Tennis News

At Davis Cup World Group Play-off 2016, New Delhi, India

India l Spain 0-3

Day one
[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,203) l Feliciano Lopez (ESP,26) 46 46 63 16
[R2] Saketh Myneni (IND,137) l David Ferrer (ESP,13) 16 26 16

Day Two
[R3] Leander Paes (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) l Rafael Nadal (ESP)/ Marc Lopez (ESP) 64 67(2) 46 46

In the doubles tie Rio Gold medalist Spanish pair of Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez defeated Indian pairing of Saki and Lee in very entertaining match and book their place in next year's Davis cup World Group ... Indians started slowly and Saki was struggling early ... Spanish pair took advantage of Saki's poor net game for breaking Lee in 4th game ... Indians were 1-4 down, from here suddenly Indians started returning superbly ... Indians won five games in a row and in that they broke Lopez in 7th game and Rafa in 9th game for winning the set ... In second set in third game superb returning by Indians on Lopez serve from 40-15 we won four points in a row for breaking him ... In that two exclusive shots by Saki to pass Rafa on returning of serve, first one was down the line and second one was cross-court backhand ... But Saki lost his serve in 10th game while serving for the set, Saki made couple of mistakes with superb returning by Spanish pair ... On next game Indians missed 2 break points on Lopez's serve ... In tie-break Spanish pair took double break on Saki's serve for leading 5-0 and kept that advantage for winning this set ... In the third set Saki struggled near the net and Spanish took full advantage and broke Lee in 3rd game and kept that advantage for winning this set ... In the fourth Indians again started positively ... They broke Rafa in 2nd game for taking 3-0 lead ... At 4-2 Saki again straggled on his service game as he failed to put first serve in ... And Spanish pair was targeting Saki near the net ... After multiple deuce they broke him and again broke Lee in 9th game for winning the set and tie ... In this match Lee showed his class with as usual superb net game and Saki was good in patches from baseline but he struggled more on the net ... What I liked our pair's chemistry ... They were showing lot of understanding for each other's game and complimenting ... For Saki this is learning experience of playing with these many grand slam winners ... Tomorrow I m hoping Sumit Nagal will make debut in one of return singles.

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At $50K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2016, Zhuhai, China

Doubles Final
Ankita Raina (IND)/ Emily Webley-Smith (GBR) bt Hanyu Guo (CHN)/ Xinyu Jiang (CHN) 64 64

Ankita lifts the doubles title with her British partner Emily Webley-Smith ... They defeated local Chinese pair in straight sets ... This is Ankita's first $50K level title and this will help her to climb inside top-225 of doubles ranking.

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At $10K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2016, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

[R1] (1) Riya BHATIA (IND,611) bt Maria GOMEZ (ECU,UNR) 61 60
[R1] (6) Sri Vaishnavi PEDDI REDDY (IND,699) bt Anastasiya SAITOVA (RUS,1067) 67(5) 61 64
[R1] (7) Eetee MAHETA (IND,755) bt Beatrice LOMBARDO (ITA,1038) 36 76(5) 62
[R1] Akshara ISKA (IND,UNR) bt Preethi SRINIVASAN (IND,UNR) 63 60
[R1] Zeel DESAI (IND,UNR) bt (4) Britt GEUKENS (BEL,687) 63 63
[R1] Ramya NATARAJAN (IND,UNR) bt Anastasiia GEVEL (UKR,UNR) 46 63 62

[R2] (1) Riya BHATIA (IND,611) bt Melissa MORALES (GUA,967) 64 64
[R2] (6) Sri Vaishnavi PEDDI REDDY (IND,699) l Giada CLERICI (ITA,UNR) 16 46
[R2] (7) Eetee MAHETA (IND,755) bt Minami AKIYAMA (JPN,UNR) 26 62 75
[R2] Zeel DESAI (IND,UNR) bt Akshara ISKA (IND,UNR) 61 61
[R2] Ramya NATARAJAN (IND,UNR) l Akilah JAMES (GRN,UNR) 36 36

[QF] (1) Riya BHATIA (IND,611) bt Giada CLERICI (ITA,UNR) 64 62
[QF] (7) Eetee MAHETA (IND,755) l (3) Ana Bianca MIHAILA (ROU,664) 57 46
[QF] Zeel DESAI (IND,UNR) bt (8) Clothilde DE BERNARDI (FRA,839) 61 26 64

[SF] (1) Riya BHATIA (IND,611) l (3) Ana Bianca MIHAILA (ROU,664) 36 62 46
[SF] Zeel DESAI (IND,UNR) bt (5) Elena-Teodora CADAR (ROU,626) 62 57 61

Excellent run by Zeel Desai for entering into the final beating Romanian Cadar in three sets ... After winning the first set Zeel lost the second but she broke Cadar three times for winning the final set ... Before that she scored couple of big win, over Belgian Britt Geukens and former top-300 French girl Clothilda De Bernardi ... Other hand Riya Bhatia failed to perform as per her seeding and lost in the semis against Romanian player.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2016, Hua Hin, Thailand

[Q1] (5) Natasha PALHA (IND,633) bt Shannon COX (RSA,NR) 62 61
[Q1] (7) Karman Kaur THANDI (IND,655) bt Thitirat KANAPHUET (THA,NR) 60 61

[Q2] (5) Natasha PALHA (IND,633) vs (16) Ramu UEDA (JPN,1040)
[Q2] (7) Karman Kaur THANDI (IND,655) vs (12) Nozomi FUJIOKA (JPN,940)

Good to see Karman back on the tour and winning her match comfortably ... She and Natasha having winnable final qualifying matches.

Squash News

At $50K Men's Macau Open 2016, Taipa, Macau

[QF] (2) Saurav Ghosal (IND,21) bt (Q) Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND,79) 11-9, 11-6, 3-11, 11-8

[SF] (2) Saurav Ghosal (IND,21) vs (4) Daryl Selby (ENG,19)

As expected close match between Saurav and Harinder ... Saurav completed win in four games ... Next he is facing top-20 British player Daryl Selby.

Tennis News

At Davis Cup World Group Play-off 2016, New Delhi, India

India vs Spain 0-2

Day one
[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,203) l Feliciano Lopez (ESP,26) 46 46 63 16
[R2] Saketh Myneni (IND,137) l David Ferrer (ESP,13) 16 26 16

Rafa decided to not play in the first match but still Spain had enough talent to slaughter us in first 2 matches ... RamK's backhand was exposed against Lopez, he kept ball to RamK's backhand and then RamK did required unforced errors ... He took advantage of Lopez's mistake in the third but afterwards it was one way traffic in favor of Lopez ... In the second match Saki struggled with his own serve and Ferrer kept ball low which Saki failed to adjust/ understand ... Saki was no match to Ferrer's match though Saki broke Ferrer in 6th game of the second set after 0-5 down ... Overall both players were too superiors from our players .. Hoping for better scoreline in tomorrow's doubles match.

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At $75K+H Nanchang Challenger, China

[SF] Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND)/ Amir Weintraub (ISR) l Nicolas Barrientos (COL)/ Ruben Gonzales (PHI) 57 62 4-10

Jeevan-Amir lose their match in match tie-break after winning the second set.

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At $50K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2016, Zhuhai, China

[SF] Ankita Raina (IND)/ Emily Webley-Smith (GBR) bt Kamonwan Buayam (THA) / Pei-Chi Lee (TPE) 64 06 10-6

[F] Ankita Raina (IND)/ Emily Webley-Smith (GBR) vs Hanyu Guo (CHN)/ Xinyu Jiang (CHN)

Ankita and Emily in the final after winning their semis in match tie-break against Thai-Taiwani pair ... After winning the first set they lost the second without winning a game but recovered for winning match tie-break ... In the final they r facing local Chinese pair.

Squash News

At $50K Men's Macau Open 2016, Taipa, Macau

[Q1] Ravi Dixit (IND,167) l Elvin Keo (MAS,119) 2-11, 4-11, 11-8, 11-13 (35m)
[Q1] Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND,79) bt Tang Ming Hong (HKG,156) 11-5, 9-11, 11-9, 13-11

[Q2] Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND,79) bt James Huang (TPE,97) 11-8, 8-11, 11-7, 7-11, 11-8 (60m)

[R1] (Q) Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND,79) bt (6) Nicolas Müller (SUI,32) 11-8, 10-12, 12-10, 11-8 (48m)
[R1] (2) Saurav Ghosal (IND,21) bt (Q) Elvin Keo (MAS,119) 11-7, 11-5, 11-7 (34m)

[QF] (2) Saurav Ghosal (IND,21) vs (Q) Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND,79)

In the first round Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu scored huge upset win over top-30 type Swiss opponent Nicolas Müller in four tight games after qualifying for main-draw ... Next we r having interesting match between Indians as Saurav also won his first round against Malaysian qualifier in straight games.

Football News

At AFC u-16 Championship, Goa, India

Group A
India l United Arab Emirates 2-3 (2-1)
Goal Scored - Sanjeev Stalin 13', Boris Thangjam (IND) 35' and Manea Aydh (UAE) 34', Majid Rashid (UAE) 54', Ahmad Fawzi (UAE) 75'

Iran bt Saudi Arabia 3-2

Our boys lost their match despite dominating most of the part with their high energy game ... UAE fought back two times from goal down to win it ... We took early lead through excellent indirect free kick from outside the D from Sanjeev ... On 34th mins we conceded penalty through reckless tackle but our goal-keeper saved ... We conceded corner and UAE scored through Manea Aydh due to poor marking by our defender ... Our team immediately responded in 30 secs through Boris Thangjam ... So at half-time we were in lead 2-1 ... In the second half despite chances we failed to score ... UAE scored another goal after mistake by our defenders ... Aman Chetri headed over from close in before the hour-mark ... But our high-energy approach appeared to take its toll as the half wore on and UAE went in front for the first time on 74 minutes, again mistake from defenders and goal-keeper ... After that UAE defended well for a win.

Tennis News

At Davis Cup World Group Play-off 2016, New Delhi, India

Day One
[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,203) vs Rafael Nadal (ESP,4)
[R2] Saketh Myneni (IND,137) vs David Ferrer (ESP,13)

Day Two
[R3] Leander Paes (IND)/ Saketh Myneni (IND) vs Feliciano Lopez (ESP)/ Marc Lopez (ESP)

Day Three
[R4] Saketh Myneni (IND,137) vs Rafael Nadal (ESP,4)
[R5] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,203) vs David Ferrer (ESP,13)

RamK is facing Rafa in the first match and Saki is facing Ferrer in the second ... Yesterday Saki asked his girlfriend Sri Lakshmi Anumolu to marry him and she accepted it at Davis cup team dinner ... Congratulation to Saki and his fiancee Sri.

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At $125K+H Szczecin Challenger, Poland (clay)

[QF] (4) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Andre Begemann (GER)/ Alezander Bury (BLR) 36 76(2) 6-10

Divij-Purav lost in the quarters against tricky pairing of Begemann and Bury ... After losing the first set Divij-Purav fought back to win the second in tie-break but they failed to keep same momentum in match tie-break.

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At $75K+H Nanchang Challenger, China

[QF] Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND)/ Amir Weintraub (ISR) bt Toshihide Matsui (JPN)/ Yasutaka Uchiyama (JPN) 64 67(5) 10-6

[SF] Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND)/ Amir Weintraub (ISR) vs Nicolas Barrientos (COL)/ Ruben Gonzales (PHI)

Jeevan-Amir continue with their good form and scored upset win over experienced Japanese pair ... After winning the first set they lost second in tie-break but Jeevan-Amir recovered for winning match tie-break ... In the semis they r facing another unseeded pair Barrientos and Gonzales.

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At $50K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2016, Zhuhai, China

[QF] Ankita Raina (IND)/ Emily Webley-Smith (GBR) bt (4) Olga Govortsova (BLR)/ Lidziya Marozava (BLR)

[SF] Ankita Raina (IND)/ Emily Webley-Smith (GBR) vs Kamonwan Buayam (THA) / Pei-Chi Lee (TPE)

Ankita and her British partner Emily scored superb upset win over Belarus pair in straight sets ... Next they r facing Thai-Taipei pair.

Tennis News

At $125K+H Szczecin Challenger, Poland (clay)

[R1] (4) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (LL) Sander Arends (NED)/ Adam Majchrowicz (POL) 63 61

They faced lucky loser pair in the first round and comfortable winning start for Divij-Purav.

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At $50K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2016, Zhuhai, China

[R1] Ankita Raina (IND,292) l Shuai Peng (CHN,248) 67(2) 26

Doubles
[QF] Ankita Raina (IND)/ Emily Webley-Smith (GBR) vs (4) Olga Govortsova (BLR)/ Lidziya Marozava (BLR)

Ankita lost in straight sets against Peng ... In the first set after 0-4 down Ankita was serving for the set at 5-4 before losing it.

Paralympics News

At Rio Paralympics 2016, Brazil

Courtesy of Twitter

Men's Javelin Throw F46
Gold - Devendra Jhajharia (IND) 63.97m (WR)
Silver - Chunliang Guo (CHN) 59.93m
Bronze - Dinesh Priyantha Herath Herath Mudiyanselage (SRI) 58.23m

Javelin thrower Devendra Jhajharia created history and became the first Indian to win two gold medals at the Paralympics after he broke his own world record to clinch the Gold medal at the Rio Games ... Devendra, who won his previous gold in the 2004 Athens Games, bettered his own world record to finish on top in the men's F46 event ... Devendra, whose previous best was 62.15 metres (achieved in the 2004 Games), improved the mark with an attempt of 63.97 metres on his third attempt at the Olympic Stadium (Engenhao) ... He last participated in the Paralympics 12 years ago as the F46 event did not feature in the 2008 and the 2012 editions ... India's Rinku Hooda finished on 5th with 54.39m throw ... India now have two gold, one silver and one bronze in the ongoing edition of the Games.

Devendra Jhajharia Wins Gold In Rio Paralympics 2016

Tennis News

At $125K+H Szczecin Challenger, Poland (clay)

[R1] (4) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Radu Albot (MDA)/ Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS)

Divij-Purav r 4th seed in big Polish challenger.

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At $75K+H Nanchang Challenger, China

[R1] Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND)/ Amir Weintraub (ISR) bt Yuva Kibi (JPN)/ Hiroki Moriya (JPN) 63 62

This week comfortable winning start for Jeevan-Amir against Japanese pair.

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At $50K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2016, Zhuhai, China

[R1] Ankita Raina (IND,292) vs Shuai Peng (CHN,248)

Doubles
[R1] Ankita RAINA (IND)/ Emily WEBLEY-SMITH (GBR) bt Jia-Qi KANG (CHN)/ Xu Liu SUN (CHN) 46 63 10-8

Ankita is having tough match against local top-250 player ... In the doubles with her British partner she scored comeback win against Chinese pair.

Paralympics News

At Rio Paralympics 2016, Brazil

Women's Shot Put- F53
Gold - Fatema Nedham (BRN) 4.76m
Silver - Deepa Malik (IND) 4.61m (PB)
Bronze - Dimitra Korokida (GRE) 4.28m

Deepa Malik Becomes The First Indian Woman To Win Medal At Paralympics ... 45 yrs old Deepa Malik won the Silver in Women's Shot Put- F53 throwing her personal best throw of 4.61m ... This is our third medal in Rio Paralympics 2016, so we are having one each Gold, Silver and Bronze.

Golf News

At € 500K Ladies European Masters, Germany

T9 Aditi Ashok (IND) 73 69 70 69 -7 € 11,500.00

In the final round Aditi scored three under to finish tied 9th position with seven under ... This is her first top-10 finish on European tour, which earned her Euro 11.5K.

Tennis News

At $75K+H Nanchang Challenger, China

[Q3] (6) Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND,612) l (3) Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN,402) 46 26

Doubles
[R1] Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND)/ Amir Weintraub (ISR) vs Yuva Kibi (JPN)/ Hiroki Moriya (JPN)

Jeevan failed to challenge Sekiguchi in the singles ... In the doubles Jeevan and Amir r facing Japanese pair.

Snooker News

At SangSom 6Red World Championship 2016, Bangkok, Thailand

[R32] Pankaj Advani (IND) bt Lukas Kleckers (GER) 6-0 (37-00, 61-00, 54-07, 48-06, 49-25, 51-07)
[R16] Pankaj Advani (IND) bt Yuan Sijun (CHN) 6-4 (75(75)-00, 39-17, 01-32, 41-00, 02-49, 34-25, 76(72)-00, 00-41, 00-62(62), 39-28)
[QF] Pankaj Advani (IND) bt Michael Holt (ENG) walkover

[SF] Pankaj Advani (IND) l Ding Junhui (CHN) 4-7 (37-00, 00-68(64), 00-73(73), 26-49, 15-49, 57-07, 63-00, 00-67, 00-67(67), 34-20, 09-69)

Pankaj become the first ever Indian to win a medal in any edition of Sangsom World 6Reds Championship since its start in 2008.

Pankaj had a great run throughout the tournament and reached till the medals round without losing any match ... This includes an outstanding victory over former World Pro Champion Ding Junhui in the first round-robin match ... But in semis, he couldn't repeat the same result and lost 4-7 against Ding to settle-down for Bronze.

Before that Panakaj qualified for knock-out stage after winning Group C.

Tennis News

At Davis Cup World Group Play-off 2016, New Delhi, India

Rohan Bopanna pulled out of the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie, claiming that he suffered a knee injury during the US Open ... Sumit Nagal, who was named as a reserve in the side, will now be making his Davis Cup debut and will be a playing member of the squad.

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At $75K+H Nanchang Challenger, China

[Q1] (6) Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND,612) bye
[Q2] (6) Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND,612) bt (WC) Xi Qi (CHN,1212) 62 62

[Q3] (6) Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND,612) vs (3) Shuichi Sekiguchi (JPN,402)

Jeevan is playing in qualifying of Nanchang challenger ... In the final qualifying round he is facing top-400 Sekiguchi.

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At $10K+H Italy F28 Futures, Reggio Emilia (clay)

[SF] (1) Sumit Nagal (IND,394) l (4) Stefano Travaglia (ITA,483) 67(0) 67(5)

Sumit lost his match in two tie-breaks against former top-200 player Travaglia ... In the first set both players hold their respective service games for taking set into tie-break ... Travaglia dominated tie-break for winning it without losing a single point ... In the second set Sumit took early break but Travaglia broke back ... In tie-break Sumit was leading 5-2 but Travaglia won next five points for completing win in two sets.

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At $10K India F4 Futures, Chennai

Singles Final
(1) Prajnesh GUNNESWARAN (IND) bt (4) N.Sriram BALAJI (IND) 36 75 76(3)

Prajnesh lifted his fourth futures title beating Bala in comeback win ... Bala was serving for the match at 5-4 of third set but failed to hold ... In tie-break Prajnesh dominated for this fighting win.

Before that in the doubles Bala won his 35th futures doubles title partnering Vijay Sundar Prashanth.

Basketball News

At FIBA Asia Challenge 2016, Tehran, Iran

Group B
India l Chinese Taipei 66-90 (Q1 20-26, Q2 35-41, Q3 50-67, Q4 66-90)

As per report our last match opponent Philippine team was full of amateurs directly taken from collegiate ... If that was the case then expected result in second match ... Chinese Taipei convincingly defeated Indian men.

Paralympics News

At Rio Paralympics 2016, Brazil

India's Mariyappan Thangavelu (L) and Varun Bhati celebrate their gold and bronze medals (AFP)

Men's High Jump T42
Gold - Mariyappan Thangavelu (IND) 1.89m
Silver - Sam Grewe (USA) 1.86m (PB)
Bronze - Varun Singh Bhati (IND) 1.86m (PB)

Mariyappan Thangavelu is also the third Indian to win a gold at Paralympics after Murlikant Petkar (Swimming, 1972 Heidelberg) and Devendra Jhajharia (Javelin Throw, 2004 Athens).

Mariyappan Thangavelu won Gold medal in High Jump T42 Varun Singh won Bronze with 1.86m jump ... In same event Sharad Kumar finished on 6th with 1.77m ... Yesterday Ranbir Narender finished 4th in Javelin Throw - F42/44 with his personal best 54.30m throw ... Farman Basha also finished on 4th with 140kg lift in 49kg Powerlifting event.

Shockingly the Rio Paralympics website has showing a blank instead of the names of the three Indian Athletes.

And also video link from Rio.
Mariyappan Thangavelu Gold medal winning jump 1.89m

Basketball News

At FIBA Asia Challenge 2016, Tehran, Iran

Group B
India bt Philippines 91-83 (Q1 16-25, Q2 47-46, Q3 68-58, Q4 91-83)

Big win for our boys against fancied Philippines team in Asia challenge ... Philippines is WR #28 and Indian is WR #53 so this was huge win for us ... We dominated 2nd and 3rd quarters of the match, we were more than 50% in 2 Points FG ... From us Amjyot Singh was hero as he scored 24 points, 18 rebounds and 5 assists, he was supported well by Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, who scored 20 pts.

Tennis News

At $10K+H Italy F28 Futures, Reggio Emilia (clay)

[QF] (1) Sumit Nagal (IND,394) bt Johan Sebastien Tatlot (FRA,832) 61 76(5)

[SF] (1) Sumit Nagal (IND,394) vs (4) Stefano Travaglia (ITA,483)

Sumit is in the semis with straight sets win over talented Frenchman Johan Sebastien Tatlot ... Sumit started well after winning the first set comfortably ... In the second set he was 3-1, 4-2 then 5-3 up but from here Tatlot tried fight back ... He broke Sumit in 10th and 12th games when Sumit was serving for the match saving 2 match points ... In tie-break both players exchanged mini-break but this time Sumit converted third match point for excellent win ... Next Sumit is having tough challenge of former top-200 player Stefano Travaglia.

Tennis News

At $125K+HK Genova Challenger, Italy

[QF] (ALT) Andrea Arnaboldi (ITA)/Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) l Riccardo Ghedin (ITA)/ Dino Marcan (CRO) 46 46

RamK and Andrea failed to build on their upset win over 2nd seed Argentine pair and lost in straight set against Ghedin and Marcan.

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At $10K+H Italy F28 Futures, Reggio Emilia (clay)

[R2] (1) Sumit Nagal (IND,394) bt (Q) Federico Maccari (ITA,960) 64 62

[QF] (1) Sumit Nagal (IND,394) vs Johan Sebastien Tatlot (FRA,832)

Sumit enters into quarters with straight sets win over Maccari ... Next he is facing former top-5 junior and also former top-300 type young Frenchman.

Tennis News

At US Open 2016, New York, USA

Juniors
[R2] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,77) l (16) Alexandra Sanford (USA,20) 75 57 26

In the first set it was dog-fight as most of the games went to deuce ... Sanford took first break in 7th game, 3-4, but Pranjala immediately broke her next game for 4-all ... Pranjala missed couple of set points in 10th game but she broke Sanford in 12th game for winning this set after 67 minutes ... In the second set same story repeated but Pranjala was generating more break point chances but she was failing to convert it ... Sanford broke Pranjala in3rd game for leading 1-2, Pranjala was getting break points but failed to convert .... She broke Sanford in 8th game for 4-all, Sanford immediately broke her for 4-5 but this time also Pranjala broke Sanford when she was serving for the set, 5-all ... Sanford again broke Pranjala in 11th game and then hold for winning this set ... From here tide was turned in favor of Sanford as she broke Pranjala in 1st game for leading 0-2 and then with another break she won final set with comfortably scoreline ... Pranjala had 23 break points and converted only 4, other hand Sanford had 10 break points and she converted 6 ... This match was going on for more than 3 hours so hats off for both players endurance in this demanding US heat.

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At $125K+HK Genova Challenger, Italy

[R1] (ALT) Andrea Arnaboldi (ITA)/Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) bt (2) Guillermo Duran (ARG)/ Andres Molteni (ARG) 64 64

[QF] (ALT) Andrea Arnaboldi (ITA)/Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs Riccardo Ghedin (ITA)/ Dino Marcan (CRO)

RamK is playing doubles with Italian Andrea Arnaboldi as alternate pair and they started with upset with over 2nd seed Argentine pair ... While serving for the match they saved 3 break points before converting 1st match point ... Next he is facing his last week's partner Ghedin and Croatian Dino Marcan.

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At $$50K St. Remy Challenger, France

[R1] (1) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) l David O'Hare (IRL)/ Joe Salisbury (GBR) 63 26 5-10

Surprising loss of Divij-Purav against Irish-British pair in the first round after winning first set.

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At $10K+H Italy F28 Futures, Reggio Emilia (clay)

[R1] (1) Sumit Nagal (IND,394) bt (Q) Matteo Tinelli (ITA,1086) 61 60

[R2] (1) Sumit Nagal (IND,394) vs (Q) Federico Maccari (ITA,960)

Expected comfortable winning start for Sumit ... In the second round also he is facing another Italian qualifier.

Tennis News

At Davis Cup World Group Play-off 2016, New Delhi

Spanish Team - Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Feliciano Lopez, Marc Lopez
Captain - Conchita Martinez

Spain is coming win their full strength team for our Davis cup tie ... Frankly against this quality team not sure of doubles point but these quality players will be playing Delhi is definitely huge boost for Indian tennis.

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At US Open 2016, New York, USA

Doubles
[QF] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) l (1) Caroline Garcia (FRA)/ Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) 67(3) 16

Sania-Strycova lose their match in straight sets against top-seed French pair ... IN the first set Sania-Strycova were leading 5-2 and had couple of set points but French pair saved those ... After that one-way traffic as our pair managed to win couple of games from next twelve games ... With that our challenge is over from men and women draw ... Only Pranjala is remaining in girls singles ... Sania was defending champion so she is going to lose chunk of ranking points.

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At $125K+HK Genova Challenger, Italy

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,202) l (6) (WC) Denis Istomin (UZB,107) 36 46

RamK failed to overcome challenge of Istomin and lost in straight sets.

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At $50K Shanghai Challenger , China

[R1] Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND)/ Amir Weintraub (ISR) l Ti Chen (TPE)/ Jason Jung (TPE) 26 67(1)

Taipei pair proved better of Jeevan and Amir.

Tennis News

At US Open 2016, New York, USA

Doubles
[R3] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) bt Nicole Gibbs (USA)/ Nao Hibino (JPN) 64 75

[QF] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) vs (1) Caroline Garcia (FRA)/ Kristina Mladenovic (FRA)

Mixed Doubles
[R2] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) l Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)/ Marin Draganja (CRO) 36 46

[QF] Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/ Rohan Bopanna (IND) l Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)/ Robert Farah (COL) 61 26 8-10

Juniors
[R1] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,77) bt Wiktoria Kulik (POL,41) 26 63 62

[R1] Zhima Du (CHN)/ Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND) l I-Hsuan Cho (TPE)/ Yuki Naito (JPN) 46 63 5-10

[R2] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,77) vs (16) Alexandra Sanford (USA,20)

Sania-Strycova entered into the quarters with straight sets win over Gibbs-Hibino ... After winning the first set our pair were down 3-5 but Sania-Strycova won next four games for completing victory in two sets ... Now their real test is in next match against top-seed French girls.

After winning the first set Rohan-Gabriela lost the second ... In match tie-break they were 3-0 and then 7-5 up before losing the match ... These type of losses r becoming story for us in this US open ... Before that surprisingly Sania-Dodig lost in straight sets against unknown pair.

Pranjala scored comeback win against her Polish opponent ... She ws totally off-color in the first set where she managed to win only 12 pts ... In the second set after 3-all she broke Kulik in 7th and 9th games for winning the set ... In the final set Pranjala broke Kulik in 4th and 8th games for comfortably winning it ... In the second round she is facing top-550 WTA ranked American Alexandra Sanford.

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At $$125K Dalian Women's Tennis Open 2016, China

[Q2] (6) Ankita Raina (IND,288) l (2) Kai-Chen Chang (TPE,199) 16 46

As expected former top-100 Kai-Chen Chang proved too strong for Ankita.

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At $125K+HK Genova Challenger, Italy

[R1] (4) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,202) vs (6) (WC) Denis Istomin (UZB,107)

Unlucky to see RamK is facing Istomin in the first round.

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At $$50K St. Remy Challenger, France

[R1] (1) Divij Sharan (IND)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs David O'Hare (IRL)/ Joe Salisbury (GBR)

Divij-Purav r playing in French challenger and they r top-seed.

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At $50K Shanghai Challenger , China

[R1] Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND)/ Amir Weintraub (ISR) vs Ti Chen (TPE)/ Jason Jung (TPE)

Jeevan is partnering Amir Weintraub and they r facing Taipei pair in the first round.

Tennis News

At US Open 2016, New York, USA

Doubles
[R2] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) bt Viktorija Golubic (SUI)/ Nicole Melichar (USA) 62 76(5)

[R3] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) vs Nicole Gibbs (USA)/ Nao Hibino (JPN)

Mixed Doubles
[R2] Martina Hingis (SUI)/ Leander Paes (IND) l (7) Coco Vandeweghe (USA)/ Rajeev Ram (USA) 67(1) 63 11-13
[R2] Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/ Rohan Bopanna (IND) bt (6) Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)/ Lukasz Kubot (POL) 57 63 10-7

[QF] Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/ Rohan Bopanna (IND) vs Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)/ Robert Farah (COL)

Juniors
[Q2] (12) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,77) bt Kariann Pierre-Louis (USA,133) 64 64

[R1] (Q) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,77) vs Wiktoria Kulik (POL,41)

Sania-Strycova moved into the third round with straight sets win over Golubic-Malichar ... Next they r facing Gibbs-Hibino for place in the quarters.

In MXD, defending champion Martina-Lee lost to Coco-Ram in match tie-break ... After losing the first set in tie-break Lee-Martina made strong comeback for winning the second set ... In match tie-break they were 4-2 and then 8-4 up but after that they were in trouble due to unforced errors and three double faults ... They saved 3 match points but Ram-Coco converted fourth match point ... Rohan-Gabriela also needed comeback for winning their match against 6th seed Kubot-Hlavackova ... After losing the first set Rohan-Gabriela fought back for winning the second ... In match tie-break after 7-all our pair won next 3 points for winning the match ... In the quarters they r facing Farah-Groenefeld.

Pranjala qualified for US open Junior main-draw with straight sets victory over American Pierre-Louis ... In the first set Pranjala was 2-4 down before winning next four games for winning this set and continued same momentum for winning the match ... In the first round she is facing unseeded Polish girl Wiktoria Kulik.

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At $$125K Dalian Women's Tennis Open 2016, China

[Q1] (6) Ankita Raina (IND,288) bt Anastasia Gasanova (403,RUS) 64 76(5)

[Q2] (6) Ankita Raina (IND,288) vs (2) Kai-Chen Chang (TPE,199)

Ankita is playing qualifying of $125K tournament in China ... Winning start for her against Russian player Gasanova in straight sets ... Next she is facing former top-100 Taipei player Kai-Chen Chang for place in main-draw.

Football News

At FIFA International Friendly 2016, Mumbai, India

India bt Puerto Rico 4-1 (3-1)
Goal Scored - Narayan Das (IND) 18’, Sunil Chhetri (IND) 26’, Jeje Lalpekhlua (IND) 34’, Jackichand Singh (IND) 58’ and Emmanuel Sanchez (PUR) 8' PS

In this match Puerto Rico team was without 5-6 regulars from first team as their respective European/ South American clubs didn't release them for this International friendly ... Puerto Rico team reached late for this tie due to goof-up in their flight schedule ... But I think these weren't only reasons for their loss ... Our team executed Constantine's plan perfectly on the field ... Impressed with our improved passing, our midfielders looked good, our wingers managed to give some good crosses, strikers looks improved and Gurpreet was amazing in-front of the goal ... I think this was Jeje's 7th goal in 7 matches so some terrific hot streak is going on ... I am also impressed with our dead ball skill, Constantine is working on that and Sunil Chhetri is responding with some smart/ opportunist dead ball kicking ... Still need lot of work on our defending but today's was deserving win against WR #114 Puerto Rico.

First 10 mins Puerto Rico team was superb and in that they scored a goal through spot kick but after that Indians raised their game and also played with high intensity ... We scored three excellent goals in psan of 17 minutes for taking full control of the match ... At half-time we were 3-1 leading which could be more ... We added one more goal in the second half and then gave more time on the field for our bench ... Gurpreet Singh Sandhu showed his experience of playing in Europe, he was solid in-front of the goal ... Stephen Constantin is working hard on this team and positive results are showing as we have now registered nine wins in their last eleven matches.

Tennis News

At US Open 2016, New York, USA

Doubles
[R1] Andre Begemann (GER)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Stephane Robert (FRA)/ Dudi Sela (ISR) 62 57 46

[R2] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Frederik Nielsen (DEN) l Brian Baker (USA) / Marcus Daniell (NZL) 26 67(5)

Mixed Doubles
[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) bt Taylor Townsend (USA)/ Donald Young (USA) 64 64
[R1] Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/ Rohan Bopanna (IND) bt (WC) Jamie Loeb (USA)/ Noah Rubin (USA) 75 64

[R2] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) vs Barbora Krejcikova (CZE)/ Marin Draganja (CRO)
[R2] Martina Hingis (SUI)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs (7) Coco Vandeweghe (USA)/ Rajeev Ram (USA)
[R2] Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/ Rohan Bopanna (IND) vs (6) Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)/ Lukasz Kubot (POL)

Juniors
[Q1] (12) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,77) bt Victoria Emma (USA,93) 63 62

[Q2] (12) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,77) vs Kariann Pierre-Louis (USA,133)

Lee-Andre lost in the first round after winning the first set ... In the third they were break up before losing the match ... I m not sure if these results going to help Lee for keep burning desire of playing on the tour.

Rohan-Frederik lost in straight sets against Brian Baker and Daniell ... So with that Indian challenge is over in men's doubles ... Missed participation of our in-form pair of Divij and Purav, who didn't got opportunity to play in this US open.

Good winning start for Pranjala in US junior qualifying as she is coming out of injury ... Pranjala is having another American challenge of Kariann Pierre-Louis in second qualifying.

In MXD, our respective pairs started with straight sets victory ... In second round Lee and Martina having tough match against American pair of Vandeweghe and Ram ... Rohan and his Canadian partner r also facing 6th seed Kubot and Hlavackova.

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At $10K Thailand F2 Futures 2016, Hua Hin

[R1] (5) N.Sriram BALAJI (IND,547) bt Ryota TANUMA (JPN,790) 63 62
[R2] (5) N.Sriram BALAJI (IND,547) bt (WC) Punn BODHIDATTA (THA,NR) 61 63
[QF] (5) N.Sriram BALAJI (IND,547) bt (2) Antoine ESCOFFIER (FRA,460) 76(2) 62
[SF] (5) N.Sriram BALAJI (IND,547) bt (4) Kuan-Yi LEE (TPE,527) 64 63

Singles Final
(5) N.Sriram BALAJI (IND,547) bt (1) Seong Chan HONG (KOR,365) 64 76(3)

Bala win a double crown in Thailand futures this week ... He won his 7th singles title and 34th doubles title ... In the singles final he defeated talented Korean kid Seong Chan Hong in straight sets.

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At $10K Indonesia F3 Futures 2016, Jakarta

[R1] (6) Sasi Kumar MUKUND (IND,648) bt Su Hao ZHONG (CHN,1459) 63 retd.
[R2] (6) Sasi Kumar MUKUND (IND,648) bt ANAND, Kunal (IND,911) 63 62
[QF] (6) Sasi Kumar MUKUND (IND,648) bt (2) Kento TAKEUCHI (JPN,466) 63 64
[SF] (6) Sasi Kumar MUKUND (IND,648) bt (5) Chuhan WANG (CHN,609) 76(3) 62

Singles Final
(6) Sasi Kumar MUKUND (IND,648) bt (8) Masato SHIGA (JPN,719) 62 62

19 year old Sasi Kumar Mukund wins his 2nd futures title and which is first one outside India when he won $10K futures in Indonesia this week ... In the final he convincingly defeated his Japanese opponents Masato Shiga.

Squash News

At $100K Men's China Open 2016, Shanghai

[QF] Saurav Ghosal (IND,21) l (6) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY,6) 9-11, 3-11, 11-8, 11-5, 9-11 (76m)

Saurav lost very close match to the world number 6 Gawad in five games ... He fought back from 2-0 down but in end couldn't pull it off as losing the fifth 9-11.

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At $70K Women's China Open 2016, Shanghai

[QF] (5) Joshana Chinappa (IND,10) l (1) Laura Massaro (ENG,2) 7-11, 5-11, 6-11 (30m)

Joshana failed to overcome challenge of Laura Massaro ... She lost in straight three games.

Tennis News

At $50K Bangkok-4 Challenger , Thailand

[R2] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,386) l Eden Leshem (ISR,390) 64 36 57

Disappointing loss for Prajnesh after winning the first set ... This is really hurting as he failed to take advantage of his upset win over Duckhee Lee.

Squash News

At $70K Women's China Open 2016, Shanghai

[R1] (5) Joshana Chinappa (IND,10) bt (Q) Heba El Torky (EGY,22) 8-11, 11-8, 11-4, 11-7
[R1] (Q) Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND,19) l (3) Nouran Gohar (EGY,4) 5-11, 5-11, 6-11

[QF] (5) Joshana Chinappa (IND,10) vs (1) Laura Massaro (ENG,2)

Joshana started with a win ... Against Heba after losing the first game she made excellent comeback for winning next three games ... Next she is facing WR #2 Britisher Laura Massaro ... Other hand Dipika lost her match against Nouran Gohar, she failed to produce much fight against Gohar.

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At $100K Men's China Open 2016, Shanghai

[R1] Saurav Ghosal (IND,21) bt (4) Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL,8) 11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 11-9, 11-5

[QF] Saurav Ghosal (IND,21) vs (6) Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY,6)

Excellent fighting win by Saurav against former top-5 Colombian Miguel Angel Rodriguez ... He was 1-2 down after three games but he kept fighting and won last two games ... Next he is facing Egyptian WR #6 Karim Abdel Gawad.

Tennis News

At US Open 2016, New York, USA

Doubles
[R1] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) bt (WC) Jada Myii Hart (USA)/ Ena Shibahara (USA) 63 62
[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Frederik Nielsen (DEN) bt (16) Radek Stepanek (CZE)/ Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 63 67(3) 63

Mixed Doubles
[R1] Martina Hingis (SUI)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt (WC) Sachia Vickery (USA)/ Frances Tiafoe (USA) 63 62

Good upset win by Rohan-Nielsen against very experienced doubles players Stepanek and Zimo ... In end Rohan raised his game for winning this match ... Other hand expected winning start for Sania-Strycova and Lee-Martina against their respective wild-card opponent pairs.

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At $50K Bangkok-4 Challenger , Thailand

[R2] Vishnu Vardhan (IND,479) l (6) Ti Chen (TPE,255) 36 16

Expected Vishnu's loss against Ti Chen ... It is high time that Vishnu needs to consider career in the doubles.

Squash News

At $70K Women's China Open 2016, Shanghai

[Q1] Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND,19) bt Jenny Peng (CHN,UNR) 11-1, 11-2, 11-2 (14m)
[Q2] Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND,19) bt Olivia Blatchford (USA,27) 11-4, 2-11, 11-0, 11-4 (31m)

[R1] (5) Joshana Chinappa (IND,12) vs (Q) Heba El Torky (EGY,22)
[R1] (Q) Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND,19) vs (3) Nouran Gohar (EGY,5)

Dipika qualified for main-draw with couple of wins but in the first round she is facing WR #5 Egyptian ... Other hand Joshana is facing Egyptian qualifier.

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At $100K Men's China Open 2016, Shanghai

[R1] Saurav Ghosal (IND,17) vs (4) Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL,5)

Tough draw for Saurav as he is facing WR #5 Colombian.

Tennis News

At Davis Cup World Group Play-off 2016, New Delhi, India

Indian Team - Saketh Myneni, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes

Reserve Players - Sumit Nagal and Prajnesh Gunneswaran
Non Playing Captain - Mr Anand Amritraj
Coach - Mr Zeeshan Ali

The AITA selection committee retained all four playing members of the squad that beat Korea Korea 4-1 last month for the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie against Spain, scheduled for September 16-18.

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At US Open 2016, New York, USA

Mixed Doubles
[R1] (1) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) vs Taylor Townsend (USA)/ Donald Young (USA)
[R1] Martina Hingis (SUI)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs (WC) Sachia Vickery (USA)/ Frances Tiafoe (USA)
[R1] Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/ Rohan Bopanna (IND) vs (WC) Jamie Loeb (USA)/ Noah Rubin (USA)

MXD draw is out and our all players in top draw ... Sania with Dodig r top-seed and can meet Lee-Martina in the quarters ... And one of them can meet Rohan-Gabriela in the semis ... Ofcourse if all of them win their respective matches.

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At $50K Bangkok-4 Challenger , Thailand

[R1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,386) bt (3) Duckhee Lee (KOR,191) 64 60
[R1] Sanam Singh (IND,477) l Norbert Gombos (SVK,345) 36 76(4) 26
[R1] (Q) Sidharth RAWAT (IND,578) l (Q) Xin Gao (CHN,554) 36 46

[R2] Vishnu Vardhan (IND,479) vs (6) Ti Chen (TPE,255)
[R2] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,386) vs Eden Leshem (ISR,390)

Prajnesh scored huge upset win over talented Korean Duckhee Lee in dominating fashion ... After winning the first Prajnesh bagel Duckhee in the second ... Next he is facing similar ranked Israeli for place in the quarters.

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At $50K Como Challenger, Italy

[R1] Riccardo Ghedin (ITA)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) l (2) Aliaksandr Bury (BLR)/ Andrei Vasilevski (BLR) 46 67(4)

RamK lost in the doubles first round with his Italian partner against 2nd seed Belarus pair.

Snooker News

At Shanghai Masters Qualifying 2016, Barnsley, England

[Q1] Aditya Mehta (IND,116) l Zhang Anda (CHN,80) 0-5 (0-102(102), 24-75, 49-73, 57-68, 1-92(70))

Aditya lost in the first qualifying round but happy to see him back on pro tour ... He was out of tour from February due to neck injury, now he is back after resting the injury and regain fitness.

Olympics News

At London Olympics 2012, Great Britain

Four years after London 2012 Olympics, Yogeshwar Dutt’s bronze for India to turn silver after Russia's Besik Kudukhov's sample tested positive ... Once the upgrade is officially announced, Yogeshwar will join wrestler Sushil Kumar and shooter Vijay Kumar as silver-medallists for India from the London Games.

Kudukhov died in a car accident at the age of 27 in Russia in 2013. However, ahead of the Rio Games this month, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) re-tested the four-time world champion’s sample, which was collected during the London Games. The re-test was part of standard practice, with samples now stored for up to 10 years to allow the use of advanced testing methods to weed out dope cheats.

Tennis News

At US Open 2016, New York, USA

[R1] (Q) Saketh Myneni (IND,143) l Jiri Vesely (CZE,48) 67(5) 64 62 26 57

Doubles
[R1] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) vs (WC) Jada Myii Hart (USA)/ Ena Shibahara (USA)
[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Frederik Nielsen (DEN) vs (16) Radek Stepanek (CZE)/ Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)
[R1] Andre Begemann (GER)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Stephane Robert (FRA)/ Dudi Sela (ISR)

In this match Saki matched Jiri Vesely's game and was little better on the court till last few games of the match ... But again luck factor came into picture as he got injured at wrong time ... In the fifth set his quad muscle pulled when he was leading 4-2 and after that he barely managed serve and running on the court ... Still I am really proud of Saki for his fighting performance on debut and also of 'Saki Squad', who were vociferous from court side.

Saki started tentatively and got broken in 2nd game for 0-2 down ... Saki immediately broken back but afterwards lot of service breaks ... In first 8 games there were six service breaks ... In tie-break both players were exchanging mini-breaks but at 5-all Saki committed unforced errors and then Jiri won point on his serve for winning the first set ... With poor service game Saki got broken in 1st game of the second set for 0-2 down ... Saki fought back and broke Jiri in 4th game to bring on 2-all ... Jiri again broke Saki in 7th game, 3-4, but after that Saki won next three games breaking Jiri in 8th and 10th games for winning this set ... In the third set Saki broke Jiri in 4th game for leading 3-1 but Jiri had broken back in next game, 3-2 ... Again Saki won next three games breaking Jiri in 6th and 8th games for comfortably wining this set ... In the third set Jiri broke Saki in 1st game, 0-1, but Saki immediately broke back for 2-1 ... After that Jiri tok control of the set and won next five games breaking Saki in 5th and 7th games for winning this set comfortably ... In the fifth set it was physical test as Saki was struggling with his serving arm ... He arm was hurting and he was grimacing ... Some tight hold from Saki before breaking Jiri in 4th game for leading 3-1 ... At 4-1 he missed 2 break points on Jiri's serve at 15-40 ... At 4-2 Saki took medical time out and physio was on the court for working on his thigh (it seems he pulled Quad muscle) ... After medical break Saki hold at 5-2 and here drama unfolded ... Saki had a match point on Jiri's serve 30-40 and Jiri double faulted but chair umpire overruled ... After that Saki tried but he was struggling while serving as failing to jump and putting pressure on right leg ... Jiri took full advantage of it breaking Saki in 9th and 11th games for completing infamous victory ... Other hand despite his injury Saki was keep fighting and giving all until last point.

Sania-Strycova r 7th seed and they r facing American wild-card pair in the first round ... Rohan-Nielsen having tough first round match against Zimo-Stepanek ... Hopefully Lee-Begemann r coming out of their heartbreaking loss.

After match interview Saki confirmed that no injury, in end he was struggling with cramps as from 4th set he was sweats more ... It started like it was a muscle spasm kind of thing that basically became a cramps in the fifth when he was struggling to jump or run ... Watch this lovely interview of Saki, the good sporting guy and gentleman ... I am now one of biggest fan of Saki.
Saki's interview after US open loss

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At $50K Bangkok-4 Challenger , Thailand

[R1] Vishnu Vardhan (IND,479) bt (WC) Phassawit Burapharitta (THA,1066) 75 46 41 Retd

Doubles
[R1] (4) Sanam Singh (IND)/ Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND) i Lloyd Harris (RSA)/ Amir Weintraub (ISR) 67(4) 76(4) 10-12

Surprisnly tough win for Vishnu against 1000+ ranked Thai opponent ... In the third set Thai player retired due to cramps.

In the doubles Sanam and Jeevan lose in marathon match against Harris and Weintraub.

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At $50K Como Challenger, Italy

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,202) l Kenny De Schepper (FRA,164) 26 26

Disappointed one-sided loss of RamK ... This is his fourth first round loss in last four tournaments.

Golf News

At LPGA Qualifying Tournament Stage I, California, USA

T20 Aditi Ashok (IND) 72 74 67 74 -1 (qualify for stage II)

T93 Sharmila Nicollet (IND) 73 75 74 73 +7

Aditi qualify for LPGA stage II after finishing T20 position after four rounds of Qualifying I stage ... As per rule top 90 and Ties Advance to the Stage II Qualifying School ... Aditi scored one under final score to finsh in top-20 ... Sharmila missed opportunity of playing in Stage II as she required PAR or below PAR round for qualification but she managed one over .. So she missed Stage II qualification by single stroke.

Our two others golfers, Simi Mehra and Tanya Wadhwa, participated in this tournament but they failed to make cut in the fourth round.

Tennis News

At $25K Poland F6 Futures, Poznan (clay)

Courtesy gloswielkopolski.pl

Singles Final
Sumit Nagal (IND,404) bt (2) Daniel Masur (GER,280) 64 16 63

Sumit lifts huge title as he won $25K futures on European clay which is his first title abroad ... Sumit is showing tremendous progress considering he is only 19 yrs old ... With this win he will be back inside top-400 around 380.

In the first set Sumit broke Masur in 1st game and kept that advantage for winning this set ... Masur raised his game in the second set ... From 1-all he won next five games breaking Sumit in 4th and 6th games for winning this set comfortably ... Sumit responded tremendously in the third, he broke Masur in 2nd game for taking 3-0 lead ... Sumit again broke Masur in 6th game for 5-1 lead but in next game while serving for the match he failed to hold, 5-2 ... Agin in 9th game while serving for the match Sumit played solid service game and hold it on love for completing superb win.

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At $50K Bangkok-4 Challenger , Thailand

[Q1] (3) Sidharth Rawat (IND,578) bye
[Q2] (3) Sidharth Rawat (IND,578) bt Nattan Benjasupawan (THA,1993) 64 62

[R1] Vishnu Vardhan (IND,479) vs (WC) Phassawit Burapharitta (THA,1066)
[R1] Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,386) vs (3) Duckhee Lee (KOR,191)
[R1] Sanam Singh (IND,477) vs Norbert Gombos (SVK,345)
[R1] (Q) Sidharth RAWAT (IND,578) vs (Q) Xin Gao (CHN,554)

Doubles
[R1] (4) Sanam Singh (IND)/ Jeevan Neduncheziyan (IND) vs Lloyd Harris (RSA)/ Amir Weintraub (ISR)

Sidharth joins our other three players in main-draw after winning his qualifying round ... But considering their recent performance I am not hoping any upset from our players ... Prajnesh is in good nick but he is having tough match against talented Korean youngster in the first round.

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At $50K Como Challenger, Italy

[R1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,202) vs Kenny De Schepper (FRA,164)

Doubles
[R1] Riccardo Ghedin (ITA)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs (2) Aliaksandr Bury (BLR)/ Andrei Vasilevski (BLR)

RamK is facing Frenchman Kenny De Schepper in the singles ... In the doubles RamK is facing 2nd seed Belarus pair partnering Italian Riccardo Ghedin.

Tennis News

At $761K Connecticut Open 2016, New Haven, USA (WTA Premier)

Courtesy Sania Mirza facebook page

Doubles Final
(2) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) bt Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)/ Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE) 75 64

Sania lifts her 7th title of 2016 and overall 39th doubles title in New Haven ... She won the title partnering Romanian Monica Niculescu, they defeated Bondarenko and Chuang in cosely fought two sets.

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At $721K Winston-Salem Open 2016, USA

Doubles Final
(WC) Andre Begemann (GER)/ Leander Paes (IND) l Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)/ Henri Kontinen (FIN) 46 67(6) 8-10

In this match Lee and Andre literally pulled defeat from jaws of victory ... Too many missed opportunities for Lee-Andre, in this match they had 15 break points and only 2 converted, from that 11 break points in the second set but our pair converted only 1 ... And then in second set tie-break they had 5 championship points at 6-1 but failed to convert ... In match tie-break their opponents had 33% 1st serve percentage which our players failed to take advantage.

In the first set our pair broke opponent in 3rd game, 2-1, and kept that advantage for winning this set ... In the second set Lee-Andre broke opponent in 1st game, 2-0, but Garcia-Lopez and Kontinen broke them in 8th game, 4-all ... In tie-break Lee-Andre took control with double mini-break but from 6-1 everything changed ... Garcia-Lopez and Kontinen made amazing comeback they won 7 points in a row after saving 5 championship points for winning second set ... In match tie-break they kept couple of points advantage form the start for winning it.

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At $25K Poland F6 Futures, Poznan (clay)

[SF] Sumit Nagal (IND,404) bt (8) Maxim Janvier (FRA,390) 63 75

[F] Sumit Nagal (IND,404) vs (2) Daniel Masur (GER,280)

Sumit scored straight sets win over in-form Maxim Janvier in straight sets, Sumit snapped Maxim's 8 match winning streak ... Sumit won the first set with a single break ... In the second set Sumit broke Maxim in 7th game but while serving for the match in 10th game Sumit failed to hold, 5-all ... Sumit immediately broke Maxim in 11th and this time hold his serve for the victory ...

Tennis News

At US Open 2016, New York, USA

Saki with 'Saki Squad' after his win Courtesy of worldtennismagazine.com

[Q3] (26) Saketh Myneni (IND,143) bt Pedja Krstin (SRB,200) 63 60

[R1] (Q) Saketh Myneni (IND,143) vs Jiri Vesely (CZE,48)

SAKI qualify for US open with dominating win against his Serbian opponent Pedja Krstin ... In the first set Saki broke Pedja in 3rd game but failed to hold his serve in next game ... But from 7th game onward everything changed ... Saki won next nine games in a row for amazing win ... Importantly his opponent wasn't injured but Saki was in superb form with his serves, backhand slice and powerful forehands ... His Serbian opponent Pedja Krstin failed to challenge him.

This is Saki's first main-draw appearance in any grand slam ... Ironically Saki becomes only 9th Indian player to make it in singles MD of grand slam in last two decades after Leander Paes, Mahesh Bhupathi, Nirupama Sanjeev, Somdev Devvarman, Yuki Bhambri, Sania Mirza, Shikha Uberai (though at that time Shikha participated under US flag) and Prakash Amitraj ... On usual Indian players luck Saki is having tough match against top-50 Jiri Vesely but what a heck, with his game Saki can surprise Vesely also ... Go Saki.

Saki's interview after the match - Saketh's interview

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At $761K Connecticut Open 2016, New Haven, USA (WTA Premier)

[SF] (2) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) bt (3) Andreja Klepac (SLO)/ Katarina Srebotnik (SLO) 26 63 10-8

[F] (2) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) vs Kateryna Bondarenko (UKR)/ Chia-Jung Chuang (TPE)

Sania-Monica scored excellent comeback win over 3rd seed Klepac-Srebotnik ... After losing the first set Sania-Monica made superb comeback for winning the next and kept that advantage for winning match tie-break ... In the final they r facing unseeded pairing of Bondarenko and Chuang, who defeated top-seed pair in the semis.

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At $721K Winston-Salem Open 2016, USA

[SF] (WC) Andre Begemann (GER)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt (3) Robert Lindstedt (SWE)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK) 16 76(5) 10-4

[F] (WC) Andre Begemann (GER)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)/ Henri Kontinen (FIN)

What a comeback win by Lee-Andre against 3rd seed Aisam-Lindstedt ... After losing the first set lopsidedly our pair dig deep ... They won the second set tie-break and then dominated match tie-break for entering into the final ... In the final they r facing unseeded Garcia-Lopez and Kontinen.

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At $25K Poland F6 Futures, Poznan (clay)

[QF] Sumit Nagal (IND,404) bt (WC) Adam Majchrowicz (POL,1310) 63 64

[SF] Sumit Nagal (IND,404) vs (8) Maxim Janvier (FRA,390)

Expected comfortable win for Sumit against Polish wild-card player Majchrowicz ... In the semis he is facing 8th seed and in-form Frenchman Maxim Janvier, who is last week's futures winner.

Tennis News

At US Open 2016, New York, USA

[Q2] (26) Saketh Myneni (IND,143) bt Mitchell Krueger (USA,221) 76(6) 64

[Q3] (26) Saketh Myneni (IND,143) vs Pedja Krstin (SRB,200)

Saki is in the final qualifying round of US open ... He defeated American Mitchell Krueger in straight sets ... In the first set Mitchell was break up earlier but Saki broke back to level it ... In closely fought tie-break Saki converted first set point ... In the second set Saki broke Mitchell in 3rd game to take 2-1 lead ... Mitchell broke Saki in 6th game for 3-all, but Saki immediately broke him in next game to lead 4-3 ... Saki kept that advantage for completing victory ... He is facing Serbian Pedja Krstin for place in main-draw.

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At $761K Connecticut Open 2016, New Haven, USA (WTA Premier)

[QF] (2) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) bt Darija Jurak (CRO)/ Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 61 64

[SF] (2) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) vs (3) Andreja Klepac (SLO)/ Katarina Srebotnik (SLO)

Sania-Monica continue with their good run with another comfortable win against Jurak-Rodionova ... Next they r facing 3rd seed Slovakian pair for place in the final.

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At $721K Winston-Salem Open 2016, USA

[QF] (WC) Andre Begemann (GER)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt (1) Lukasz Kubot (POL)/ Nenad Zimonjic (SRB) 64 64

[SF] (WC) Andre Begemann (GER)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs (3) Robert Lindstedt (SWE)/ Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi (PAK)

Another superb upset win by Lee-Andre against top-seed pairing of Zimo-Kubot in straight sets ... In the semis they r facing 3rd seed Aisam and Lindstedt.

Squash News

At $95K Women's Hong Kong Open 2016,

[R2] (10) Joshana Chinappa (IND,12) l (8) Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY,7) 8-11, 10-12, 4-11 (24m)

I was expecting more fighting performance or upset win from Joshana ... But Kawy played important points better than Joshana for straight games win.

Tennis News

At US Open 2016, New York, USA

[Q1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,202) l Alessandro Giannessi (ITA,247) 57 16

Disappointing loss of RamK against Italian in straight sets ... As per onlooker he was heat exhausted and physical discomfort due to playing in scorching heat ... Till 10th games both players hold their respective service games ... RamK got broken in 11th and then Giannessi hold for winning the first set ... After close first set Ramk capitulated in the second.

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At $761K Connecticut Open 2016, New Haven, USA (WTA Premier)

[R1] (2) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) bt (WC) Louisa Chirico (USA)/ Alison Riske (USA) 60 63

[QF] (2) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) vs Darija Jurak (CRO)/ Anastasia Rodionova (AUS)

Expected comfortable winning start for Sania-Monica against local wild-card pair ... Next they r facing Rodionova-Jurak pairing.

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At $25K Poland F6 Futures, Poznan (clay)

[R2] Sumit Nagal (IND,404) bt (1) Kamil Majchrzak (POL,306) 63 64

[QF] Sumit Nagal (IND,404) vs (WC) Adam Majchrowicz (POL,1310)

Impressive win by Sumit in straight sets against top-seed Polish opponent Kamil Majchrzak ... This match wasn't easy as score suggested as in both sets Sumit needed to fightback ... In the first set he was break down at 2-3 and he won next four games for winning the set ... In the second set also he was 2-4 down and again he won four game in a row for winning the set and match ... In the quarters he is facing Polish top-200 doubles specialist Adam Majchrowicz.

Squash News

At $95K Women's Hong Kong Open 2016,

[R1] Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND,19) l (6) Camille Serme (FRA,6) 4-11, 6-11, 11-8, 11-6, 6-11 (52m)

Dipika lost close match against French girl Camille Serme ... After losing first 2 games Dipika tried comeback ... She won 3rd and 4th games but failed to keep momentum in the fifth.

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At $150K Men's Hong Kong Open 2016,

[R1] Saurav Ghosal (IND,17) l Ramy Ashour 7-11, 6-11, 10-12 (47m)

Saurav failed to challenge former WR #1 Ramy Ashour and lost his match in straight games.

Tennis News

At US Open 2016, New York, USA

[Q1] (26) Saketh Myneni (IND,143) bt (PR) Albano Olivetti (FRA,510) 63 75
[Q1] Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,202) vs Alessandro Giannessi (ITA,247)

[Q2] (26) Saketh Myneni (IND,143) vs Mitchell Krueger (USA,221)

Saki started with a comfortable win over experienced Frenchman Olivetti in straight sets ... In the first set Saki broke Olivetti in 2nd game to lead 3-0 and kept that lead for winning the first set ... In the second set Saki had numerous break points but he failed to convert ... Saki took crucial break in 11th game and then hold for winning the set and match ... In the second qualifying he is facing American Mitchell Krueger.

RamK having winnable first round against Italian clay courter but in the second qualifying he can meet top-seed and in-form Japanese player Sugita.

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At $721K Winston-Salem Open 2016, USA

[R1] (WC) Andre Begemann (GER)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt Chris Guccione (AUS)/ Andre Sa (BRA) 64 64

[QF] (WC) Andre Begemann (GER)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs (1) Lukasz Kubot (POL)/ Nenad Zimonjic (SRB)

Comfortable straight sets win for Lee and Begemann against Guccione and Sa ... In the quarters they r facing top-seed Kubot and Zimo.

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At $25K Poland F6 Futures, Poznan (clay)

[R1] Sumit Nagal (IND,404) bt (WC) Michal Dembek (POL,1086) 46 75 60

[R2] Sumit Nagal (IND,404) vs (1) Kamil Majchrzak (POL,306)

Sumit is playing in Polish futures and again taking tough route ... Last week he lost in the second round and this week also he is having big task against top-seed local player ... Before that in the first round Sumit needed comeback victory against local wild-card player.

Squash News

At $95K Women's Hong Kong Open 2016,

[R1] (10) Joshana Chinappa (IND,12) bt (Q) Nadine Shahin (EGY,34) 12-10, 11-3, 11-6 (26m)

[R2] (10) Joshana Chinappa (IND,12) vs (8) Omneya Abdel Kawy (EGY,7)

Joshana started with straight games win over her Egyptian opponent Shahin ... Next she is facing top-8 Egyptian player, Omneya Abdel Kawy, for place in the quarters.

Tennis News

At $2.8M Western and Southern Open 2016, Cincinnati, USA (WTA Premier 5)

Courtesy Sania Mirza

Doubles Final
(7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) bt (4) Martina Hingis (SUI)/ Coco Vandeweghe (USA) 75 64

Sania and Barbora Strycova has lifted Cincinnati title in their first outing as pair beating Martina Hingis and Coco Vandeweghe ... In the first Sania-Strycova made amazing comeback ... They were 1-5 down and after Sania-Strycova won next 6 games in a row for winning the first set ... In the second set Sania-Strycova were leading 5-1 after breaking opponent in 3rd and 5th games ... But while serving for the match they failed to hold, 5-3 ... In 10th game Sania-Strycova hold for completing victory.

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At $761K Connecticut Open 2016, New Haven, USA (WTA Premier)

[R1] (2) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Monica Niculescu (ROU) vs (WC) Louisa Chirico (USA)/ Alison Riske (USA)

Sania and Monica r playing wild-card local pair in the first round of Connecticut Open.

Olympics News

At Rio Olympics 2016, Brazil

Wrestling - Men's Freestyle 65kg Qualification
[R32] Yogeshwar Dutt (IND) l Mandakhnaran Ganzorig (MGL) 0-3

Athletics - Men's Marathon
25 Thanackal Gopi (IND) 2:15:25 PB
26 Kheta Ram (IND) 2:15:26 PB

Yogeshwar lost in the first round against Mongolian wrestler Ganzorig in boring match ... Yogeshwar made mistake and Ganzorig took advantage of it scoring 2 points, after that Ganzorig successfully defended.

In Men's Marathon our Thanackal Gopi and Kheta Ram run respectfully and gave their personal best time to finish on #25 and #26 in 155 aesthetes.

Squash News

At $150K Men's Hong Kong Open 2016,

[Q1] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND,61) bt Henry Leung (HKG,279) 8-11, 11-7, 11-4, 11-5 (55m))
[Q1] Harinder Pal Singh Sandhu (IND,84) l Nicolas Mueller (SUI,32) 6-11, 11-4, 11-4, 5-11, 2-11 (50m)

[Q2] Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND,61) l Nicolas Mueller (SUI,32) 7-11, 10-12, 4-11 (35m)

[R1] Saurav Ghosal (IND,17) vs Ramy Ashour (EGY,12)

Sandhu lost in 5 games against top-30 type Swiss Nicolas Mueller ... And in the final qualifying round Mueller defeated Mahesh comfortably ... In main-draw Saurav having tough match against former WR #1 Egyptian Ramy Ashour.

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At $95K Women's Hong Kong Open 2016,

[R1] (10) Joshana Chinappa (IND,12) vs (Q) Nadine Shahin (EGY,34)
[R1] Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND,19) vs (6) Camille Serme (FRA,6)

Dipika is facing top-10 French girl ... Joshana will face Egyptian qualifier in the first round.

Olympics News

At Rio Olympics 2016, Brazil

Women's Golf - Final Standing
41 Aditi Ashok (IND) 68 68 79 76 +7

Aditi must be disappointed over her performance as after first two days she was T6, moreover she was in top 10 till first 57 holes ... Last 15 holes pulled her down below top 40 with more than 10 over score ... Aditi is only 18 yrs so this was learning experience for her ... Hopefully she will continue to work on her game and mental setup so we can see a real medal contender in Tokyo 2020.

Tennis News

At $2.8M Western and Southern Open 2016, Cincinnati, USA (WTA Premier 5)

[SF] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) bt (2) Hao-Ching Chan (TPE)/ Yung-Jan Chan (TPE) 62 75

[F] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) vs (4) Martina Hingis (SUI)/ Coco Vandeweghe (USA)

Sania and Strycova continue with their terrific run and defeated 2nd seed Taipei pair in straight sets ... With that Sania is having interesting final against her former partner Martina Hingis with their respective new partners.

Olympics News

At Rio Olympics 2016, Brazil

Courtesy TOI and Hindustan Times

Badminton - Gold Medal match
Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,10) l Carolina Marín (ESP,1) 21-19 12-21 15-21

Wrestling - Men's Freestyle 57 kg Qualification
[R16] Sandeep Tomar (IND) l Victor Lebedev (RUS) 3-7

Women's Golf - Day 3
T31 Aditi Ashok (IND) 68 68 79 +2

Athletics - Men's 50km Race Walk
35 Sandeep Kumar (IND) 4:07:55

Athletics - Women's 20km Race Walk
54 Khushbir Kaur (IND) 1:40:33
Sapana Puniya (IND) Did not finish

Athletics - Women's 4 x 400m Relay Round 1 - Heat 2
7 India (Nirmla, Tintu Lukka, Poovamma Raju Machettira, Anilda Thomas) 3:29.53

Athletics - Men's 4 x 400m Relay Round 1 - Heat 2
India Disqualified

Sindhu won Silver after losing to Carolina Marín in well fought match .. So with that she bettered Saina's Bronze medal haul ... Congrats Sindhu and we all are proud of your performance.

In the first game Sindhu was down 5-9 and 6-10 but she fought back to make it 15-16 ... From 16-19 Sindhu won next 5 points for a winning the game ... Marin raised her game from second game and took huge lead 5-0 and 11-2 ... Sindhu tried to reduce the margin but Marin kept that advantage for winning it ... In the third game both players were playing high quality badminton ... Sindhu was down 3-6 but crawled back to 10-all ... Marcin re-opened the lead 10-13, 12-15 to 14-16 ... Marin kept her cool and played solid game for winning 5 points from next 6 points for completing victory ... In this match Marin was better player, she used deceptive drop shots and half smashes smartly ... She also defended also well and half step faster on the court.

Sandeep Tomar fought well against Russian world championship bronze medalist Victor Lebedev ... But failed to overcome Russian defense as Sandeep started with his usual attacking game ... Russian defended well and took early lead through Sandeep's mistake, 5-0 ... From here Sandeep tried fight back and won 3 points in a row for 3-5 ...And Lebedev turned table on Sandeep on his next move to increase lead to 7-3 ... After that Russian wrestler defended well for a win.

Young Aditi failed to adjust for windy condition on the course and managed 8 over which push her outside top-30 but I m still impressed with her performance.

Sandeep Kumar failed to impress in 50km walk race as he finished on 35th position with more than 4 hours time.

In women's 20km walk race only Khushbir Kaur managed to finish but ended outside top-50.

In 4x400m relays our both teams finished overall 13th in their respective groups but Indian men team disqualified in the final result sheet.

Tennis News

At $2.8M Western and Southern Open 2016, Cincinnati, USA (WTA Premier 5)

[R2] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) bt Christina McHale (USA)/ Maria Sanchez (USA) 64 64
[QF] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) bt (3) Timea Babos (HUN)/ Yaroslava Shvedova (KAZ) 76(4) 61

[SF] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) vs (2) Hao-Ching Chan (TPE)/ Yung-Jan Chan (TPE)

Sania and Strycova scored back to back wins on same day ... In the quarters they defeated 3rd seed Shvedova and Babos in straight sets ... After winning the first set in tie-break Sania and Strycova dominated the second ... In the semis they r facing Taipei pair.

Earlier Sania and Strycova scored straight sets win over American youngsters.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2016, Westende, Belgium

[QF] (8) Ankita Raina (IND,312) l Magdalena Frech (POL,387) 63 36 16

Ankita failed to overcome challenge of young Polish player after winning the first set ... She needs to win these matches for showing progress in her career.

Olympics News

At Rio Olympics 2016, Brazil

Courtesy TOI

Badminton
[SF] Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,10) bt Nozomi Okuhara (JPN,6) 21-19 21-10

[F] Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,10) vs Carolina Marín (ESP,1)

Women's Golf - Day 2
T6 Aditi Ashok (IND) 68 68 -6

Women's Freestyle 53kg Qualification
[R16] Babita Kumari (IND) l Maria Prevolaraki (GRE) 1-5

AND SINDHU CREATED HISTORY AFTER ENTERING INTO THE FINAL OF BADMINTON WOMEN'S SINGLES ... With that Sindhu secure second medal for India and that will be Gold or Silver as she defeated Japanese top player Nozomi Okuhara in straight games.

In first game Sindhu started with attacking game and was leading 6-4 then 11-6 ... From here Sindhu started to play little tentatively on the net and while attacking she was missing line ... Okuhara tried to take advantage of it, 10-12, 12-14 ... From 18-17 both players won a point alternatively, 19-17, 19-18, 20-18, 20-19 and 21-19 ... Both players were playing nervy game and making error but Sindhu kept her lead for converting second game point ... In the second game Sindhu took 3-0 lead but Okuhara caught her at 6-7 ... After that both players were neck to neck till 10-all ... After that Sindhu won 11 points in a row for complating win ... Sindhu played really well but Okuhara suddenly making tight and was looking under pressure .... SHe made numerous unforced errors for gifting hte match ... In the final Sindhu is facing in-form WR #1 Carolina Marín fir the Gold.

Aditi played sublime second round of another three under to remain inside top-10 ... She had 5 birdies and unnecessarily 2 bogeys ... Good to see young Aditi keeping herself in mix.

Disappointing loss Babita Kumari after excellent yesterday on the mat by Sakshi Malik.

In other sad development, Narsingh Yadav is banned for 4 yrs by CAS under doping ... This is huge setback for us and Narsingh ... This is what posted on CAS site.

Rio 2016 - Wrestling (FS 74KG): N. Yadav suspended 4 years (PDF of the decision at the CAS site)

Tennis News

At $4.3M Western & Southern Open 2016, Cincinnati, USA

[R2] (7) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Florin Meargea (ROM) l Treat Huey (PHI)/ Max Mirnyi (BLR) 67(3) 46

As expected Rohan-Florin lose their match in straight sets against Treat and Max.

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At $2.8M Western & Southern Open 2016, Cincinnati, USA (WTA Premier 5)

[R1] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) bt Darija Jurak (SRB)/ Anastasia Rodionova (AUS) 62 63

[R2] (7) Sania Mirza (IND)/ Barbora Strycova (CZE) vs Christina McHale (USA)/ Maria Sanchez (USA)

Comfortable winning start for Sania with her new partner Strycova ... In the second round they r facing young American pair.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tennis Tournament 2016, Westende, Belgium

[R2] (8) Ankita Raina (IND,312) bt Diana Marcinkevica (LAT,358) 62 63

This is superb dominating win by Ankita against former top-200 Latvian player for reaching into the quarters.

Squash News

At World Doubles Championship 2016,, Darwin, Australia

Mixed Doubles Final
(2) Dipika Pallikal Karthik (IND)/ Saurav Ghosal (IND) l (3) Joelle King (NZL)/ Paul Coll (NZL) 8-11 8-11 (34m)

In MXD, Dipika and Saurav lost the final against New Zealand's Joelle King and Paul Coll in straight games ... Our pair scored very tight win against same pair in the Pool but in the final they failed to execute their plan on the court.

So with this silver we also won couple of bronze medals from women's double and mixed doubles.