Athletics News

At 2016 Federation Cup National Athletics Championships, New Delhi, India

Sudha Singh also qualified for the Rio Games while winning silver in women's 3000m steeplechase Lalita Babar, who has already qualified for the Olympics in both the 3000m steeplechase and marathon, clocked 9:27.09 for setting new national mark in 3000m steeplechase ... Sudha came up with a timing of 9:31.86 and easily bettered the Rio Games qualification standard of 9:45.00.

Badminton News

At Asian Badminton championships 2016, Wuhan, China

[SF] (5) Saina Nehwal (IND,8) l (6) Yihan Wang (CHN,6) 16-21 14-21

Yihan again proves too strong for Saina as she defeated Saina in straight games.

Tennis News

At Mutua Madrid Open, Spain

[R1] (WC) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Fabrice Martin (FRA) vs Guido Pella (ARG)/ Gilles Simon (FRA)
[R1] (6) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Florin Mergea (ROU) bye

Mahesh has received wild card with Fabrice Martin in Madrid Masters ... They r facing French-Argentine combination in the first round.

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At $100K Busan Challenger, South Korea

[R1] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Sam Groth (AUS) vs Daniel Nguyen (USA)/ Di Wu (CHN)
[R1] (3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Qualifiers

This week Lee-Sam r playing at Busan ... Purav-Divij r joining them.

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At $100K Anning Challenger, China

[SF] (3) Saketh Myneni (IND,151) l (7) Mathias Bourge (FRA,193) 06 1-3 retd.

In the semis Saki retire against Frenchman Mathias Bourge in the second set ... From the beginning Saki was struggling in the match and in endhe decided to quit in middle of second set ... As per report his right shoulder was bothering him ... Hoping for not a serious injury.

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At $50K Tallahassee Challenger, Florida, USA

[SF] (3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Dennis Novikov (USA)/ Julio Peralta (CHI) 64 36 5-10

Divij and Purav lose in match tie-break against American-Chilean pair ... They started well with winning the first set but after that failed to keep momentum.

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At $50K Rome Challenger, Italy

[Q1] (8) Sumit Nagal (IND,411) bt (WC) Andrea Del Prete (ITA,UNR) 60 61
[Q2] (8) Sumit Nagal (IND,411) bt Marco Mosciati (ITA,UNR) 62 61
[Q3] (8) Sumit Nagal (IND,411) bt Kevin Kravietz (GER,415) 75 64

Sumit qualify for main-draw at Rome challenger with some good wins ... After winning first 2 matches convincingly Sumit faced real challenge in the final qualifying ... Sumit was 2-5 down in the first set against Kevin Kravietz but Sumit made excellent comeback winning next five games for winning this set ... Sumit kept momentum for winning the second and match.

Badminton News

At Asian Badminton championships 2016, Wuhan, China

[QF] (5) Saina Nehwal (IND,8) bt (3) Shixian Wang (CHN,5) 21-16 21-19

[SF] (5) Saina Nehwal (IND,8) vs (6) Yihan Wang (CHN,6)

Saina scores impressive win over Shixian Wang in closely fought match though it was ended in straight games ... Saina lost her last two matches against Shixian so this was important match for brining her confidence back ... Saina kept her composure after winning the first game for finishing this match in two games ... Next she is facing another Wang, Yihan, against her Saina struggled a lot in the past.

Tennis News

At $100K Anning Challenger, China

[QF] (3) Saketh Myneni (IND,151) bt (8) Arthur De Greef (BEL,203) 61 63

[SF] (3) Saketh Myneni (IND,151) vs (7) Mathias Bourge (FRA,193)

Saki scores once again impressive win against Belgian clay court player Arthur De Greef in dominating fashion ... Saki won the first set in 21 minutes breaking Arthur twice ... In the second set from 2-3 Saki won next four games again breaking Arthur two times for comfortable win ... In the semis Saki is facing Frenchman Mathias Bourge.

But he and Mahesh lose their doubles match in straight sets against Eastern European pair.

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At $50K Tallahassee Challenger, Florida, USA

[QF] (3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (WC) Benjamin Lock (ZIM)/ Marco Nunez (MEX) 64 63

Divij and Purav continue with their winning ways ... In the quarters they beat collegiate pair of Nunez and Lock in straight sets.

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At $25K France F9 Futures, Grasse (Clay)

[R2] (1) Ramkumar RAMANATHAN (IND,237) l (Q) Benjamin BALLERET (MON,695) 36 63 46

Ramk get upset by qualifier Benjamin Balleret in three sets ... Last week Balleret defeated De Bakker on the clay but still Ramk needs to win these matches for moving ahead in his career.

Archery News

At Shanghai 2016 Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage 1, China

Women's Team Recurve event
[R1] (4) India bt (13) USA 6-0
[QF] (4) India bt (5) China 5-4
[SF] (4) India bt (1) Germany 5-3

Men's Team Recurve event
[R1] (3) India bt (14) France 5-3
[QF] (3) India bt (11) Germany 6-2
[SF] (3) India l (2) Netherland 4-5

In the individual Recurve eliminations, our three archers lost in the quarter final, including Deepika Kumari with Laxmi Rani Manhi and Jayanta Talukdar.

Coming out of disappointment of individual performance our recurve archers give excellent performance in team event ... Our women's recurve team has reached the finals with exciting win over powerhouse China in the quarter final ... In the semis they beat qualification top-see Germany ... Now for Gold medal match they r facing Chinese Taipei.

Our men's recurve team lost in the semi finals against qualification 2nd seed Netherlands in close match ... For Bronze medal they r facing British men.

Badminton News

At Asian Badminton championships 2016, Wuhan, China

[R1] (8) KIDAMBI Srikanth (IND,13) l Dong Keun LEE (KOR,19) 21-13 12-21 19-21

[R1] (5) Saina NEHWAL (IND,8) bt Fitriani FITRIANI (INA,49) 21-16 21-17
[R1] PUSARLA V. Sindhu (IND,10) bt Maria Febe KUSUMASTUTI (INA,23) 21-10 21-13

[R1] Jwala GUTTA (IND)/ Ashwini PONNAPPA (IND) l Ye Na HANG (KOR)/ LEE So Hee (KOR) 15-21 11-21

[R1] Pranaav Jerry CHOPRA (IND)/ Akshay DEWALKAR (IND) l Chin Chung OR (HKG)/ Chun Man TANG (HKG) 19-21 17-21
[R1] Manu ATTRI (IND)/ B. Sumeeth Reddy (IND) l (5) Hiroyuki ENDO (JPN)/ Kenichi HAYAKAWA (JPN) 15-21 13-21

[R2] (5) Saina NEHWAL (IND,8) bt Nitchaon JINDAPOL (THA,25) 21-14 21-18
[R2] PUSARLA V. Sindhu (IND,10) l (8) Tzu Ying TAI (TPE,9) 21-13 20-22 8-21

[QF] (5) Saina NEHWAL (IND,8) vs. (3) Shixian WANG (CHN,5)

Only Saina is remaining in the quarter final of ongoing Asian championship ... Sindhu miss match point at 20-19 of the second game and then failed to challenge in the third ... All other players lost their matches in the first round only .. In the quarters Saina is facing Shixian Wang, in recent matches Saina is failed to beat her.

Squash News

At $185K Women's World Championship 2016, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

[R1] Dipika Pallikal (IND,19) l (11) Annie Au (HKG,10) 8-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-6, 7-11 (63m)
[R1] (14) Joshana Chinappa (IND,14) bt Victoria Lust (ENG,18) 11-8, 11-3, 11-5 (39m)

[R2] (14) Joshana Chinappa (IND,14) l (1) Laura Massaro (ENG,1) 3-11, 6-11, 3-11 (26m)

Joshana fails to challenge WR #1 Laura Massaro in the second round of World championship ... Before that in the first round Joshana scored convincing win over similar ranked Victoria Lust ... Dipika lost in the first round after giing fighting performance against WR #10 Annie Au ... After losing first 2 games Dipika tried fightback winning next two games but she failed to keep same momentum in the fifth.

Archery News

At Shanghai 2016 Hyundai Archery World Cup Stage 1, China

Deepika Kumari matched the world record for the 72-arrow round in qualification at the first leg of the Hyundai Archery World Cup, with a score of 686 ... She matched Korean Ki Bo Bae’s 686-points/720 performance from 2015.

Tennis News

At $100K Anning Challenger, China

[R2] (3) Saketh Myneni (IND,151) bt Nicolas Barrientos (COL,254) 63 76

[QF] (3) Saketh Myneni (IND,151) vs (8) Arthur De Greef (BEL,203)

Doubles
[R1] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) l Denys Molchanov (UKR)/ Alexander Nedoyvesov (KAZ) 46 46

Another impressive win by Saki over Colombian Nicolas Barrientos in straight sets ... Saki started confidently taking 3-0 lead in the first set and kept that advantage for winning it ... Nicolas tried fightback in the second but Saki kept his hold for winning the second set in tie-break ... This is really good win considering on clay and against South American ... Next he is facing Belgian Arthur De Greef for place in the semis.

But he and Mahesh lose their doubles match in straight sets against Eastern European pair.

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Tennis News

At 2016 Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying WJT- Girls-u14, Thailand

India l Thailand 1-2
SHREYA GULIA l MANANCHAYA SAWANGKAEW (THA) 16 16
TANISHA KASHYAP (IND) bt MONIQUE BARRY (THA) 61 61
SHREYA GULI (IND)/ TANISHA KASHYAP (IND) l ANCHISA CHANTA (THA)/ MANANCHAYA SAWANGKAEW (THA) 36 16

So with this loss against Thai girls ended our any chance of qualifying for world group ... This time also our #1 Tanisha Kashyap win her match.

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At $100K Anning Challenger, China

[R1] (3) Saketh Myneni (IND,151) bt Duckhee Lee (KOR,206) 64 63

[R2] (3) Saketh Myneni (IND,151) vs Nicolas Barrientos (COL,254)

Saki scores superb straight sets win over young talented Korean Duckhee Lee ... Duckhee was leading 2-4 in the first set but Saki made strong comeback ... He won next four games breaking Duckhee twice for winning the first set ... He continued with his attacking game for leading 5-2 in the second before winning the match ... Next he is facing Colombian Nicolas Barrientos.

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At $50K Tallahassee Challenger, Florida, USA

[R1] (3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Sakou Bangoura (USA)/ Jose Statham (NZL) 64 76

Divij and Purav start with tight straight sets win over Statham and Bangoura in the first round.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2015, Chiasso, Switzerland (Clay)

[R1] Ankita RAINA (IND,287) l (1) Evgeniya RODINA (RUS,119) 26 06

Rodina proves too strong for Ankita.

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At $25K France F9 Futures, Grasse (Clay)

[R1] (1) Ramkumar RAMANATHAN (IND,237) bt Enzo COUACAUD (FRA,588) 76(6) 61

[R2] (1) Ramkumar RAMANATHAN (IND,237) vs (Q) Benjamin BALLERET (MON,695)

Ramk scores straight sets win over Frenchman Couacaud in the first round ... In the first set RamK was 0-3 down before taking set in tie-break ... In tie-break also RamK saved a set point before winning it, after that he dominated second set ... Next he is facing qualifier Benjamin Balleret.

Rowing News

At 2016 FISA Asian and Oceania Olympic Qualification Tournament, Chungju, South Korea

Men's Single Sculls Event
2. Dattu Bhokanal (IND) 7 min 07.63 sec

Rower Dattu Bhokanal qualify for Rio Olympics 2016 in Men's Single Sculls Event after winning Silver medal in qualifying tournament in Korea ... He became the only rower from India to qualify for the Rio Olympics ... In the final Dattu Bhokanal was on course for a gold medal finish as he was leading the five-man field till the 1,500m mark but Korean Dongyong Kim smartly paced his race (07 mins 05.13 secs) and overtook him in the final stretch.

Tennis News

At 2016 Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying WJT- Girls-u14, Thailand

India l New Zealand 1-2
[SW2] SANYA SINGH (IND) l THARUBPHET HOMKRUN (NZL) 16 67(6)
[SW1] TANISHA KASHYAP (IND) bt MONIQUE BARRY (NZL) 75 67(4) 61
[WD] SHREYA GULI (IND)/ TANISHA KASHYAP (IND) l MONIQUE BARRY (NZL)/ THARUBPHET HOMKRUN (NZL) 46 46

Our u-14 girls r in deep trouble as they lose their first match against New Zealand girls ... Only Tanish Kashyap managed to win her match against top New Zealand player.

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At $75K+H Santaizi Challenger, Taipei, Taiwan

[R1] (1) Sam Groth (AUS)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Tatsuma Ito (JPN)/ Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN) 67(2) 63 9-11

Feeling bad for Lee after such close loss for him and Sam against Japanese pair ... I wish he keep fighting remaining of the season.

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At $50K Tallahassee Challenger, Florida, USA

[R1] (3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Sakou Bangoura (USA)/ Jose Statham (NZL)

In last week of US clay season Divij and Purav r 3rd seed and facing Statham and Bangoura in the first round.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2015, Chiasso, Switzerland (Clay)

[R1] Ankita RAINA (IND,287) vs (1) Evgeniya RODINA (RUS,119)

Ankita is having tough match against top 120 Russian player in the first round.

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At $25K France F9 Futures, Grasse (Clay)

[R1] (1) Ramkumar RAMANATHAN (IND,237) vs Enzo COUACAUD (FRA,588)

Ramk is playing in French futures on clay for French open qualifying preparation.

Shooting News

At ISSF World Cup Rifle / Pistol / Shotgun, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Skeet Men
Gold Medal Match
Marcus Swensson (SWE) bt Mairaj Ahmad Khan (IND) 14-14 (2-1)

Mairaj wins Silver medal In World cup stage in Rio, which was played in same location where Olympics is later part of the year ... Mairaj qualified for the final on 2nd place with 122 hits ... After they both hit 15 semifinal targets, Svensson and Mairaj finished tied also at the end of the regular course of the final match, where they both crushed 14 clays ... In the subsequent tie-breaking shoot-off, Khan missed on his very first double, delivering the first Gold medal of his career to Marcus Svensson.

Wrestling News

At 2016 World Olympic Qualification Tournament 1, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Men's freestyle 57 kg
[R16] Sandeep Tomar (IND) bt Sezar Akgül (TUR) 11-0
[QF] Sandeep Tomar (IND) bt Ulukbek Zholdoshbekov (KGZ) 4-1
[SF] Sandeep Tomar (IND) l Mirjalal Hasanzada (AZE) 8-8

For Bronze medal
Sandeep Tomar (IND) bt Alexandru Chirtoacă (MDA) 10-0

For Olympic wrestle-off
Sandeep Tomar (IND) bt Andriy Yatsenko (UKR) 11-0

Sandeep Tomar wins fourth Olympic quota in Men's freestyle 57 kg for India after winning Olympic wrestle-off against Ukrainian wrestler after clinching Bronze medal ... So he is joining Yogeshwar Dutt, Narsingh Yadav and from Greco-Roman Hardeep Singh.

Sandeep Tomar's participation in this tournament was controversial as Rahul Aware defeated him in trails but ahead of him Sandeep got this chance ... Sandeep started confidently beating Turkish wrestler convincingly ... In the quarter final Sandeep faced real challenge but he managed to come over Kyrgyzstan wrestler ... In the semis Sandeep was 8-6 up when 15 seconds were remaining against Azerbaijani wrestler ... But Hasanzada managed to take down him and won it on last point win criteria ... In the Bronze medal match Sandeep playing attacking wrestling and won the bout in dominating fashion within couple of minute against Moldova wrestler Chirtoacă ... Total three wrestlers were going to qualify from this group so wrestle-off happened between two Bronze medal winners ... Sandeep continued with his attacking wrestling and defeated Ukrainian Andriy Yatsenko convincingly.

Tennis News

At $759K Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2016, Stuttgart, Germany (Clay)

Doubles Final
(1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) l (2) Caroline Garcia (FRA)/ Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 62 16 6-10

Sania-Martina lose the plot after winning the first set, after that French girls proved too strong for them ... Still overall good performance as they scored three wins in a row after almost two months.

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At $50K+H Nanjing Challenger, China

[SF] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt (2) Yan Bai (CHN)/ Riccardo Ghedin (ITA) 63 62

Doubles Final
(3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt Denys Molchanov (UKR)/ Alexander Nedoyvesov (KAZ) 63 63

Saki and Jeev lift Nanjing Challenger doubles title convincingly ... In the final they defeated Molchanov and Nedoyvesov without losing much sweat ... This is Saki's 6th and Jeev's 2nd challenger level doubles title.

Before that in the morning Saki and Jeev scored dominating win over 2nd seed Bai and Ghedin for entering into the final.

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At $50K Savannah Challenger, Florida, USA

Doubles Final
(3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) l (WC) Brian Baker (USA)/ Ryan Harrison (USA) 75 67(4) 8-10

Purav-Divij lose in the final against tricky American pair in closely fought match ... In end very narrow loss for them after winning the first set ... Overall good week for them and hopefully they will build on this.

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At $100K Anning Challenger, China

[R1] (3) Saketh Myneni (IND,151) vs Duckhee Lee (KOR,206)

Doubles
[R1] (4) Mahesh Bhupathi (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs Denys Molchanov (UKR)/ Alexander Nedoyvesov (KAZ)

Anning Challenger draw is out ... In the singles Saki is facing tough opponent in 17 yrs old talented Korean Duckhee Lee ... In the doubles he is playing with Mahesh and they r facing Nanjing finalists Denys Molchanov and Alexander Nedoyvesov in the first round.

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At $75K+H Santaizi Challenger, Taipei, Taiwan

[R1] (1) Sam Groth (AUS)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Tatsuma Ito (JPN)/ Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN)

This week Lee and Sam r top-seed in Taipei challenger and facing Japanese pair in the first round.

Tennis News

At $759K Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2016, Stuttgart, Germany (Clay)

[SF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Sabine Lisicki (GER)/ Lucie Safarova (CZE) 64 75

Sana-Martina score tight straight sets win over Lisicki and Safarova for entering into the final.

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At $50K Savannah Challenger, Florida, USA

[SF] (3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Giovanni Lapentti (ECU)/ Roberto Maytin (VEN) 46 76(3) 11-9

[F] (3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (WC) Brian Baker (USA)/ Ryan Harrison (USA)

Divij-Purav score excellent comeback win against Lapentti-Maytin for entering into the final ... They were a set and double break down against Maytin before making amazing comeback ... In the final they r facing

Tennis News

At $50K+H Nanjing Challenger, China

[QF] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt Jordan Thompson (AUS)/ Andrew Whittington (AUS) 61 62

[SF] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs (2) Yan Bai (CHN)/ Riccardo Ghedin (ITA)

Another dominating winfor Saki and Jeev against Aussie pair in the quarters ... In the semis they r facing 2nd seed Chinese-Italian combination.

Tennis News

At Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying WJT 2016 - u-14 Boys, Bangkong, Thailand

Quarter Final
(6) India l (3) Japan 0-2
[S2] AARYAN ZAVERI (IND) l SHUNSUKE MITSUI (JPN) 46 67(4)
[S1] >DEV JAVIA (IND) l DAIKI YOSHIMURA (JPN) 62 46 26

And our chance of qualifying for world group get over with our loss against Japanese boys ... They won both singles for moving to the semis.

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At $759K Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2016, Stuttgart, Germany (Clay)

[QF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)/ Katrina Siniakova (CZE) 61 63

Sania-Martina r in the semis with another comfortable win over Czech pair.

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At € 2.4M Barcelona ATP 500, Spain

[QF] (4) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Jean-Julien Rojer (FRA) l Treat Huey (PHI)/ Max Mirnyi (BLR) 67(5) 46

Not a fruitful partnership with Rojer ... Rohan lose with him in the quarters against Mirnyi and Huey.

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At $50K+H Nanjing Challenger, China

[R1] (3) Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) bt James Cerretani (USA)/ Max Schnur (USA) 61 64

Good to see Saki is getting chance of getting accumulate on clay through doubles win.

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At $50K Savannah Challenger, Florida, USA

[QF] (3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (LL) Jose Hernandez-Fernandez (DOM)/ Nicolas Jarry (CHI) 63 75

[SF] (3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Giovanni Lapentti (ECU)/ Roberto Maytin (VEN)

Divij-Purav score straight sets win over Hernandez-Fernandez and Jarry ... In the semis they r facing another unseeded pairing of Giovanni Lapentti and Roberto Maytin.

Tennis News

At Asia/Oceania Final Qualifying WJT 2016 - u-14 Boys, Bangkong, Thailand

Group D
(6) India l (2) Australia 1-2
[S2] AARYAN ZAVERI (IND) l PHILIP SEKULIC (AUS) 36 16
[S1] DEV JAVIA (IND) bt ALEX BULTE (AUS) 46 75 61
[D] DEV JAVIA (IND)/ SANDEEP MOHANDOSS (IND) l ALEX BULTE (AUS) / PHILIP SEKULIC (AUS) 57 26

We lose our match against Australia but as we required for winning a match for group winner, we managed that ... Dev Javia scored comeback win over Aussie #1 Alek Bulte in three sets ... But in other group 3rd seed Japan get upset by Thai boys so we r having tough quarter final against 3rd Japanese boys for qualifying world group.

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At $759K Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2016, Stuttgart, Germany (Clay)

[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) bt Eri Hozumi (JPN)/ Miyu Kato (JPN) 61 61

[QF] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Martina Hingis (SUI) vs Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)/ Katrina Siniakova (CZE)

Dominating winning start on clay season for Sania and Martina against young Japanese pair ... Next they can face tougher challenge from Czech pair.

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At € 2.4M Barcelona ATP 500, Spain

[R1] (4) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Jean-Julien Rojer (FRA) bt (WC) Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP)/ David Marrero (ESP) 75 63

[QF] (4) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Jean-Julien Rojer (FRA) vs Treat Huey (PHI)/ Max Mirnyi (BLR)

Rohan-Rojer start with straight sets win over Spanish wild-card pair ... Next they r facing Huey and Mirnyi.

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At $50K Savannah Challenger, Florida, USA

[R1] (3) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Guido Andreozzi (ARG)/ Nicolas Kicker (ARG) 64 61

Winning start against Argentine pair for Divij and Purav.