Tennis News

At €5.79M Rolex Paris Masters 2019, France

[R2] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) bt Maximo Gonzalez (ARG)/ Austin Krajicek (USA) 61 63
[R2] (Alt) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) l Jeremy Chardy (FRA)/ Fabrice Martin (FRA) 26 36

[QF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs Karen Khachanov (RUS)/ Andrey Rublev (RUS)

A dominating win for Rohan and Shapo against Krajicek and Gonzalez ... In the quarters, they r facing the Russian youngsters.
Divij and Artem lost in a one-sided match against the Frenchmen, Chardy, and Martin.

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At $135.4K+H Shenzhen-2 Challenger 2019, China

[QF] Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Sadio Doumbia (FRA)/ Fabien Reboul (FRA) w/o
[QF] (PR) Mikhail Elgin (RUS)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) bt (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Adil Shamasdin (CAN) 64 76(3)

[SF] (PR) Mikhail Elgin (RUS)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND)

Ram and Elgin r in the semis with a straight-sets win over the 3rd seed Jeevan and Adil ... They r facing Vishnu and Matsui in the semis, who received another walkover in the quarters against the French pair.

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At $60K ITF Women Tournament 2019, Liuzhou, China

[QF] (2) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Rosalie Van Der Hoek (NED) bt (Alt) Anastasia Gasanova (RUS)/ Chanel Simmonds (RSA) 60 46 10-7

[SF] (2) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Rosalie Van Der Hoek (NED) vs Ji-Hee Choi (KOR)/ Akiko Omae (JPN)

Ankita and Rosalie r into the semis, they defeated Simmonds and Gasanova in the match tie-break ... Next, they r facing Choi and Omae.

Tennis News

At €5.79M Rolex Paris Masters 2019, France

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) bt Benoit Paire (FRA)/ Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 64 75

[R2] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs Maximo Gonzalez (ARG)/ Austin Krajicek (USA)
[R2] (Alt) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) vs Jeremy Chardy (FRA)/ Fabrice Martin (FRA)

Rohan and Shapo started with a straight-sets win over Paire and Verdasco ... Next, they r facing Krajicek and Gonzalez ... Divij and Artem r facing a local pair in the second round.

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At $135.4K+H Shenzhen-2 Challenger 2019, China

[R2] (10) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,195) l Tung-Lin Wu (TPE,234) 36 67(6)

Doubles
[R1] Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS)/ Malek Jaziri (TUN) w/o
[R1] (PR) Mikhail Elgin (RUS)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) bt Goncalo Oliveira (POR)/ Fajing Sun (CHN) 63 63

[QF] Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs Sadio Doumbia (FRA)/ Fabien Reboul (FRA)
[QF] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Adil Shamasdin (CAN) vs (PR) Mikhail Elgin (RUS)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)

A change in the continent didn't help Ram as he again lost an early round in the singles.

In the doubles, Ram and Elgin started with a comfortable win ... Next, they r facing Jeevan and Adil ... Vishnu and Matsui also received a walkover and they r facing a French pair in the quarters.

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At $54K+H Playford-2 Challenger 2019, Australia

[R2] (10) Sasikumar Mukund (IND,235) l Harri Heliovaara (FIN,762) 67(4) 36

Mukund needs to win these matches, a disappointing loss against an experienced Heliovaara.

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At $60K ITF Women Tournament 2019, Liuzhou, China

[R1] Ankita Raina (IND,181) l (Q) Ziyue Sun (CHN,360) 26 46

Doubles
[R1] (2) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Rosalie Van Der Hoek (NED) bt Dalila Jakupovic (SLO)/ Sarah-Rebecca Sekulic (GER) 64 63

[QF] (2) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Rosalie Van Der Hoek (NED) vs Anastasia Gasanova (RUS)/ Chanel Simmonds (RSA

A bad loss in the singles for Ankita against a lowly ranked local qualifier.
Ankita and her partner Rosalie started with a straight-sets win over Jakupovic and Sekulic ... In the quarters, they r facing Simmonds and Gasanova.

Tennis News

At €5.79M Rolex Paris Masters 2019, France

[R1] (Alt) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) bt (4) Mate Pavic (CRO)/ Bruno Soares (BRA) 67(5) 64 10-3

Divij and Artem got a chance as an alternate pair ... They started with an impressive comeback win over the 4th seed Soares and Pavic after losing the first set in the tie-break.

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At $135.4K+H Shenzhen-2 Challenger 2019, China

[R1] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Adil Shamasdin (CAN) bt (WC) Jie Cui (CHN)/ Hao Wu (CHN) 60 76(1)

Good to see that Jeevan and Adil managed to win their first-round match.

Squash News

At Women's World Championship 2019, Giza, Egypt

[R3] (12) Joshna Chinappa (IND,12) l (2) Nour El Sherbini (EGY,2) 5-11, 3-11, 6-11 (21m)

Joshna failed to raise her game against a regaining World Champion Nour El Sherbini.

Tennis News

At $135.4K+H Shenzhen-2 Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,528) l Khumoyun Sultanov (UZB,359) 26 26

[R2] (10) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,195) vs Tung-Lin Wu (TPE,234)

A bad loss for Sid against Khumoyun Sultanov ... Ram is facing Tung-Lin Wu in the second round.

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At $54K+H Guayaquil Challenger 2019, Ecuador (Red clay)

Sumit Nagal withdrew from the Guayaquil Challenger due to the visa problem.

Golf News

At €1,5M Portugal Masters 2019, Vilamoura, Portugal (European Tour)

T21 Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 67 71 68 68 -10 €16,275.00

Shubhankar managed consistent rounds to finish inside the top-25 ... A decent finish in the Portugal Masters.

Badminton News

At $750K YONEX French Open 2019, Paris, France (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750)

Men's Doubles Final
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) l (1) Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (INA)/ Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA) 18-21 16-21

Satwik and Chirag gave a decent performance against the WR #1 Indonesian pair ... In the first game, an Indonesian pair took 1-7 lead but our pair kept trying and caught them at 17-all ... The Indonesian pair won the next 3 points and converted 2nd game point for winning the game ... In the second game, from 12-all the Indonesian pair won the next 4 points and kept that advantage for completing the win.

I am happy with their overall performance as they defeated 5 pairs from the top-10 pairs in the previous 2 tournaments ... And they r showing improvement to achieve further.

Squash News

At $185K Men's Egyptian Open 2019, Giza, Egypt (World Tour Platinum)

[R3] (9/16) Saurav Ghosal (IND,11) l (9/16) Fares Dessouky (EGY,14) 6-11, 5-11, 5-11 (42m)

Saurav failed to raise a game against Dessouky and lost in straight games.

Tennis News

At €5.79M Rolex Paris Masters 2019, France

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs Benoit Paire (FRA)/ Fernando Verdasco (ESP)

Rohan and Shapo r facing Paire and Verdasco.

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At $135.4K+H Shenzhen-2 Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,528) vs Khumoyun Sultanov (UZB,359)
[R1] (10) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,193) bye

Doubles
[R1] Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS)/ Malek Jaziri (TUN)
[R1] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Adil Shamasdin (CAN) vs (WC) Jie Cui (CHN)/ Hao Wu (CHN)
[R1] (PR) Mikhail Elgin (RUS)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs Goncalo Oliveira (POR)/ Fajing Sun (CHN)

Ram is playing in this Chinese challenger and he is seeded 10th ... Sid is facing the top-375 ranked Sultanov.

In the doubles, Jeevan and Adil r the 3rd seed and they r facing a local wild-card pair ... Vishnu is playing with Matsui and they r facing Gabashvili and Jaziri ... Ram has found a good partner in Mikhail Elgin, they r facing Oliveira and Fajing Sun.

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At $54K+H Playford-2 Challenger 2019, Australia

[R1] (10) Sasikumar Mukund (IND,236) bye

Mukund keeps playing in Australia.

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At $54K+H Guayaquil Challenger 2019, Ecuador (Red clay)

[R1] (8) Sumit Nagal (IND,129) bye

Hoping for a better week for Sumit in South America.

Badminton News

At $750K YONEX French Open 2019, Paris, France (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750)

[SF] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) bt (5) Hiroyuki Endo (JPN)/ Yuta Watanabe (JPN) 21-11 25-23

[F] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) vs (1) Marcus Fernaldi Gideon (INA)/ Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo (INA)

Satwik and Chirag r in the final with another impressive win against the WR #6 Japanese pair ... After winning the first game easily they faced a strong resistance from a Japanese pair ... They saved a game point and converted the 5th match point for a win ... In the final, they r facing WR #1 Indonesian pair.

Squash News

At Women's World Championship 2019, Giza, Egypt

[R2] (12) Joshna Chinappa (IND,12) bt Ho Tze-Lok (HKG,44) 11-5, 11-4 rtd (12m)

[R3] (12) Joshna Chinappa (IND,12) vs (2) Nour El Sherbini (EGY,2)

Joshna moves into the third round after her opponent Ho retired after losing the second game ... Next, she is facing the former WR #1 Nour El Sherbini.

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At $185K Men's Egyptian Open 2019, Giza, Egypt (World Tour Platinum)

[R2] (9/16) Saurav Ghosal (IND,11) bt Yip Tsz Fung (HKG,31) 11-9, 11-5, 11-4 (43m)

[R3] (9/16) Saurav Ghosal (IND,11) vs (9/16) Fares Dessouky (EGY,14)

Saurav scored straight games win over Yip Tsz Fung and enters into the third round ... Next, he is facing the former top-10 Egyptian, Fares Dessouky.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Liuzhou Challenger 2019, China

[SF] Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) l (PR) Mikhail Elgin (RUS)/ Denis Istomin (UZB) 46 63 7-10

In the semis, Vishnu and Matsui lost in the close match against Istomin and Elgin.

Squash News

At Women's World Championship 2019, Giza, Egypt

[R1] (12) Joshna Chinappa (IND,12) bt Haley Mendez (USA,42) 9-11, 12-10, 8-11, 11-6, 11-6 (49m)
[R1] Sunayna Kuruvilla (IND,77) l (17) Nele Gilis (BEL,19) 11-8, 7-11, 4-11, 5-11 (40m)

[R2] (12) Joshna Chinappa (IND,12) vs Ho Tze-Lok (HKG,44)

Joshna needed to dig deep for the first-round win in the World Championship ... She was 1-2 down before coming back to win the match after winning the next 2 games ... Next, she is facing Ho Tze-Lok.
Sunayna started well after winning the first game against the top-20 Belgian girl ... But after that, Nele Gilis made a strong comeback for winning the next 3 games.

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At $185K Men's Egyptian Open 2019, Giza, Egypt (World Tour Platinum)

[R1] Ramit Tandon (IND,49) l Leo Au (HKG,26) 5-11, 7-11, 2-11 (35m)
[R1] (9/16) Saurav Ghosal (IND,11) bye
[R1] Vikram Malhotra (IND,60) l Nicolas Müller (SUI,28) 6-11, 9-11, 6-11 (26m)

[R1] (9/16) Saurav Ghosal (IND,11) vs Yip Tsz Fung (HKG,31)

Ramit and Vikram lost in straight games in this Platinum tournament ... Saurav is facing a Hong Kong player in the second round.

Badminton News

At $750K YONEX French Open 2019, Paris, France (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750)

[QF] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,8) l Se Young An (KOR,16) 20-22 21-23
[QF] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) l (1) Tzu Ying Tai (TPE,1) 16-21 26-24 17-21

[QF] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) bt Kim Astrup (DEN)/ Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (DEN) 21-13 22-20

[SF] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) vs (5) Hiroyuki Endo (JPN)/ Yuta Watanabe (JPN)

Saina lost in s tight 2 games against a Korean Se Young An ... In both games, Saina missed a game point ... In the second she saved a couple of match points but An converted her 3rd match point.
Sindhu lost a close match against WR #1 Tzu Ying Tai in 75 minutes ... After losing the first game Sindhu fought hard, she saved a match point at 19-20 and converted the 5th game point to take the match into the third game ... In the third game, Tai took an early 4-8 and 8-14 lead, Sindhu can't catch Tai and lost the match.
Satwik and Chirag continue with their terrific form as they defeated the WR #8 Danish pair in straight sets... Before this in their previous 2 meetings, they lost against the same pair ... Next, they r facing the WR #6 Japanese pair, against whom also they lost 2 matches in 2018 and 2017.

Badminton News

At $750K YONEX French Open 2019, Paris, France (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750)

[R2] Subhankar Dey (IND,42) l Shesar Hiren Rhustavito (INA,24) 6-21 13-21

[R2] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,8) bt Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt (DEN,27) 21-10 21-11
[R2] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) bt Jia Min Yeo (SIN,26) 21-10 21-13

[R2] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) bt (2) Mohammad Ahsan (INA)/ Hendra Setiawan (INA) 21-18 18-21 21-13

[QF] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,8) vs Se Young An (KOR,16)
[QF] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) vs (1) Tzu Ying Tai (TPE,1)

[QF] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) vs Kim Astrup (DEN)/ Anders Skaarup Rasmussen (DEN)

After longtime Saina scored a back to back wins ... She comfortably defeated a Danish girl, Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt ... Next, she is facing a Korean Se Young An.
Sindhu also scored a dominating win over Jia Min Yeo... Next, she is facing a WR #1 Tzu Ying Tai.
Satwik and Chirag continue to rise, they scored a superb win over a reigning World champion Indonesian pair in 3 games ... Next, they r facing the WR #8 Danish pair.
Shubhankar lost in a one-sided match against Shesar Hiren Rhustavito.

Tennis News

At €2.4M Erste Bank Open 2019, Vienna, Austria

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) bt Oliver Marach (AUT)/ Jurgen Melzer (AUT) 76(6) 62

[QF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) l (1) Lukasz Kubot (POL)/ Marcelo Melo (BRA) 06 46

Rohan and Shapo lost in straight sets against the top-seed pair ... Before that, they started with a good win against a local Austrian pair.

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At $54K+H Liuzhou Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt (3) Sadio Doumbia (FRA)/ Fabien Reboul (FRA) 63 76(6)
[QF] Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) bt Christopher Eubanks (USA)/ Kaichi Uchida (JPN) 62 67(4) 12-10

[SF] Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs (PR) Mikhail Elgin (RUS)/ Denis Istomin (UZB)

Vishnu and Matsui r in the semis and facing pairing of Istomin and Elgin ... They started with an upset win over the 4th seed French pair ... In the quarters, they defeated Uchida and Eubanks in a close match.

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At €46.6K+H Hamburg Challenger 2019, Germany

[R1] Rameez Junaid (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (4) Andre Begemann (GER)/ Florin Mergea (ROU) 64 36 10-7

[QF] Rameez Junaid (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) l (PR) Viktor Troicki (SRB)/ Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 46 67(4)

Rameez and Purav lost in straight sets against Zimo and Troicki ... Before that in the first round, they scored an upset win over the 4th seed Mergea and Begemann in the match tie-break.

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At $60K ITF Women Tournament 2019, Saguenay, Canada

[R1] (5) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,480) l Quinn Gleason (USA,379) 16 1-1 retd.

Doubles
[QF] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Peangtarn Plipuech (THA) l Anna Morgina (RUS)/ Holly Verner (USA) 36 0-3 retd.

Rutuja retired in her singles match in the second set ... Hoping for not a serious injury threat.
Didn't know why Rutuja played in the doubles despite injury ... She and Plipuech retired in the second set against Verner and Morgina.

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At $54K+H Traralgon Challenger 2019, Australia

[R3] (10) Sasikumar Mukund (IND,236) l (8) Alejandro Tabilo (CHI,216) 46 36

Mukund lost in a straight-sets against the top-220 Chilean Tabilo ... I was hoping for an upset.

Badminton News

At $750K YONEX French Open 2019, Paris, France (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750)

[R1] Prannoy H. S. (IND,28) vs (7) Viktor Axelsen (DEN,7)
[R1] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,25) l Ka Long Angus Ng (HKG,10) 11-21 9-21
[R1] Subhankar Dey (IND,42) bt Tommy Sugiarto (INA,17) 15-21 21-14 21-17
[R1] Sameer Verma (IND,17) l Kenta Nishimoto (JPN,14) 22-20 18-21 18-21
[R1] Kidambi Srikanth (IND,9) l (2) Chou Tien Chen (TPE,2) 21-15 7-21 14-21

[R1] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,8) bt Ngan Yi Cheung (HKG,27) 23-21 21-17
[R1] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) bt Michelle Li (CAN,9) 21-15 21-13

[R1] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) bt Jelle Maas (NED)/ Robin Tabeling (NED) 21-16 21-14
[R1] Manu Attri (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) l Ben Lane (ENG)/ Sean Vendy (ENG) 19-21 22-20 15-21

[R1] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l (5) So Hee Lee (KOR)/ Seung Chan Shin (KOR) 21-16 13-21 17-21

[R1] Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l Chris Adcock (ENG)/ Gabrielle Adcock (ENG) 13-21 18-21
[R1] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) l (4) Seung Jae Seo (KOR)/ Yujung Chae (KOR) 17-21 18-21

[R2] Subhankar Dey (IND,42) vs Shesar Hiren Rhustavito (INA,24)

[R2] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,8) vs Line Højmark Kjaersfeldt (DEN,27)
[R2] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) vs Yeo Jia Min (SIN,26)

[R1] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) vs (2) Mohammad Ahsan (INA)/ Hendra Setiawan (INA)

The disappointing performance continues for the Indian shuttlers in the Super 750 tournament ... Only Subhankar started with an excellent comeback win against the former WR #3 Tommy Sugiarto in the men's section ... Next, he is facing another top-25 Indonesian Shesar Hiren Rhustavito.
Sindhu started with a confident win against Michelle Li ... Next, Sindhu is facing Yeo Jia Min.
After longtime Saina scored straight games win ... Next, she is facing a local girl.
Satwik and Chirag became the only pair who managed to cross the first hurdle ... Next, they r facing a former WR #1 Indonesian pair.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Liuzhou Challenger 2019, China

[R2] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,90) bt (PR) Nicolas Barrientos (COL,967) 62 61
[R2] Sidharth Rawat (IND,528) l (14) Zhe Li (CHN,243) 26 36

[R3] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,90) vs (15) Tung-Lin Wu (TPE,239)

Doubles
[R1] (2) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Adil Shamasdin (CAN) l Ivan Sabanov (CRO)/ Matej Sabanov (CRO) 46 36

A dominant win for Prajnesh against a Colombian Barrientos ... Next, he is facing Tung-Lin Wu.
Sid failed to challenge Zhe Li.
Another bad loss for Jeevan and Adil against Sabanov twins.

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At $60K ITF Women Tournament 2019, Saguenay, Canada

[R1] (5) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,480) vs Quinn Gleason (USA,379)

Doubles
[R1] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Peangtarn Plipuech (THA) bt Mia Kupres (CAN)/ Marina Stakusic (CAN) 62 63

[QF] (2) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Peangtarn Plipuech (THA) vs Anna Morgina (RUS)/ Holly Verner (USA)

Rutuja is playing in Canada, must be tiring travel for her from Nigeria ... She has received a Wednesday start in the singles ... In the doubles, she started with a comfortable win with her partner Plipuech against a local pair ... In the quarters, they r facing Verner and Morgina.

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At $54K+H Traralgon Challenger 2019, Australia

[R2] (10) Sasikumar Mukund (IND,236) bt Sebastian Fanselow (GER,375) 76(6) 63

[R3] (10) Sasikumar Mukund (IND,236) vs (8) Alejandro Tabilo (CHI,216)

Mukund scored a straight-sets win over a German Sebastian Fanselow in the second round ... In the tie-break, he was 5-1 up but lost the next 5 points for a set point down, 5-6 ... He controlled the match after winning the tie-break ... Next, he is facing the top-220 Chilean Tabilo.

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At $54K+H Lima Challenger 2019, Peru (Red clay)

[R2] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,129) l Orlando Luz (BRA,306) 16 46

Sumit failed to adjust to the court and lost a one-sided match against Orlando Luz.

Squash News

At $30K Men's Life Time Chicago Open 2019, Chicago, USA (PSA Challenger Tour 30)

[R1] (6) Vikram Malhotra (IND,60) bye
[R2] (6) Vikram Malhotra (IND,60) bt (9/16) Mario Yanez (MEX,87) 11-4, 11-4, 11-9 (40m)
[QF] (6) Vikram Malhotra (IND,60) bt (9/16) Rui Soares (POR,82) 8-11, 11-9, 11-6, 11-9 (50m)

[SF] (6) Vikram Malhotra (IND,60) l (2) Adrian Waller (ENG,24) 3-11, 5-11, 5-11 (39m)

Vikram played in the Chicago Open and reached in the semis ... There he lost against the top-25 British player, Adrian Waller.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Liuzhou Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,528) bt Xin Gao (CHN,691) 64 64

[R2] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,90) vs (PR) Nicolas Barrientos (COL,967)
[R2] Sidharth Rawat (IND,528) vs (14) Zhe Li (CHN,243)

Sid scored a routine straight-sets win over Xin Gao ... Next, he is facing the top-250 local boy, Zhe Li ... Prajnesh is facing a Colombian Barrientos, who is playing with a protected ranking.

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At $54K+H Traralgon Challenger 2019, Australia

[R2] (10) Sasikumar Mukund (IND,236) vs Sebastian Fanselow (GER,375)

Mukund is facing a German Sebastian Fanselow in the second round ... Mukund needs some consistent performance to secure his grand slam qualifying debut at the Australian Open.

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At $25K+H ITF Women Tournament 2019, Lagos, Nigeria

Singles Final
(6) Riya Bhatia (IND,516) bt (4) Nastja Kolar (SLO,434) 75 16 63

Riya lifted the Lagos ITF title beating a higher-ranked Slovenian Nastja Kolar in the singles final ... This is her first $25K ITF tournament title and overall 3rd title ... She defeated Kolar in 3 sets, after losing the second set easily Riya made a strong comeback in the match for the win.

Golf News

At $6.6M Amundi Open de France 2019, Paris, France

T40 Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 72 71 70 73 +2 €9,280.00
T48 SSP Chawrasia (IND) 70 69 72 76 +3 €7,040.00

Shubhankar and SSP managed to make the cut but they struggled on the course.

Tennis News

At €2.2M Swiss Indoors Basel 2019, Switzerland

[FQ] (1) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) l (2) Santiago Gonzalez (MEX)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) 36 75 7-10

Divij and Artem failed to qualify for the main draw ... After losing the first set they tried to fight back and won the second set ... But failed to keep momentum in the match tie-break.

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At $54K+H Liuzhou Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs (3) Sadio Doumbia (FRA)/ Fabien Reboul (FRA)
[R1] (2) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Adil Shamasdin (CAN) vs Ivan Sabanov (CRO)/ Matej Sabanov (CRO)

Vishnu is playing with Toshihide Matsui and they r facing the 3rd seed French pair. Jeevan and Adil r the 2nd seed and facing Sabanov twins.

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At €46.6K+H Hamburg Challenger 2019, Germany

[R1] Rameez Junaid (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (4) Andre Begemann (GER)/ Florin Mergea (ROU)

Rameez and Purav r facing the 4th seed Mergea and Begemann.

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At $25K+H ITF Women Tournament 2019, Lagos, Nigeria

[R1] (5) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,480) bt Allyson Nancy Onya (COD,ITF-1511) 61 61
[R1] (6) Riya Bhatia (IND,516) bt Carla Touly (FRA,ITF-552) 61 4-0 retd.

[R2] (5) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,480) bt Sowjanya Bavisetti (IND,893) 61 61
[R2] (6) Riya Bhatia (IND,516) bt Isabella Kruger (RSA, ITF-1219) 75 64

[QF] (5) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,480) bt (2) Sandra Samir (EGY,381) 62 60
[QF] (6) Riya Bhatia (IND,516) bt (1) Seone Mendez (AUS,371) 46 60 60

[R1] (6) Riya Bhatia (IND,516) bt (5) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,480) 64 67(5) 75

[F] (6) Riya Bhatia (IND,516) vs (4) Nastja Kolar (SLO,434)

Doubles
[R1] (1) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Laura Pigossi (BRA) bt Adesuwa Osabuohien (USA)/ Barakat Oyinlomo Quadre (NGR) 67(7) 62 10-8
[R1] (3) Sandra Samir (EGY)/ Prarthana G. Thombare (IND) bt Celestine Avomo Ella (GAB)/ Divine Dasam NwekeE (DEN) 62 63

[QF] (1) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Laura Pigossi (BRA) bt Isabella Kruger (RSA)/ Zoe Kruger (RSA) w/o
[QF] (3) Sandra Samir (EGY)/ Prarthana G. Thombare (IND) bt Chiraz Bechri (TUN)/ Carla Touly (FRA) 62 62

[SF] (1) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Laura Pigossi (BRA) bt Sada Nahimana (BDI)/ Lexie Stevens (NED) 61 1-0 retd.
[SF] (3) Sandra Samir (EGY)/ Prarthana G. Thombare (IND) bt (2) Tamara Curovic (SRB)/ Valeriya Strakhova (UKR) 46 75 10-7

Doubles Final
(1) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Laura Pigossi (BRA) bt (3) Sandra Samir (EGY)/ Prarthana G. Thombare (IND) 63 67(3) 10-6

Rutuja lifted her second back to back doubles title with her Brazilian partner, Laura Pigossi, in the Nigerian W25 tournament ... In both finals, she and Laura defeated Prarthana and her partner, Sandra Samir ... These titles will help Rutuja to push her ranking near the top-225 in the doubles.

a In the singles, Rutuja missed a chance for reaching in the final as she missed 4 match points against fellow countrywoman Riya Bhatia in their long semi-final match ... In the first 2 sets, Riya committed 11 double faults but Rutuja failed to take advantage ... In the final, Riya is facing a Slovenian Nastja Kolar.

Hockey News

At the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers - Final Round, Bhubaneswar, India

Indian Men's Team
Goalkeepers: PR Sreejesh, Krishan B Pathak
Defenders: Harmanpreet Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Surender Kumar, Varun Kumar, Amit Rohidas, Gurinder Singh
Midfielders: Manpreet Singh(Captain), Hardik Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay
Forwards: Mandeep Singh, Akashdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, SV Sunil (Vice-Captain), Simranjeet Singh

Indian Women's Team
Goalkeepers: Savita (Vice-Captain), Rajani Etimarpu
Defenders: Deep Grace Ekka, Gurjit Kaur, Reena Khokhar, Salima Tete, Sushila Chanu Pukhrambam
Midfielders: Nikki Pradhan, Monika, Neha Goyal, Lilima Minz, Namita Toppo
Forwards: Rani Rampal (Captain), Vandana Katariya, Navneet Kaur, Lalremsiami, Navjot Kaur, Sharmila Devi

The teams are announced for the Tokyo Olympic qualifiers ... Good to see Rupinder is back in the fold ... Also, Sunil makes comeback from injury, but I am still not convinced by the selection of Akashdeep Singh, Amit Rohidas and Mandeep Singh.

Our women's team selection is as per expectations ... They need to bring their A performance against the US girls.

Tennis News

At €2.4M Erste Bank Open 2019, Vienna, Austria

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs Oliver Marach (AUT)/ Jurgen Melzer (AUT)

Rohan and Shapo r facing a local Austrian pair in the first round in Vienna.

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At €2.2M Swiss Indoors Basel 2019, Switzerland

[Q1] (1) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) bt (WC) Mirko Martinez (SUI)/ Damien Wenger (SUI) 61 60

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

Divij and Artem toyed a local pair in the Basel qualifying ... They r facing Aisam and Santiago for a place in the main draw.

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At $100K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Suzhou, China

Doubles Final
(3) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Rosalie Van der Hoek (NED) l (2) Xinyu Jiang (CHN)/ Qianhui Tang (CHN) 63 36 5-10

Ankita and Rosalie lost in the final after winning the first set ... Rosalie pulled her hamstring in the second set, 3-1, but she played bravely and completed the match.

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At $54K+H Liuzhou Challenger 2019, China

[R1] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) bye
[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,527) vs Xin Gao (CHN,691)

Prajnesh is the top-seed and Sid is facing a local player in the first round of the Liuzhou Challenger.

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At $54K+H Traralgon Challenger 2019, Australia

[R1] (10) Sasikumar Mukund (IND,230) bye

Mukund is playing in the Australian challengers and has a bye as the seeded player.

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At $54K+H Lima Challenger 2019, Peru (Red clay)

[R1] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,128) bye

Sumit is playing in Peru.

Tennis News

At $162.4K+H Ningbo Challenger 2019, China

[QF] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) l (11) Steven Diez (CAN,156) 36 46

Prajnesh mixed fortune continue ... Today, he had a deep in his performance and consistency in shot-making, Steven Diez took full advantage to beat him in straight sets.

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At $100K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Suzhou, China

[QF] Ankita Raina (IND,190) l (4) Lin Zhu (CHN,106) 46 46

Doubles
[SF] (3) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Rosalie Van der Hoek (NED) bt Jovana Jaksic (SRB)/ Natalija Kostic (SRB) 46 75 10-8

[F] (3) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Rosalie Van der Hoek (NED) vs (2) Xinyu Jiang (CHN)/ Qianhui Tang (CHN)

Ankita gave a doughty performance against the top-100 type local player, Lin Zhu ... She ran close to Lin, but Lin won important points for completing a win.

Ankita and Rosalie scored another excellent comeback win over their Serbian opponents ... In the final, they r facing the 2nd seed Chinese pair.

Badminton News

At $775K DANISA Denmark Open 2019, Odense V (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750)

[R2] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,12) l (1) Kento Momota (JPN,1) 6-21 14-21
[R2] Sameer Verma (IND,17) l (5) Chen Long (CHN,5) 12-21 10-21

[R2] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) l Se Young An (KOR,19) 14-21 17-21

[R2] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) l (6) Cheng Kai Han (CHN)/ Hao Dong Zhou (CHN) 16-21 15-21

[R2] Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l (4) Peng Soon Chan (MAS)/ Liu Ying Goh (MAS) 24-26 21-13 11-21

Only Prannav and Sikki managed to give a decent fight to their seeded opponents as they lost in 3 games after losing the first game in extra points.
Otherwise terrible performances by our players in their respective matches ... Another disappointing performance by Sindhu against a lower-ranked Korean An in straight games ... Momota proved too strong to Sai and Sameer also failed to fight Chen Long ... Satwik and Chirag failed to give a fight to their seeded Chinese opponents.

Tennis News

At $162.4K+H Ningbo Challenger 2019, China

[R3] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) bt Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) 76(1) 63

[QF] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) vs (11) Steven Diez (CAN,156)

Prajnesh scored a straight-sets win over Tsung-Hua Yang ... In the quarters, he is facing a Canadian Steven Diez.

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At $100K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Suzhou, China

[R2] Ankita Raina (IND,190) bt (Q) Hanyu Guo (CHN,395) 16 61 63

[QF] Ankita Raina (IND,190) vs (4) Lin Zhu (CHN,106)

Doubles
[QF] (3) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Rosalie Van der Hoek (NED) bt Ksenia Laskutova (RUS)/ Raluca Georgiana Serban (CYP) 26 62 15-13

[SF] (3) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Rosalie Van der Hoek (NED) vs Jovana Jaksic (SRB)/ Natalija Kostic (SRB)

Ankita started slowly against a local qualifier, Hanyu Guo ... After losing the first set she won the next 2 sets comfortably ... In the quarters, she is facing the 4th seed, Lin Zhu.

Ankita and Rosalie scored a superb comeback win over Serban and Laskutova in the tight match tie-break ... Next, they r facing a Serbian pair.

Badminton News

At $775K DANISA Denmark Open 2019, Odense V (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750)

[R1] Sourabh Verma (IND,37) l Mark Caljouw (NED,34) 21-19 11-21 17-21
[R1] Parupalli Kashyap (IND,25) l Sitthikom Thammasin (THA,27) 13-21 12-21
[R1] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,12) bt Lin Dan (CHN,18) 21-14 21-17
[R1] Kidambi Srikanth (IND,9) l (4) Anders Antonsen (DEN,4) 14-21 18-21
[R1] Sameer Verma (IND,17) bt Kanta Tsuneyama (JPN,16) 21-11 21-11

[R1] (8) Saina Nehwal (IND,8) l Sayaka Takahashi (JPN,11) 15-21 21-23
[R1] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) bt Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (INA,16) 22-20 21-18

[R1] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) bt Gi Jung Kim (KOR)/ Yong Dae Lee (KOR) 24-22 21-11

[R1] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l (1) Mayu Matsumoto (JPN)/ Wakana Nagahara (JPN) 23-25 18-21

[R1] Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) bt Marvin Seidel (GER)/Linda Efler (GER) 21-16 21-11
[R1] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) l (2) Yi Lyu Wang (CHN)/ Dong Ping Huang (CHN) w/o

[R2] Sai Praneeth B. (IND,12) vs (1) Kento Momota (JPN,1)
[R2] Sameer Verma (IND,17) vs (5) Chen Long (CHN,5)

[R2] (5) Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) vs Se Young An (KOR,19)

[R2] Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (IND)/ Chirag Shetty (IND) vs (6) Cheng Kai Han (CHN)/ Hao Dong Zhou (CHN)

[R2] Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) vs (4) Peng Soon Chan (MAS)/ Liu Ying (Goh (MAS)

Sai scored his first win over Lin Dan but having a tough match against WR #1 Momota.
Sameer scored an easy win over a similar ranked Tsuneyama ... He is also having a tough match against a former WR #1 Chen Long.
Sindhu started with 2 tight games win and she is facing a Korean Se Young An in the second round.
Disappointing loss of Saina against Sayaka Takahashi ... Sourabh and Kashyap also lost their respective matches against similarly ranked opponents ... Srikanth's struggle with his form continues.
Satwik and Chirag started with straight games win over a Korean pair ... Next, they r facing the 6th seed Chinese pair ... But Satwik and Ashwini gave a walkover in their MXD match.
Pranaav and Sikki started with a win against their German opponents ... Next, they r facing the 4th seed Malaysian pair.
Ashwini and Sikki gave a decent fight to their WR #1 Japanese opponents in their loss.

Tennis News

At $162.4K+H Ningbo Challenger 2019, China

[R1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) l Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP)/ Enrique Lopez Perez (ESP) 67(3) 16

Turned to be a bad week for our doubles pairs as Prajnesh and Vishnu also lost in the first round against a Spanish pair.

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At $100K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Suzhou, China

[R1] Ankita Raina (IND,190) bt (8) Valeria Savinykh (RUS,163), 61 61

[R2] Ankita Raina (IND,190) vs (Q) Hanyu Guo (CHN,395)

Doubles
[R1] (3) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Rosalie Van der Hoek (NED) bt Su Jeong Jang (KOR)/ Hiroko Kuwata (JPN) 62 75

[QF] (3) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Rosalie Van der Hoek (NED) vs Ksenia Laskutova (RUS)/ Raluca Georgiana Serban (CYP)

Ankita scored a thumping win against the 8th seed Valeria Savinykh ... Next, she is facing a local qualifier, Hanyu Guo.

In the doubles also, Ankita started with a win against Jang and Kuwata with her Dutch partner Rosalie Van der Hoek ... Next, they r facing a pairing of Serban and Laskutova.

Football News

At 2022 World Cup Qualifiers - AFC Second Round, Kolkata, India

Group E
India dw Bangladesh 1-1 (0-1)
Goal Scored - Adil Khan (IND) 88' and Saad Uddin (BAN) 42'

A bad result for us against the Bangladeshi team ... We struggled with our inept defending and toothless-attacking ... After Bangladesh took lead in the first half, we were lucky to secure a point from the home match

Tennis News

At €711 Stockholm Open 2019, Sweden

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) l Dominic Inglot (GBR)/ Austin Krajicek (USA) 67(5) 46

Divij and Rohan had a bad loss against Inglot and Krajicek.

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At $162.4K+H Ningbo Challenger 2019, China

[R1] (Q) Sidharth Rawat (IND,527) l Yosuke Watanuki (JPN,289) 46 64 36

[R2] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) bt Max Purcell (AUS,227) 63 64

[R3] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) vs Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE)

Doubles
[R1] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Adil Shamasdin (CAN) l Alex Bolt (AUS)/ Matt Reid (AUS) 36 16

Prajnesh started with a routine win over Max Purcell ... Next, Prajnesh is facing Tsung-Hua Yang.
Sid lost after giving a decent performance against a higher-ranked Yosuke Watanuki.
A seeded Jeevan and Adil Shamasdin lost easily against an Aussie pair.

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At €69K+H Ismaning Challenger 2019, Germany

[R2] (6) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,189) l Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS,305) 36 67(3)

Doubles
[R1] (1) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ David Vega Hernandez (ESP) l Tallon Griekspoor (NED)/ Botic Van de Zandschulp (NED) 67(6) 57
[R1] (3) Rameez Junaid (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Scott Clayton (GBR)/ Evan Hoyt (GBR) 64 67(4) 5-10

Ram's struggle continues, with another straight-sets loss against Teymuraz Gabashvili.

In the doubles, the top-seed Ram and David Vega Hernandez lost in close 2 sets against a Dutch pair ... The 3rd seed Purav and Junaid also lost their match after winning the first set against a British pair.

Tennis News

At $162.4K+H Ningbo Challenger 2019, China

[FQR] (1) Sidharth Rawat (IND,527) bt (WC) Zhao Zhao (CHN,1609) 76(3) 16 61

[R1] (Q) Sidharth Rawat (IND,527) vs Yosuke Watanuki (JPN,289)

[R2] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) vs Max Purcell (AUS,227)

Sid needed 3 sets for his win over a lower-ranked Chinese Zhao ... In the first round, he is facing the top-300 Japanese, Yosuke Watanuki.
Prajnesh is facing an Aussie, Max Purcell, in the second round.

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At €69K+H Ismaning Challenger 2019, Germany

[R2] (6) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,189) vs Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS,305)

Ram is facing a former top-50 Russian Gabashvili in the second round.

Golf News

At $7M Italian Open 2019, Rome, Italy (European Tour)

T7 Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 66 69 72 68 -9 €164,017.81
T57 SSP Chawrasia (IND) 74 68 75 68 +1 €19,071.84

A good top-10 finish for Shubhankar ... He scored a 3-under final round to finish for the T-7th position, if he had an under par third round then he could be in the top-5 ... SSP also scored a final 3-under round for the top-60 finish.

Boxing News

At AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships 2019, Ulan-Ude, Russia

P.C. to Boxing Federation of India FB page

Women's Light Flyweight - 48 kg - Gold Medal match
(6) Manju Rani (IND) l (2) Ekaterina Paltceva (RUS) 1-4 (28-29, 28-29, 28-29, 29-28, 28-29)

[SF] (6) Manju Rani (IND) bt Chuthamat Rak sat 4-1 (29-28, 30-27, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
[QF] (6) Manju Rani (IND) bt (1) Hyang Mi Kim (PRK) 4-1 (29-28, 30-27, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
[R2] (6) Manju Rani (IND) bt Tayonis Cedeno Rojas (VEN) 5-0 (30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-24, 30-26)
[R1] (6) Manju Rani (IND) bye

Women's Flyweight - 48-51 kg
[SF] (3) MC Mery Kom (IND) l (2) Busenaz Cakiroglu (TUR) 1-4 (29-28, 27-30, 28-29, 28-29, 27-30)

[QF] (3) MC Mery Kom (IND) bt Ingrit Lorena Valencia Victoria (COL) 5-0 (29-28, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
[R2] (3) MC Mery Kom (IND) bt Jutamas Jitpong (THA) 5-0 (29-28, 29-28, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
[R1] (3) MC Mery Kom (IND) bye

Women's Bantamweight - 51-54 kg
[SF] Jamuna Boro (IND) l (1) Huang Hsiao-Wen (TPE) 0-5 (28-29, 28-29, 27-30, 27-30, 27-30)

[QF] Jamuna Boro (IND) bt Ursula Gottlob (GER) 4-1 (30-27, 29-28, 28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
[R2] Jamuna Boro (IND) bt (5) Ouidad Sfouh (ALG) 5-0 (29-28, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
[R1] Jamuna Boro (IND) bt Michidmaa Erdenedalai (MNL) 5-0 (30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27)

Women's Welterweight - 64-69 kg
[SF] (3) Lovlina Borgohain (IND) l Liu Yang (CHN) 2-3 (28-29, 29-28, 27-30, 29-28, 28-29)

[QF] (3) Lovlina Borgohain (IND) bt (6) Karolina Koszewska (POL) 4-1 (28-29, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 30-27)
[R2] (3) Lovlina Borgohain (IND) bt Oumayma Bel Ahbib (MAR) 5-0 (29-28, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28)
[R1] (3) Lovlina Borgohain (IND) bye

The Indian women ended with a silver and 3 bronze medals ... Young Manju Rani settled with silver after giving another superb performance against a host nation's favorite Ekaterina Paltceva ... There was little separating in both boxers, maybe Paltceva was little quicker and sharper in her punches ... Still a creditable performance by Manju in her first World Cup.

Overall, a good performance as Mery Kom and Lovlina won bronze medals in the Olympic categories ... Mery Kom becomes the first woman to win 8 medals in the World Cup ... Jamuna Boro also gave a spirited performance to win a bronze medal ... Also, Neeraj lost a controversial match against a Chinese boxer.

Badminton News

At $75K YONEX Dutch Open 2019, Almere, Netherlands (BWF Tour Super 100)

P.C. to Indian Badminton League FB page

[R1] Lakshya Sen (IND,72) bt Nhat Nguyen (IRL,77) 21-19 21-17
[R2] Lakshya Sen (IND,72) bt Osleni Guerrero (CUB,87) 21-12 21-12
[R3] Lakshya Sen (IND,72) bt Ygor Coelho (BRA,56) 21-13 16-21 21-10
[QF] Lakshya Sen (IND,72) bt (Q) B.M.Rahul Bharadwaj (IND,148) 21-9 21-16
[SF] Lakshya Sen (IND,72) bt Felix Burestedt (SWE,75) 21-12 21-9

Men's Singles Final
Lakshya Sen (IND,72) bt Yusuke Onodera (JPN,160) 15-21 21-14 21-15

Lakshya lifts the biggest title of his career as he lifted his first Super 100 tournament title ... He scored a comeback win over his Japanese opponent, Yusuke Onodera, who defeated Sameer Verma and a Chinese Li Shi Feng in his previous matches ... Good to see that Lakshya took full advantage of a weaker draw as the seeded players lost in earlier rounds.

Tennis News

At €711 Stockholm Open 2019, Sweden

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Dominic Inglot (GBR)/ Austin Krajicek (USA)

Divij and Rohan r playing together in the Stockholm Open ... They r facing Inglot and Krajicek.

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At $162.4K+H Ningbo Challenger 2019, China

[Q1] (1) Sidharth Rawat (IND,530) vs (WC) Zhao Zhao (CHN,1609)

[R1] (1) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,82) bye

Doubles
[R1] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Adil Shamasdin (CAN) vs Alex Bolt (AUS)/ Matt Reid (AUS)
[R1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND)/ Vishnu Vardhan (IND) vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP)/ Enrique Lopez Perez (ESP)

Prajnesh is back on the tour and he is the top-seed in this big Chinese challenger ... Sid is playing in the qualifying.
In the doubles, Prajnesh is playing with Vishnu and they r facing a Spanish pair ... Jeevan is 3rd seed with his Canadian partner Adil Shamasdin and they r facing an Aussie pair.

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At €69K+H Ismaning Challenger 2019, Germany

[R1] (6) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,182) bye

Doubles
[R1] (1) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ David Vega Hernandez (ESP) vs Tallon Griekspoor (NED)/ Botic Van de Zandschulp (NED)
[R1] (3) Rameez Junaid (AUS)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Scott Clayton (GBR)/ Evan Hoyt (GBR)

Ram has received seeding in the Ismaning Challenger.

In the doubles, Ram is the top-seed with David Vega Hernandez and they r facing a Dutch pair ... Purav is partnering Junaid and they r facing a British pair.

Tennis News

At $8.3M Rolex Shanghai Masters 2019, China

[R2] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) l (2) Lukasz Kubot (AUT)/ Marcelo Melo (BRA) 46 63 7-10

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

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At €92K+H Mouilleron le Captif Challenger 2019, France

[R1] Purav Raja (IND)/ Antonio Sancic (CRO) bt Simone Bolelli (ITA)/ Robin Haase (NED) 62 64

[QF] Purav Raja (IND)/ Antonio Sancic (CRO) l (4) Jonny O'Mara (GBR)/ Ken Skupski (GBR) 36 46
[QF] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Stefano Travaglia (ITA) l Roman Jebavy (CZE)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK) 06 75 10-12

Purav and Sancic lost in straight sets against the 4th seed British pair ... Before that, they started with a comfortable win against an experienced player, Haase, and Bolelli.
Ram and Travaglia lost in the match tie-break, they tried a fightback after failing to win a single game in the first set.

Tennis News

At $162.4K+H Santo Domingo Challenger 2019, Dominican Republic (Green clay)

[R1] Pedja Krstin (SRB)/ Sumit Nagal (IND) l (3) Ariel Behar (URU)/ Gonzalo Escobar (ECU) 26 46

In the singles, Sumit retired due to heatstroke so nothing serious injury issue ... Sumit and Pedja Krstin lost in straight sets against the 3rd set.

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At €92K+H Mouilleron le Captif Challenger 2019, France

[R2] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,182) l (13) Dennis Novak (AUT,124) 46 26

Doubles
[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Stefano Travaglia (ITA) bt (WC) Lucas Poullain (FRA)/ Vincent Stouff (FRA) 46 63 14-12

[QF] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Stefano Travaglia (ITA) vs Roman Jebavy (CZE)/ Igor Zelenay (SVK)

Ram failed to challenge the top-125 ranked Dennis Novak.
But a close comeback wins for Ram in the doubles after saving a couple of match points with Travaglia ... Next, they r facing Jebavy and Zelenay.

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Tennis News

At $8.3M Rolex Shanghai Masters 2019, China

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS)/ Andrey Rublev (RUS) 61 64

Rohan and Shapo started with a comfortable win over a Russian pair.

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At $162.4K+H Santo Domingo Challenger 2019, Dominican Republic (Green clay)

[R2] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,129) l Alejandro Tabilo (CHI,224) 76(5) 06 0-2 retd.

Doubles
[R1] Pedja Krstin (SRB)/ Sumit Nagal (IND) vs (3) Ariel Behar (URU)/ Gonzalo Escobar (ECU)

In the last tournament, Sumit was looking fatigued and struggled with a physical condition ... Here, against his Alejandro Tabilo, he won the first set in the tie-break after a grind ... After that, he lost the next 8 games and retired citing abdominal pain ... Hopefully, nothing serious and he will be back on the court in 2 weeks.

I would have preferred Sumit skipping the doubles, but he is playing with Pedja Krstin and they r facing the 3rd seed pair.

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At €92K+H Mouilleron le Captif Challenger 2019, France

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,182) bt Tobias Kamke (GER,214) 26 76(4) 64

[R2] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,182) vs (13) Dennis Novak (AUT,124)

Ram started with a comeback win over his experienced German opponent, Tobias Kamke ... Next, he is facing the top-125 ranked Dennis Novak.

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Golf News

At $1.3M Volunteers of America Classic 2019, Texas, USA (LPGA Tour)

T44 Aditi Ashok (IND) 69 71 73 75 +4 $3,100

Aditi struggled in the final 2 rounds to finish the bottom of the field.

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At €1,5M Mutuactivos Open de España 2019, Madrid, Spain (European Tour)

T55 SSP Chawrasia (IND) 70 71 73 69 -1 €4,650.00

SSP managed to make a cut but finished outside top-50.

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At $900K Mercuries Taiwan Masters 2019, Taiwan (Asian Tour)

T2 Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND) 68 69 70 72 -9 $72,000.00
T5 Rashid Khan (IND) 72 71 74 67 -4 $29,250.00
T9 Viraj Madappa (IND) 72 72 65 76 -3 $16,500.00
T19 Khalin Joshi (IND) 71 73 73 72 +1 $9,427.50
T37 Chikkarangappa S (IND) 70 71 74 78 +5 $6,300.00
T41 Chirag Kumar (IND) 72 71 78 73 +6 $5,917.50

Our 3 players finished in the top-10 final standing ... But for me, it was a missed chance for our players ... Ajeetesh was leading this tournament in the 2nd 3rd rounds but managed only PAR final round to finished on the tied 2nd position ... Viraj was also destined for the top-5 finish but his final 4-over round cost him a good finish ... Rashid produced an excellent 5-under round for the top-5 finish.

Tennis News

At $8.3M Rolex Shanghai Masters 2019, China

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs Karen Khachanov (RUS)/ Andrey Rublev (RUS)

Rohan and Shapo r facing a Russian pair in the first round.

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At $162.4K+H Santo Domingo Challenger 2019, Dominican Republic (Green clay)

[R1] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,135) bye

This big challenger is on the green clay, so interesting to see how Sumit adjusts and overcome his tiredness of playing week-in week-out.

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At €92K+H Mouilleron le Captif Challenger 2019, France

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,183) vs Tobias Kamke (GER,203)

Doubles
[R1] Purav Raja (IND)/ Antonio Sancic (CRO) vs Simone Bolelli (ITA)/ Robin Haase (NED)
[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Stefano Travaglia (ITA) vs (WC) Lucas Poullain (FRA)/ Vincent Stouff (FRA)

Ram is facing an experienced Tobias Kamke in the first round.

In the doubles, Purav is playing with Antonio Sancic and they r facing Robin Haase and Simone Bolelli ... Ram is playing with an Italian partner, Stefano Travaglia and they r facing a local wild-card pair.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Campinas Challenger 2019, Brazil

[SF] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,135) l Juan Pablo Ficovich (ARG,325) 46 16

After a long time a bad match from Sumit, mostly due to tiredness of continuous matches in the last couple of weeks ... Sumit failed to raise his game and struggled with his overall game in this match ... Next, week, there is a big challenger in the Dominican Republic.

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At €46.6K+H Barcelona Challenger 2019, Spain

Doubles Final
Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Sergio Martos Gornes (ESP) l (4) Simone Bolelli (ITA)/ David Vega Hernandez (ESP) 46 57

Ram and Sergio's run ended in the final against the 4th seed Bolelli and Vega Hernandez ... Still, a good performance in the doubles for Ram.

Athletic News

At 2019 World Athletics Championships, Doha, Qatar

P.C. to SAIMedia twitter handle

Men's 3000 meters Steeplechase Final
13. Avinash Sable (IND) 8:21.37s (NR)

Another impressive run by Avinash Sable in the Men's 3000 meters steeplechase final ... He finished the race with the timing of 8:21.37s, this was the new national record, but importantly, he has secured a place in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as his timing was within the qualifying cutoff of 8:22.00 ... This was the 4th time in the last one year he’s broken the NR established by Gopal Saini in 1981 (8:30.88s).

Tennis News

At $54K+H Campinas Challenger 2019, Brazil

[QF] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,135) bt (13) Francisco Cerundolo (ARG,262) 76(2) 75

[SF] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,135) vs Juan Pablo Ficovich (ARG,325)

Doubles
[QF] Federico Coria (ARG)/ Sumit Nagal (IND) l (4) Orlando Luz (BRA)/ Rafael Matos (BRA) w/o

A fighting win for Sumit against a young Argentine Francisco Cerundolo in tight two sets ... In the first set, Sumit was in control and was leading 5-2 but he lost the next 4 games, 5-6 ... He broke Cerundolo to take it to the tie-break ... In the second set, he was looking tired and struggling with physical efforts ... He took a medical break at 3-4, but he won the last 4 games from 3-5 down and completed the win in 2 hrs ... In the semis, he is facing another Argentine, Juan Pablo Ficovich, but it is important to see how much he recovered.
A good decision as Sumit and his partner Coria gave a walkover due to Sumit's headache.

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At €46.6K+H Barcelona Challenger 2019, Spain

[SF] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Sergio Martos Gornes (ESP) bt (1) Roman Jebavy (CZE)/ Nicholas Monroe (USA) 64 76(6)

[F] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Sergio Martos Gornes (ESP) vs Simone Bolelli (ITA)/ David Vega Hernandez (ESP)

Ram and Martos Gornes enter into the final with a big upset win over the top-seed pair ... They defeated Jebavy and Monroe in 2 tight sets ... In the final, they r facing the 4th seed pairing of Bolelli and Vega Hernandez.

Tennis News

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

[QF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) l Nikola Mektic (CRO)/ Franko Skugor (CRO) 46 75 9-11

Rohan and Shapo lost in a close match against a Croatian pair.

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At $54K+H Campinas Challenger 2019, Brazil

[R3] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,135) bt Orlando Luz (BRA,327) 75 63

[QF] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,135) vs (13) Francisco Cerundolo (ARG,262)

Another excellent win for Sumit against a Brazilian youngster ... Again in the quarters, Sumit is facing an Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, who defeated a top-seed Hugo Dellien.

In the first set, Sumit was a break down at 3-4 but he immediately broke in the 8th game, 4-all ... And again broke Luz in the 12th game for winning the first set ... In the second set, Sumit broke Luz in the 2nd game to lead 3-0 ... He again broke him in the 6th game to lead 5-1 but lost his serve after missing match points in the 7th game, 5-2 ... Sumit held his serve in the 9th game for completing a win.

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At €46.6K+H Barcelona Challenger 2019, Spain

[QF] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Sergio Martos Gornes (ESP) bt (PR) Inigo Cervantes (ESP)/ Oriol Roca Batalla (ESP) 57 63 12-10

[SF] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Sergio Martos Gornes (ESP) vs (1) Roman Jebavy (CZE)/ Nicholas Monroe (USA)

Ram and Martos Gornes scored a comeback win over a Spanish pair after losing the first set ... Next, they r facing the top-seed pair.

Athletic News

At 2019 World Athletics Championships, Doha, Qatar

Women's Javelin Throw Final
8. Annu Rani (IND) 61.12m

Annu Rani failed to repeat her performance from qualifying of throw over 62 meters ... Still, she finished a creditable 8th place in the final.

In the Men's 3000 meters steeplechase, Avinash Sable qualify for the final of the men's 3000m steeplechase after winning an appeal, he proved that he was blocked twice during the race, and he got a favorable decision ... Avinash clocked 8:25.23 and created a new national record to finish 7th in Heat 3.

Tennis News

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

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) bt (WC) Fabrice Martin (FRA)/ Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN) 63 76(3)

[QF] (Q) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) l (2) Nicolas Mahut (FRA)/ Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 67(5) 36
[QF] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Denis Shapovalov (CAN) vs Nikola Mektic (CRO)/ Franko Skugor (CRO)

Divij and Artem lost in straight sets against the 2nd seed Mahut and Roger-Vasselin.

Rohan and Shapo started with a straight-sets win against Martin and Uchiyama ... In the quarters, they r facing a Croatian pair.

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At $54K+H Campinas Challenger 2019, Brazil

[R2] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,135) bt Gastao Elias (POR,363) 4-1 retd.

[R3] (6) Sumit Nagal (IND,135) vs Orlando Luz (BRA,327)

After his title win in the Argentine challenger, Sumit climbs to his career-best #135 ATP rank.
In the second round, Sumit's opponent withdrew after 5 games due to injury ... Next, he is facing a young Brazilian, Orlando Luz.

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

[R2] (14) Sasikumar Mukund (IND,233) l Konstantin Kravchuk (RUS,340) 46 26

A bad loss for Mukund against an aging Russian Kravchuk ... Mukund struggled with his game and serve, Kravchuk took full advantage for a comfortable win.

Tennis News

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

[R1] (Q) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) bt (WC) Luke Bambridge (GBR)/ Ben McLachlan (JPN) 62 63

[QF] (Q) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) vs (2) Nicolas Mahut (FRA)/ Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)

Divij and Artem took revenge for their last week's loss and defeated Bambridge and McLachlan comfortably ... Next, they r facing the 2nd seed French pair.

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At €46.6K+H Barcelona Challenger 2019, Spain

[R2] (15) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,183) l Tommy Robredo (ESP,202) 57 46

Doubles
[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND)/ Sergio Martos Gornes (ESP) bt (3) Tomislav Brkic (BIH)/ Ante Pavic (CRO) 36 63 10-7

Ram lost in straight sets against the former top-5 Spanish player, Tommy Robredo ... I expected a tight win for Ram against a 37 yrs. old Tommy Robredo.
In the doubles, Ram and Martos Gornes scored a comeback win over the 3rd seed pair.

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At $54K+H Campinas Challenger 2019, Brazil

[R1] Federico Coria (ARG)/ Sumit Nagal (IND) bt (WC) Gilbert Klier Junior (BRA)/ Thiago Seyboth Wild (BRA) 76(6) 63

Sumit and Coria started with a win against a local wild-card pair.