-250 Japanese player in straight sets.

Tennis News

At $9.3M Miami Open 2019, Florida, USA (ATP Masters 1000)

[Q2] (12) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,84) bt Jay Clarke (GBR,196) 64 64

[R1] (Q) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,84) vs Jaume Munar (ESP,61)

A back-to-back Masters main-draw qualifications for Prajnesh ... Here, he scored straight sets win over Jay Clarke and facing a Spaniard, Jaume Munar, in the first round.

Prajnesh broke Jay in the 1st game to lead 2-0 ... After that, Jay pressed hard and created break point chances but Prajnesh remained calm and saved all those ... Prajanesh kept the advantage and won the first set after holding his serve comfortably in the 10th game ... The second set was a repeat of the first, as Prajnesh again broke Jay in the 1st game to lead 2-0 ... After that, Prajnesh kept the pressure on Jay's serve and held his service games comfortably ... Prajnesh completed win after holding his serve comfortably in the 10th game ... Very solid and consistent performance by Prajnesh.

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At $54K+H Zhangjiagang Challenger 2019, China

[R2] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,268) l (15) Mathias Bourgue (FRA,232) 57 46

Doubles
[R1] Luca Margaroli (SUI)/ Vishnu Vardhan (USA) bt (ITF) Francis Casey Alcantara (PHI)/ Bernardo Saraiva (POR) 62 46 10-5

[QF] Luca Margaroli (SUI)/ Vishnu Vardhan (USA) vs (1) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Christopher Rungkat (INA)

Mukund gave a decent performance against Bougue in his loss.
In the doubles, Vishnu and Luca started with a win in the match tie-break against the ITF pair ... Next, they r facing the top-seeds Rungkat and Hsieh.

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At $54K+H Lille Challenger 2019, France

[R1] (2) Philipp Oswald (AUT)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)/ David Vega Hernandez (ESP) 61 36 4-10

Lee and Oswald started well after winning the first set comfortably but failed to keep the momentum ... The Spaniards came back strongly to win the second and dominated the match tie-break.

Tennis News

At $9.3M Miami Open 2019, Florida, USA (ATP Masters 1000)

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs Austin Krajicek (USA)/ Artem Sitak (NZL)

This week also Rohan is playing with Shapo and they r facing Sitak and Krajicek.

Prajnesh and Jay Clarke's match is moved to Wednesday as the day was rained off in Miami.

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At $54K+H Zhangjiagang Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,268) bt (ITF) Baptiste Crepatte (FRA,424) 61 62

[R2] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,268) vs (15) Mathias Bourgue (FRA,232)

Doubles
[R1] (4) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) bt Harri Heliovaara (FIN)/ Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (CHI) 75 67(3) 10-8

[QF] (4) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) vs (WC) Runhao Hua (CHN)/ Zhizhen Zhang (CHN)

Sasi scored a dominating win against the in-form Crepatte, who reached in the semis last week ... Next, he is facing the 15th seed Bourgue.

In the doubles, a very tight win for Bala with Hach Verdugo ... Next, they r facing the local wild-card pair.

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At $80K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Kofu, Japan

[R1] (4) Ankita Raina (IND,168) bt Yuxuan Zhang (CHN,235) 63 62

[R2] (4) Ankita Raina (IND,168) vs Momoko Kobori (JPN,255)

Ankita started with a comfortable win over the top-250 Chinese opponent ... Next, she is facing a Japanese girl, Momoko Kobori.

Tennis News

At $9.3M Miami Open 2019, Florida, USA (ATP Masters 1000)

[Q1] (12) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,84) bt Adrian Menendez-Maceiras (ESP,141) 62 64
[Q1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,106) l (18) Lorenzo Sonego (ITA,139) 46 16

[Q2] (12) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,84) vs Jay Clarke (GBR,196)

Prajnesh continues with his terrific form from Indian Wells ... He started with a confident win over a Spaniard Adrian Menendez-Maceiras ... In the first set, he broke Adrian twice to win it ... In the second set, he broke Adrian in the 1st game to lead 2-0 ... He again broke Adrian in the 7th game to lead 5-2 ... Adrian broke Prajnesh when he was serving for the match in the 8th game, 5-3 ... But Prajnesh held his serve in the 10th game for a win ... Next, he is facing a British youngster, Jay Clarke.

Ram's struggle continues as he lost easily against the Italian Lorenzo Sonego.

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At $9M Miami Open 2019, Florida, USA

[Q1] (WC) Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,203) l (4) Viktorija Golubic (SUI,77) 06 0-3 retd.

Karman received a wild-card but struggled against a strong challenge from Golubic ... After losing 9 games in a row Karman retired citing injury.

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At $54K+H Lille Challenger 2019, France

[R1] (2) Philipp Oswald (AUT)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)/ David Vega Hernandez (ESP)

This week, Lee is partnering Oswald and they r facing the Spanish pair in the first round.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Yokohama, Japan

[Q1] (10) Mahak Jain (IND,512) l Yuuki Tanaka (JPN,584) 75 46 8-10

Mahak back on the court after a long break (maybe the 12th exam?), but lost in the match tie-break after winning the first set.

Badminton News

At $150K YONEX Swiss Open 2019, Basel, Switzerland (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300)

Men's Singles Final
Sai Praneeth B. (IND,22) l (1) Yuqi Shi (CHN,2) 21-19 18-21 12-21

Sai lost in 3 games against the WR #2 Yuqi Shi ... Sai won the first game and in the second he was tied 18-all ... From there Yuqi took control ... He raised the game and Sai committed errors at crucial points ... Yuqi won the second game and dominated the final game ... Still, overall a good week for Sai.

Golf News

At €1,1M Kenya Open 2019, Nairobi, Kenya (European Tour)

5 Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 65 70 66 69 -14 € 46,640
T17 S Chikkarangappa (IND) 70 69 69 69 -7 € 13,310
T35 Khalin Joshi (IND) 72 69 69 71 -3 € 7,260

Gaganjeet is showing consistency in his performance on the European tour ... He gave another solid performance to the top-5 finish at the Kenya Open ... The last 2-under round kept him inside top-5, Chikka also played a 2-under round for the top-20 finish ... Khalin had a PAR round to finish on the 35th position.

Athletics News

At Asian Race Walking Championships 2019, Nomi, Japan

Men 20km Race Walk
4 Irfan Kolothum Thodi (IND) 1:20.57s (Tokyo 2020 and WC qualified)
Devinder Singh (IND) 1:21:22s (WC qualified)
Ganapathi Krishnan (IND) 1:22:12s (WC qualified)

Our race walker Irfan Kolothum Thodi finished fourth in the Asian Race Walking Championship at Nomi, Japan to become the first Indian athlete to qualify for Tokyo 2020 Olympics and IAAF World Championships ... The Tokyo Olympics qualification standard is 1 hour 21 minutes ... And this year’s World Championships, (September 27-October 6) in Doha, Qatar, with the qualifying mark of 1:22:30 ... Devinder Singh and Ganapathi Krishnan also qualified for the World Championships as they clocked 1:21:22 and 1:22:12 respectively.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Zhangjiagang Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,270) vs (ITF) Baptiste Crepatte (FRA,424)

Doubles
[R1] Luca Margaroli (SUI)/ Vishnu Vardhan (USA) vs (ITF) Francis Casey Alcantara (PHI)/ Bernardo Saraiva (POR)
[R1] (4) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) vs Harri Heliovaara (FIN)/ Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (CHI)

In the singles, only Mukund is playing and facing a Frenchman Crepatte.

Bala and Vishnu r playing the doubles with their respective partners.

Badminton News

At $150K YONEX Swiss Open 2019, Basel, Switzerland (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300)

[SF] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,22) bt (2) Long Chen (CHN,5) 21-18 21-13

Sai scored an impressive win over a current Olympic champion and 2 times World champion Long Chen ... Sai completed the win in two straight games and in the final he is facing WR #2 Yuqi Shi.

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At $75K Lingshui China Masters 2019, Hainan, China (BWF Tour Super 100)

[R1] Lakshya Sen (IND,104) bt Kean Yew Loh (SIN,61) 21-12 21-13
[R2] Lakshya Sen (IND,104) bt Ha Young Woong (KOR,217) 21-14 21-15
[QF] Lakshya Sen (IND,104) bt (4) Zhou Zeqi (CHN,42) 16-21 21-15 21-19

[SF] Lakshya Sen (IND,104) l Weng Hongyang (CHN,258) 9-21 21-12 17-21

Lakshya showing positive progress on the senior level ... In the China Masters, he lost in the semis against a local player, this was a winnable match for him but he failed to overcome challenges of Hongyang.

Before that, he had a couple of good wins ... In the first round, he defeated in-form Loh, who won the Thailand Masters in January ... And in the quarters, he scored a comeback win over the top-50 local player Zeqi.

Golf News

At R2M Investec South African Women's Open 2019, Cape Town, South Africa (LET 2019)

P.C. to ladieseuropeantour.com

1 Diksha Dagar (IND) 76 66 69 -5 €19,347.46
T50 Millie Soroha (IND) 77 77 73 +11 €671.36

18 yrs. old Diksha Dagar won the South African Women's Open and become the second Indian woman to win on the Ladies European tour after Aditi Ashok ... This was Diksha's 4th professional start after turning pro this year and she was the silver medalist for India at the 2017 Deaflympics.

Diksha had a bad start as she scored 4-over in the first round ... But she responded well scoring a superb 6-under second round and continued with that confidence, she managed 3-under final round ... So with the 5-under final score, she won the tournament by 1 stroke.

Badminton News

At $150K YONEX Swiss Open 2019, Basel, Switzerland (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300)

[QF] Subhankar Dey (IND,47) l (2) Long Chen (CHN,5) 18-21 17-21
[QF] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,22) bt Lucas Corvee (FRA,52) 21-13 21-11

[QF] (Q) Riya Mookerjee (IND,110) l (1) Yufei Chen (CHN,2) 10-21 8-21

[QF] (Q) Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) l (6) Marcus Ellis (ENG)/ Chris Langridge (ENG) 11-21 26-28

[QF] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l (3) Nami Matsuyama (JPN)/ Chiharu Shida (JPN) 17-21 17-21

[QF] Arjun M.R. (IND)/ Maneesha K (IND) l Mathias Bay-Smidt (DEN)/ Rikke Søby (DEN) 19-21 16-21

Had tough matches for our players in the quarters ... Only Sai had a winnable match and he won it convincingly ... In the semis, he is facing the former WR #1 Long Chen ... Shubhanakar gave a decent fight to Long Chen in his loss ... The WR #2 Yufei Chen toyed Riya in one-sided win, but this was a much-needed experience for Riya to play against the top player ... Ashwini- Sikki, and Pranaav-Chirag lost in straight games against their fancied opponents ... In MXD, Arjun-Maneesha failed to build on their win and lost in straight games against similar ranked Danish pair.

Tennis News

At $162K+H Phoenix Challenger 2019, USA

[QF] (3) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) l Jamie Cerretani (USA)/ Nicholas Monroe (USA) 76(3) 67(7) 10-12

Rohan and Divij lost a super close match against Monroe and Cerretani ... Our guys missed multiple match points in this match.

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At $81K+H Shenzhen Challenger 2019, China

[QF] Luca Margaroli (SUI)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) l Zhe Li (CHN)/ Goncalo Oliveira (POR) 46 61 6-10

Vishnu and Luca Margaroli lost in the match tie-break against Zhe Li and Goncalo Oliveira ... After losing the first set Vishnu and Luca tried to fight back and won the second set comfortably but failed to keep momentum in the match tie-break.

Badminton News

At $150K YONEX Swiss Open 2019, Basel, Switzerland (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300)

[R2] Subhankar Dey (IND,47) bt (5) Jonatan Christie (INA,10) 12-21 22-20 21-17
[R2] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,50) l Mark Caljouw (NED,29) 15-21 16-21
[R2] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,22) bt (8) Sameer Verma (IND,14) 21-14 22-20

[R2] (Q) Riya Mookerjee (IND,110) bt (6) Michelle Li (CAN,13) 18-16 retd.

[R2] Arun George (IND)/ Sanyam Shukla (IND) l Mohamad Arif Ab Latif (MAS)/ Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub (MAS) 17-21 13-21
[R2] Krishna Prasad Garaga (IND)/ Dhruv Kapila (IND) l (8) Yang Lee (TPE)/ Chi-Lin Wang (TPE) 13-21 17-21
[R2] (Q) Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) bt Jason Anthony Ho-Shue (CAN)/ Nyl Yakura (CAN) 18-21 21-14 21-13

[R2] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) bt Nadia Fankhauser (SUI)/ Iris Tabeling (NED) 21-14 21-17

[R2] Arjun M.R. (IND)/ Maneesha K (IND) bt Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) 21-16 16-21 21-15

Turning out another good day for Indians ... Shubhankar scored a huge upset win over the top-10 Indonesian Jonatan Christie ... After losing the first game Shubhanakr had 3 game points at 20-17, but Christie saved those ... Shubhankar kept his cool for converting the 4th point ... Shubhankar kept that momentum for winning the third after early jitter ... Riya's run continues as in the late of first game Michelle Li retired due to injury ... Sai scored an upset win over Sameer, but Kashyap had a disappointing loss.
Prannav and Chirag won last 2 games comfortably after a slow start for them in the first game ... Ashwini and Sikki in the quarters with straight games win ... Our young pairs, Arun-Sanyam and Krishna-Dhruv, failed to challenge their superior opponents in the second round ... In MXD, Maneesh and Arjun scored an upset win over their senior compatriots Pranaav and Sikki.

Tennis News

At $162K+H Phoenix Challenger 2019, USA

[R1] (3) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt Ruben Bemelmans (BEL)/ Peter Polansky (CAN) 63 64

[QF] (3) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Jamie Cerretani (USA)/ Nicholas Monroe (USA)

Rohan and Divij started with straight sets win over Bemelmans and Polansky ... Next, they r facing an experienced American pairing of Monroe and Cerretani.

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At $60K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Shenzhen, China

[R2] (4) Ankita Raina (IND,166) l Hiroko Kuwata (JPN,266) 67(2) 26

A disappointing loss for Ankita against Kuwata ... In the first set, she was up with a break at 5-3 while serving for the set ... She got broken but again had a set point on Kuwata's serve at 5-4 which she failed to convert ... But after that, Kuwata took control and won the second set comfortably.

Squash News

At $107K Women's CIB Black Ball Open 2019, Cairo, Egypt (PSA World Tour Gold)

[QF] (9/16) Joshna Chinappa (IND,16) l (3) Joelle King (NZL,5) 11-7, 10-12, 11-2, 5-11, 8-11 (64m)

Joshna lost a close match against the WR #5 Joelle King ... In the first 3 games, Joshna was a better player on the court, but she lost the second game on extra points ... In the final 2 games, Joelle showed more consistency and played patiently for a win.

Badminton News

At $150K YONEX Swiss Open 2019, Basel, Switzerland (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300)

[R1] Subhankar Dey (IND,47) bt Lucas Claerbout (FRA,97) 21-19 21-17
[R1] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,50) bt Felix Burestedt (SWE,87) 21-19 21-17
[R1] (8) Sameer Verma (IND,14) bt Ajay Jayaram (IND,55) 21-18 21-15
[R1] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,22) bt Rajiv Ouseph (ENG,30) 11-5 retd.

[R1] Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka (IND,63) l Kristin Kuuba (EST,71) 12-21 23-21 9-21
[R1] Vrushali Gummadi (IND,107) l (6) Michelle Li (CAN,13) 14-21 11-21
[R1] (Q) Riya Mookerjee (IND,110) bt Linda Zetchiri (BUL,62) 21-23 21-15 21-8

[R2] Manu Attri (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) l David Daugaard (DEN)/ Frederik Sogaard (DEN) 21-18 17-21 10-21
[R1] Arjun M.R. (IND)/ Ramchandran Shlok (IND) l Mark Lamsfuss (GER)/ Marvin Seidel (GER) 18-21 20-22
[R1] Arun George (IND)/ Sanyam Shukla (IND) bt Ching Yao Lu (TPE)/ Po Han Yang (TPE) 21-16 21-9
[R1] Krishna Prasad Garaga (IND)/ Dhruv Kapila (IND) bt Nicolas A. Mueller (SUI)/ Julien Scheiwiller (SUI) 21-13 21-12
[R1] (Q) Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) bt (2) Kim Astrup (DEN)/ Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (DEN) 21-16 21-18

[R1] Pooja Dandu (IND)/ Sanjana Santosh (IND) l Nadia Fankhauser (SUI)/ Iris Tabeling (NED) 21-12 15-21 16-21
[R1] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) bt Anastasiia Axchurina (RUS)/ Olga Morozova (RUS) 21-16 21-17

[R1] Dhruv Kapila (IND)/ Kuhoo Garg (IND) l Alberto Zapico (ESP)/ Lorena Usle (ESP) 13-21 21-17 19-21
[R1] Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) bt Jones Ralfy Jansen (GER)/ Kilasu Ostermeyer (GER) 21-15 21-17
[R1] Arjun M.R. (IND)/ Maneesha K (IND) bt Li-Wei Po (TPE)/ Ching Hui Chang (TPE) 21-16 21-18

Some good upset wins by our players in the first round ... A young qualifier Riya scored a comeback win over the WR #62 Zetchiri ... In the doubles, a newly formed pairing of Pranaav and Chirag scored an upset straight games win over the WR #7 Danish pair ... Arun and Sanyam also scored a comfortable upset win over the top-25 Taiwani pair.

Tennis News

At $81K+H Shenzhen Challenger 2019, China

[R2] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,270) l (2) Marcos Baghdatis (CYP,129) 46 57

Doubles
[R1] Luca Margaroli (SUI)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt (ITF) Baptiste Crepatte (FRA)/ Karim-Mohamed Maamoun (EGY) 62 64

[QF] Luca Margaroli (SUI)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs Zhe Li (CHN)/ Goncalo Oliveira (POR)

Mukund gave a decent fighting performance against the former top-10 player, Marcos Baghdatis, in his loss.

In the doubles, Vishnu and Luca Margaroli started with a comfortable win over ITF pair ... Next, they r facing Zhe Li and Goncalo Oliveira.

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At $60K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Shenzhen, China

[R1] (4) Ankita Raina (IND,166) bt (Q) Shou Feng (CHN,558) 64 36 63

[R2] (4) Ankita Raina (IND,166) vs Hiroko Kuwata (JPN,266)

Ankita needed 3 sets to beat Feng in the first round ... But at least she was able to pull a win after a long break from the tennis ... Next, she is having a tougher challenge of the top-275 Japanese, Kuwata.

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At $54K+H Drummondville Challenger 2019, Canada

[R2] Sumit Nagal (IND,351) l (16) Tristan Lamasine (FRA,286) 26 36

Sumit is failing to win 2-3 matches in a row and this can slide his ranking in coming weeks ... Again, he lost in straight sets against Tristan Lamasine.

Squash News

At $107K Women's CIB Black Ball Open 2019, Cairo, Egypt (PSA World Tour Gold)

[R1] (9/16) Joshna Chinappa (IND,16) bt (6) Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG,6) 11-4, 6-11, 14-12, 11-9 (50m)

[QF] (9/16) Joshna Chinappa (IND,16) vs (3) Joelle King (NZL,5)

Joshna enters into the quarters with an upset win over the WR #6 Britisher, Sarah-Jane Perry ... After one game all, Joshna faced stiff resistance from Sarah-Jane, but she won next 2 closely fought games and completed win in four games ... Next, she is facing the WR #5 Joelle King.

Tennis News

At $9.3M BNP Paribas Open 2019, Indian Wells, California, USA

[R3] (Q) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,97) l Ivo Karlovic (CRO,89) 36 67(3)

Prajnesh's fine run ended against a big serving machine, Ivo Karlovic ... In this match, both players had a couple of break points on opponent's serve ... Karlovic broke Prajnesh in the first set to win it, but Prajnesh failed to capitalize on that ... Karlovic won the second set tie-break comfortably for winning the match ... Karlovic had 16 aces in the match ... Still, a breakthrough performance by Prajnesh, next stop for him is the Miami Masters qualifying.

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At $162K+H Phoenix Challenger 2019, USA

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,136) l (ALT) Pedja Krstin (SRB,187) 26 46

Doubles
[R1] (3) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Ruben Bemelmans (BEL)/ Peter Polansky (CAN)

Ram's struggle continues as he lost in straight sets against the lower ranked Serbian Pedja Krstin.

Rohan and Divij r playing in the doubles and facing Bemelmans and Polansky.

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At $60K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Shenzhen, China

[R1] (4) Ankita Raina (IND,166) vs (Q) Shou Feng (CHN,558)

Ankita is back on the tour and facing Feng in the first round.

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At $54K+H Drummondville Challenger 2019, Canada

[R1] Sumit Nagal (IND,351) bt Kevin King (USA,332) 63 63

[R2] Sumit Nagal (IND,351) vs (16) Tristan Lamasine (FRA,286)

Sumit started with straight sets win over American Kevin King in the first round ... This was a much-needed win for him, next, he is facing the top-300 Frenchman, Tristan Lamasine.

Squash News

At $107K Women's CIB Black Ball Open 2019, Cairo, Egypt (PSA World Tour Gold)

[R1] (9/16) Joshna Chinappa (IND,16) bt Nicol David (MAS,21) 11-8, 11-6, 12-10 (32m)

[R2] (9/16) Joshna Chinappa (IND,16) vs (6) Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG,6)

In Cairo, Joshna started with a really good win against a squash legend, Nicol David, in three games ... Next, she is facing the WR #6 Britisher, Sarah-Jane Perry.

Tennis News

At $162K+H Phoenix Challenger 2019, USA

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,136) vs (ALT) Pedja Krstin (SRB,187)

Ram is playing in a big Phoenix challenger and facing Serbian Pedja Krstin in the first round.

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At $81K+H Shenzhen Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,246) l Jose Hernandez-Fernandez (DOM,276) 26 67(5)
[R1] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,270) bt (WC) Yecong He (CHN,524) 63 62

[R2] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,270) vs (2) Marcos Baghdatis (CYP,129)

Expected comfortable win for Mukund against a local wildcard player ... Next, he is facing an experienced and the former top-10 player, Marcos Baghdatis.

A bad loss for Saki against Hernandez-Fernandez in the first round.

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At $54K+H Drummondville Challenger 2019, Canada

[R1] Sumit Nagal (IND,351) vs Kevin King (USA,332)

This week, Sumit is playing in Canada and facing American Kevin King in the first round.

Golf News

At $1.75M Commercial Bank Qatar Masters 2019, Doha

T31 Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 69 71 75 68 -5 € 12,131

After poor third round Gaganjeet recovered and scored the 4-under final round ... This round helped him to finish on the T31st position.

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At $9.1M Arnold Palmer Invitational 2019, Orlando, Florida, USA

T69 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 74 69 80 73 +8 $18,473.00

Anirban struggled and his 8-over third round cost him to finish the bottom of the standing.

Tennis News

At $9.3M BNP Paribas Open 2019, Indian Wells, California, USA

[R2] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) l Novak Djokovic (SRB)/ Fabio Fognini (ITA) 46 61 8-10

Rohan and Shapo lost in the match tie-break against Djoko and Fognini.

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At $81K+H Shenzhen Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,246) vs Jose Hernandez-Fernandez (DOM,276)
[R1] Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,270) vs (WC) Yecong He (CHN,524)

Doubles
[R1] Luca Margaroli (SUI)/ Vishnu Vardhan (USA) vs (ITF) Baptiste Crepatte (FRA)/ Karim-Mohamed Maamoun (EGY)
[R1] (3) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) vs Zhe Li (CHN)/ Goncalo Oliveira (POR)

Saki is facing Hernandez-Fernandez in the first round ... Sasi is facing a local wildcard Yecong He.

In the doubles, Vishnu is back after a long break and pairing with Swiss Luca Margaroli ... They r facing the ITF pair ... Bala is again pairing with Hach Verdugo and they r facing Zhe Li and Oliveira.

Tennis News

At $9.3M BNP Paribas Open 2019, Indian Wells, California, USA

[R2] (Q) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,97) bt (17) Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO,18) 64 67(6) 76(4)

[R3] (Q) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,97) vs Ivo Karlovic (CRO,89)

Doubles
[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) bt (2) Jamie Murray (GBR)/ Bruno Soares (BRA) 64 64

[R2] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs Novak Djokovic (SRB)/ Fabio Fognini (ITA)

Prajnesh scored the biggest win of his career in a close match against the top-20 player, Nikoloz Basilashvili ... In the third round, he is facing a big serving veteran, Ivo Karlovic.
Prajnesh won the first set with a single break ... In the second set, Basilashvili improved his returning game ... Prajnesh created more chances of breaking Basilashvili service game, 6, but converted only one ... Both players had a break each before Basilashvili won the set in a long tie-break ... In the final set, Prajnesh served consistently and put extra pressure on Basilashvili ... He was holding his service games comfortably and took a break in the 8th game ... Prajnesh broke Basilashvili on love to lead 5-3, but while serving for the match Prajnesh came under pressure to lose his serve, 5-4 ... In the tie-break, Prajnesh took an early mini-break on Basilashvili's serve to lead 2-1 and after that, he kept that mini-break advantage and completed win after converting the 3rd match point ... Good to see, that despite missing chances of closing this match in straight sets and missing another golden opportunity in the third set while serving for the match at 5-3, Prajnesh kept his composure and completed the win in the third set tie-break.

Rohan and Shapo started with an upset win over the 2nd seeds Soares and Murray in straight sets ... Next, they r facing pairing of Djoko and Fognini.

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Tennis News

At $25K+H ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Irapuato, Mexico

[QF] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,210) l (7) Katie Swan (GBR,177) 26 46

Karman failed to repeat her last 2 times winning performance against Katie Swan and lost in straight sets.

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At $25K ITF M25 Mildura, Australia (Grass)

[SF] (3) Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) l (1) Dayne Kelly (AUS,373) 06 0-3 retd.

It seems Arjun struggled due to injury ... He lost 9 games in a row and then conceded the semis against Dayne Kelly.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Yokohama, Japan

Doubles Final
(2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Akiko Omae (JPN) l (1) Ji-Hee Choi (KOR)/ Na-Lae Han (KOR) 16 57

Rutuja and Omae lost in straight sets against the top-seed Koreans ... But still, a good outing for Rutuja as she got much-required match practice on the court after her long injury break.

Badminton News

At $1M YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2019, Birmingham, England (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000)

[QF] (7) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) l (1) Kento Momota (JPN,1) 12-21 16-21

[QF] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) l (1) Tai Tzu-ying (TPE,1) 15-21 19-21

Saina lost in straight games against Tai Tzu-ying ... After losing the first game Saina tried fightback in the second ... Saina was 8-2 up but from 13-10 down Tai took control she won next 4 points to lead, 13-14 ... From 16-19 Saina made 19-all but Tai won next 2 points and completed the win.

Kento Momotaonce again proved too strong to Srikanth in his straight games win ... In the second game, Srikanth saved 4 match points from 12-20 but it was too late ... With his loss, the Indian challenge got over in the England Open.

Tennis News

At $9.3M BNP Paribas Open 2019, Indian Wells, California, USA

[R1] (Q) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,97) bt Benoit Paire (FRA,69) 76(5) 64

[R2] (Q) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,97) vs (17) Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO,18)

A memorable debut for Prajnesh in the Masters' tournament ... He scored straight sets win over an experienced Frenchman, Benoit Paire in a well-contested match ... In the second round, he is facing the top-20 player, Nikoloz Basilashvili.

In the first set, two times Prajnesh was a break down but both times he broke back and won the tie-break ... In the second set, Prajnesh drew first blood after breaking Paire in the 5th game, 3-2 ... But Paire broke back immediately in a long game, 3-all ... Prajnesh took a crucial break in the 9th game, 5-4, and then held his serve comfortably for a breakthrough win.

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At $25K+H ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Irapuato, Mexico

[R2] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,210) bt (4) Martina Trevisan (ITA,162) 26 63 4-1 Retd

[QF] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,210) vs (7) Katie Swan (GBR,177)

A really good win for Karman against the top-175 ranked Italian, Martina Trevisan ... Karam started positively and won the first set comfortably ... Trevisan tried fightback after winning the second set ... In the third set, Trevisan retired after the 5th game when Karam was up with a break ... Next, Karman is facing the top-175 type British girl, Katie Swan.

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At $25K ITF M25 Mildura, Australia (Grass)

[QF] (3) Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) bt (5) Harry Bourchier (AUS,413) 76(3) 26 76(5)

[SF] (3) Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) vs (1) Dayne Kelly (AUS,373)

Arjun won a very close match against Harry Bourchier in almost 2 and a half hours ... Arjun won two sets in the tie-breaks but lost the second set against Harry ... Next, he is facing the top-seed, Dayne Kelly.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Yokohama, Japan

[SF] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Akiko Omae (JPN) bt En Shuo Liang (TPE)/ Ayaka Okuno (JPN) 64 57 11-9

[F] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Akiko Omae (JPN) vs (1) Ji-Hee Choi (KOR)/ Na-Lae Han (KOR)

Rutuja and Omae needed the match tie-break for a win over Okuno and Liang ... In the final, they r facing the top-seed Koreans.

Badminton News

At $1M YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2019, Birmingham, England (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000)

[R2] (7) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) bt Jonatan Christie (INA,9) 21-17 11-21 21-12
[R2] B. Sai Praneeth (IND,26) l Ng Ka Long Angus (HKG,15) 12-21 17-21

[R2] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) bt Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt (DEN,19) 8-21 21-16 21-13

[QF] (7) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) vs (1) Kento Momota (JPN,1)

[QF] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) vs (1) Tai Tzu-ying (TPE,1)

A crap draws for Saina and Srikanth in the quarters, as both of them facing the WR #1 opponents.
Saina made a strong comeback after losing the first game against the top-20 Danish girl, Kjaersfeldt ... Kjaersfeldt won the first game without wasting any sweat but Saina recovered and won next 2 games comfortably.

Srikanth scored an impressive win over a tricky opponent, Jonatan Christie ... After winning the first game Srikanth lost the second game easily ... But he recovered and won the final game in a dominant manner.

Sai lost in straight games against the top-15 Hong Kong player, Ng Ka Long Angus.

Tennis News

At $9.3M BNP Paribas Open 2019, Indian Wells, California, USA

[Q2] (9) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,97) bt Salvatore Caruso (ITA,168) 62 36 62

[R1] (Q) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,97) vs Benoit Paire (FRA,69)

Prajnesh qualifies for his first Masters' tournament with three sets win over Caruso ... In the main draw, Prajnesh is facing the Frenchman, Benoit Paire.
Prajnesh served well in this match, he broke Caruso in the 1st and the 3rd games to lead 4-0 and kept double break advantage to win the set ... In the second set, Prajnesh 1st serve percentage reduced and Caruso took advantage of it ... Caruso broke him in the 8th game, 3-5, for winning this set ... In the final set, Prajnesh improved his 1st serve percentage ... He broke Caruso in the 2nd game to lead 3-0 and after that kept pressure on Caruso's serve ... He broke Caruso in the 8th game when he was serving for staying in the match for completing important win of his career.

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At $54K+H Zhuhai Challenger 2019, China

[QF] Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA) l Nikola Cacic (SRB)/ Hiroki Moriya (JPN) 26 57

Saki and Sanchai Ratiwatana lost in straight sets against Cacic and Moriya.

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At $25K ITF M25 Mildura , Australia (Grass)

[R2] (3) Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) bt Alec Adamson (USA,ITF-464) 61 57 62

[QF] (3) Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) vs (5) Harry Bourchier (AUS,413)

Arjun needed three sets to beat American Alec Adamson ... In the quarters, he is facing the Aussie, Harry Bourchier.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Yokohama, Japan

[R2] (LL) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,356) l (Q) Catherine Harrison (USA,472) 26 16

Doubles
[QF] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Akiko Omae (JPN) bt Mana Ayukawa (JPN)/ Ylena In-Albon (SUI) 63 63

[SF] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Akiko Omae (JPN) vs En Shuo Liang (TPE)/ Ayaka Okuno (JPN)

Rutuja failed to challenge an American qualifier, Harrison, in one-sided loss.
But in the doubles, Rutuja in the semis with her partner Omae ... They scored a comfortable win over In-Albon and Ayukawa ... Next, they r facing another unseeded pairing of Okuno and Liang.

Hockey News

At Sultan Azlan Shah Cup 2019, Malaysia

Goalkeepers: P R Sreejesh, Krishan B Pathak
Defenders: Gurinder Singh, Surender Kumar (Vice-captain), Varun Kumar, Birendra Lakra, Amit Rohidas, Kothajit Singh Khadangbam
Midfielders: Hardik Singh, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Manpreet Singh (Captain)
Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Simranjeet Singh, Gurjant Singh, Shilanand Lakra, Sumit Kumar.

The Indian team is still searching for a fulltime coach but for the Sultan Azlan Shah cup, we are struggling with the fitness of our regulars ... We are without our main forward, the best drag-flicker and one of our key midfielders. And, of course without a coach ... Harmanpreet Singh and veteran SV Sunil are carrying minor niggles and Lalit Upadhyay and Akashdeep Singh, along with junior team members Vishal Antil and Pardeep Singh, too weren’t considered for selection ... Also, as per the report, India’s troubles do not end there ... The team will have to play the first two matches with one player less since Akashdeep was suspended for two matches by the IHF for his behavior after India’s quarterfinal defeat against the Netherlands in the World Cup ... The suspension will be enforced even though Akashdeep will be absent owing to injury.

Badminton News

At $1M YONEX All England Open Badminton Championships 2019, Birmingham, England (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000)

[R1] (7) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) bt Brice Leverdez (FRA,25) 21-13 21-11
[R1] Sameer Verma (IND,14) l (6) Viktor Axelsen (DEN,6) 21-16 18-21 14-21
[R1] B. Sai Praneeth (IND,26) bt HS Prannoy (IND, 16) 21-19 21-19

[R1] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) bt Kisty Gilmour (SCO,29) 21-17 21-18
[R1] (5) PV Sindhu (IND,6) l Sung Ji Hyun (KOR,10) 16-21 22-20 18-21

[R1] Manu Attri (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) l Ou Xuanyi (CHN)/ Ren Xiangyu (CHN) 19-21 21-16 14-21
[R1] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l (7) Shiho Tanaka (JPN)/ Koharu Yonemoto (JPN) 21-16 26-28 16-21
[R1] Jakkampudi Meghana (IND)/ Poorvisha S Ram (IND) l Ekaterina Bolotova (RUS)/ Alina Davletova (RUS) 21-18 12-21 12-21

[R1] Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l Chang Tak Ching (HKG)/ Ng Wing Yung (HKG) 21-23 17-21

[R2] (7) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) vs Jonatan Christie (INA,9)
[R2] B. Sai Praneeth (IND,26) vs Ng Ka Long Angus (HKG,15)

[R2] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) vs Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt (DEN,19)

Expected straight games victories for Srikanth and Saina ... Sai also won in straight games against Prannoy, who was making comeback from injury ... Next, Srikanth is facing a tricky match against Indonesian, Jonatan Christie ... Saina is facing the top-20 Danish girl, Kjaersfeldt ... And Sai is facing the top-15 Hong Kong player, Ng Ka Long Angus.

Sindhu lost in 80 mins long match against the former WR #2 Korean, Sung Ji Hyun ... Sindhu played a patchy match and Sung took advantage of errors from Sindhu ... After losing the first game, Sindhu managed to keep pace with Sung ... Sindhu saved 3 match points before winning this game ... In the third game, Sung outclassed Sindhu with her game and Sindhu's errors to take a huge lead ... She had 7 match points at 13-20 ... Sindhu saved 5 of them but Sung converted her 9th match point for a win.
Sameer had a tough match against the World champion Axelsen ... He started well and won the first game but afterward, Axelsen crawled back to win next two games.

In the doubles, our all pairs lost in the first round ... Ashwini-Sikki missed a big opportunity of beating the 7th seed Japanese pair ... After winning the first game they had a match point in the second, which they missed ... After winning the tight second game the Japanese pair controlled the third ... Manu and Summeth also lost in three games against their Chinese opponents ... Meghana and Poorvisha lost in three games against their Russian opponents ... In MXD, Sikki and Pranaav lost in straight games against the Hong Kong pair.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Santiago Challenger 2019, Chile

[R1] Gerard Granollers (ESP)/ Sumit Nagal (IND) l Gian Marco Moroni (ITA)/ Carlos Taberner (ESP) 67(4) 75 5-10

Sumit and Granollers lost in the match tie-break, so a disappointing Chile travel for him.

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At $25K ITF M25 Mildura , Australia (Grass)

[R1] (3) Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) bt Michael Look (AUS,595) 64 61

[R2] (3) Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) vs Alec Adamson (USA,ITF-464)

Arjun started with a comfortable win over Michael Look ... Next, he is facing American Alec Adamson.

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At $25K+H ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Irapuato, Mexico

[R1] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,210) bt Alexandra Perper (MDA,565) 60 64

[R2] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,210) vs (4) Martina Trevisan (ITA,162)

Karman started with straight sets win over Perper ... This was her first win of 2019 season ... Next, she is facing the top-175 ranked Italian, Martina Trevisan.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Yokohama, Japan

[R1] (LL) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,356) bt (WC) Anri Nagata (JPN,853) 36 62 60

[R2] (LL) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,356) vs (Q) Catherine Harrison (USA,472)

Rutuja gets a lucky break and received the main draw entry as a lucky loser ... In the first round, she faced a local junior wildcard player, Nagata ... After losing the first set Rutuja won next two sets comfortably ... Next, she is facing an American qualifier, Harrison.

Tennis News

At $9.3M BNP Paribas Open 2019, Indian Wells, California, USA

[Q1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,136) l (15) Philip Krajinovic (SRB,113) 46 06
[Q1] (9) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,97) bt Jason Jung (TPE,132) 75 64

[Q2] (9) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,97) vs Salvatore Caruso (ITA,168)

Doubles
[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs (2) Jamie Murray (GBR)/ Bruno Soares (BRA)

A really good win for Prajnesh against Jason Jung ... Prajnesh completed the win in straight sets ... In the final qualifying round, he is facing the Italian Salvatore Caruso, who won the match when his senior compatriot Paolo Lorenzi retired in the first set ... A good opportunity for Prajnesh to qualify for his first Masters' main draw.

Ram failed to challenge the in-form Krajinovic in his straight sets loss.

In the doubles, Rohan is playing with Shapo and they r facing the 2nd seeds Soares and Murray.

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At $54K+H Zhuhai Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA) bt (3) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) 64 64

[QF] Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA) vs Nikola Cacic (SRB)/ Hiroki Moriya (JPN)

In the doubles, Saki and Sanchai Ratiwatana started with an upset win over the 3rd seeds Bala and Hach Verdugo ... Next, they r facing Cacic and Moriya.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Yokohama, Japan

[Q2] (6) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,355) l Risa Ushijama (JPN,500) 67(1) 16

Doubles
[R1] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Akiko Omae (JPN) bt Robu Kajitani (JPN)/ Fangzhou Liu (CHN) 46 63 10-6

[QF] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Akiko Omae (JPN) vs Mana Ayukawa (JPN)/ Ylena In-Albon (SUI

It seems Rutuja is still not fully match-fit ... She again lost in the second round against the top-500 Japanese girl, Risa Ushijama.

In the doubles, Rutuja and Akiko Omae started with a comeback win after losing the first set ... Next, they r facing the Swiss-Japanese combination.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Santiago Challenger 2019, Chile

[R1] Sumit Nagal (IND,351) l Johannes Haerteis (GER,382) 46 60 36

Doubles
[R1] Gerard Granollers (ESP)/ Sumit Nagal (IND) vs Gian Marco Moroni (ITA)/ Carlos Taberner (ESP)

Disappointing long Chile trip for Sumit ... I was hoping some much-needed wins in the singles for him, but he lost in the first round against the lower ranked German Haerteis.

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At $54K+H Zhuhai Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,250) l Enrique Lopez Perez (ESP,244) 46 64 46

Doubles
[R1] (3) N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Hans Hach Verdugo (MEX) vs Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA)

Saki's struggle in the singles continues ... He lost against similar ranked Lopez Perez in three sets ... In the doubles, he is playing with Sanchai Ratiwatana but facing Bala and Hach Verdugo.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Yokohama, Japan

[Q1] (6) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,353) bt (WC) Misaki Matsuda (JPN,UNR) 76(4) 76(2)

[Q2] (6) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,355) vs Risa Ushijama (JPN,500)

Doubles
[R1] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Akiko Omae (JPN) vs Robu Kajitani (JPN)/ Fangzhou Liu (CHN)

Rutuja started with a tight win in the first qualifying round against unranked local player ... Next, she is facing the top-500 Japanese girl, Risa Ushijama ... In the doubles, Rutuja is the 2nd seeds with Akiko Omae.

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At $25K ITF M25 Mildura , Australia (Grass)

[R1] (3) Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) vs Michael Look (AUS,595)

This week also Arjun is playing in the $25K Aussie grasscourt tournament ... He needs to win the title for earning a few ATP points.

Golf News

At $1.75M Oman Open 2019, Al Mouj Golf (European Tour)

T27 Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 71 69 72 78 +2 € 14,376
T67 Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 72 74 75 78 +11 € 3,075

Our both players struggled on the last day and managed only 6-over rounds ... Gaganjeet missed a top-10 finish and Shubhnkar's struggle continues.

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At $6.8M The Honda Classic 2019, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA (PGA Tour)

T59 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 67 70 71 75 +3 $14,620.00

Anirban had a poor 5-over last round ... This last round ended any hope of finishing in the top-20, instead, he finished in the bottom of the field.

Tennis News

At $25K ITF M25 Albury, Australia (Grass)

Doubles Final
(1) Arjun Kadhe (IND)/ Jason Taylor (AUS) l (2) Brydan Klein (GBR)/ Scott Puodziunas (AUS) 64 57 9-11

Arjun and Taylor failed to win the title after winning the first set ... They lost the second set and close match tie-break for losing the final.

Tennis News

At $2.9M Dubai Tennis Championship 2019, UAE

[SF] (Q) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Ben McLachlan (JPN)/ Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) 76(5) 46 10-12

Jeevan and Purav lost in a close match against the German-Japanese pairing of Struff and McLachlan ... It was a good tournament for Purav and Jeevan, as they reached the semis as a qualifier.

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At $25K ITF M25 Albury, Australia (Grass)

[SF] (1) Arjun Kadhe (IND)/ Jason Taylor (AUS) bt Luke Jacob Gamble (USA)/ Colin Sinclair (NMI) 63 67(6) 10-6

[F] (1) Arjun Kadhe (IND)/ Jason Taylor (AUS) vs (2) Brydan Klein (GBR)/ Scott Puodziunas (AUS)

Arjun and Taylor enter the final with the match tie-break win against their unseeded opponents ... In the final, they r facing the 2nd seeds Klein and Puodziunas.

Squash News

At $500K Men's PSA World Championship 2019, Union Station, Chicago, USA

[QF] (11) Saurav Ghosal (IND,11) l (3) Simon Rösner (GER,4) 8-11, 6-11, 7-11 (50m)

Saurav Ghosal gave a fighting performance in his straight games loss against WR #4 German, Simon Rösner ... Overall, a good performance for Saurav in this World Championship.