Tennis News

At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Singapore

P.C. to Ankita's twitter handle

Singles Final
Ankita Raina (IND,203) bt (1) Arantxa Rus (NED,122) 63 62

Ankita wins the title beating the top-seed Dutch girl, Arantxa Rus, convincingly ... A great title wins considering she lifted the title beating all top 3 seeds ... In the final, She broke Rus early o lead 4-1 and kept that advantage to capture the first set ... In the second set, She broke Rus in the 1st and the 3rd games to lead 4-0 ... Ankita kept this double break advantage for winning the title ... This was Ankita's 4th $25K title and overall the 8th ITF title.

Badminton News

At $350K PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2019, Kuala Lumpur (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500)

[SF] (7) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) l (4) Carolina Marin (ESP,6) 16-21 13-21

Saina failed to repeat her last few matches performance against facing Carolina Marin ... And Marin took full advantage to win the semis comfortably.

Tennis News

At Australian Open 2019, Melbourne, Australia

[R1] Samantha Stosur (AUS)/ Leander Paes (IND) bt Kveta Peschke (CZE)/ Wesley Koolhof (NED) 64 75
[R1] Zhaoxuan Yang (CHN)/ Rohan Bopanna (IND) l (5) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)/ Robert Farah (COL) 63 36 6-10

[R2] Samantha Stosur (AUS)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs (5) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)/ Robert Farah (COL)

Junior
[R1] Mann Shah (IND,68) l Peter Makk (HUN,64) 64 06 26

Lee with Samantha Stosur started with a straight sets win over Peschke and Koolhof ... Next, they r facing the 5th seeds Groenefeld and Farah, who defeated Rohan and Zhaoxuan Yang in the match tie-break ... Rohan and Yang won the first set but failed to keep momentum after that.

Only Mann Shah played in the junior singles and lost two sets easily after winning the first set against the similar ranked Hungarian.

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At $54K+H Koblenz Challenger 2019, Germany

[SF] (3) Fabricio Neis (BRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) l Jurgen Melzer (AUT)/ Filip Polasek (SVK) 46 46

A match against Jurgen Melzer and Filip Polasek were tough and that proved right as they defeated Purav and Neis in straight sets.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Singapore

[SF] Ankita Raina (IND,203) bt (3) Conny Perrin (SUI,150) 64 61

[F] Ankita Raina (IND,203) vs (1) Arantxa Rus (NED,122)

Ankita is in the final with straight-sets win over another top-150 Swiss player ... In the first set, Ankita was 0-3 down after that she won 12 games from next 14 games ... In the final, she is facing the top-seed Dutch girl, Arantxa Rus ... It would be a great story if Ankita wins the title beating the top 3 seeds.

Badminton News

At $350K PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2019, Kuala Lumpur (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500)

[QF] (7) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) l (4) Wan Ho Son (KOR,5) 23-21 16-21 17-21

[QF] (7) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) bt (2) Nozomi Okuhara (JPN,2) 21-18 23-21

[SF] (7) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) vs (4) Carolina Marin (ESP,6)

Saina scored an excellent close straight games win over WR #2, Nozomi Okuhara ... In the first game, from 9-all Okuhara opened 9-15 and then 12-16 lean ... Saina cut that lead and was leading 17-16 ... Saina converted the 2nd game point to win the game ... In the second game, both players exchanged the lead ... Okuhara had game points at 20-19 and 21-10 but Saina saved both and converted her first match point for this win ... Next, she is facing Carolina Marin.
Srikanth lost in a long match after winning the first game against the former WR #1 Korean, Wan Ho Son ... Son was a better player in long rallies against Srikanth.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Koblenz Challenger 2019, Germany

[QF] (3) Fabricio Neis (BRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt (ALT) Thiemo De Bakker (NED)/ Mark Vervoort (NED) 64 62

[SF] (3) Fabricio Neis (BRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs Jurgen Melzer (AUT)/ Filip Polasek (SVK)

Purav and Fabricio Neis scored a comfortable win over the Dutch pair ... Next, they r facing very experienced doubles players, Jurgen Melzer and Filip Polasek.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Singapore

[QF] Ankita Raina (IND,203) bt (2) Sabina Sharipova (UZB,142) 75 2-0 retd.

[SF] Ankita Raina (IND,203) vs (3) Conny Perrin (SUI,150)

Doubles
[R1] Ankita Raina (IND)/ Sabina Sharipova (UZB) bt Greet Minnen (BEL)/ Kimberley Zimmermann (BEL) 4-4 retd.

[QF] Ankita Raina (IND)/ Sabina Sharipova (UZB) l (4) Quirine Lemoine (NED)/ Arantxa Rus (NED) w/o

Ankita is in the semis ... Her opponent, the top-150 ranked Sabina Sharipova, retired from the match in the second set ... Ankita won the first set and was a break up when Sharipova retired ... Another top-150 opponent, Conny Perrin, for Ankita in the semis ... In the doubles, Ankita was playing with Sharipova, so they gave a walkover to their opponents due to Sharipova injury.

Badminton News

At $350K PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2019, Kuala Lumpur (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500)

[R2] (Q) Parupalli Kashyap (IND,45) l (6) Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA,6) 17-21 23-25
[R2] (7) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) bt Wing Ki Vincent Wong (HKG,38) 23-21 8-21 21-18

[R2] (7) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) bt Pui Yin Yip (HKG,34) 21-14 21-16

[R2] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l Ni Ketut Mahadewi Istarani (INA)/ Rizki Amelia Pradipta (INA) 18-21 17-21

[QF] (7) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) vs (4) Wan Ho Son (KOR,5)

[QF] (7) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) vs (2) Nozomi Okuhara (JPN,2)

Srikanth struggled against Wong but managed to complete win in three games ... Next, he is facing the former WR #1 Korean, Wan Ho Son.
Saina scored a comfortable straight games win over Pui Yin Yip ... Next, she is facing the Japnese WR #2, Nozomi Okuhara.
Kashyap tried hard but failed to overcome the challenge of the WR #6, Anthony Sinisuka Ginting and lost in straight games.

Tennis News

At Australian Open 2019, Melbourne, Australia

[R1] Samantha Stosur (AUS)/ Leander Paes (IND) vs Kveta Peschke (CZE)/ Wesley Koolhof (NED)
[R1] Zhaoxuan Yang (CHN)/ Rohan Bopanna (IND) vs (5) Anna-Lena Groenefeld (GER)/ Robert Farah (COL)

Lee and Rohan r playing in the MXD ... Lee is partnering Aussie Samantha Stosur and facing Peschke and Koolhof ... Rohan is playing with the Chinese girl, Zhaoxuan Yang and they r facing the 5th seeds Groenefeld and Farah.

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At $54K+H Koblenz Challenger 2019, Germany

[R1] (3) Fabricio Neis (BRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) bt Luca Margaroli (SUI)/ David Vega Hernandez (ESP) 76(2) 46 10-5

[QF] (3) Fabricio Neis (BRA)/ Purav Raja (IND) vs (ALT) Thiemo De Bakker (NED)/ Mark Vervoort (NED)

Purav and his Brazilian partner, Fabricio Neis, started with a match tie-break win ... Next, they r facing the Dutch pair.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Singapore

[R2] Ankita Raina (IND,203) bt (8) Lesley Kerkhove (NED,202) 46 62 63

[QF] Ankita Raina (IND,203) vs (2) Sabina Sharipova (UZB,142)

Ankita scored a comeback win over similar ranked Dutch player Kerkhove ... After losing the first set Ankita made a strong comeback to win next two sets comfortably ... In the quarters, she is facing the top-150 ranked Sabina Sharipova.

Badminton News

At $350K PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2019, Kuala Lumpur (HSBC BWF World Tour Super 500)

[R1] (Q) Parupalli Kashyap (IND,45) bt Rasmus Gemke (DEN,20) 19-21 21-19 21-10
[R1] (7) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) bt Ka Long Angus Ng (HKG,14) 21-17 21-11

[R1] (7) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) bt Joy Xuan Deng (HKG,37) 14-21 21-18 21-18

[R1] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) bt Sin Ying Yuen (HKG)/ Tsz Yau Ng (HKG,32) 21-16 22-20

[R1] Pranaav Jerry Chopra (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) l Selena Piek (NED)/ Robin Tabeling (NED) 19-21 17-21

[R2] (Q) Parupalli Kashyap (IND,45) vs (6) Anthony Sinisuka Ginting (INA,6)
[R2] (7) Kidambi Srikanth (IND,8) vs Wing Ki Vincent Wong (HKG,38)

[R2] (7) Saina Nehwal (IND,9) vs Pui Yin Yip (HKG,34)

[R2] Ashwini Ponnappa (IND)/ N. Sikki Reddy (IND) vs Ni Ketut Mahadewi Istarani (INA)/ Rizki Amelia Pradipta (INA)

A good start for Indians .... Kashyap qualified to the main-draw and started with an upset comeback win over the top-20 Danis, Rasmus Gemke ... Next, he is facing the top-10 Ginting ... Srikanth scored a comfortable win over the top-15 Hong Kong player ... Next, he is facing another Hong Kong player, Wing Ki Vincent Wong ... Saina also forced her comeback in the match after losing the first game ... Next, she is facing an experienced Pui Yin Yip... Ashwini-Sikki entered the second and facing the Indonesians.

Tennis News

At Australian Open 2019, Melbourne, Australia

[R1] Nicholas Monroe (USA)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) l Kevin Krawietz (GER)/ Nikola Mektic (CRO) 64 67(8) 57
[R1] (15) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) l Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP)/ Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) 16 64 57
[R1] Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) l Austin Krajicek (USA)/ Artem Sitak (NZL) 57 67(4)

Turned to be a terrible day for Indians as our all pairs lost their first-round matches ... All three matches were close but our pairs failed to take chances ... Jeevan with Nicholas missed a couple of break point chances in the 11th game of the third set ... Rohan and Divij also missed chances in the third.

Tennis News

At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Singapore

[R1] Ankita Raina (IND,204) bt Nudnina Luangnam (THA,ITF-11) 61 62

[R2] Ankita Raina (IND,204) vs (8) Lesley Kerkhove (NED,202)

Ankita started with a dominating win over the former top-200 Thai girl, Nudnina Luangnam ... Next, she is facing similar ranked Dutch player Kerkhove.

Football News

At the AFC Asian Cup 2019, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Group A
India l Bahrain 0-1 (0-0)
Goal Scored - Jamal Rashed Abdulrahman Yusuf (BAH) 90+'

UAE dw Thailand 1-1

A heartbreaking loss for the Blue Tigers as they conceded a last-minute penalty, throughout the match the Bahrain team was looking good but we defended well for 90 minutes ... But in added time, Pronay Halder committed a foul inside the box and Jamal scored from the penalty spot ... So with this loss, the Indians are coming back as Thailand drew with UAE and on a head to head matches, the Bahrain team will be the third place team ... In this match, Sunil Chhetri equaled Bhaichung Bhutia's record of highest appearances for the country at 107 each, but Sunil must be disappointed due to the final result.

The Indian head coach, Stephen Constantine, announced his resignation after the loss ... The AIFF has accepted his decision and thanks him for his all contribution.

Tennis News

At Australian Open 2019, Melbourne, Australia

[R1] (Q) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,112) l Frances Tiafoe (USA,39) 67(9) 36 36

Prajnesh lost in straight sets against the young American Frances Tiafoe in his first grand slam match ... Prajnesh tried hard but Tiafoe played a patient game and that helped him as Gunner made more mistakes ... In the first set, both players were holding their serves comfortably ... In the tie-break, Tiafoe had a mini-break but Gunner took it back ... At 7-8, Gunner missed a simple overhead to lose the set ... In the second set, Gunner broke Tiafoe in the 3rd game, 2-1, but played lose service game for 2-all ... Tiafoe took control from here as he again broke Gunner in the 6th game, 2-4, and kept this advantage for winning the set ... In the final set, both players exchanged breaks early and Gunner was leading 3-2 on his serve ... Tiafoe broke him in the 7th game to lead 3-4 and again broke Gunner when he was serving for staying in the match in the 9th game to complete the victory ... Still, a good week for Gunner as he qualified and playing his first grand slam main-draw match ... Hoping for many more in the next few years.

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At $54K+H Koblenz Challenger 2019, Germany

[R1] Sumit Nagal (IND,361) l (ITF) Roman Safiullin (RUS,8) 26 16

A disappointing one-sided loss of Sumit against the top-10 ITF ranked Russian Safiullin in the first round.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2019, Singapore

[R1] Ankita Raina (IND,204) vs Nudnina Luangnam (THA,ITF-11)

Ankita is playing in Singapore and facing a tricky match against the former top-200 Thai girl, Nudnina Luangnam.

Golf News

At $300k Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open 2019, Abu Dhabi, UAE (Ladies European Tour)

T8 Aditi Ashok (IND) 76 72 66 -2 $6,132.38

Aditi failed to defend her Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open title ... She managed to score the lowest round of the tournament in the final round, 6-under, but her first 4-over round cost her at least the top-5 finish.

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At $6.4M Sony Open in Hawaii 2019, Honolulu (PGA Tour 2019)

T43 Anirban Lahiri (IND) 68 68 71 66 -7 $19,488.00

The 4-under last round helped Anirban to finish inside the top-50 in his first tournament of 2019.

Tennis News

At Australian Open 2019, Melbourne, Australia

[R1] Nicholas Monroe (USA)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs Kevin Krawietz (GER)/ Nikola Mektic (CRO)
[R1] (15) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP)/ Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP)
[R1] Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) vs Austin Krajicek (USA)/ Artem Sitak (NZL)

Happy to see Divij and Rohan sneaked into the seedings ... Overall a decent draw for Indians ... Hopefully, all three pairs will make a winning start.

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At $54K+H Koblenz Challenger 2019, Germany

[R1] Sumit Nagal (IND,361) vs (ITF) Roman Safiullin (RUS,8)

Sumit is playing in the German challenger and facing the top-10 ITF ranked Russian Safiullin in the first round.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Vietnam Tennis Open 2019, Da Nang City, Vietnam

Doubles Final
(1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) l (2) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Christopher Rungkat (INA) 36 62 9-11

Another close loss of Lee and Miguel in the final ... Here they lost the first set but tried fightback winning the second set comfortably ... But the second seeds overcame in the match tie-break.

Squash News

At $77.8K Men's CCI International 2019, Mumbai, India (PSA World Tour Silver)

[SF] Ramit Tandon (IND,68) l (1) Tarek Momen (EGY,4) 7-11, 7-11, 7-11 (39m)

Ramit's terrific run ended against the top-5 player, Tarek Momen ... Tarek defeated Ramit in straight games but a decent performance by Ramit against him.

Tennis News

At Australian Open 2019, Melbourne, Australia

[Q3] (6) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,112) bt Yosuke Watanuki (JPN,192) 67(5) 64 64

[R1] (Q) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,112) vs Frances Tiafoe (USA,39)

What a story of Prajnesh (fondly known as a Gunner on the circuit)! At age of 29 yrs. he qualifies for his first grand slam main-draw ... He will face #NextGen young American Frances Tiafoe in the first round ... In the last year, he lost in the first qualifying round to Tobias Kamke ... In February, his match in the live fifth rubber in the Davis Cup tie against China proved to be a game changer for Prajnesh ... He scored a superb win over reigning US Open junior champ Wu Yibing to win the tie for India ... After that, his performance was clearly rising, won the US$150K Anning Challenger in Kunming ... Lost in the final qualifying round of the French Open ... Qualified for the Stuttgart ATP on the grass and scored an upset win over #25 Denis Shapovalov ... Another big challenger title in the US$150K Bangalore Challenger ... I really wish that he remains injury free and plays regularly in the grand slam main-draw for at least the next 3-4 years and achieve the top-50 world ranking.

Here, Prajnesh overcame a tricky challenge of a rising Japanese youngster, Yosuke Watanuki in a well fought three sets ... In the first set, Prajnesh took a break in the 6th game to lead 4-2 but Watanuki immediately broke back for 4-3 ... After that, both players held their respective service games ... In the tie-break, Watanuki took an early 0-3 lead but Prajnesh came back winning next 4 points, 4-3 ... After that Prajnesh lost both points on his serve, 4-5 and Watanuki converted the 2nd set point for winning the set ... In the second set, Prajnesh broke Watanuki in the 3rd game to lead 2-1 ... After that both players held their respective service games, Prajnesh had a set point on Watanuki's serve in the 9th game but Watanuki saved that ... Prajnesh held his serve in the 10th game for taking the match into the final set ... In the third set, Prajnesh broke Watanuki in the 1st game, 1-0, but immediately broke back by Watanuki, 1-all ... Prajnesh took a crucial break in the 5th game, 3-2 and after that, he held his service games for a big victory in his career.

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At $54K+H Vietnam Tennis Open 2019, Da Nang City, Vietnam

[SF] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) bt (4) Timur Khabibulin (KAZ)/ Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE) 67(3) 63 10-4

[F] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) vs (2) Cheng-Peng Hsieh (TPE)/ Christopher Rungkat (INA)

Lee and Miguel scored a fighting comeback win over the 4th seeds Khabibulin and Yang ... After losing the first set in the tie-break they made a strong comeback to win next set and the match tie-break easily ... The final will be between the top two seeds.

Football News

At the AFC Asian Cup 2019, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Group A
India l UAE 0-2 (0-1)
Goal Scored - Khalfan Mubarak (UAE) 41', Ali Ahmed Mabkhout (UAE) 89'

Thailand bt Bahrain 1-0

The Blue Tigers gave fighting performance against a much-higher ranked UAE side ... The Indians created more chances than the home team in the first half and were denied by the post twice in the second half ... Other hand UAE scored a goal in each half for a victory ... But the overall very positive performance by the Indians, we showed a fearless attitude and sturdy performance on the field.

Squash News

At $77.8K Men's CCI International 2019, Mumbai, India (PSA World Tour Silver)

[QF] Ramit Tandon (IND,68) bt (3) Saurav Ghosal (IND,12) w/o
[QF] (9/16) Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND,66) l (5) James Willstrop (ENG,16) 3-11, 16-18, 11-8, 9-11 (67m)

[SF] Ramit Tandon (IND,68) vs (1) Tarek Momen (EGY,4)

Ramit is in the semis as the defending champion Saurav Ghosal gave a walkover due to a calf muscle injury ... Ramit will face the top-5 player, Tarek Momen.

A very exciting match between Mahesh and Willstrop ... The former WR #1 James Willstrop won the first game and in the second, Willstrop prevailed in 34 points long game ... Mahesh took the 3rd game against James .. And in the 4th game again Mahesh fought hard, but lost this close game and the match.

Tennis News

At Australian Open 2019, Melbourne, Australia

[Q2] (6) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,112) bt Enrique Lopez Perez (ESP,213) 63 63
[Q2] (21) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,132) l Rudolf Molleker (GER,207) 75 57 67(6-10)

[Q2] Ankita Raina (IND,205) l (29) Paula Badosa Gibert (ESP,140) 64 26 46

[Q3] (6) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,112) vs Yosuke Watanuki (JPN,192)

Prajnesh is in the final qualifying round with straight sets win over the Spaniard, Enrique Lopez Perez ... Lopez Perez failed to challenge Prajnesh for this routine win ... In the final qualifying, Prajnesh is facing a tricky opponent in a rising Japanese youngster, Yosuke Watanuki.

Ram lost in a close match against the 18 yrs. old talented German, Rudolf Molleker ... Both players split first 2 sets with a single break advantage ... Ram broke Molleker in the 11th game of the first set and then held his serve ... Molleker broke Ram in the 12th game of the second set for winning it ... In the final set, Molleker was matching Ram's game and playing excellent tennis ... Played some beautiful passing shots and played important points well when really mattered ... Ram missed a big opportunity of breaking Molleker's serve in the 7th game when he had a couple of break points at 15-40 ... In the new final set tie-break format, Molleker controlled from the start to complete upset win.

Ankita started well against the top-150 Spanish girl, Paula Badosa Gibert ... She won the first set but Badosa Gibert took control in the second for winning with a double break ... In the third also, Ankita gave her best but not having a big shot (powerful forehand or backhand) as a weapon hurt her game ... In end a fighting performance by Ankita.

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At $54K+H Vietnam Tennis Open 2019, Da Nang City, Vietnam

[QF] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) bt Antoine Escoffier (FRA)/ Yusuke Takahashi (JPN) 63 61

[SF] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) vs (4) Timur Khabibulin (KAZ)/ Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE)

A very dominating win by Lee and Miguel against French-Japanese combination ... In the semis, they r facing the 4th seeds Khabibulin and Yang.

Squash News

At $77.8K Men's CCI International 2019, Mumbai, India (PSA World Tour Silver)

[R2] Ramit Tandon (IND,68) bt (8) Tom Richards (ENG,20) 11-7, 11-1, 11-2 (27m)
[R2] (3) Saurav Ghosal (IND,12) bt (9/16) Mohamed Reda (EGY,54) 11-1,7-11,11-3,11-6 (43m)
[R2] (9/16) Vikram Malhotra (IND,58) l (5) James Willstrop (ENG,16) 9-11, 9-11, 5-11 (27m)
[R2] (9/16) Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND,66) bt (2) Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY,8) 11-9, 14-12, 12-10 (43m)

[QF] (3) Saurav Ghosal (IND,12) vs Ramit Tandon (IND,68)
[QF] (9/16) Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND,66) vs (5) James Willstrop (ENG,16)

Ramit continues with his terrific run to enter into the quarters ... He scored straight games win over the WR #20 Tom Richards inside a half hour ... A couple of months ago, Ramit lost against Tom Richards in straight games so excellent revenge ... In the quarters, he is facing his senior compatriot Saurav Ghosal ... Saurav needed four games to beat Egyptian Mohamed Reda.

Mahesh scored the first top-10 win of his career ... He defeated the WR #8 Marwan Elshorbagy in closely fought straight games ... All three games were closely fought but Mahesh prevailed ... In the quarters he is facing James Willstrop.

Vikram had a tough match against the former WR #1 Willstrop ... He lost in straight games but gave a decent performance against Willstrop.

Tennis News

At Australian Open 2019, Melbourne, Australia

[Q1] (6) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,111) bt Viktor Galovic (CRO,223) 64 64

[Q2] (6) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,111) vs Enrique Lopez Perez (ESP,213)

Prajnesh scored a comfortable win over Galovic ... In this match, Prajnesh lost his serve but he wasn't in trouble at any time ... Next, he is facing Spaniard Enrique Lopez Perez.

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At the FedCup Asia-Oceania Group-1 2019, Astana, Kazakhstan

The Indian Fed Cup Team
Ankita Raina, Karman Thandi, Mahak Jain, Riya Bhatia, and Prarthana Thombare
Non-playing Captain: Vishaal Uppal
Coach: Ankita Bhambri

Need arise to make a change in the declared Fed Cup team ... Rutuja's shoulder injury is serious and she will not recover for the Fed Cup and Pranjala is still not fully recovered from her injury ... So both of them decided to withdrew, in their place Mahak and Riya has been selected in the team.

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At $54K+H Vietnam Tennis Open 2019, Da Nang City, Vietnam

[R3] (3) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,295) l (16) Denis Yevseyev (KAZ,359) 46 26
[R3] (11) Sumit Nagal (IND,340) l (5) Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE,294) 62 16 06

Disappointing results as Mukund lost in straight sets against lower ranked Yevseyev.
A weird scoreline in Sumit's match ... After winning the first set comfortably Sumit managed to win only a single game in next two sets against Yang.

Squash News

At $77.8K Men's CCI International 2019, Mumbai, India (PSA World Tour Silver)

[R1] Ramit Tandon (IND,68) bt (9/16) Joshua Masters (ENG,52) 11-9, 11-6, 11-8 (36m)
[R1] (3) Saurav Ghosal (IND,12) bye
[R1] Harinder Pal Sandhu (IND,75) l (9/16) Ben Coleman (ENG,49) 1-6 retd.
[R1] (WC) Aditya Jagtap (IND,120) l (9/16) Karim El Hammamy (EGY,51) 11-8, 12-10, 7-11, 11-13, 8-11 (84m)
[R1] (9/16) Vikram Malhotra (IND,58) bt Mazen Gamal (EGY,62) 9-11, 11-9, 11-4, 11-7 (45m)
[R1] (9/16) Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND,66) bt Baptiste Masotti (FRA,71) 9-11, 6-11, 11-3, 11-4, 11-8 (55m)

[R2] Ramit Tandon (IND,68) vs (8) Tom Richards (ENG,20)
[R2] (3) Saurav Ghosal (IND,12) vs (9/16) Mohamed Reda (EGY,54)
[R2] (9/16) Vikram Malhotra (IND,58) vs (5) James Willstrop (ENG,16)
[R2] (9/16) Mahesh Mangaonkar (IND,66) vs (2) Marwan Elshorbagy (EGY,8)

The season's first tournament begins at Mumbai ... Ramit started with an upset win over the top-50 type Britisher, Joshua Masters, in straight games ... Next, he is facing another Britisher the #20 ranked Tom Richards ... Vikram also scored a 4 games win over similar ranked Egyptian Gamal ... He is facing the former WR #1 James Willstrop ... Mahesh needed to dig deep after losing the first 2 games ... He made a strong comeback for winning next 3 games ... He is also having a tough second round against the top-10 Marwan Elshorbagy ... Saurav received a bye in the first round and meeting Mohamed Reda in the next.

Aditya missed an upset win as he won the first 2 games and had match balls in the fourth before losing to the WR #51 Karim El Hammamy ... Harry retired in the first game against his British opponent.

Tennis News

At Australian Open 2019, Melbourne, Australia

[Q1] (21) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,132) bt Sergio Gutierrez-Ferrol (ESP,211) 63 62

[Q1] Ankita Raina (IND,205) bt Myrtille Georges (FRA,238) 62 62
[Q1] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,207) l (16) Jennifer Brady (USA,115) 06 57

[Q2] (21) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,132) vs Rudolf Molleker (GER,207)

[Q2] Ankita Raina (IND,205) vs (29) Paula Badosa Gibert (ESP,140)

Ram scored a comfortable win over Sergio ... In the first set, he was a break down at 2-3 but afterward, he took control of the match ... He won 8 of next 10 games for a convincing win ... Next, Ram is facing the 18 yrs. old talented Rudolf Molleker.

Ankita started with a dominating win against a similar ranked player Georges ... In both sets, Ankita was a better player on the court and Georges failed to give proper fight in this match ... Next, she is facing the top-150 Spanish girl, Paula Badosa Gibert.

Karman failed to stretch the American Brady and lost in straight sets ... Brady ran away with the first set and won it without dropping a single game ... In the second set, Karam tried to fight and had a breakpoint on Brady's serve in the 8th game at 4-3 ... Brady broke Karman in the 11th game and held her service game after converting the 4th match point ... Karman wen to the grand slam qualifying with zero match practice after her training stint ... Our player needs to plan their schedule more logically with mixing training with proper match practice before the big tournament.

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At $590K Sydney International 2019, Australia

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) l Ivan Dodig (CRO)/ Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 26 46

Rohan and Divij lost in straight sets against Dodig and Roger-Vasselin.

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At $54K+H Vietnam Tennis Open 2019, Da Nang City, Vietnam

[R2] (11) Sumit Nagal (IND,340) bt N. Sriram Balaji (IND,401) 76(0) 76(6)

[R3] (11) Sumit Nagal (IND,340) vs (5) Tsung-Hua Yang (TPE,294)

Doubles
[R1] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) bt N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Arjun Kadhe (IND) 63 75

Sumit needed two tie-breaks to overcome the challenge of Bala ... Both players failed to break other's serve but Bala created more chances ... He had a 6 breakpoints, 3 each in both sets, and Sumit had a couple of chances ... But Sumit played better tie-break, he won the first tie-break without losing a single point ... In the second set, he was two set points down at 4-6, but he won next 4 points including winning 2 points on Bala's serve ... Next, Sumit is facing an experienced Tsung-Hua Yang.

The top-seed Lee and Miguel scored straight sets win over Bala and Arjun in the first round.

Tennis News

At Australian Open 2019, Melbourne, Australia

[Q1] (6) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,110) vs Viktor Galovic (CRO,223)
[Q1] (21) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,132) vs Sergio Gutierrez-Ferrol (ESP,211)

[Q1] Ankita Raina (IND,205) vs Myrtille Georges (FRA,238)
[Q1] Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,207) vs (16) Jennifer Brady (USA,115)

Prajnesh and Ram r facing the clay court specialists in the first qualifying round ... Karman having a tough match against the American Brady and Ankita is facing the French girl Georges.

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At $54K+H Vietnam Tennis Open 2019, Da Nang City, Vietnam

[R1] (Q) Manish Sureshkumar (IND,581) l Gerard Granollers (ESP,414) 26 46

[R2] (3) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,295) bt (WC) Shinji Hazawa (JPN,545T) 61 64
[R2] Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) l (16) Denis Yevseyev (KAZ,359) 16 26

[R3] (3) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,295) vs (16) Denis Yevseyev (KAZ,359)

Mukund is in the third round after straight sets win over his Japanese opponent Hazawa ... Next, he is facing Yevseyev, who defeated Arjun comfortably.

Manish failed to challenge Spaniard Granollers in his loss.

Football News

At the AFC Asian Cup 2019, Abu Dhabi, UAE

Group A
India bt Thailand 4-1 (1-1)
Goal Scored - Sunil Chhetri (IND) 27' P and 46', Anirudh Thapa (IND) 68', Jeje Lalpekhlua (IND) 80' and Teerasil Dangda (THA) 33'

UAE dw Bahrain 1-1

India won their first Asian Cup match in their eight attempts, beating Thailand dominantly with help of veteran striker Sunil Chhetri's double ... They youngest Anirudh Thapa scored his first international goal and Jeje added one more as super-sub ... From Thailand, Teerasil Dangda scored to equal score at half-time ... The Blue Tigers dominated the second half and scored their biggest win ... So we are leading the group as other match ended 1-all draw.

After 55 years we have won the match in the AFC Asian Cup ... Also, Sunil Chhetri becomes leading Indian goal scorer in the AFC Asian Cup (total 67 goals) after taking his tally to 4 goals.

Tennis News

At $54K+H Vietnam Tennis Open 2019, Da Nang City, Vietnam

[Q1] Manish Sureshkumar (IND,581) bt (2) Pruchya Isarow (THA,545) 75 63

[R1] Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) bt Alessandro Bega (ITA,382) 64 46 64
[R1] N. Sriram Balaji (IND,401) bt Ji Sung Nam (KOR,366) 76(1) 76(3)
[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,432) l (ITF) Cheong-Eui Kim (KOR,69) 36 16
[R1] (Q) Manish Sureshkumar (IND,581) vs Gerard Granollers (ESP,414)

[R2] (3) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,295) vs (WC) Shinji Hazawa (JPN,545T)
[R2] Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) vs (16) Denis Yevseyev (KAZ,359)
[R2] (11) Sumit Nagal (IND,340) vs N. Sriram Balaji (IND,401)

Doubles
[R1] (1) Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) vs N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Arjun Kadhe (IND)

Arjun and Bala r into the second round after scoring wins over higher ranked opponents ... Arjun is facing his ex-doubles partner Yevseyev ... Bala is facing Sumit and Mukund is facing the Japanese wild-card player Hazawa.

Manish qualified for the main draw with a win over his Thai opponent ... He is facing an experienced Spaniard Granollers ... But Sid lost against his Korean opponent Kim.

In the doubles a bad draw for Indians ... The top-seed Lee and Miguel r facing Bala and Arjun in the first round.

Tennis New

At $590K Tata Open Maharashtra 2019, Pune, India

P.C. to Divij Sharan's FB page

Doubles Final
(1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt Luke Bambridge (GBR)/ Jonny O'Mara (GBR) 63 64

A superb start of the partnership for Rohan and Divij ... They scored straight sets win over their British opponents for winning the first title of 2019.

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At $590K Sydney International 2019, Australia

[R1] Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Ivan Dodig (CRO)/ Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA)

Rohan and Divij r playing in Sydney and they r facing Dodig and Rohan's ex-doubles partner Roger-Vasselin.

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At $54K+H Vietnam Tennis Open 2019, Da Nang City, Vietnam

[Q1] Manish Sureshkumar (IND,581T) vs (2) Pruchya Isarow (THA,545)

[R1] (3) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,295) bye
[R1] Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) vs Alessandro Bega (ITA,382)
[R1] N. Sriram Balaji (IND,401) vs Ji Sung Nam (KOR,366)
[R1] (11) Sumit Nagal (IND,340) bye
[R1] Sidharth Rawat (IND,432) vs (ITF) Cheong-Eui Kim (KOR,69)

Saki skips this challenger, may be due to injury which kept him away from the main-draw match at Pune ... Mukund in the 3rd seed and Sumit is the 11th seed, so having a bye as seeded players ... Arjun is facing similar ranked Italian Bega ... Bala is facing the top-375 Korean Kim ... Sid is facing ITF player, Cheong-Eui Kim. Manish is playing in the qualifying and facing the Thai opponent, Pruchya Isarow.

Tennis News

At $590K Tata Open Maharashtra 2019, Pune, India

[SF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt Simone Bolelli (ITA)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO) 63 36 15-13

[F] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Luke Bambridge (GBR)/ Jonny O'Mara (GBR)

Another dogfight win for Rohan and Divij in extra points of the match tie-break ... After winning the first set they lost the second set ... This time they had a 28 points match tie-break, which our pair won ... In the final, they r facing in-form British pair.

Tennis News

At $590K Tata Open Maharashtra 2019, Pune, India

[QF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) 67(4) 64 17-15

[QF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Simone Bolelli (ITA)/ Ivan Dodig (CRO)

In end what a match between Rohan-Divij and Lee-Miguel, which lasted for more than 1 hour and 45 minutes ... Rohan and Divij scored a memorable comeback win after losing the first set ... They won 32 points long the match tie-break, where both pairs had their chances ... Rohan and Divij saved four match points before winning this match ... In the semis, they r facing experienced players pairing of Dodig and Bolelli.

Tennis News

At $590K Tata Open Maharashtra 2019, Pune, India

[R2] (WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,133) l (4) Malek Jaziri (TUN,45) 76(6) 67(5) 36

Doubles
[QF] (WC) N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Arjun Kadhe (IND) l Luke Bambridge (GBR)/ Jonny O'Mara (GBR) 67(5) 16

Ram lost in a close match against the top-50 ranked Malek Jaziri in more than 2 hours and 45 minutes match, their match ended after 1:00 am ... In the first set, Ramk broke Jaziri in the 2nd game to lead 2-0 but Jaziri immediately broke back for 2-1 ... After that two more times the same thing happened, but RamK won the tight tie-break for winning the first set ... In the second set, RamK missed an opportunities to finish this match in straight sets ... He had 4 break point chances which he failed to convert and lost the tie-break ... In the third set, Jaziri used his experience and was in the control from the start ... He won the match breaking Ram 3rd time in the set ... A good fighting performance by Ram as he used some different tactics of using backhand slicing against Jaziri.

Bala and Arjun failed to repeat the performance of their first-round win and lost in straight sets against the British pair.

Tennis News

At $590K Tata Open Maharashtra 2019, Pune, India

[R1] (WC) Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) l Laslo Djere (SRB,94) 57 67(6)
[R1] (WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,133) bt Marcel Granollers (ESP,97) 46 64 63

[R2] (WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,133) vs (4) Malek Jaziri (TUN,45)

Doubles
[R1] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) bt Radu Albot (MDA)/ Malek Jaziri (TUN) 61 62
[R1] Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) bt David Marrero (ESP)/ Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (CHI) 63 64

[QF] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX)

Ram scored an excellent comeback win against experience Spaniard ... After losing the first set Ram served really well as he didn't face a single break point in next two sets ... In the second set, he broke Granollers in the 10th game for taking the match into decider ... In the final set, Ram broke Granollers early to lead 4-1 and he kept that advantage for winning the match ... Next, he is facing the top-50 Tunisian Jaziri ... Tough luck for Saki as he withdrew due to the foot injury.
Arjun gave fighting performance in his loss against the top-100 Serbian ... Arjun started well and was a break up at 4-1, but Djere broke back to make it 4-all ... Djere broke Arjun in the 11th game and held his serve for winning the first set ... The second set was lot closer, which Djere won on the tie-break.

In the doubles, an excellent start for Divij and Rohan as they won their first round match losing only three games ... Next, they r facing Lee and Miguel, who also started with straight sets win.

Tennis News

At the World Group Qualifier 2019, Kolkata, India

The Indian Davis Cup Team
Prajnesh Gunneswaran, Ramkumar Ramanathan, Divij Sharan, Rohan Bopanna, Saketh Myneni and Sasi Kumar Mukund
Non-playing Captain: Mahesh Bhupathi
Coach: Zeeshan Ali

The Indian Fed Cup Team
Ankita Raina, Karman Thandi, Pranjala Yadlapalli, Rutuja Bhosale and Prarthana Thombare
Non-playing Captain: Vishaal Uppal
Coach: Ankita Bhambri

The new AITA selection committee has announced the team for the World Group Qualifier tie against Italy ... The announcement is more than a month before the tie and the selection was as per current rankings of the players ... As expected, Divij Sharan makes a return in place of Balaji, also Mukund is included in place of Arjun as a reserve player ... Yuki doesn't consider for the tie due to his on-going recovery from the knee injury ... Sumit Nagal, Arjun Kadhe, and Siddharth Vishwakarma will train with the team at a preparatory camp from January 22 to 30, 2019.

The Fed Cup team has also announced for the Asia-Oceania Group-1, which will be played in Astana, Kazakhstan, in the first week of February ... No surprises, as our top four singles players get selected for the tournament with our top doubles player, Prarthana Thombare.

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ATP Singles Rankings with the new formula on 31st Dec 2018, (Old formula rankings r in the bracket)

110 Gunneswaran, Prajnesh (107)
133 Ramkumar Ramanathan (132)
137 Bhambri, Yuki (137)
259 Saketh Myneni (259)
295 Sasi Kumar Mukund (338)
340 Sumit Nagal (477)
392 Arjun Kadhe (389)
401 N.Sriram Balaji (726)
432 Siddharth Rawat (693)
511T Abhinav Sanjeev Shanmugam (847)
574T Vishnu Vardhan (1205T)
581T Manish Sureshkumar (523)
608T Niki Kalouanda Poonacha (645)
650T Suraj R Prabodh (876)

2018 year-end WTA Singles Rankings, (The last year's rankings in brackets)
205 Ankita Raina (276)
207 Karman Thandi (288)
288 Pranjala Yadlapalli (482)
344 Rutuja Bhosale (558)
521 Mahak Jain (750)
555 Riya Bhatia (577)
746 Sowjanya Bavisetti (1099)
769 Zeel Desai (632)
794 Sai Samhitha Chamarthi (865)
809 Jennifer Luikham (1099)

Our 14 players make a cut in newly introduced the top-650 ATP rankings ... So few surprising entries into the list ... Bala, Vishnu, Niki, Suraj, and Abhinav sneaked in with their challenger level points ... Sumit has jumped to the top-350 but he will slide down outside top-350 as next week his last year's Tata Open qualifying points will be removed ... Yuki will also fall outside the top-150 as he is also going to lose 20 ranking points in the next week.
In the doubles, Rohan remains our top player but slide down to the #37 ... Divij showed promising performance and he is in the top-40, #39 ... This year, we will see Divij and Rohan r partnering on the tour so we can experience an interesting ride from the Indian duo ... Leander is showing the age is the only number and he is our the 3ranked player, #63 ... Jeevan is in the top-75, #74, and Purav is also in the top-100, #90 ... Bala and Vishnu failed to capitalize and remain outside the top-100 rankings, Bala is on the #110 and Vishnu is on the #124.

In 2018, we experienced significant improvement in our women tennis ... Our top five players show a really good jump in their rankings ... Ankita and Karman were in the top-200 and they will return there in the early part of the year ... Pranjala has broken into the top-300 and Rutuja is also showing spark to be there ... Mahak is very near to break in into the top-500 after her an excellent run in the $25K Navi Mumbai tournament ... In the doubles, everything depends upon Sania Mirza's comeback after pregnancy ... Prarthana Thombare is stagnant with her ranking ... Karman and Ankita showing promises as a pair, but it will be early to judge.

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At $590K Tata Open Maharashtra 2019, Pune, India

[R1] (WC) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,110) l Michael Mmoh (USA,103) 57 36

Doubles
[R1] Nicholas Monroe (USA)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) l (4) Gerard Granollers (ESP)/ Marcel Granollers (ESP) 46 46
[R1] (WC) Purav Raja (IND)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) l Luke Bambridge (GBR)/ Jonny O'Mara (GBR) 67(4) 36
[R1] (WC) N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Arjun Kadhe (IND) bt (2) Philipp Oswald (AUT)/ Tim Puetz (GER) 76(1) 46 10-8

[QF] (WC) N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Arjun Kadhe (IND) vs Luke Bambridge (GBR)/ Jonny O'Mara (GBR)

I was hoping a winning start for Prajnesh against similar ranked Mmoh ... But Mmoh completed the win in straight sets ... Prajnesh struggled with his game and was looking rusty on the court.

In the doubles, the only win for Indians came from Arjun and Bala ... They defeated the 2nd seeds Oswald and Puetz in the match tie-break ... Next, they r facing the British pairing of Bambridge and O'Mara, who defeated Purav and Ram in the first round ... Jeevan and Monroe lost in straight sets against the 4th seeds Granollers brothers.

Tennis News

At $590K Tata Open Maharashtra 2019, Pune, India

[Q2] (WC) Saketh Myneni (IND,259) bt (8) Egor Gerasimov (BLR,163) 64 67(4) 76(4)

[R1] (WC) Saketh Myneni (IND,259) vs (5) Benoit Paire (FRA,52)

Saki scored a hard-fought win over Gerasimov in more than 2 hours 30 minutes match ... After winning the first set Saki failed to put pressure on Gerasimov's serve ... Gerasimov won the tie-break for taking the match into the third set ... Saki started confidently in the third and was doubles break up at 4-1 ... But Gerasimov broke him in the 6th and the 8th games, 4-all ... Saki recovered and afterward served well to held next 2 service games ... In the tie-break, Saki used huge serve on his advantage for qualifying for the main draw ... He is having a tough match against the 5th seed Frenchman, Benoit Paire.

Football News

At the AFC Asian Cup 2019, UAE

India's 23-man final team
Goalkeepers: Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, Vishal Kaith, Amrinder Singh
Defenders: Pritam Kotal, Sarthak Golui, Sandesh Jhingan, Anas Edathodika, Salam Ranjan Singh, Subhasish Bose, Narayan Das
Midfielders: Udanta Singh, Jackichand Singh, Germanpreet Singh, Pronay Halder, Anirudh Thapa, Vinit Rai, Rowllin Borges, Ashique Kuruniyan, Halicharan Narzary
Forwards: Sumeet Passi, Balwant Singh, Sunil Chhetri, Jeje Lalpekhlua

A good combination of youth and experienced players in the Indian team ... Our team is the 2nd youngest team in the Asian Cup with 25 yrs of average age ... These days our defenders are putting a decent show in all matches.

India is in Group A along with Thailand, Bahrain and hosts UAE ... The Indians will start their campaign on January 6, 2019, against Thailand in Abu Dhabi.

Tennis News

At $590K Tata Open Maharashtra 2019, Pune, India

[Q1] (WC) Sasi Kumar Mukund (IND,336) l (7) Gianluigi Quinzi (ITA,146) 16 16
[Q1] (WC) Saketh Myneni (IND,259) bt (4) Jason Jung (TPE,124) 61 57 62

[Q2] (WC) Saketh Myneni (IND,259) vs (8) Egor Gerasimov (BLR,163)

[R1] (WC) Arjun Kadhe (IND,392) vs Laslo Djere (SRB,94)
[R1] (WC) Prajnesh Gunneswaran (IND,107) vs Michael Mmoh (USA,103)
[R1] (WC) Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND,133) vs Marcel Granollers (ESP,97)

Doubles
[R1] (1) Rohan Bopanna (IND)/ Divij Sharan (IND) vs Radu Albot (MDA)/ Malek Jaziri (TUN)
[R1] Leander Paes (IND)/ Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela (MEX) vs David Marrero (ESP)/ Hans Podlipnik-Castillo (CHI)
[R1] Nicholas Monroe (USA)/ Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (IND) vs (4) Gerard Granollers (ESP)/ Marcel Granollers (ESP)
[R2] (WC) Purav Raja (IND)/ Ramkumar Ramanathan (IND) vs Luke Bambridge (GBR)/ Jonny O'Mara (GBR)
[R1] (WC) N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Arjun Kadhe (IND) vs (2) Philipp Oswald (AUT)/ Tim Puetz (GER)

Saki started with an impressive win over the top-125 ranked Jason Jung in three sets ... After winning the first set comfortably Saki missed few break point chances in the second to lose it ... But he recovered and won the third set comfortably for entering into the final qualifying ... He is facing the 8th seed Egor Gerasimov for a place in the main draw ... Other hand Mukund failed to challenge the Italian Quinzi.

A decent draw for our players in the singles main draw, as all avoided the seeded players and are facing lower ranked players from the draw.
In the doubles, as expected Rohan and Divij r the top-seeds ... They can meet Lee and Miguel if both pairs win their respective first round matches ... Jeevan and Monroe r facing the 4th seeds Granollers brothers ... Purav is playing with Ram and they r facing the British pair ... Bala is playing with Arjun and they r having a tough match against the 2nd seeds Oswald and Puetz.

Football News

At the FIFA Intercontinental Friendly 2018, Abu Dhabi, UAE

India dw Oman 0-0 (0-0)

The Indian men held the higher ranked Oman side a goalless draw ... A good result considering our team halted Oman's 3 matches winning streak.

Squash News

At PSA World Squash Rankings December 2018,

Men's Rankings (Top 100)
12 Saurav Ghosal
60 Mahesh Mangaonkar
61 Vikram Malhotra
68 Harinder Pal Sandhu
70 Ramit Tandon

Women's Rankings (Top 100)
15 Joshna Chinappa
24 Dipika Pallikal Karthik
99 Sunayna Kuruvilla

In 2018, Saurav showed a terrific consistency ... In this month, he reached his first Platinum class event quarter-final in Cairo ... He rose to #11 and ending his season on #12 ... I think he will climb inside the top-10 in the new year ... Other players failed to show consistency as Mahesh, Vikram, Harry, and Ramit remain around the top-60s.

In the women, Joshna and Dipika remained stagnant and inconsistency slides their rankings ... Dipika is outside the top-20.

Badminton News

At 2018 BWF Year-end Rankings of Indian Players, (only top 50 players)

Men's Singles
8 Srikanth Kidambi
12 Sameer Verma
20 H. S. Prannoy
22 B. Sai Praneeth
44 Parupalli Kashyap
49 Subhankar Dey

Women's Singles
3 Pusarla V. Sindhu
9 Saina Nehwal

Men's Doubles
16 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy / Chirag Shetty
25 Manu Attri / B. Sumeeth Reddy
40 Arjun M.R/ Ramchandran Shlok

Women's Doubles
23 N. Sikki Reddy / Ashwini Ponnappa
31 Meghana Jakkampudi /Poorvisha S Ram

Mixed Doubles
22 Ashwini Ponnappa / Satwiksairaj Rankireddy
23 N. Sikki Reddy / Pranaav Jerry Chopra
43 Rohan Kapoor /nKuhoo Garg
49 Saurabh Sharma / Anoushka Parikh

After seeing the year-end rankings of our players, it seems our singles players r stagnant or declined in 2018 ... The only notable rise is from Sameer Verma inside the top-15 ... All other players failed to take the next step ... Hopefully, they will show more consistency in their game and rise in their rankings in 2019.

In the doubles, Satwik showing a superb improvement with his partners ... With Chirag, they r in the top-20 in the men's double and the top-25 in the mixed doubles with Ashwini ... His next target will be the top-10 in the men's doubles and the top-15 in the mixed doubles in 2019.

Tennis News

At Tata Open Maharashtra 2019, Pune, India

The wild card entries are announced for the Tata Open Maharashtra ... A good selection of the main draw wild-cards: Prajnesh Gunneswaran and Ramkumar Ramanathan ... And for the qualifying, the wild-cards goes to Saketh Myneni and Sasi Kumar Mukund.
The organizers r not decided on the 3rd wild-card ... As Yuki's participation is not confirmed and they r hoping for a last minute entry from the quality player ... Otherwise, most probably Arjun Kadhe will be the candidate for it.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Navi Mumbai, India

[SF] (WC) Mahak Jain (IND,682) l (2) Barbara Haas (AUT,219) 46 63 36

Mahak produced a superb performance ... After losing the first set she fought back against the top-225 ranked Haas and won the second set ... In the third set, Mahak was 3-2 up with a break but Barbara raised her game and broke Mahak in the 6th and the 8th games and won next 4 games to complete the win ... Still, creditable fighting performance from young Mahak.

Tennis News

At Tata Open Maharashtra 2019, Pune, India

The entry list is out for the Tata Open Maharashtra ... In the singles, no Indian players get a direct entry ... But in the doubles, our players r in three pairing.

From 2019 season, Rohan and Divij have planned to play together and their first tournament will be in Pune ... They will most probably the top-seed pair ... Lee will continue partnering his last few months Mexican partner, Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela ... Jeevan also having a good experienced partner in the American Nicholas Monroe.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Navi Mumbai, India

[QF] (WC) Mahak Jain (IND,682) bt (8) Tessah Andrianjafitrimo (FRA,339) 63 75

[SF] (WC) Mahak Jain (IND,682) vs (2) Barbara Haas (AUT,219)

Really happy to see Mahak is taking advantage of these home ITF tournaments ... She scored a straight-sets upset win over the top-350 French girl Andrianjafitrimo ... Next, she is facing the top-225 ranked Austrian player, Barbara Haas.

Tennis News

At Australian Open 2019, Melbourne

Prajnesh Gunneswaran (#110), Ramkumar Ramanathan (#132) and Yuki Bhambri (#137) will be seeded players for the Australian Open qualifying ... They r in the initial list declared by Australian Open organizers.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Navi Mumbai, India

[R1] (WC) Jennifer Luikham (IND,1049) l (4) Hiroko Kuwata (JPN,269) 36 57
[R1] (Q) Zeel Desai (IND,650) l (Q) Maria Marfutina (RUS,540) 67(3) 64 46
[R1] (WC) Mahak Jain (IND,682) bt (3) Ya-Hsuan Lee (TPE,267) 63 retd.
[R1] (Q) Sowjanya Bavisetti (IND,814) l (Q) Emily Webley-Smith (GBR,557) 67(2) 63 67(1)
[R1] (WC) Akanksha Dileep Nitture (IND,UNR) l (LL) Naho Sato (JPN,662) 16 75 26
[R1] (WC) Mihika Yadav (IND,1139) l (2) Barbara Haas (AUT,218) 26 75 46

[R2] (WC) Mahak Jain (IND,682) bt Ekaterina Yashina (RUS,362) 76(5) 61

[QF] (WC) Mahak Jain (IND,682) vs (8) Tessah Andrianjafitrimo (FRA,339)

A cruel draw for the Indian players as many of them faced seeded opponents ... Mahak got a lucky break as her top-275 Taipei opponent retired after losing the first set ... But she scored an upset win over the top-375 Russian player, Ekaterina Yashina, in straight sets ... Next, she is facing the former top-250 French girl.

Swojanya lost in a tight match against the experienced Emily Webley-Smith ... Also 15 yrs. old Akanksha Nitture gave a fighting performance against the top-700 Japanese girl in her three sets loss.

Badminton News

At $1.5M HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2018, Guangzhou, China

P.C. to All England Open twitter handle

Women's Singles Final
Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) bt Nozomi Okuhara (JPN,5) 21-19 21-17

What 2018 for P.V. Sindhu!
Gold 🥇- World Tour Grand Finals
Silver 🥈- World Championships
Silver 🥈- Asian Games
Silver 🥈- Commonwealth Games

Sindhu becomes the first Indian to win the BWF World Tour Finals ... After so many near misses at the World Championships, the Olympic, the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, she managed to win this big title ... In the final, she defeated Nozomi Okuhara in straight games.

In the first game, Sindhu took an early control and was leading 14-6 ... But she gave chance to Okuhara for a fightback, Okuhara caught her at 16-all ... Sindhu retained her composure and took a 20-17 lead and converted the 3rd game point for winning this game ... In the second game, Sindhu kept a couple of points lead throughout the game ... Okuhara caught her at 7-all, but Sindhu regained control and kept her nose ahead ... Sindhu converted the first match-point for a deserving win in 62 mins. long match ... Here, she defeated four top-10 players including the WR #1 Tzu Ying Tai and the WR #2 Akane Yamaguchi before lifting the title.

Table Tennis News

At the 2018 ITTF Star Awards 2018, Incheon, Korea

P.C. to Manika Batra twitter handle

The 2018 Breakthrough Star - Manika Batra

A breakthrough year for Manika Batra has culminated in the 23-year-old Indian talent winning the 2018 Breakthrough Star award tonight in Incheon ... Batra enjoyed a sensational outing at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, earning India its first-ever gold medal in the Women’s Singles category, and she went on to leave the Gold Coast with three further medals to her name from the Women’s Team, Women’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles events ... Also, Batra becomes the first Indian athlete to be honored at the ITTF Star Awards and she is also the first player from outside of Japan to be named the Breakthrough Star.

Badminton News

At $1.5M HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2018, Guangzhou, China

Men's Singles
[SF] Sameer Verma (IND,14) l (3/4) Yuqi Shi (CHN,2) 21-12 20-22 17-21

Women's Singles
[SF] Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) bt Ratchanok Intanon (ThA,) 21-16 25-23

Sindhu enters her second final in the BWF World Tour Finals ... She defeated the Thai girl, Ratchanok Intanon, in straight games ... After winning the first game she faced resistance from Intanon ... Sindhu saved 3 game points before converting her 2nd match-point ... In the final, she is facing the Japanese challenge of Nozomi Okuhara.

But Sameer failed to match Sindhu's performance and lost against Chinese Yuqi Shi ... Sameer started well and won the first game comfortably ... In the second game, both players were matching each other, Sameer missed a match-point at 20-19 and Yuqi won next 3 points for winning this game ... In the third game, Yuqi took a control from 9-all and won it keeping the advantage ... Still, a good performance from Sameer to reach the semis in the BWF World Tour Finals.

Badminton News

At $1.5M HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2018, Guangzhou, China

MS - Group B
[M3] Sameer Verma (IND,14) bt Kantaphon Wangcharoen (THA,17) 21-9 21-18

WS - Group A
[M3] Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) bt Beiwen Zhang (USA,12) 21-9 21-15

Our both players qualified for the semi-final with straight games win in their respective matches ... Sindhu scored a comfortable win over the American Beiwen Zhang to win a Group A ... This was a good win considering Sindhu lost last three matches against Zhang ... In the semis, she is having a challenge of the Thai girl, Ratchanok Intanon.

Sameer also scored a straight-games win over his Thai opponent, Kantaphon Wangcharoen, to qualify for the semis behind Kento Momota ...In the semis, he is facing a Chinese Yuqi Shi.

Hockey News

Hockey News
At FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2018, Bhubaneswar, India

Quarter Finals
India l The Netherlands 1-2 (1-1)
Goal Scorers - Akashdeep Singh (IND) 12' PC and Thierry Brinkman (NED) 15', Mink van der Weerden (NED) 50' PC

India's wait for the World Cup medal continues after 43 yrs ... They lost in a close match against the Dutch side ... The Indians started well scoring the 1st goal in the 12th minute but the Dutch side immediately responded scoring in 2 minutes to equalized before the end of the first quarter ... After that, both teams failed to score in the next two quarters ... The Dutch side was looking more superior but the Indians managed to keep the pressure on them ... In the 4th quarter, the Dutch side took a lead after the penalty corner conversion in the 50th minute ... Immediately Amit Rohidas made an unnecessary infringement on the Dutch player after hitting with a stick on his hand ... He received the yellow card so the Indians played last 10 mins with only 10 players ... We tried hard and earned penalty corner and saved one without a goalkeeper on the field ... But over players failed to score despite multiple circle penetrations and the Dutch defended well for completing the victory.

Badminton News

At $1.5M HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2018, Guangzhou, China

MS - Group B
[M2] Sameer Verma (IND,14) bt Tommy Sugiarto (INA,10) 21-16 21-7

WS - Group A
[M2] Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) bt (1) Tzu Ying Tai (TPE,1) 14-21 21-16 21-18

Sameer scored an excellent dominating win over Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto ... Sameer took full advantage of a slower court against Sugiarto.

Sindhu scored a superb comeback win over the regaining WR #1 Tzu Ying Tai ... After losing the first game easily Sindhu made a strong comeback in the match to win the second ... In the third game, Tai took an early lead and was leading till 8-12 ... Sindhu won 7 points in a row from 11-13 to gran 18-13 lead ... Tai saved two match points from 20-16 but Sindhu converted the 3rd match point ... This was Sindhu's first win against Tai after six consecutive losses ... Her last win was in the Olympic on the 15th August 2016 ... Also with this win, Sindhu has secured her place in the semis.

Tennis News

At $100K+H ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Dubai, UAE

[R2] Ankita Raina (IND,213) l (6) Stefanie Voegele (SUI,83) 26 26

Stefanie Voegele proved too strong for Ankita.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Pune, India

[R2] (WC) Mahak Jain (IND,655) l (1) Jia-Jing Lu (CHN,227) 36 57

Mahak gave fighting performance against the top-seed Jia-Jing Lu in her loss ... But the Indian challenge got over with Mahak's loss.

Badminton News

At $1.5M HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2018, Guangzhou, China

MS - Group B
[M1] Sameer Verma (IND,14) l (1) Kento Momota (JPN,1) 18-21 6-21

WS - Group A
[M1] Pusarla V. Sindhu (IND,6) bt (2) Akane Yamaguchi (JPN,2) 24-22 21-15

Sameer lost in a straight-games against the WR #1 Kento Momota ... He stretched Kento in the first game but Kento was too good in the second ... Also, Indonesian Tommy Sugiarto and Thai Kantaphon Wangcharoen are in the group.

In the women, Sindhu started with a superb win over the WR #2 Akane Yamaguchi in a straight-games ... This is a tough group as WR #1 Tzu Ying Tai and the top-10 Beiwen Zhang.

Tennis News

At $100K+H ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Dubai, UAE

[R1] Ankita Raina (IND,213) bt (WC) Tereza Mihalikova (SVK,351) 76(3) 63

[R2] Ankita Raina (IND,213) vs (6) Stefanie Voegele (SUI,83)

Ankita is in the second round with a straight-sets win over Tereza Mihalikova ... In the first set, it was a dogfight as both players were breaking opponent's serve ... After winning the first set Ankita took control and won last 3 games in a row to complete the victory ... Next, she is facing the top-100 Swiss girl, Stefanie Voegele.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Pune, India

[R1] (WC) Mahak Jain (IND,655) bt (LL) Ksenia Palkina (KAZ,499) 63 62
[R1] (WC) Snehal Mane (IND,1284) l (5) Junri Namigata (JPN,287) 06 06
[R1] (LL) Natasha Palha (IND,1165) l Mariam Bolkvadze (GEO,355)46 46
[R1] (WC) Zeel Desai (IND,653) l (6) Valeriya Strakhova (UKR,291) 16 46
[R1] (WC) Bhuvana Kalva (IND,960) l Marina Melanikova (RUS,340) 26 26

[R2] (WC) Mahak Jain (IND,655) vs (1) Jia-Jing Lu (CHN,227)

This week, Rutuja withdrew due to injury ... But an excellent winning start for Mahak against the former top-175 player, Ksenia Palkina, in straight sets ... Next, having a tough match against the top-seed ... Otherwise expected losses for our players.

Golf News

At the Asian Tour 2018,

P.C. to Asian tour

2018 Earnings (USD)
1 Shubhankar Sharma (IND) $755,994
2 Sanghyun Park (KOR) $561,898
3 Justin Harding (RSA) $479,816
4 Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) $422,935
5 Scott Vincent (ZIM) $420,886
6 John Catlin (USA) $387,932
7 Sihwan Kim (USA) $373,008
8 Kurt Kitayama (USA) $352,711
9 Yuta Ikeda (JPN) $338,671
10 Rahil Gangjee (IND) $302,628

Shubhankar Sharma has captured the Asian Tour Habitat for Humanity Standings title ... The 22-year-old Shubhankar emerged as the 2018 Asian Tour Order of Merit champion following a dream season in Asia ... He becomes the fifth and youngest Indian to top the Asian Tour money list in a particular season ... He joins the exclusive club of Indians who have achieved the feat in the past - Jyoti Randhawa (2002), Arjun Atwal (2003), Jeev Milkha Singh (2006 and 2008) and Anirban Lahiri (2015) ... With this, Shubhankar automatically qualifies for the next year's British Open and WGC Mexico Championship as a winner of the Asian Tour Order of Merit.

Next week, he will be playing the last event of 2018 the BNI Indonesian Masters.

Hockey News

At FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2018, Bhubaneswar, India

Pool C
India bt Canada 5-1 (1-0)
Goal Scorers - Harmanpreet Singh (IND) 12' PC, Chinglensana Kangujam (IND) 46', Lalit Upadhyay (IND) 47' and 57', Amit Rohidas (IND) 51' PC and Floris van Son (CAN) 39'

India qualifies for the quarter-final after winning the Pool C ... In their final match, they required a win over Canada and in end, they gave a dominating display for winning comfortably with 5-1 score ... We started well and scored through the penalty corner in the first quarter, but after dominating the second quarter we failed to score due to poor finishing in the circle ... The Canadian took advantage of our poor finishing and equalized in the third quarter ... In the fourth quarter, we came out all guns blazing and gave one of the best attacking performance ... We scored two goals in the first 2 minutes to restore the lead ... Then an excellent execution of the penalty corner drill to increase the lead and won this match comfortably ... We need to wait for knowing our opponent from the cross-over match ... But most probably we will be facing the Netherlands.

Squash News

At $180.5K Men's Black Ball Open 2018, Cairo, Egypt (PSA World Tour Platinum)

[QF] (9/16) Saurav Ghosal (IND,12) l (2) Ali Farag (EGY,2) 6-11, 9-11, 3-11 (34m)

A decent performance by Saurav against the in-form WR #2 Ali Farag.

Tennis News

At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Solapur, India

[SF] (WC) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,375) l (4) Jia-Jing Lu (CHN,227) 36 26

Rutuja failed to build on her excellent top-100 win in the previous round ... She lost in straight sets against Jia-Jing Lu ... Still, overall a good week for Rutuja.

Squash News

At $180.5K Men's Black Ball Open 2018, Cairo, Egypt (PSA World Tour Platinum)

[R3] (9/16) Saurav Ghosal (IND,12) bt (9/16) Omar Mosaad (EGY,18) 11-6, 12-10, 11-1 (36m)

[QF] (9/16) Saurav Ghosal (IND,12) vs (2) Ali Farag (EGY,2)

Saurav enters his first Platinum class event quarter-final in Cairo ... In the third round, he defeated the former WR #3, Omar Mosaadin straight games ... After winning the first game Saurav was down four game-balls in the second, 6-10 ... Saurav played a smart squash and made Omar play an extra ball ... Omar made a lot of unforced errors, Saurav took advantage of it and won 17 points from next 18 points for completing win in the three games ... Next, he is facing in-form WR #2 Ali Farag.

Tennis News

At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Solapur, India

[QF] (WC) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,375) bt (1) Tamara Zidansek (SLO,86) 26 64 63

[SF] (WC) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,375) vs (4) Jia-Jing Lu (CHN,227)

Doubles
[R1] (WC) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Kai-Lin Zhang (CHN) bt Mariam Bolkvadze (GEO)/ Albina Kabhibulina (UZB) 36 76(5) 11-9
[QF] (WC) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Kai-Lin Zhang (CHN) bt Paula Kania (POL)/ Valeria Savinykh (RUS) 46 63 10-6

[SF] (WC) Rutuja Bhosale (IND)/ Kai-Lin Zhang (CHN) l Miyabi Inoue (JPN)/ Jia-Jing Lu (CHN) 1-4 retd.
What a huge win for Rutuja, undoubtedly the best in her career by a long way ... After losing the first set Rutuja made an excellent comeback against Tamara Zidansek for her first top-100 win ... Next, she is having a Chinese challenge of Jia-Jing Lu.

In the doubles, Rutuja and her Chinese partner Zhang gave a walkover to their opponents in the semis after winning first 2 matches in the match tie-break.

Squash News

At $180.5K Men's Black Ball Open 2018, Cairo, Egypt (PSA World Tour Platinum)

[R1] (9/16) Saurav Ghosal (IND,12) bye
[R2] (9/16) Saurav Ghosal (IND,12) bt Karim Ali Fathi (EGY,44) 11-3, 11-1, 13-11 (36m)

[R3] (9/16) Saurav Ghosal (IND,12) vs (9/16) Omar Mosaad (EGY,18)

Saurav is playing a big Platinum event in Cairo ... After receiving a bye in the first round he started with straight games win over a local player ... In the third round, he is facing the former WR #3, Omar Mosaad, who scored an upset win over the WR #6 Colombian player.

Tennis News

At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Solapur, India

[R2] (WC) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,375) bt (Q) Miyabi Inoue (JPN,390) 46 76(4) 61
[R2] (WC) Riya Bhatia (IND,636) l (4) Jia-Jing Lu (CHN,227) 16 16
[R2] (2) Ankita Raina (IND,213) l Marina Melnikova (RUS,340) 46 63 16

[QF] (WC) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,375) vs (1) Tamara Zidansek (SLO,86)

Rutuja scored a fighting comeback win over a similar ranked Japanese girl Inoue ... Next, she is having a real test against the top-100, Tamara Zidansek.
A surprising loss for Ankita against the Russian Melnikova in three sets ... Riya failed to challenge her 4th seed Chinese opponent.

Table Tennis News

At The ITTF Rankings - December 2018,

The Men's Rankings
#30 Sharath Kamal Achanta (IND)
#31 Sathiyan Gnanasekaran (IND)
#100 Harmeet Desai (IND)

The Women's Rankings
#52 Manika Batra (IND)

Our veteran player Sharath Kamal has first-time broken into the top-30 of the ITTF rankings and G. Sathiyan has also achieved career-best ranking ... In the women's ranking also, Manika Batra rises to her career-best ranking and nearing to the top-50 of the ITTF rankings.

Tennis News

At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Solapur, India

[R1] (WC) Zeel Desai (IND,653) l (1) Tamara Zidansek (SLO,86) 26 36
[R1] Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,280) l (Q) Miyabi Inoue (JPN,390) 26 retd.
[R1] (WC) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,375) bt (8) Ya-Hsuan Lee (TPE,269) 6-5 retd.
[R1] (WC) Riya Bhatia (IND,636) bt (Q) Anna Morgina (RUS,496) 64 63
[R1] (WC) Mihika Yadav (IND,1137) l Diana Marcinkevica (LAT,285) 36 36
[R1] (2) Ankita Raina (IND,213) bt Jaqueline Adina Cristian (ROM,338) 63 61

[R2] (WC) Rutuja Bhosale (IND,375) vs (Q) Miyabi Inoue (JPN,390)
[R2] (WC) Riya Bhatia (IND,636) vs (4) Jia-Jing Lu (CHN,227)
[R2] (2) Ankita Raina (IND,213) vs Marina Melnikova (RUS,340)

Rutuja's the top-275 opponent retired in the late of first set ... Next, Rutuja is facing the Japanese qualifier Inoue, as her opponent Pranjala retired after losing the first set ... Riya also started with an upset straight sets win over a Russian qualifier ... Next, she is facing the 4th seed Chinese girl.
Ankita started with a comfortable win over the Romanian girl ... Next, she is facing the Russian Melnikova ... Zeel and Mihika lost against their higher ranked opponents in straight sets.

Hockey News

At FIH Odisha Hockey Men's World Cup 2018, Bhubaneswar, India

Pool C
India dw Belgium 2-2 (0-1)
Goal Scorers - Harmanpreet Singh (IND) 39' PS, Simranjeet Singh (IND) 47' and Alexander Hendrickx (BEL) 8' PC, Simon Gougnard (BEL) 56'

The Indians conceded a late goal and drew with the higher ranked Belgian team ... This was deserving result considering the dominating performance by the Belgian team in the first half ... We were lucky that the Belgian side managed a single goal ... From the third quarter, we lifted our game and attacked the Belgian goal ... We equalized through the penalty stroke and in the fourth quarter, Simranjeet gave a lead through a field goal ... After that, we tried to defend but the Belgian equalized when 4 mins were remaining ... After that, both teams failed to score but well fought a 2-all draw.

Golf News

At €1M Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open 2018, Mauritius (Co-sanctioned Asian Tour and European Tour)

T2 Chikkarangappa S. (IND) 64 68 71 67 -18 $104,365.00
T28 Ajeetesh Sandhu (IND) 69 70 68 74 -7 $9,561.00
T55 Viraj Madappa (IND) 68 74 75 69 -2 $3,739.00
61 Udayan Mane (IND) 70 72 73 72 -1 $3,286.00

Chikka scored the five-under final round to finished for the tied second position ... He started the tournament well after scoring the eight-under first round ... With this result, Chikka secures his playing card for next season at the Asian Tour.

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At $1.5M Australian PGA Championship 2018, Australia

T40 Gaganjeet Bhullar (IND) 69 70 78 71 PAR $5,664.00

The third round of six-over messed up any chance of finishing in the top-10 for Gaganjeet.

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At $500K Queen's Cup hosted by Jaidee Foundation 2018, Thailand (Asian Tour)

T6 Shiv Kapur (IND) 69 68 65 67 -11 $15,450.00
T28 M Dharma (IND) 68 66 71 70 -5 $3,922.00
T28 Abhijit Chadha (IND) 69 66 72 68 -5 $3,922.00
T38 Rashid Khan (IND) 68 70 69 69 -4 $3,033.00
T48 Kshitij Naveed Kaul (IND) 68 71 68 70 -3 $2,352.00
T48 Honey Baisoya (IND) 72 67 72 66 -3 $2,352.00
T62 Amardip Malik (IND) 66 65 71 78 PAR $1,600.00

Shiv Kapur finished in the top-10 with the final 3-under round.

Tennis News

At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Pune, India

Singles Final
(4) Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,223) l (1) Tamara Zidansek (SLO,86) 36 46

The top-100 player, Tamara Zidansek, proved a strong for Karman as she lost in straight sets ... Karman fought hard but Zidansek used her experience to win important points and completed win in the two sets ... Still, a notable performance from Karman.

Tennis News

At 2019 AO Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-off, Guangdong Province, China

[QF] (7) Pranjala Yadlapalli (IND,280) l Chihiro Muramatsu (JPN,412) 26 57

Doubles
[SF] (3) N.Sriram Balaji (IND)/ Arjun Kadhe (IND) l (1) Mao-Xin Gong (CHN)/ Zhang Ze (CHN) 46 26

Boys' 18/u Singles
[SF] (1) Mann Shah (IND,99) l (7) Baoluo Zheng (CHN,568) 75 46 46

Turned to be a bad day for the Indians as our all players lost their respective matches and chance of getting the wild card for AO 19 ... Pranjala struggled with her game and lost in straight sets against her Japanese opponent.

I was hoping spirited performance by Bala and Arjun but they lost easily against the local top-seeds Gong and Ze.

Mann started well after winning the first set but then failed to capitalize against the lowly ranked local player.

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At $25K ITF Women's Tournament 2018, Pune, India

P.C. to Karman's FB page

[SF] (4) Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,223) bt (2) Ankita Raina (IND,198) 26 62 64

[F] (4) Karman Kaur Thandi (IND,223) vs (1) Tamara Zidansek (SLO,86)

Doubles Final
(1) Ankita Raina (IND)/ Karman Kaur Thandi (IND) bt (WC) Aleksandrina Naydenova (BUL)/ Tamara Zidansek (SLO) 62 67(5) 11-9

The battle of becoming the India's #1 in the year-end ranking is intensified ... Karman drew a first blood as she scored a fighting comeback win over her senior partner Ankita in three sets ... With this win she will sneak ahead of Ankita but there are still 3 more tournaments to decide ... In the final, Karman is facing a tough challenge of the top-100 player, Tamara Zidansek.

Ankita and Karman captured the women's doubles title against experienced players, Aleksandrina Naydenova and Tamara Zidansek ... After winning the first set they faced stiff resistant from Naydenova and Zidansek but managed to complete win in a closely fought the match tie-break.