Athletics News

At 2019 World Athletics Championships, Doha, Qatar

Mixed 4 × 400 meters relay Final
7. India 3:15.77s (Muhammed Anas (M), V. K. Vismaya (W), Jisna Mathew (W), Noah Nirmal Tom (M))

The Indian mixed relay team reached into the finals and wins their berth for Tokyo 2020 ... In the final, they timed their season-best timing to finish on the 7th position.

In women's javelin throw, Annu Rani created a new national record of 62.43m. in the qualification to qualify for the final on the 5th position.

Squash News

At $121K Women's Oracle NetSuite Open 2019, San Francisco, USA (PSA World Tour Gold)

[SF] (8) Joshna Chinappa (IND,15) l (1) Raneem El Welily (EGY,1) 5-11, 7-11 (15m)

Joshna lost in straight games against the WR #1 Raneem El Welily ... Still, a good performance by Joshna as she defeated the top-10 Joelle King in the previous round.

Tennis News

At $2M Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2019, Tokyo

[FQ] (1) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) bt (2) Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) 76(4) 76(5)

[R1] (Q) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) vs (WC) Luke Bambridge (GBR)/ Ben McLachlan (JPN)

Divij and Artem qualify for the main draw ... They defeated Aisam and Gonzalez in the 2 tie-breaks ... They r facing Bambridge and McLachlan, who defeated them in the first round of the Zhuhai Championships.

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At $54K+H Buenos Aires Challenger 2019, Argentina

P.C. to ITD FB page

Singles Final
(7) Sumit Nagal (IND,161) bt (8) Facundo Bagnis (ARG,166) 64 62

Sumit lifts his second challenger title, his first title was in Bangalore almost 2 yrs. before ... He defeated a similar ranked Facundo Bagnis in straight sets ... With this, he becomes the first Indian to win the title on the South American clay.

A high-quality clay court tennis played by both players ... Both players maintained level up and were retrieving and hitting exceptional shots in this high standard match ... In the first set, Sumit took a crucial break in the 9th game and then held his serve comfortably for winning the first set ... In the second set, Sumit took advantage of an error-prone game of Bagnis and broke him in the 5th game, 3-2 ... Sumit again broke Bagnis in the 7th game after trading 5 deuces and converted the 3rd brek point, 5-2 ... Sumit comfortably held for completing the win in 1 hour and 38 mins.

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At $54K+H Campinas Challenger 2019, Brazil

[R1] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,161) bye

Sumit is in the top-draw in the Campinas challenger.

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At €46.6K+H Barcelona Challenger 2019, Spain (Clay)

[R1] (15) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,170) bye

Doubles
[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Sergio Martos Gornes (ESP) vs (3) Tomislav Brkic (BIH)/ Ante Pavic (CRO)

Ram is back on the clay and playing in the Barcelona challenger ... He has received a bye as a seeded player and in the doubles, he is playing with a Spaniard Sergio Martos Gorges and they r facing the 3rd seed pair.

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At $54K+H Nur-Sultan 2 Challenger 2019, Kazakhstan

[R1] (14) Sasikumar Mukund (IND,233) bye

Mukund is playing in the Kazakh challenger ... As a seeded player, he has received a bye.

Golf News

At € 300K Estrella Damm Mediterranean Ladies Open 2019, Barcelona, Spain (European Ladies Tour)

8 Aditi Ashok (IND) 74 67 71 72 PAR € 7,500.00
T35 Tvesa Malik (IND) 73 72 72 75 +8 € 2,430.00
T49 Diksha Dagar (IND) 75 72 73 76 +12 € 1,470.00

After a long time, Aditi finished in the top-10 on the European Ladies Tour.

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At ¥ 150M Panasonic Open Golf Championship 2019, Hyogo, Japan (Japanese Golf Tour)

T37 Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND) 69 66 71 75 -3 ¥ 690,000 ($6,155.10)
T50 Rahil Gangjee (IND) 70 63 76 74 -1 ¥ 376,166 ($3,355.57)
T68 Viraj Madappa (IND) 74 68 70 75 +3 ¥ 328,500 ($2,930.36)

Rahil failed to defend his Panasonic Open Golf Championship title ... He struggled in the final 2 rounds to finish on the 50th position ... Ajeetesh Sandhu missed the top-25 finish as he scored a 3-over final round.

Squash News

At $121K Women's Oracle NetSuite Open 2019, San Francisco, USA (PSA World Tour Gold)

[R1] (8) Joshna Chinappa (IND,15) bye
[R2] (8) Joshna Chinappa (IND,15) bt Melissa Alves (FRA,45) 11-7, 6-11, 11-6 (33m)
[QF] (8) Joshna Chinappa (IND,15) bt (4) Joelle King (NZL,6) 11-9, 6-11, 11-3 (35m)

[SF] (8) Joshna Chinappa (IND,15) vs (1) Raneem El Welily (EGY,1)

Joshna is playing in the Gold tournament in the US ... In the semis, she scored an impressive win over a WR #6 Joelle King ... Next, she is facing a WR #1 Raneem El Welily.

Tennis News

At $2M Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships 2019, Tokyo

[Q1] (1) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) bye

[FQ] (1) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) vs (2) Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs (WC) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN)

Divij is playing with Artem in the Japan Open Championship qualifying ... In the final qualifying round, they r facing Aisam and Santiago Gonzalez.

Rohan is back with Shapo and they r facing a wild-card pairing of Fabrice Martin and Yasutaka Uchiyama.

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At $54K+H Buenos Aires Challenger 2019, Argentina

[SF] (7) Sumit Nagal (IND,161) bt (4) Thiago Monteiro (BRA,108) 60 61

[F] (7) Sumit Nagal (IND,161) vs (8) Facundo Bagnis (ARG,166)

Simply unbelievable match from Sumit ... He dismantled Monterio with his shots making and beautiful placement of the shots ... He didn't give any chance to Monterio as didn't face a single break-point but broke Monterio 6 times in the match ... He won first 8 games to take control of the match ... Sumit executed his game plan perfectly with A-game ... In the final, he is facing a former top-100 local player, Facundo Bagnis.

Badminton News

At $400K Korea Open 2019, Incheon (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500)

[SF] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,30) l (1) Kento Momota (JPN,1) 13-21 15-21

A routine win for Kento Momota against Kashyap, but still a good performance for Kashyap to reach the semis of the Super 500 tournament.

Wrestling News

At United World Wrestling - September 2019 Rankings,

Deepak Punia - WR #1 in the Freestyle 86 kg category
Bajrang Punia - WR #2 in the Freestyle 65 kg category
Vinesh Phogat - WR #2 in Women's 53 kg category
Ravi Kumar Dahiya - WR #5 in the Freestyle 57 kg category
Rahul Aware - WR #2 in 61 the Freestyle kg category
Manju - WR #3 in Women's 59 kg category
Pooja Dhanda - WR #5 in Women's 59 kg category

After World Championships, the UWW declared new rankings ... Our 7 wrestlers r in top 5 in their respective weight categories ... Deepak Punia is our new WR #1 in the Freestyle 86 kg category, but Bajrang Punia slides to #2 in the Freestyle 65 kg category under updated rankings.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Buenos Aires Challenger 2019, Argentina

[QF] (7) Sumit Nagal (IND,161) bt (13) Francisco Cerundolo (ARG,266) 63 46 64

[SF] (7) Sumit Nagal (IND,161) vs (4) Thiago Monteiro (BRA,108)

Doubles
[QF] Federico Coria (ARG)/ Sumit Nagal (IND) l (1) Guido Andreozzi (ARG)/ Andres Molteni (ARG) 26 36

Sumit continues with his affair with 3 sets win ... This was a good win against a local player on these slow Argentine courts ... In the semis, he is facing a top Brazilian player, Thiago Monteiro.
An expected loss against the top-seed Argentine pair for Sumit and his partner Coria in the doubles.

Badminton News

At $400K Korea Open 2019, Incheon (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500)

[QF] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,30) bt Jan O Jorgensen (DEN,23) 24-22 21-8

[SF] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,30) vs (1) Kento Momota (JPN,1)

Kashyap scored a confident win against Jan O Jorgensen ... This was good straight games win against Jan O Jorgensen ... Next, he is having a very tough match against the WR #1 Kento Momota.

Tennis News

At €137.5K+H Orleans Challenger 2019, France

[QF] Ariel Behar (URU)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) l (1) Jonny O'Mara (GBR)/ Ken Skupski (GBR) 36 46

Ram and Behar lost in straight sets against the top-seed British pair.

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At $54K+H Buenos Aires Challenger 2019, Argentina

[R3] (7) Sumit Nagal (IND,161) bt (12) Jose Hernandez-Fernandez (DOM,265) 63 36 64

[QF] (7) Sumit Nagal (IND,161) vs (13) Francisco Cerundolo (ARG,266)

Sumit prevailed in another longish match ... He scored a three sets win over Jose Hernandez-Fernandez ... Next, he is facing a local youngster, Francisco Cerundolo.

Badminton News

At $400K Korea Open 2019, Incheon (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500)

[R2] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,30) bt Daren Liew (MAS,33) 21-17 11-21 21-12

[QF] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,30) vs Jan O Jorgensen (DEN,23)

Kashyap is in the quarters with a three games win over Daren Liew .. Next, he is facing a Danish challenge of Jan O Jorgensen.

Tennis News

At $1M Zhuhai Championships 2019, China

[R1] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) l (2) Luke Bambridge (GBR)/ Ben McLachlan (JPN) 67(2) 46

Divij and Artem lost in 2 tight sets against the 2nd seeds Bambridge and McLachlan.

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At €137.5K+H Orleans Challenger 2019, France

[R2] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,170) l (7) Gregoire Barrere (FRA,89) 57 46

Doubles
[R1] Ariel Behar (URU)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) bt (WC) Maxime Janvier (FRA)/ Stephane Robert (FRA) 36 63 12-10
[R1] Rameez Junaid (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) l (WC) Ruben Bemelmans (BEL)/ Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 64 67(4) 6-10

[QF] Ariel Behar (URU)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs (1) Jonny O'Mara (GBR)/ Ken Skupski (GBR)

A decent fighting performance by Ram against a top-100 Frenchman.

In the doubles, Ram and Behar scored a comeback victory after losing the first set ... Next, they r facing the top-seed British pair ... But, Purav and Rameez lost their match against Zimo and Bemelmans after winning the first set.

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At $54K+H Buenos Aires Challenger 2019, Argentina

[R1] Federico Coria (ARG)/ Sumit Nagal (IND) bt Thiago Monteiro (BRA)/ Pedro Sakamoto (BRA) 61 62

[QF] Federico Coria (ARG)/ Sumit Nagal (IND) vs (1) Guido Andreozzi (ARG)/ Andres Molteni (ARG)

A dominating win for Sumit and his partner Coria losing only 3 games ... Next, they r facing a tough challenge of the top-seed Argentine pair.

Badminton News

At $400K Korea Open 2019, Incheon (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500)

[R1] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,30) bt (Q) Chia Hung Lu (TPE,61) 21-16 21-16
[R1] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,13) l (5) Anders Antonsen (DEN,4) 9-21 7-11 retd.

[R1] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,8) l Ga Eun Kim (KOR,24) 21-19 18-21 1-8 retd.
[R1] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,5) l Beiwen Zhang (USA,11) 21-7 22-24 15-21

[R1] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) l (4) Takeshi Kamura (JPN)/ Keigo Sonoda (JPN) 19-21 21-18 18-21
[R1] Manu Attri (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) l (Q) Kai Xiang Huang (CHN)/ Cheng Liu (CHN) 16-21 21-19 18-21

[R2] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,30) vs Daren Liew (MAS,33)

Terrible results for the Indians, moreover our 2 top players retired due to injury ... Sai and Saina retired from their matched citing injuries ... Sindhu missed a match point in the 2nd game and lost her match in 3 games against Beiwen Zhang.
Kashyap scored an expected win over Lu ... Next, he is facing a similar ranked Malaysian, Daren Liew.

In the doubles, Satwik and Chirag gave a decent fighting performance against the WR #4 Japanese pair ... Manu and Sumeeth lost in a straight-games against their Chinese opponents.

Tennis News

At $1M Zhuhai Championships 2019, China

[R1] Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) l (4) Sander Gille (BEL)/ Joran Vliegen (BEL) 64 36 6-10

Jeevan and Miomir lost against the 4th seed Belgian pair after winning the first set.

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At €137.5K+H Orleans Challenger 2019, France

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,170) bt Alexandre Muller (FRA,237) 64 64

[R2] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,170) vs (7) Gregoire Barrere (FRA,89)

Ram scored a comfortable win over Alexandre Muller and took revenge for his last week's loss ... Next, he is facing a top-100 Frenchman, Gregoire Barrere.

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At $54K+H Buenos Aires Challenger 2019, Argentina

[R2] (7) Sumit Nagal (IND,161) bt Pedro Sakamoto (BRA,366) 67(2) 64 63

[R3] (7) Sumit Nagal (IND,161) vs (12) Jose Hernandez-Fernandez (DOM,265)

Sumit showed a character in this gritty win against a Brazilian in 2 hours 42 mins. match ... Sumit lost the first set in the tie-break but afterward made an excellent comeback to win next two sets ... He used his forehands prolifically in this match ... Next, he is facing Jose Hernandez-Fernandez.

Football News

At the AFC U-16 Championship Bahrain 2020 Qualifying, Uzbekistan

Group B
India u-16 dw Uzbekistan u-16 1-1 (0-0)

Our u-16 side played 1-1 draw against the host u-16 Uzbekistan side in their final group match to finish on top of Group B and qualify for the AFC U-16 Championship Bahrain 2020 to be held next year ... The Indian boys finished on 7 points from 3 matches - the same as Uzbekistan but qualified as group winners by virtue of better goal difference (+10) in comparison to Uzbekistan’s goal difference of +3 ... Indian boys had earlier beaten Turkmenistan u-16, and Bahrain u-16 by identical 5-0 margins ... This is India’s third consecutive entry to the AFC U-16 Championships, and 9th overall.

Wrestling News

At 2019 World Wrestling Championships, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

P.C. to OGQ FB page

Men's Freestyle 86 kg - Gold Medal match
Deepak Punia (IND) l Hassan Ali Azam Yazdanicharati (IRI) w/o

Men's Freestyle 61 kg - Bronze Medal match
Rahul Aware (IND) bt Tyler Lee Graff (USA) by VPO1, 11 - 4

India ends with 5 medals, their highest in the single World Championships ... We won a Silver and 4 Bronze medals, also importantly 4 Olympic quota places.
Deepak Punia withdrew from finals of world championship due to injury ... He has injured his right eye and ankle injury (grade-2 ligament injury) ... Tough luck, as any wrestler's dream, will be playing in the final of World Championships and winning a gold medal

In the non-Olympic category of 61 kg, Rahul Aware won a bronze ... He defeated an American wrestler easily.

Golf News

At $7M BMW PGA Championship, Surrey, England (European Tour)

T17 Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 71 67 66 76 -8 € 80,518

The last 4-over round had cost Shubhankar the top-10 finish in the BMW PGA Championship ... Last week, he finished T40 at the KLM Open.

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At $6.6M Sanderson Farms Championship 2019, Jackson, Mississippi (PGA Tour 2020)

T45 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 69 70 74 69 -6 $18,829
68 Daniel Chopra (SWE) 69 71 74 80 +6 $13,794

Anirban and Daniel struggled on this course .. Daniel finished on the last position and Anirban performed a little better.

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At € 325K Lacoste Ladies Open de France 2019, Golf du Medoc - Chateaux Course, France (European Ladies Tour)

T26 Aditi Ashok (IND) 71 73 74 71 +5 € 3,302.81
T43 Diksha Dagar (IND) 72 73 75 72 +8 € 1,852.50
63 Tvesa Malik (IND) 73 75 76 74 +14 € 910.00

Aditi finished decently inside the top-30 on the European Ladies Tour.

Tennis News

At $1.2M St. Petersburg Open 2019, Russia

P.C. to ITD FB page

Doubles Final
Divij Sharan (IND)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK) bt Matteo Berrettini (ITA)/ Simone Bolelli (ITA) 63 36 10-8

Divij lifts his second ATP tournament title of the 2019 partnering Igor Zelenay ... They defeated an Italian Berrettini and Bolelli in the match tie-break.
In January, he won the Maharashtra ATP Open with Rohan ... This is his 5th ATP tournament title.

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At $1M Zhuhai Championships 2019, China

[R1] Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs (4) Sander Gille (BEL)/ Joran Vliegen (BEL)
[R1] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) vs (2) Luke Bambridge (GBR)/ Ben McLachlan (JPN)

This week, Divij is back with Artem, but they r having a tough match against the 2nd seed Bambridge and McLachlan ... Jeevan is getting an opportunity of playing in the ATP tournament, he is partnering a Serbian Kecmanovic and they r facing the 4th seed Belgian pair.

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At €137.5K+H Orleans Challenger 2019, France

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) vs Alexandre Muller (FRA,278)

Doubles
[R1] Ariel Behar (URU)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs (WC) Maxime Janvier (FRA)/ Stephane Robert (FRA)
[R1] Rameez Junaid (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (WC) Ruben Bemelmans (BEL)/ Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)

Ram is again facing Alexandre Muller but this time in the first round.

Ram is playing with his new Uruguayan partner Behar and they r facing a local wild-card pair ... Purav and Rameez r facing a pairing of Zimo and Bemelmans in the first round.

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At $54K+H Buenos Aires Challenger 2019, Argentina

[R1] (7) Sumit Nagal (IND,159) bye

Next 3 weeks Sumit is playing in South America ... He is seeded in the Buenos Aires challenger.

Boxing News

At aiba 2019 World Boxing Championship, Ekaterinburg, Russia

P.C. to BFI FB page

Men's Bantamweight (52-57kg) - Gold Medal match
(2) Amit Panghal (IND) l (1) Shakhobidin Zoirov (UZB) 0-5 (28-29, 28-29, 27-30, 28-29, 27-30)

Amit secured a silver as he lost his final bout against Uzbekistan's Shakhobidin Zoirov, who is the reigning Olympic champion ... Though all referees gave a verdict in the favor of Zoirov, Amit gave a decent performance and we can hope of the medal from him in Tokoyo Olympic.

Wrestling News

At 2019 World Wrestling Championships, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

P.C. to WFI FB page

Men's Freestyle 86 kg - Gold Medal match
Deepak Punia (IND) vs Hassan Ali Azam Yazdanicharati (IRI)

[SF] Deepak Punia (IND) bt Stefan Reichmuth (SUI) by VPO1, 8 - 2
[QF] Deepak Punia (IND) bt Carlos Arturo Izquierdo Mendez (COL) by VPO1, 7 - 6
[R16] Deepak Punia (IND) bt Bakhodur Kodirov (TJK) by VPO, 6 - 0
[R32] Deepak Punia (IND) bt Adilet Davlumbayev (KAZ) by VPO1, 8 - 6

Men's Freestyle 61 kg
[SF] Rahul Aware (IND) l Beka Lomtadze (GEO) by VPO1, 6 - 10

[QF] Rahul Aware (IND) bt Rassul Kaliyev (KAZ) by VPO1, 10 - 7
[R16] Rahul Aware (IND) bt Kerim Hojakov (TKM) by VSU1, 13 - 2

Deepak Punia creates history and becomes youngest Indian in the World Championship finals ... Our junior World Champion Deepak Punia secured the Olympic quota in the style ... He defeated Swiss wrestler Stefan Reichmuth comfortably in the semi-final bout ... Before that, he scored a couple of close wins against Kazakh wrestler Rassul Kaliyev and a Colombian Stefan Reichmuth ... In the final, he is facing a regaining Olympic champion Iranian Hassan Yazdani.

In the non-Olympic category of 61 kg, Rahul Aware reached in the semis ... He lost this bout against a Georgian wrestler Beka Lomtadze ... Tomorrow, he will play a bronze medal match.

Tennis News

At $1.2M St. Petersburg Open 2019, Russia

[SF] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK) bt (1) Nikola Mektic (CRO)/ Franko Skugor (CRO) 75 61

[F] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK) vs Matteo Berrettini (ITA)/ Simone Bolelli (ITA)

Divij and Zelenay r in the final with a straight-sets win over the top-seed Croatian pair ... In the final, they r facing an Italian pair.

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At $250K Tashkent Open 2019, Uzbekistan

[Q1] Ankita Raina (IND,191) l (8) Chloe Paquet (FRA,160) 67(8) 63 57

A very close loss for Ankita in this 3 hours long match ... Ankita fought hard and managed to win the second ... But Paquet had something more to pull it in the third.

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At €46.5K+H Glasgow Challenger 2019, Scotland

[SF] (5) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) l (16) Alexandre Muller (FRA,278) 57 61 46

Doubles
[SF] Marek Gengel (CZE)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) l (1) Jamie Murray (GBR)/ John-Patrick Smith (AUS) 26 36

Ram lost his match against a Frenchman Muller in 3 sets ... After losing the first set Ram made a strong comeback to win the second set comfortably ... But Muller kept fighting and took an early break for keeping that advantage to win this match.

The top-seed pairing of Murray and Smit comfortably win their match against Ram and Gengel.

Table Tennis News

At 2019 ITTF-ATTU Asian Table Tennis Championships, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

[R1] Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND,41) bye
[R1] Anthony Amalraj (IND,135) bye
[R1] Gnanasekaran Sathiyan (IND,30) bye
[R1] Harmeet Desai (IND,102) bye
[R1] Manav Vikash Thakkar (IND,163) bye

[R2] Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND,41) bt Hosseini Mohammad (AFG,UNR) 3-0 (11-4, 11-6, 11-5)
[R2] Anthony Amalraj (IND,135) bt Shrestha Santoo (NEP,842) 3-0 (11-7, 11-5, 11-5)
[R2] Gnanasekaran Sathiyan (IND,30) bt Omar Taher (IRQ, UNR) w/o
[R1] Harmeet Desai (IND,102) bt Yanapong Panagitgun (THA,621) 3-1 (11-9, 6-11, 11-5, 11-5)
[R2] Manav Vikash Thakkar (IND,163) bt Marzooq Alrashidi (KUW,780) 3-0 (11-7, 11-6, 11-5)

[R3] Achanta Sharath Kamal (IND,41) l Takuya Jin (JPN,92) 2-3 (11-4, 5-11, 11-7, 6-11, 12-14)
[R3] Anthony Amalraj (IND,135) bt Alsharif Mohammed (KSA,UNR) 3-0 (11-4, 11-5, 11-4)
[R3] Gnanasekaran Sathiyan (IND,30) bt Dominic Song Jun Koh (SGP,1028) 3-0 (11-6, 11-4, 11-5)
[R3] Harmeet Desai (IND,102) l Woojin Jang (KOR,14) 1-3 (11-7, 2-11, 5-11, 5-11)
[R3] Manav Vikash Thakkar (IND,163) bt Kazuhiro Yoshimura (JPN,34) 3-2 (10-12, 11-13, 16-14, 11-4, 11-9)

[R4] Anthony Amalraj (IND,135) l Chen Chien-An (TPE,UNR) 0-3 (6-11, 8-11, 8-11)
[R4] Gnanasekaran Sathiyan (IND,30) bt Noshad Alamiyan (IRI,93) 3-1 (8-11, 11-7, 11-6, 11-5)
[R4] Manav Vikash Thakkar (IND,163) l Liao Cheng-Ting (TPE,132) 0-3 (9-11, 6-11, 3-11)

[R16] Gnanasekaran Sathiyan (IND,30) bt An Ji Song (PRK,151) 3-0 (11-7, 11-8, 11-6)

[QF] Gnanasekaran Sathiyan (IND,30) l Gaoyuan Lin (CHN,4) 1-3 (7-11, 5-11, 11-8, 8-11)

Sathiyan became only the 2nd Indian to reach the quarters of Asian Table Tennis Championships before him only Delhi's Sudhir Phadake reached in the quarters in 1976 tournament ... He lost the quarters against the WR #4 Chinese paddler, Gaoyuan Lin, in 4 games ... A young Manav Thakkar reached in the 4th round beating the top-40 Japanese paddler, Kazuhiro Yoshimura, in a close match.
Our girls failed to cross the third round ... Before that in the team event, our men's team finished at a creditable fifth position and the women's team finished on the 9th position.

Volleyball News

At the SMM 20th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

For the 7th Place
India l Pakistan 2-3 (23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 25-19, 9-15)

Pakistani spikers defeated Indian spikers in five sets ... We were 2 sets down and made an excellent comeback winning next 2 sets ... But they failed to keep the same momentum in the 5th and Pakistani spikers completed win after winning the last set convincingly.

Wrestling News

At 2019 World Wrestling Championships, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

P.C. to OGQ facebook page

Men's Freestyle 57 kg - Bronze medal match
Ravi Kumar Dahiya (IND) bt Reza Ahmadali Atrinagharchi (IRI) by VPO1, 6 - 3

Men's Freestyle 65 kg - Bronze medal match
Bajrang Punia (IND) bt Tulga Tumur Ochir (MGL) by VPO1, 8 - 7

Bajarang and Ravi Kumar won bronze medals, so our total medal count is 3 bronze medals with securing 3 quota places ... Bajrang needed another late comeback in the bronze medal match at the Wrestling World Championship, coming back from 0-6 down to win 8-7 against Mongolia’s Tulga Tumur Ochir ... He becomes the first Indian wrestler to clinch 3 Worlds' medals.

Ravi Dahiya claimed a bronze medal in his debut World Championships by stunning an Iranian Asian Champion Reza Atri Nagarchi ... Ravi Kumar defeated his fancied rival 6-3 in the bronze medal bout of the men’s 57kg freestyle category.

Boxing News

At aiba 2019 World Boxing Championship, Ekaterinburg, Russia

Men's Bantamweight (52-57kg)
[SF] (2) Amit Panghal (IND) bt Saken Bibossinov (KAZ) 3-2 (30-27, 28-29, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

[1F] (2) Amit Panghal (IND) vs (1) Shakhobidin Zoirov (UZB)

Men's Lightweight (57-63kg)
[SF] Manish Kaushik (IND) l (1) Andy Gomez Cruz (CUB) 0-5

Amit scripted history as he becomes the first Indian boxer to reach the final of Worlds ... He won a close match against Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov, 3-2 ... In the final, Amit will take on Uzbekistan's Shakhobidin Zoirov, the reigning Olympic champion.
Manish Kaushik (63kg category) signed off with a bronze medal after going down in the semifinals to Cuban boxer Andy Gomez Cruz 0-5, his opponent is a reigning champion.

Volleyball News

At the SMM 20th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

5th-8th Place
India l Chinese Taipei 1-3 (25-20, 22-25, 11-25, 16-25)

Indian spikers started well after winning the first set but failed to keep that level of the game in the next three sets ... They will face Pakistan for the 7th place.

Tennis News

At $162.5K+H Kaohsiung Challenger 2019, Taiwan

[QF] Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) l (3) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) 26 26

Saki and Jeevan lost the one-sided match against a local pair.

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At €46.5K+H Glasgow Challenger 2019, Scotland

[QF] (5) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) bt (14) Daniel Masur (GER,247) 75 76(4)

[SF] (5) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) vs (16) Alexandre Muller (FRA,278)

Ram scored a tight 2 sets win over Masur ... In this match, Ram served whooping 19 aces, he faced a couple of breakpoints on his serve but saved both ... Next, he is facing a Frenchman Alexandre Muller.

Badminton News

At $1M VICTOR China Open 2019, Changzhou (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000)

[QF] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,15) l (7) Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA,9) 21-16 6-21 16-21

The Indian challenge got over with the loss of Sai ... Sai lost against Ginting after winning the first game.

Wrestling News

At 2019 World Wrestling Championships, Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

Men's Freestyle - 57 kg
[R1] Ravi Kumar Dahiya (IND) bt Sunggwon Kim (KOR) by VSU, 11 - 0
[R2] Ravi Kumar Dahiya (IND) bt Arsen Harutyunyan (ARM) by VSU1, 17 - 6
[QF] Ravi Kumar Dahiya (IND) bt Yuki Takahashi (JPN) by VPO1, 6 - 1

[SF] Ravi Kumar Dahiya (IND) l Zavur Uguev (RUS) by VPO1, 4 - 6

Men's Freestyle - 65 kg
[R1] Bajrang Punia (IND) bt Krzysztof Bienkowski (POL) by VPO1, 9 - 2
[R2] Bajrang Punia (IND) bt David Habat (SLO) by VPO, 3 - 0
[QF] Bajrang Punia (IND) bt Jong Chol Son (PRK) by VPO1, 8 - 1

[SF] Bajrang Punia (IND) l Daulet Niyazbekov (KAZ) by VPO1, 9 - 9

Bajrang Punia and Ravi Kumar Dahiya qualify for the Tokoyo Olympic after reaching the semi-finals in on-going Worlds ... But our both, Bajrang Punia and Ravi Dahiya, lost their semifinal bouts ... Bajrang lost his semifinal bout against home wrestler Daulet Niyazbekov under controversial circumstances ... Since Niyazbekov was given a bigger throw of four points in the bout, he was declared the winner ... In this controversial bout, the referee gave ample time to tiring Niyazbekov to catch his breath and he was not given warning at least thrice ... Instead, the home wrestler was awarded four points when they should have gone to Bajrang for effecting that throw at the edge of the circle.

Ravi Kumar lost his semifinal bout 4-6 to reigning world champion Zaur Uguev from Russia ... Before that, he gave an impressive performance as he scored stunning wins over Arsen Harutunyan, the 61kg European champion from Armenia and 2017 world champion and world number three Yuki Takahashi of Japan.

Weightlifting News

At the IWF World Weightlifting Championships 2019, Thailand

Women's 49-kg Weight Category
4. Saikhom Mirabai Chanu (IND) (87 + 114) 201kg (NR)

Mirabai Chanu improved her personal best to 201 kg at the World Weightlifting Championship, also setting a new national record ... She lifted 87 in Snatch and 114 in Clean and Jerk to amass a total of 201kg ... She failed to finish on the Worlds podium, but with only one Chinese lifter set to go to the next Olympics, Mirabai is in a good chance to grab a medal at Tokyo 2020.

Volleyball News

At the SMM 20th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

Quarter Finals
India l Korea 1-3 (20-25, 23-25, 25-20, 21-25)

A fighting performance by Indian spikers against a formidable Korean side ... Our spikers lost in 4 games in the quarters.

Badminton News

At $1M VICTOR China Open 2019, Changzhou (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000)

[R2] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,35) l (7) Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA,9) 21-23 21-15 12-21
[R2] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,15) bt Guang Zu Lu (CHN,21) 21-19 21-19

[R2] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,5) l Pornpawee Chochuwong (THA,15) 21-12 13-21 19-21

[R2] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) l (4) Takeshi Kamura (JPN)/ Keigo Sonoda (JPN) 19-21 8-21

[R2] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l (2) Misaki Matsutomo (JPN)/ Ayaka Takahashi (JPN) 12-21 17-21

[R2] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) l Yuki Kaneko (JPN)/ Misaki Matsutomo (JPN) 11-21 21-16 12-21

[QF] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,15) vs (7) Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA,9)

A terrible day as only Sai managed to win his match against a local player Lu in 2 tight games ... In the quarters, he is facing Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, who defeated Kashyap in 3 games.
A World Champion Sindhu lost her match against a Thai girl Pornpawee Chochuwong in 3 games ... In the third game, she was 19-15 leading to losing 6 points in a row and lost the match.

Our all pairs lost against their respective Japanese pairs in contrasting fashion.

Tennis News

At $1.2M St. Petersburg Open 2019, Russia

[QF] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK) bt Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP)/ Andres Molteni (ARG) 75 57 10-5

[SF] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK) vs (1) Nikola Mektic (CRO)/ Franko Skugor (CRO)

Another fighting win for Divij and Zelenay against Molteni and Carballes Baena in the match tie-break ... They r facing the tho-seed Croatians in the semis.

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At $162.5K+H Kaohsiung Challenger 2019, Taiwan

[R3] (2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) l (14) Enrique Lopez Perez (ESP,205) 75 57 46

Doubles
[R1] N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) l (WC) Chun-Hsin Tseng (TPE)/ Tung-Lin Wu (TPE) 46 67(6)

A disappointing loss of Prajnesh against Lopez Perez ... In this match, both players were hitting the ball hard and serving big but Prajnesh failed to put pressure on Lopez Perez with returning game ... Lopez Perez took advantage of it after losing the first set.

Another first-round for Bala and Vishnu in straight sets against a local pair.

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At €46.5K+H Glasgow Challenger 2019, Scotland

[R3] (5) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) bt Botic Van de Zandschulp (NED,287) 64 61

[QF] (5) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) vs (14) Daniel Masur (GER,247)

Doubles
[QF] Marek Gengel (CZE)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) bt (4) Karol Drzewiecki (POL)/ Szymon Walkow (POL) 64 36 10-3

A solid win for Ram against an in-form Botic Van de Zandschulp ... Next, he is facing a German Daniel Masur, who scored an upset win over the 3rd seed Quentin Halys in 2 tie-breaks.

In the doubles, Ram and Gengel have reached in the semis, they defeated the 4th seed Polish pair in the match tie-break.

Wrestling News

At 2019 World Wrestling Championships , Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

P.C. to SAI_Media twitter handle

Women Wrestling - 53 kg - Bronze Medal match
Vinesh Phogat (IND) bt Maria Prevolaraki (GRE) by VFA, 4 - 1

[Repechage - R2] Vinesh Phogat (IND) bt Sarah Ann Hildebrandt (USA) by VPO1, 8 - 2
[Repechage - R2] Vinesh Phogat (IND) bt Yuliia Khavaldzhy Blahinya (UKR) by VPO, 5 - 0

[R16] Vinesh Phogat (IND) l Mayu Mukaida (JPN) by VPO, 0 - 7
[R32] Vinesh Phogat (IND) bt Sofia magdalena Mattsson (SWE) by VSU, 13 - 0

Vinesh Phogat becomes the first Indian wrestler to qualify for the Tokoyo Olympics ... This is her first Worlds medal and the first medal for India at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships ... Vinesh Phogat is also the first Indian woman wrestler to qualify for two Olympics, and the first to do so from the Worlds stage.

Vinesh Phogat pinned two-time Worlds medallist Maria Prevolaraki of Greece to clinch the bronze medal in the 53-kg category ... Vinesh had already qualified for the 2020 Olympics after defeating World No. 1 Sarah Hildebrandt in the previous round

Boxing News

At aiba 2019 World Boxing Championship, Ekaterinburg, Russia

Men's Bantamweight (52-57kg)
[QF] (2) Amit Panghal (IND) bt Carlo Paalam (PHI) 4-1(29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

[SF] (2) Amit Panghal (IND) vs Saken Bibossinov (KAZ)

Men's Bantamweight (52-57kg)
[QF] Kavinder Singh Bist (IND) l (4) Peter McGrail (ENG) 0-5 (28-29, 28-29, 27-30, 28-29, 27-30)

Men's Lightweight (57-63kg)
[QF] Manish Kaushik (IND) bt Wanderson de Oliveira (BRA) 5-0 (30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27)

[SF] Manish Kaushik (IND) vs (1) Andy Gomez Cruz (CUB)

Men's Heavyweight (81-91kg)
[QF] Sanjeet Kumar (IND) l (7) Julio Cesa Castillo Torres (ECU) 1-4 (27-30, 28-29, 29-28, 28-29, 28-29)

The first time we have won 2 medals at World Boxing Championship ... Before this, our all 4 bronze medals were in a different World Championship.

Amit started slow and was trailing after the first round ... But he recovered and become the more aggressive one in the next two rounds ... He defeated Carlo Paalam 4-1 ... In the semis, he has match against Kazakhstan’s Saken Bibossinov, who stunned Armenia’s European gold-medallist and sixth seed Artur Hovhannisyan.
Manish Kaushik continues with his impressive performance ... He gurantees a medal in his debut World championship ... Manish took full advantage of poor defense from his Brazilian opponent to win it in dominating fashion ... Next up for Manish is Cuban top seed, Andy Gomez Cruz ... Cruz was the light welterweight (64kg) category gold-medallist in the 2017 edition.
Kavinder Singh Bisht lost to 4th seed, Peter McGrail in the quarters 5-0 in a unanimous verdict to bow out of the championship.
Sanjeet tried hard in the final round but Torres was more aggressive overall and took his chances well. Sanjeet goes down fighting 1-4.

Volleyball News

At the SMM 20th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

Pool E
India l Iran 0-3 (16-25, 21-25, 21-25)

In their last pool game, the Indian spikers lost cheaply against the host Iranians.

Tennis News

At $1.2M St. Petersburg Open 2019, Russia

[R1] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK) bt (4) Marcelo Demoliner (BRA)/ Matwe Middelkoop (NED) 36 62 10-5

[QF] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK) vs Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP)/ Andres Molteni (ARG)

Divij and Igor started with a comeback win over the 4th seed Demoliner and Middelkoop ... Next, they r facing a pairing of Carballes Baena and Molteni.

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At €586K Moselle Open 2019, Metz, France

[R1] Purav Raja (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) l Gerard Granollers (ESP)/ Marcel Granollers (ESP) 36 46

Purav and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela lost in straight sets against Granollers brothers.

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At $162.5K+H Kaohsiung Challenger 2019, Taiwan

[R2] Sasikumar Mukund (IND,239) l (10) Marc Polmans (AUS,158) 46 16

Doubles
[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) bt (Alt) Alex Bolt (AUS)/ Jacob Grills (AUS) 46 64 10-8

[QF] Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs (3) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE)

Mukund lost in straight sets against Polmans.

Jeevan and Saki started with a comeback win in the match tie-break against an alternate Aussie pair ... Next, they r facing the 3rd seed local pair.

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At €46.5K+H Glasgow Challenger 2019, Scotland

[R2] (5) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) bt Altug Celikbilek (TUR,347) 64 62

[R3] (5) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,179) vs Botic Van de Zandschulp (NED,287)

Ram started with a comfortable win against Celikbilek ... Next, he is facing a Dutch opponent, Van de Zandschulp.

Boxing News

At aiba 2019 World Boxing Championship, Ekaterinburg, Russia

Men's Bantamweight (52-57kg)
[R1] (2) Amit Panghal (IND) bye
[R2] (2) Amit Panghal (IND) bt Tu po-wei (TPE) 5-0 (29-28,29-28, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
[R3] (2) Amit Panghal (IND) bt Batuhan Citfci (TUR) 5-0 (30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

[QF] (2) Amit Panghal (IND) vs Carlo Paalam (PHI)

Men's Bantamweight (52-57kg)
[R1] Kavinder Singh Bist (IND) bye
[R2] Kavinder Singh Bist (IND) bt Chihao Chen (CHN) 3-2 (30-27, 29-28, 30-27, 28-29, 28-29)
[R3] Kavinder Singh Bist (IND) bt Arslan Khataev (FIN) 3-2 (29-28, 27-30, 27-30, 30-27, 30-27)

[QF] Kavinder Singh Bist (IND) vs (4) Peter McGrail (ENG)

Men's Lightweight (57-63kg)
[R1] Manish Kaushik (IND) bt Uulu Argen Kadyrbek (KGZ) 5-0 (30-27, 30-27, 30-26, 30-27, 30-26)
[R2] Manish Kaushik (IND) bt Enrico Lacruz (NED) 5-0 (29-28, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
[R3] Manish Kaushik (IND) bt (4) Chinzorig Baatarsukh (MGL) 5-0 (29-28, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

[QF] Manish Kaushik (IND) vs Wanderson de Oliveira (BRA)

Men's Heavyweight (81-91kg)
[R1] Sanjeet Kumar (IND) bye
[R2] Sanjeet Kumar (IND) bt Scott Forrest (SCO) 4-1 (28-29, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
[R3] Sanjeet Kumar (IND) bt (2) Tursnov Sanjar (UZB) 4-1 (29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 28-29)

[QF] Sanjeet Kumar (IND) vs Julio Cesa Castillo Torres (ECU)

Our 4 boxers have reached in the quarters at World Boxing Championship ... As expected the 2nd seed Amit Panghal won his bouts comfortably and next in the quarters, he is facing Filipino Carlo Paalam.
Kavinder Singh Bist continues to live on the edge ... He won his both matches on the split decision and was more physical in his bouts ... He is facing a reigning Commonwealth Games champion Peter McGrail for a medal round.
In his debut World Championship, Manish Kaushik gives the promising performance ... He won all his matches unanimously, in the third round, he defeated an Asian Games silver medallist and two-time Asian Championships medallist Mangolian boxer, Chinzorig Baatarsukh ... In the quarters, he is facing a Brazilian boxer.
Another impressive performance by our young boxer Sanjeet Kumar in the heavyweight ... In the third round, he defeated the 2017 Worlds bronze medallist and second seed Tursunov 4-1 ... In the quarters, he is facing an Equadorian boxer, Julio Cesa Castillo Torres.

Badminton News

At $1M VICTOR China Open 2019, Changzhou (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 1000)

[R1] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,35) bt Brice Leverdez (FRA,38) 21-12 21-15
[R1] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,15) bt Suppanyu Avihingsanon (THA,37) 21-19 21-23 21-14

[R1] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,8) l Busanan Ongbamrungphan (THA,18) 10-21 17-21
[R1] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,5) bt Xue Rui Li (CHN,19) 21-18 21-12

[R1] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) bt Jason Anthony Ho-Shue (CAN)/ Nyl Yakura (CAN) 21-7 21-18
[R1] Manu Attri (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) l (2) Mohammad Ahsan (INA)/ Hendra Setiawan (INA) 15-21 15-21

[R1] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) bt Chi Ya Cheng (TPE)/ Chih Chen Lee (TPE) 21-13 11-8 retd.

[R1] Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l Mark Lamsfuss (GER)/ Isabel Herttrich (GER) 12-21 21-23
[R1] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) bt (6) Praveen Jordan (INA)/ Melati Daeva Oktavianti (INA) 22-20 17-21 21-17

[R2] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,35) vs (7) Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA,9)
[R2] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,15) vs Guang Zu Lu (CHN,21)

[R2] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,5) vs Pornpawee Chochuwong (THA,15)

[R2] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) vs (4) Takeshi Kamura (JPN)/ Keigo Sonoda (JPN)

[R2] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) vs (2) Misaki Matsutomo (JPN)/ Ayaka Takahashi (JPN)

[R2] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) vs Yuki Kaneko (JPN)/ Misaki Matsutomo (JPN)

In her first match after becoming World champion, Sindhu easily defeated her Chinese opponent, Xue Rui Li ... Next, she is facing a Thai girl Pornpawee Chochuwong ... But disappointed by Saina's loss against a Thai girl Busanan Ongbamrungphan.
Sai started with 3 games win over Suppanyu Avihingsanon ... Next, he is facing a Chinese challenge of Guang Zu Lu.
A comfortable win for Kashyap against a similar ranked Frenchman Leverdez ... Next, he is facing a top-10 Indonesian Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

Ashwini and Satwik started with an upset win over the WR #7 Indonesian pair ... Next, they r facing a Japanese pair ... But Pranaav and Sikki lost their match against a similar ranked German pair.
Satwik and Chirag scored an expected win over their Canadian opponents ... Next, they r facing the WR #4 Japanese pair ... Manu and Sumeeth failed to challenge a former WR #1 Indonesian pair in their loss.
Ashwini and Sikki move comfortably in the next round as their Taiwani opponents retired in the second game after losing the first ... Next, they r facing the WR #3 Japanese pair.

Volleyball News

At the SMM 20th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

Pool E
India l Australia 0-3 (27-29, 24-26, 21-25)

Indian spikers lost in a close 3 games against a superior Australian team.

Tennis News

At $162.5K+H Kaohsiung Challenger 2019, Taiwan

[R1] Sasikumar Mukund (IND,239) bt Goncalo Oliveira (POR,253) 76(8) 36 76(6)

[R2] (2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) bt Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN,286) 63 62
[R2] Sasikumar Mukund (IND,239) vs (10) Marc Polmans (AUS,158)

[R3] (2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) vs (14) Enrique Lopez Perez (ESP,205)

Doubles
[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs (Alt) Alex Bolt (AUS)/ Jacob Grills (AUS)

A hard-fought win for Mukund in almost 2 hours and 45 minutes against Oliveira, where he won 2 tight tie-breaks for 3 sets win ... In the third set, he was almost out as Oliveira was serving for the match at 5-6, Mukund broke him after deuce and won the long tie-break for winning the match ... Next, he is having a tough match against a top-160 ranked Aussie, Marc Polmans.

Prajnesh started with a comfortable win ... Next, he is facing a Spaniard Enrique Lopez Perez.

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At €46.5K+H Glasgow Challenger 2019, Scotland

[R1] Marek Gengel (CZE)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) bt Scott Clayton (GBR)/ Lloyd Glasspool (GBR) 75 76(7)

A really good hard fought win for Ram and Gengel against a talented British pair.

Volleyball News

At the SMM 20th Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship, Tehran, Iran

Pool C
India bt Kazakhstan 3-2 (31-29 25-14 28-30 18-25 15-9)
India l China 0-3 (16-25, 15-25, 21-25)
India bt Oman 3-1 (22-25 25-12 25-21 25-29)

India, the team ranked 131 in the world, pulled off a stunning victory over Kazakhstan, silver medalists at the previous edition at Indonesia, in a hard-fought five-set thriller ... They lost in the 2nd match against the Chinese team ... But won the final Pool match against Oman to qualify for the top-8 groups ... In last 8, we are having a crap draw as India is in Group E with a formidable Australia, Iran, and China.

Iran, Japan, Chinese Taipei, China, India, Korea, and Pakistan have been confirmed as the top 8 teams and all of them, except Tokyo 2020 hosts Japan, will also be eligible for the AVC Continental Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament in Jiangmen, China from January 7 to 12, 2020.

Tennis News

At $162.5K+H Kaohsiung Challenger 2019, Taiwan

[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,258) l Max Purcell (AUS,235) 63 16 36

[R2] (2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) vs Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN,286)

The trend continues as Saki won the first set but he failed to complete the win as he lost last 2 sets ... In the second round, Prajnesh is facing Shuichi Sekiguchi.

Badminton News

At $75K YONEX-SUNRISE Vietnam Open 2019, Ho Chi Minh City (BWF Tour Super 100)

[R1] (2) Sourabh Verma (IND,38) bye
[R2] (2) Sourabh Verma (IND,38) bt Kodai Naraoka (JPN,72) 22-20 22-20
[R3] (2) Sourabh Verma (IND,38) bt Yu Igarashi (JPN,71) 25-23 24-22
[QF] (2) Sourabh Verma (IND,38) bt Tien Minh Nguyen (VIE,62) 21-13 21-18
[SF] (2) Sourabh Verma (IND,38) bt Minoru Koga (JPN,112) 22-20 21-15

Men's Singles Final
(2) Sourabh Verma (IND,38) bt Fei Xiang Sun (CHN,68) 21-12 17-21 21-14

Sourabh Verma lifted the BWF Tour Super 100 title in Vietnam ... He defeated a Chineses opponent, Fei Xiang Sun, in three games to lift the title.

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At $25K YONEX Belgian International 2019, Leuven, Belgium (International Challenge)

[R1] Lakshya Sen (IND,74) bt Rasmus Messerschmidt (DEN,100) 21-9, 21-7
[R2] Lakshya Sen (IND,74) bt Eetu Heino (FIN,92) 21-17, 21-12
[QF] Lakshya Sen (IND,74) bt (1) Mark Caljouw (NED,33) w/o
[SF] Lakshya Sen (IND,74) bt Kim Bruun (DEN,93) 21-18, 21-11

Men's Singles Final
Lakshya Sen (IND,74) bt (2) Victor Svendsen (DEN,51) 21-14, 21-15

Young Lakshya Sen won another International Challenge title in Belgium ... He defeated the WR #51 Victor Svendsen in straight games to win the title.

Tennis News

At $500K Guangzhou Open 2019, China

[Q2] Ankita Raina (IND,192) l Magdalena Frech (POL,207) 16 16

A young Frech proved too strong to Ankita as Ankita failed to find her rhythm in her one-sided loss.

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At €46.5K+H Banja Luka Challenger 2019, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Singles Final
(6) Sumit Nagal (IND,174) l (7) Tallon Griekspoor (NED,187) 26 36

Sumit needs to wait for his second Challnenger title and first on European clay ... He lost rather tamely against Griekspoor in the final ... In this match, Sumit struggled to hold his service games and his returning game wasn't on the mark ... After losing the first set he was a break down at 2-3, he had a couple of break point chances on Griekspoor's serve at 15-40 ... He failed to convert and again lost his serve while serving for staying in the match in 9th game ... Sumit needs to work on his serve, importantly a placement considering his height.

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At $1.2M St. Petersburg Open 2019, Russia

[R1] Divij Sharan (IND)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK) vs (4) Marcelo Demoliner (BRA)/ Matwe Middelkoop (NED)

Divij is playing in the St. Petersburg Open with Igor Zelenay ... They r facing the 4th seed pairing of Demoliner and Middelkoop.

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At €586K Moselle Open 2019, Metz, France

[R1] Purav Raja (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) vs Gerard Granollers (ESP)/ Marcel Granollers (ESP)

Purav is playing in the Metz Open with Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela ... They r facing Granollers brothers.

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At $162.5K+H Kaohsiung Challenger 2019, Taiwan

[R1] Sasikumar Mukund (IND,241) vs Goncalo Oliveira (POR,254)
[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND,258) vs Max Purcell (AUS,235)
[R1] (2) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,85) bye

Doubles
[R1] N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs (WC) Chun-hsin Tseng (TPE)/ Tung-Lin Wu (TPE)
[R1] Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs N Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND)/ Bernard Tomic (AUS)

Prajnesh is the 2nd seed ... Mukund is facing Oliveira in the first round and Saki is facing an Aussie Max Purcell.

In the doubles, Bala and Vishu r facing a local wild-card pair ... Saki is playing with Jeevan and they r facing VSP and Tomic.

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At €46.5K+H Glasgow Challenger 2019, Great Britain

[R1] (5) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,176) bye

Doubles
[R1] Marek Gengel (CZE)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs Scott Clayton (GBR)/ Lloyd Glasspool (GBR)

Ram has received bye as a seeded player ... In the doubles, he is partnering a Czech player, Mark Gengel and they r facing a British pair.

Tennis News

At $500K Guangzhou Open 2019, China

[Q1] Ankita Raina (IND,192) bt (11) Sachia Vickery (USA,166) 63 62

[Q2] Ankita Raina (IND,192) vs Magdalena Frech (POL,207)

A really good win by Ankita against a former top-75 player Vickery ... Next, she is facing a Polish girl Magdalena Frech.

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At $81.5K+H Shanghai Challenger 2019, China

[SF] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,85) l (4) Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN,165) 67(7) 46

Prajnesh lost in straight sets against Uchiyama ... Uchiyama out-served him with his big-serving skill ... Look at the stat, Prajnesh served 9 aces and committed 2 double faults, Uchiyama served 11 aces ... Uchiyama's 1st serve percentage was high, 74%, and he comfortably won points on his 2nd serve, 79% ... Uchiyama converted 1 breakpoint from 3 and Prajnesh failed to convert any from 4 breakpoint chances.

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At €46.5K+H Banja Luka Challenger 2019, Bosnia and Herzegovina

[SF] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,174) bt (5) Filip Horansky (SVK,189) 76(1) 62

[F] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,174) vs (7) Tallon Griekspoor (NED,187)

In the match, both players were losing their service games like nobody's business, so many breaks ... But Sumit survived and enters into the final ... He is facing a Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

Tennis News

At $250K Jiangxi Open 2019, Nanchang, China

[QF] Ankita Raina (IND)/ Eden Silva (GBR) l (2) Shuai Peng (CHN)/ Shuai Zhang (CHN) 26 76(8) 3-10

Ankita and her partner Silva gave a fighting performance against a seasoned Chinese doubles pair .. After losing the first set they fought hard to win the second set tie-break but failed to keep momentum in the match tie-break.

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At $81.5K+H Shanghai Challenger 2019, China

[QF] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,85) bt (8) Hiroki Moriya (JPN,232) 64 64

[SF] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,85) vs (4) Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN,165)

Doubles
[QF] N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) l Goncalo Oliveira (POR)/ Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN) 67(1) 36

[SF] (2) Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) l Marc Polmans (AUS)/ Scott Puodziunas (AUS) 26 63 11-13

Prajnesh gave a clinical performance in a win over Moriya ... Next, he is having another Japnese challenge of Yasutaka Uchiyama.

In the doubles semi-final, Divij and Saki lost in a close match tie-break against an Aussie pair ... Vishnu and Bala lost in the quarter-final against Uchiyama and Oliveira in straight sets.

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At $81.5K+H Istanbul Challenger 2019, Turkey

[SF] Hugo Grenier (FRA)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) l Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/ Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) 46 26

Ram and Grenier lost in straight sets against the Kazakh pair.

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At €46.5K+H Banja Luka Challenger 2019, Bosnia and Herzegovina

[QF] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,174) bt (4) Federico Coria (ARG,155) 62 75

[SF] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,174) vs (5) Filip Horansky (SVK,189)

Sumit continues with his terrific form and newfound confidence ... He scored an easy win over higher-ranked Coria ... In the semis, he is facing Filip Horansky.

Tennis News

At $81.5K+H Shanghai Challenger 2019, China

[R3] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,85) bt (16) Goncalo Oliveira (POR,254) 63 64

[QF] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,85) vs (8) Hiroki Moriya (JPN,232)

Doubles
[QF] (2) Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt John Paul Fruttero (USA)/ Toshihide Matsui (JPN) 76(2) 63

[SF] (2) Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Marc Polmans (AUS)/ Scott Puodziunas (AUS)

Prajnesh scored a comfortable win over Oliveira ... In the quarters, he is facing a Japanese Hiroki Moriya.
In the doubles, Saki and Divij move into the semis and facing an Aussie pair ... In the quarters, they defeated Matsui and Fruttero in straight sets.

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At $81.5K+H Istanbul Challenger 2019, Turkey

[R3] (8) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,176) l (12) Nicola Kuhn (ESP,191) 36 57

Doubles
[QF] Hugo Grenier (FRA)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) bt (3) Lucas Miedler (AUT)/ Tristan-Samuel Weissborn (AUT) 46 76(5) 12-10
[QF] (2) Rameez Junaid (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/ Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ) 64 67(2) 3-10

[SF] Hugo Grenier (FRA)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/ Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ)

Ram's struggle continues as he faced another early loss against the 19 yrs. old Spaniard Nicola Kuhn in straight sets.

In the doubles, Ram and Grenier scored a superb comeback win over the 3rd seed Austrian pair after losing the first set ... But exactly the opposite result to Purav and Rameez as they lost after winning the first set.

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At €46.5K+H Banja Luka Challenger 2019, Bosnia and Herzegovina

[R3] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,174) bt (WC) Matija Pecotic (CRO,704) 61 61

[QF] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,174) vs (4) Federico Coria (ARG,155)

Sumit scored a ruthless win over Pecotic losing only 2 games ... Next, he is facing the 4th seed Argentine Federico Coria.

Tennis News

At $250K Jiangxi Open 2019, Nanchang, China

[R1] Ankita Raina (IND)/ Eden Silva (GBR) bt (Alt) Peangtarn Plipuech (THA)/ Fang Ying Xun (CHN) 63 63

[QF] Ankita Raina (IND)/ Eden Silva (GBR) vs (2) Shuai Peng (CHN)/ Shuai Zhang (CHN)

A lucky break for Ankita in the doubles ... Ankita and Silva started with a confident win against an alternate pair ... Next, they r having a tough match against a local favorite pair.

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At $81.5K+H Shanghai Challenger 2019, China

[R2] (13) Saketh Myneni (IND,258) l Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN,290) 64 36 67(4)

[R3] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,85) vs (16) Goncalo Oliveira (POR,254)

Doubles
[R1] N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt (Alt) Collin Altamirano (USA)/ Vladyslav Orlov (UKR) 61 62
[R1] (4) Enrique Lopez Perez (ESP)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) l Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA)/ Sonchat Ratiwatana (THA) 67(6) 46
[R1] Arjun Kadhe (IND)/ N Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND) l (3) Evan King (USA)/ Hunter Reese (USA) 36 75 6-10

[QF] N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs Goncalo Oliveira (POR)/ Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN)

Saki lost after winning the first set against Sekiguchi ... In the third round, Prajnesh is facing Goncalo Oliveira.

In the doubles, Bala and Vishnu started with a dominating win against an alternate pair ... Next, they r facing Oliveira and Yasutaka Uchiyama ... Ratiwatanas defeated Jeevan and his Spanish partner in two sets ... Arjun and VSP lost in the match tie-break against the 3rd seed American pair.

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At $81.5K+H Istanbul Challenger 2019, Turkey

[R2] (8) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,176) bt (WC) Marsel Ilhan (TUR,672) 62 62

[R3] (8) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,176) vs (12) Nicola Kuhn (ESP,191)

Doubles
[R1] (2) Rameez Junaid (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (WC) Ruben Bemelmans (BEL)/ Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 64 64

[QF] Hugo Grenier (FRA)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs (3) Lucas Miedler (AUT)/ Tristan-Samuel Weissborn (AUT)
[QF] (2) Rameez Junaid (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Andrey Golubev (KAZ)/ Aleksandr Nedovyesov (KAZ)

Ram started with a solid win against an experienced Marsel Ilhan ... Next, he is facing a Spanish teenager, Nicola Kuhn.

In the doubles, Purav and Rameez started with a straight-sets win over an experienced pairing of Zimo and Bemelmans ... Next, they r facing a Kazakh pair ... Ram and Grenier r facing the 3rd seed Austrian pair.

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At €46.5K+H Banja Luka Challenger 2019, Bosnia and Herzegovina

[R2] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,174) bt Ivan Nedelko (RUS,343) 63 76(3)

[R3] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,174) vs (WC) Matija Pecotic (CRO,704)

Sumit started with a straight-sets win over Nedelko ... Next, he is facing a Croatian wild-card player, Matija Pecotic.

Football News

At 2022 World Cup Qualifiers - AFC Second Round, Doha

India vs Qatar 0-0 (0-0)

A historic and huge result for the young Indian team ... They managed to hold Asian Champion Qatarian side to a goalless draw ... Qatar was a better team on the field and they created multiple chances, Qatar had 27 shots on the goal but they failed to beat our custodian, Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who was a man of the match performer ... So it was a gritty display from Indian defense and custodian to hold them.

Tennis News

At $250K Jiangxi Open 2019, Nanchang, China

[R1] Ankita Raina (IND,192) l (4) Elena Rybakina (RUS,69) 26 64 36

Ankita gave a fighting performance against the top-75 ranked Rybakina ... She lost in three sets against Rybakina in more than 2 hours match.

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At $81.5K+H Shanghai Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,531) l (WC) Runhao Hua (CHN,810) 46 46

[R2] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,85) bt James Ward (GBR,291) 64 76(3)
[R2] Arjun Kadhe (IND,590) l (4) Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN,165) 67(4) 36
[R2] Sasikumar Mukund (IND,241) l (2) Tatsuma Ito (JPN,139) 46 46

Doubles
[R1] (2) Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt Steven Diez (CAN)/ Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 75 64

[QF] (2) Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs John Paul Fruttero (USA)/ Toshihide Matsui (JPN)

Prajnesh started with a tight straight sets win over James Ward, in their previous grass-court match, he was beaten by James.
Arjun and Mukund gave a decent performance against their higher-ranked Japanese opponents ... Bad loss for Sid against a local wild-card player.

In the doubles, Saki and Divij pairing started with a straight-sets win over their opponent ... Next, they r facing Fruttero and Matsui.

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At $81.5K+H Istanbul Challenger 2019, Turkey

[R1] Hugo Grenier (FRA)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) bt (WC) Arda Azkara (TUR)/ Burak Bilgin (TUR) 64 62

Ram and Grenier started with an expected win over a local wild-card pair.

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Hockey News

At the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers - Final Round,

Men: (5) India vs (22) Russia
Women: (9) India vs (13) USA

In a favorable draw, India’s men’s hockey team r facing lower-ranked Russia while the women’s team having the tricky USA in the final round of the Tokyo Olympics qualifiers.

Tennis News

At $250K Jiangxi Open 2019, Nanchang, China

[R1] Ankita Raina (IND,192) vs (4) Elena Rybakina (RUS,69)

Doubles
[R1] Ankita Raina (IND)/ Eden Silva (GBR) vs Jaqueline Cristian (ROU)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU)

Ankita is playing in the WTA tournament, but having a tough match against the top-75 ranked Elena Rybakina.
In the doubles, she is playing with a British girl, Eden Silva, and they r facing a Romanian pair in the first round.

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At $81.5K+H Shanghai Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Arjun Kadhe (IND,590) bt Shintaro Imai (JPN,323) 76(2) 63
[R1] Sasikumar Mukund (IND,285) bt Alafia Ayeni (USA,581) 64 61

[R2] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,85) vs James Ward (GBR,291)
[R2] Arjun Kadhe (IND,590) vs (4) Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN,165)
[R2] (13) Saketh Myneni (IND,258) vs Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN,290)
[R2] Sasikumar Mukund (IND,241) vs (2) Tatsuma Ito (JPN,139)

Doubles
[R1] N. Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs (WC) Runhao Hua (CHN)/ Di Wu (CHN)
[R1] (4) Enrique Lopez Perez (ESP)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs Sanchai Ratiwatana (THA)/ Sonchat Ratiwatana (THA)
[R1] Arjun Kadhe (IND)/ N Vijay Sundar Prashanth (IND) vs (3) Evan King (USA)/ Hunter Reese (USA)
[R1] (2) Saketh Myneni (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Steven Diez (CAN)/ Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS)

Arjun started with an upset win over the top-325 ranked Shintaro Imai ... Next, he is having a tough match against the 4th seed, Yasutaka Uchiyama.
Mukund started with a comfortable win over an American Ayeni ... Next, he is facing the top-150 ranked, Tatsuma Ito.
Prajnesh is facing an experienced Britisher James Ward ... Saki is facing a Japanese Shuichi Sekiguchi.

In the doubles, the new pairing of Divij and Saki r the 2nd seed and they r facing Diez and Gabashvili ... Bala and Vishnu r facing a local wild-card pair ... Jeevan is the 4th seed with Lopez Perez and they r facing Ratiwatana twins ... Arjun and VSP r facing the 3rd seed American pair.

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At $81.5K+H Istanbul Challenger 2019, Turkey

[R2] (8) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,176) vs (WC) Marsel Ilhan (TUR,672)

Doubles
[R1] Hugo Grenier (FRA)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs (WC) Arda Azkara (TUR)/ Burak Bilgin (TUR)
[R1] (2) Rameez Junaid (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (WC) Ruben Bemelmans (BEL)/ Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)

Ram is the 8 seed and facing a local former top-100 player, Marsel Ilhan, in the second round.

In the doubles, Purav and Rameez r the 2nd seed and they r facing Zimo and Bemelmans ... Ram is partnering a Frenchman Hugo Grenier and they r facing a local wild-card pair.

Squash News

At $112K Men's JP Morgan China Open 2019, Shanghai, China (PSA World Tour Gold)

[R1] (3) Saurav Ghosal (IND,10) bye
[R2] (3) Saurav Ghosal (IND,10) bt (9/16) Yip Tsz Fung (HKG,34) 11-7, 11-4, 11-7 (43m)
[QF] (3) Saurav Ghosal (IND,10) bt (9/16) Mazen Hesham (EGY,25) 12-10, 11-9, 12-14, 11-7 (67m)

[SF] (3) Saurav Ghosal (IND,10) l (1) Ali Farag (EGY,1) 4-11. 9-11, 4-11 (34m)

Saurav started the new season on a positive note ... He played at Shanghai in PSA world tour gold tournament ... He performed as per his seedings and lost in the semis to current WR #1 Ali Farag.

Tennis News

At $162.5K+H Jinan Challenger 2019, China

P.C. to ITD FB page

Doubles Final
(1) Matthew Ebden (AUS)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt Ji Sung Nam (KOR)/ Min-Kyu Song (KOR) 76(4) 57 10-3

Divij and Matthew Ebden lifted the title at the Jinan challenger ... The first 2 sets were closely fought and both pairs shared it to take the match into the match tie-break ... Divij and Matthew dominated the match tie-break for this big challenger title ... This was Divij's 15th challenger title and the 2nd title of the year.

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

Doubles Final
(2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Erika Sema (JPN) l (1) Xinyu Jiang (CHN)/ Qianhui Tang (CHN) 36 63 9-11

Rutuja and Sema missed a golden opportunity of lifting title against the top-seed Chinese pair ... After losing the first set they made a strong comeback and won the second set ... In the match tie-break, they missed 4 match points from 9-5 to lose the final.

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At $81.5K+H Shanghai Challenger 2019, China

[R1] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,88) bye
[R1] (13) Saketh Myneni (IND,249) bye
[R1] Arjun Kadhe (IND,618) vs Shintaro Imai (JPN,323)
[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,558) vs (WC) Runhao Hua (CHN,810)
[R1] Sasikumar Mukund (IND,285) vs Alafia Ayeni (USA,581)

Our lot of players playing in Shanghai ... Prajnesh and Saki have a bye as the seeded players ... Arjun is facing a Japanese, Imai ... Sid is playing against a local wild-card player ... Mukund is facing an American, Ayeni.

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At €46.5K+H Banja Luka Challenger 2019, Bosnia and Herzegovina

[R1] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,190) bye

This week, Sumit is playing at Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Tennis News

At $162.5K+H Jinan Challenger 2019, China

[QF] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,88) l Go Soeda (JPN,155) 67(2) 63 36

Doubles
[SF] (1) Matthew Ebden (AUS)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt (4) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) 64 62

[F] (1) Matthew Ebden (AUS)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Ji Sung Nam (KOR)/ Min-Kyu Song (KOR)

Expected better performance from Prajnesh, but he lost in 3 sets against an experienced Go Soeda ... A missed opportunity of gathering chunk of ranking points from this big challenger

Divij and Ebden scored a comfortable win over Saki and Jeevan ... In the final, they r facing an unseeded Korean pair.

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

[SF] Jessy Rompies (INA)/ Prarthana G. Thombare (IND) l (1) Xinyu Jiang (CHN)/ Qianhui Tang (CHN) 57 46
[SF] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Erika Sema (JPN) bt (3) Jia-Qi Kang (CHN)/ Peangtarn Plipuech (THA) 76(4) 62

[F] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Erika Sema (JPN) vs (1) Xinyu Jiang (CHN)/ Qianhui Tang (CHN)

Rutuja and Sema scored a straight-sets win over the 3rd seed pairing of Plipuech and Kang ... In the final, they r facing the top-seed Chinese pair ... As Prarthana and Jessy lost in a straight-sets against the top-seed Chinese pair.

Football News

At 2022 World Cup Qualifiers - AFC Second Round, Guwahati, Assam

Group E
India l Oman 1-2 (1-0)
Goal Scored - Sunil Chhetri (IND) 24' and Rabia Said Al Alawi Al Mandhar (OMA) 82' and 89'

India is in Group E with Qatar, Oman, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan ... India failed to score their first win against Oman as they faced heart-breaking loss ... The Indians took an early lead after taking advantage of sloppy defending by Oman ... Sunil scored his 72nd goal for India ... We kept lead till 83rd minute and was in position for scoring our first win over the Oman team ... But Oman equalized through Al Alawi and then in the 89tb minute scored another excellent goal through a powerful kick to give winning lead ... We failed to take chances in the first half and that cost us ... Next, India travel to 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar for their next encounter in the qualifiers on Tuesday.

Tennis News

At $162.5K+H Jinan Challenger 2019, China

[R3] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,88) bt Tung-Lin Wu (TPE,269) 64 76(3)

[QF] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,88) vs Go Soeda (JPN,155)

Doubles
[QF] (1) Matthew Ebden (AUS)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt Pedja Krstin (SRB)/ Akira Santillan (AUS) 61 64
[QF] (4) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt Hiroki Moriya (JPN)/ Goncalo Oliveira (POR) 75 62

[SF] (1) Matthew Ebden (AUS)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs (4) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND)

Prajnesh scored a tight 2 sets win over Tung-Lin Wu ... In the quarters, he is facing an experienced Japanese, Go Soeda.

Saki and Jeevan scored a straight-sets win over Oliveira and Moriya ... Next, they r facing the top-seed pairing of Divij and Ebden in the semis ... Divij and Ebden scored a comfortable win over Krstin and Santillan.

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At €46K+H Cassis Challenger 2019, France

[QF] Evgeny Karlovskiy (RUS)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) l Quentin Halys (FRA)/ Tristan Lamasine (FRA) 36 26

Ram and Karlovskiy lost easily against a French pair.

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

[R2] Rutuja Bhosale (IND,452) l (1) Nina Stojanovic (SRB,165) 67(2) 26

Doubles
[QF] Jessy Rompies (INA)/ Prarthana G. Thombare (IND) bt (4) Hanyu Guo (CHN)/ Aldila Sutjiadi (INA) 64 63

[SF] Jessy Rompies (INA)/ Prarthana G. Thombare (IND) vs (1) Xinyu Jiang (CHN)/ Qianhui Tang (CHN)
[SF] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Erika Sema (JPN) vs (3) Jia-Qi Kang (CHN)/ Peangtarn Plipuech (THA)

Rutuja gave a decent fight against the top-175 ranked Nina Stojanovic.

In the doubles, Prarthana and Jessy Rompies scored a straight-sets win over the 4th seed pair ... Next, they r facing the top-seed Chinese pair ... Rutuja and Sema r facing the 3rd seed pairing of Plipuech and Kang.