Athletics and News from World of Sports: Hockey India derecognised by Sports Ministry

[Pintu]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/501135_India-unstoppable-at-SAG--bag-12-of-13-gold-medals

India unstoppable at SAG, bag 12 of 13 gold medals

STAFF WRITER 20:21 HRS IST

Tapan Mohanta

Dhaka, Feb 4 (PTI) Shuttlers, shooters, kabaddi and volleyball teams reigned supreme as India bagged 12 gold out of the 13 on offer to continue their dominance with 55 medals at the end of the seventh day of the 11th South Asian Games here today.

Besides the dozen gold medals, India bagged eight silver and one bronze to end the day with 32 gold, 14 silver and nine bronze medals, taking their total tally to 55.

Having made it an all-Indian issue in badminton, the shuttlers earned five gold and five silver medals in the men's and women's single, double, and mixed double categories to end their campaign on a high.

The Indian Shooters had a third productive day in succession, claiming all the four top places up for grabs.

Inspite of the gold medals, they also pocketed two silver and one bronze medal.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/529675_Indian-eves-beat-Hong-Kong-in-Uber-Cup-opener

Indian eves beat Hong Kong in Uber Cup opener

STAFF WRITER 13:10 HRS IST

New Delhi, Feb 22 (PTI) Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal pulled off a thrilling victory over world number eight Zhou Mi as Indian women defeated formidable Hong Kong in their Uber Cup (Asia Zone) opener in Nakornratchasima, Thailand today.

World number seven Saina bounced back from a game down to edge past Zhou 14-21 21-10 23-21 in a 50-minute clash to give India a flying start in the prestigious team event.

Hong Kong pulled one back in the second singles when Yip Pui Yin

beat Sayali Gokhale 21-13 21-11.

National champion Trupti Murgunde, however, put India ahead once again as she saw off Chan Tsz Ka 21-18 21-16 in just 27 minutes.

India's best doubles player Jwala Gutta then teamed up with Ashwini Ponnappa to seal the tie for India as the duo beat Zhou Mi and Tse Ying Suet 21-13 21-16 in a 21-minute match.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.ptinews.com/news/534074_Delhi-s-traffic-chaos-concern-for-Kiwi-hockey-team

Delhi's traffic chaos concern for Kiwi hockey team

STAFF WRITER 14:49 HRS IST

Christchurch, Feb 24 (PTI) Delhi's chaotic traffic has proved to be the biggest security worry for New Zealand's hockey team ever since its arrival in the Indian capital for the World Cup starting on Sunday.

"The hotel itself has tremendous security, so the players are very much at ease within the hotel environment," New Zealand team manager Kevin Marr was quoted as saying by New Zealand Press Association.

"We've only been to the grounds once, and there was certainly very evident security there. Indian traffic being what it is, it's proving quite difficult for them to create a little bit of an exclusion zone around the vehicles themselves," he said.

Marr said with motorists showing little road discipline, it becomes a difficult to reach the practice venues in time.

 

[Pintu]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100303/jsp/sports/story_12170184.jsp

Mahindra aim to close gap

Margao: Placed third in the league table, title contenders Mahindra United would look to close the gap at the top by making a bright start to their second-leg campaign in the I-League when they meet reigning champions Churchill Brothers in a tough away fixture here Wednesday.

Coming up with decent performances in the first half of the league, Mahindra United, still capable of playing much better, would be disappointed with the opportunities missed to consolidate their position at the top when they reflect back at the first-leg, where they enjoyed a ten-match unbeaten run at one stage.

At the half-way stage of the league, where there has been no runaway leaders, Mahindra find themselves just four points behind Dempo Sports Club, who are placed at the top.
(PTI)

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Manavjit traps gold in Mexico World Cup​

World champion marksman Manavjit Singh Sandhu lived upto his top billing and clinched the trap gold in the ISSF World Cup at Acapulco, Mexico. Manavjit qualified for the final round after shooting 122 with a series of 25,24,24,25 and 24 and was a point below the qualification round leader Daniele Resca (123) of Italy.

The 34-year-old Indian missed two birds in the final but held his nerve to hit the remaining 16 targets to grab the gold with a point's margin. His total final score was 145 (122+23).

Manavjit had recently won gold in the Commonwealth Shooting Championships at Delhi with a score of 146 (124+22). "I did not realise that I was going to win until the last shots. It has been a very close competition. I just won by a single target. I shot aggressively up until the end and eventually made it to the top," Manavjit said from Acapulco.

Source - Zee News

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Why is IOA independent, court asks govt​

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the government how it was funding the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and why it had no control over it and other sports federations that had neither accountability nor transparency.

A division bench of acting Chief Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Mukta Gupta questioned the government on a public suit seeking to probe the government's functioning of an independent organisation.

"When the government is giving (funds) then why it has no control over IOA, which is claiming to be an independent body," the bench questioned the government counsel.

The court also asked the government to furnish the audit accounts and prepare a chart as to how much funding the government is providing to IOA and other sports federations by April 7.

The direction has come on a petition filed by Rahul Mehra who said various sports bodies cannot function as private organisations without any accountability or obligations to the people of the country.

Citing a list of 13 sports bodies, Mehra had sought a direction to the government to ensure that various sports bodies recognised by it function "in an accountable and transparent manner" for the objective for which they have been created.

The government must withdraw recognition in case the bodies and their chiefs failed to achieve their objectives, besides withdrawing funds and patronage from the organisations, he said.

"Most of these organisations are controlled by persons who have neither the expertise nor any interest in the development and promotion of sports and they are using their positions for promotion," Mehra has alleged.

Source - Zee News

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

Saina creates history in All Eng badminton​

London: Saina Nehwal became the first Indian woman to reach the semifinals of the All England Super Series badminton championship when she defeated German Juliane Schenk in straight games in the quarterfinals here. The world number seven Indian beat Juliane 21-8, 21-14 in just 27 minutes to set up a tough semi-final clash with former world number one Tine Rasmussen of Denmark at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Rasmussen beat world champion and sixth seed Lan Lu 16-21, 23-21, 21-11 in the first quarter-final. "It is a fantastic victory," said former All England champion and national chief coach Pullela Gopi Chand.Asked about the semi-final match to be played late on today, Gopi Chand said Saina should have an edge, even though the Indian has a 0-2 record against Rasmussen.

"Saina is a much improved player than last year. She has been working on her strokes. She has the edge over Rasmussen," said Gopi Chand. The Hyderabadi sensation had beaten Judith Meulendijks of the Netherlands and Korean Seung Hee Bae in the first two rounds before getting past Juliane in the quarter-finals.

Source - Zee News

 

[Rage]

News from the world of Boxing

This thread is hereby commemorated to compile and discuss news and events from the world of boxing, both from India and the world without.

For all those pug-philes and followers of the 'sweet science'...

I'll start off with a lil good news:


India wins two golds at Asian Youth Boxing C'ships

Thursday, March 11, 2010,11:21 [IST]


New Delhi, Mar 11: The Indian team has done the country proud at the Asian Youth Boxing Championships in Tehran, Iran by bagging two gold medals and three silvers.

While Vikas Krishnan (60kg) and Naveen Kumar (81kg) grabbed the two gold medals for India, Devendro (48kg), Venkat Giddi Nagarjun (57kg) and Sumit Sangwan (75kg) emerged as runners-up to claim three silver medals for the country.

With a tally of 28 points India finished second behind Kazakhstan, which posted 34 points.

Apart from the golds and silvers, India's tally also gained from the four bronze medals won earlier.

The team is expected to land in India on Friday, Mar 12.


http://news.oneindia.in/2010/03/11/india-2-golds-asian-youth-boxing-championships.html

 

[Rage]

The Paqman beat Clottey to retain the WBO crown

Manny Pacquiao, right, of the Philippines, hits Joshua Clottey, og Ghana, during their WBO boxing welterweight
title fight in Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, March 13, 2010. -Photo by AP

Sunday, 14 Mar, 2010

ARLINGTON, Texas: Filipino Manny Pacquiao produced a dominating display to outclass Ghanaian Joshua Clottey and retain his WBO welterweight title with a unanimous points victory on Saturday.

Pacquiao’s speed and relentless punching proved too much for his bigger opponent, who offered little attacking threat in front of nearly 51,000 fans at Cowboys Stadium, the home of the Dallas NFL team.

“I stayed focused to create some strategy to dominate him,”

Pacquiao told reporters. “He’s a very good defensive fighter. I was looking for a strategy to beat that defence, like body shots, uppercuts. It worked.”

Clottey concentrated on keeping his hands held high in front of his face to block his opponent’s non-stop attack in a lop-sided contest.

One judge awarded every round to Pacquiao with the other two giving a 119-109 verdict. The champion landed 20 per cent of the 1,231 punches he threw.

Whilst Pacquiao spoke respectfully of his opponent, the Filipino’s trainer Freddy Roach was upset by Clottey’s negative display.

“World title fights come once in a lifetime. If you don’t have the balls to take it, and you just want to survive...well,” Roach said.

“Why not go for it and put it all on the line? I’m frustrated that he didn’t try to win the fight.”

Following constant encouragement to attack more from his corner, Clottey did land some blows, with a left uppercut followed by a heavy left hook in the 10th round, which Pacquiao admitted rattled him.

“He’s strong. Some of his punches hurt,” said the champion, who regained his poise after Clottey failed to follow up.

Pacquiao, considered the sport’s best pound-for-pound fighter,

improved his record to 51-3-2 (38 knockouts).

Clottey, who dropped to 35-4, praised his elusive opponent.

“He’s very, very fast,” Clottey said. “I tried to catch him up and then when I get to him, he’s strong too.”

The outcome inevitably led to talk of a possible showdown between Pacquiao and undefeated American Floyd Mayweather Jr.

“I want that fight, the world wants that fight, but it’s up to him,” Pacquiao said. “I’m ready to fight any time.”


http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect...lottey-to-retain-wbo-welterweight-crown-ts-05


Phillipino baby! Reppin' that sh#t!

 

[GokuInd]

Vijender Singh wins gold in Commonwealth Boxing Championship

NEW DELHI: World number one Vijender Singh (75kg) of India outpunched England's Frank Buglioni 12-3 to claim the gold medal in the fifth Commonwealth Boxing Championships on Wednesday.

Indian boxers scripted history by winning the six gold medals at the Commonwealth Boxing Championship.

Apart from Vijender, Amandeep Singh (49kg), Asian champion Suranjoy Singh (52kg), World Cup bronze medallist Dinesh Kumar (81kg), Asian bronze medallist Paramjeet Samota(91+ kg) and Jai Bhagwan (60 kg) rose to the occasion as they all clinch gold medals in their respective categories to give India rich haul of record six gold medals for the very first time.

Jai Bhagwan (60 kg), who got a walkover in the semis, beat Valention Knowles while Suronjoy Singh (52 kg) got the better of Oliver Lavigi.

Amandeep Singh (49 kg) defeated Peter Mungai, Paramjeet Samota (91+ kg) beat Joseph Parkar and Dinesh Kumar (81 kg) beat Callum Johnson.

 

[NSG_Blackcats]

India claims team championship​

India had a glorious day in the XXX Energy Drink Commonwealth boxing championship as it produced its best-ever showing in the meet by claiming the team championship with a tally of six gold medals. All the six Indians in the finals tasted success in front of a packed house on the concluding day of the championship on Wednesday. The previous best by the country — four gold and three silver — had come in the 2005 meet in Scotland.

Olympic and World medallist Vijender Singh exhibited his grit to ignore a bleeding nose and overcome a strong challenge from England's Frank Buglioni to claim his first gold medal in two years.

The bout was much tougher than what the 13-3 scorline suggested. Inspired by the home crowd, Vijender, even after injuring his nose, took care not to get too close to the Englishman, who had a knack of scoring off left punches, and took a 3-1 lead in the first round.

Fiery round
The Indian led 7-2 in the second period. The final round witnessed some fiery trading of punches but it was Vijender who made the most of it despite lowering his guard and intimidating his opponent.

“I was a bit nervous thinking that the referee might stop the bout because of my bleeding nose. However, the support of the home crowd spurred me to carry on,” said Vijender, who was adjudged the best boxer of the meet.

Among the others, dark horse Paramjeet Samota's performance stood out. The super heavyweight boxer, trailing 0-1 in the first round, once again displayed his big heart to tame New Zealand's Joseph Parker 7-3.

“This is the biggest achievement of my career so far. I tried to keep my guard up and it proved beneficial again,” the 24-year-old Samota said. It was a cakewalk for Suranjoy Singh who outclassed Oliver Lavigi of Mauritius in just 25 seconds while Amandeep banked on his solid defence to get the better of Kenyan Peter Mungai 3-0.

Jai Bhagwan, the Asian silver medallist, bagged the yellow metal after his keenly-fought bout against Valention Knowles of the Bahamas. After being 2-2 in the second round, Jai Bhagwan intensified his attack in the third to win 6-2. Dinesh Kumar got a walkover from Scotland's Callum Johnson, who opted out because of a wrist injury. Ian Weaver of England was chosen the most promising boxer of the championship.

Rewards
Hero Honda presented a motorcycle to all the six gold medallists. Percept, the promoter of the event, awarded each boxer Rs. 25,000 and a Siyaram's suit. Percept also announced that five boxers — Vijender, Suranjoy, Dinesh, Jai Bhagwan and Balwinder Beniwal — had been roped in under its talent hunt programme.

According to the Joint Managing Director of Percept, Shailendra Singh, steel company Monnet will be the official team and kit sponsor of the Indian squad for three years.

Source - The Hindu

 

[Rage]

Finally! Boxers get team and kit-sponsors:

Boxers bag $1 million sponsorship deal after medal haul
Indian boxers' phenomenal haul of six gold medals in the Commonwealth Championships helped them get a team and kit sponsor, for the first time ever, with the Monnet Steel group. Monnet signed $1 million deal with boxers as kit sponsors. Apart from this, Percept Sports Management firm, which manages Vijender, also roped in Suranjoy, Jai, Dinesh and Vijender's cousin Balwinder for a brand endorsement deal.​

http://www.indiatimes.com/photostory/5698920.cms

 

[Pintu]

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100428/jsp/sports/story_12389191.jsp

Game III ends in a draw

Sofia: World champion Viswanathan Anand played out a draw against challenger Veselin Topalov in the third game of the world chess championship here.

Even-stevens after two games, Anand Tuesday went for a Slav defence with black pieces, a move that was in marked contrast to his choice for the opening in the first game when the Indian ace had chosen the ultra sharp Grunfeld defence.

Topalov had apparently been expecting the Slav but possibly not the variation Anand chose as it was a choice popularised by Russian Vladimir Kramnik, a rival to Topalov and Anand in the last two world championship matches.

The game started on a sedate note, again quite unlike the first two games when both players went on a rampage with white pieces. It may be recalled that Topalov had won the first game in quick time, showcasing his deep preparation in the middle game arising out of a Grunfeld, and Anand had bounced back with a very convincing victory in the second game of the 12-games match.

Instead of running into Topalov's strengths, Anand aimed at getting a decent position after the opening and then equalised to see if an opportunity came his way. This tactic worked fine and a draw with black means that the Indian has a slight edge in the match as he has more games with white pieces remaining.

As things turned out in one of the popular variations, the queens got traded very early giving Topalov an optical space advantage which lasted for quite some time but did not materialise into a significant advantage.

Anand's 14th move solved his opening problems and he could develop his pieces harmoniously after nearly making a half move aimed at eliminating weaknesses on the kingside.

On his 20th turn, Topalov offered Anand a pawn which would have led to complications with a possibility of the Bulgarian coming out on top.

Anand did not need to think too deep to reject the pawn offer and concentrated on following the basics. And that ultimately proved enough to hold the balance.

Further exchanges forced the game into a rook and minor piece endgame wherein the outcome was clear by the 33rd move when Anand forcibly entered a pure rook ending. Thirteen moves later the draw was signed through a repetition of moves.

Interestingly, the observers were a bit surprised to see a lengthy 46-move game when the outcome was obvious much before. The reason for that can be found in Topalov's adherence to the 'Sofia rules' according to which a draw can be agreed upon only through repetition or in consultation with the arbiter.

In other words, the players are not allowed to offer draws.

Anand apparently, did not agree to this proposal and Topalov and his manager Silvio Danailov had gone on record saying that the Bulgarian would neither offer nor agree to draws during the match.

Anand had appeared vulnerable in the first game but the course of the match since then has shown that the defending champion has nerves of steel to back his fantastic preparation. The onus is on Topalov now as he gets ready to battle Anand with black in the fourth game. (PTI)

 

[nandu]

Vijender remains numero uno in AIBA rankings

NEW DELHI: Olympic and World Championship bronze medal winning boxer Vijender Singh (75kg) continued his reign at the top, while Asian silver medallist Thokchom Nanao Singh (48kg) rose a couple of rungs to fourth in the latest AIBA rankings.

Vijender (75kg), who became a Commonwealth champion in March, has 2137.5 points in the list updated after the 3 Star China Cup, which was a ranking points event.

Vijender did not participate in the China Cup but given the points gap between him and his rivals, the Indian's reign at the top was hardly threatened.

Olympic silver medallist Emilio Bayeux Correa of Cuba is a distant second in the list with 1875 points.

Nanao (48kg), currently nursing a hand injury, has risen despite being out of action since January. The Manipuri, who is a former youth world champion, has 1400 points in the latest rankings.

The light fly weight list also has Commonwealth champion Amandeep Singh way down at the 54th spot, which is a drop of 10 places, with 225 points.

Asian and Commonwealth champion Suranjoy Singh (51kg) gained three places, rising to 13th with 800 points.

The President's Cup gold medallist was part of a 13-member Indian team that recently went to Cuba for a training-cum-competition trip and he fetched a silver there.

Olympian Jitender Kumar dropped three rungs to 21st in the bantam weight (54kg) list which has another Indian in the 17-year-old Shiva Thapa, who clinched a silver at the Youth World Championships earlier this month.

The Assamese has entered the rankings at the 22nd spot with 600 points.

In the soon-to-be-abolished feather weight (57kg) division, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Akhil Kumar rose one spot to ninth with 850 points.

Chhote Lal Yadav, who won a bronze in the China Cup, gained significantly, rising to 48th from 56th in the 57kg list.

In the light weight (60kg) division, newly crowned youth world champion Vikas Krishan made his entry into the rankings at 14th, which is 10 places above the much senior Commonwealth champion Jai Bhagwan.

The 17-year-old Vikas has 800 points, while Jai, also a former national champion, has 650 points.

In the light heavy weight (81kg) category, Olympian and Commonwealth champion Dinesh Kumar remained steady at the seventh spot with 1275 points.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-uno-in-AIBA-rankings/articleshow/5945351.cms

 

[nandu]

Indian Tennis news and Discussion

Somdev qualifies for French Open

A file photo of Somdev Devvarman

Somdev Devvarman on Friday became the first Indian in 13 years to qualify for the men's singles event of the French Open after scoring a 6-4 6-1 win over Adrian Mannarino here.

It took sixth seed Somdev one hour and 25 minutes to quell the challenge of his French rival in the third and final round and seal one of the 16 main draw spots up for grab.

Leander Paes was the last Indian to play in men's singles event of the French Open in 1997 when he made the second round of the clay court Grand Slam.

This is the second time that Somdev has qualified for the men's singles of a Grand Slam tournament. He first played in a Major at the US Open last year and had reached second round.

Somdev's victory means India will not go unrepresented in the singles event of the second Grand Slam of the year since Sania Mirza is giving a miss to women's singles event.

Last year, Somdev had stumbled on the last hurdle here as he had lost the final round.

Somdev had to work hard to take the first set from Mannarino, ranked 170 spots below him at 289, as the local fought tooth and nail.

There were numerous breaks as Somdev lost his serve thrice and Mannarino twice. However, after a 58-minute tussle, Somdev succeeded in grabbing the lead.

The second set though belonged to Somdev. He broke his rival twice and sealed the set for the loss of just one game.

http://beta.thehindu.com/sport/tennis/article435178.ece?homepage=true

 

[nandu]

Mary Kom, Sarita strike gold at Asian Championship

Four-time world champion M C Mary Kom notched up her third Asian title while L Sarita Devi clinched her fourth, as Indian boxers finished fourth in the event with two gold, a silver and five bronze medals in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Former champion Aswathi Mol settled for silver after losing the light heavy weight (81kg) final 0-5 to China's Wang Yanrui.

Mary Kom, who got a walkover into the finals after her semifinal opponent failed to turn up yesterday, defeated old rival Jong Ok of Korea 8-1 in the summit clash.

Mary Kom had to settle for the silver in the last edition of the event in Guwahati and the diminutive pin weight (46kg) boxer went one better this time.

Leading 2-1 in the opening round, Mary Kom didn't let Ok strike a single scoring blow in the next three rounds.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mary-kom-sarita-strike-gold-at-asian-championship/627004/

 

[nandu]

Paes in men's doubles semis, crashes out of mixed doubles

PARIS: Leander Paes had a mixed outing in the French Open on Tuesday as he and partner Lukas Dlouhy stormed into the semifinals of men's doubles while the veteran Indian tennis ace and Cara Black crashed out of the mixed doubles event in the quarterfinals.

Paes and Dlouhy remained on course of defending their doubles title with a straight-set win in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.

The third-seeded Indo-Czech pair defeated eighth seeds Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski of Poland 6-1, 6-3.

Paes and Dlouhy will now take on 10th seeded Austrian-Israeli pair of Julian Knowle and Andy Ram who beat Brazilian duo of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares 6-7(3/7), 6-2, 6-0 in another quarterfinal match.

However, it was curtains for Paes and his Zimbabwean partner Black in the mixed doubles event as the seeded second duo suffered a shock defeat in super tie-breaker at the hands of unseeded Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan and Julian Knowle of Austria.

Paes and Black lost 3-6, 7-6(7/2), 1-0(7/10) in a gruelling duel which lasted 107 minutes.

Earlier in the day, Paes and Dlouhy blew away their rivals in the one-sided doubles quarterfinals that lasted barely an hour.

The Indo-Czech pair converted all the three break points they earned to wrap up the opening set in just 23 minutes.

The favourites wavered a bit in the second set, conceding five double faults but with a 100 per cent break-point conversion once again, Paes and Dlouhy sealed it in 35 minutes.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...-out-of-mixed-doubles/articleshow/5999034.cms

 

[nandu]

Paes-Dlouhy cruise to finals, eye successive French Open title

PARIS: Leander Paes and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy are just one step away from winning back-to-back French Open men's doubles title after they stormed into the final with a straight set victory over Julian Knowle and Andy Ram on Thursday.

The third seeded Indo-Czech duo defeated their 10th seeded opponents Knowle of Austria and Ram of Israel 6-4 6-2 in a lop-sided semifinal match which lasted 75 minutes at Roland Garros.

If Paes and Dlouhy win the summit match against second seeded duo of Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia, it would be the fourth French Open men's doubles title for the Indian.

Paes has already won the title in 1999 and 2001 (both with Mahesh Bhupathi) and then with Dlouhy in 2009.

With already six men's doubles and five mixed doubles Grand Slam crowns in his pocket, Paes, if he wins the final this time, will become the Indian with most Grand Slam triumphs with 12 titles -- one more than his estranged partner Bhupathi.

Paes and Cara Black, who won the Australian Open mixed doubles Grand Slam title early this year, however, are already out of the French Open after losing their match in the quarterfinals.

Paes and Dlouhy made a rollicking start breaking their opponents' serve in the first game and then held their own to surge 2-0 ahead.

The defending champions then broke Knowle-Ram in the seventh game to go 5-2 up and wrapped up the first set 6-4 in 37 minutes.

A set up, Paes and Dlouhy, however, did not show any complacency and won five points in a row by breaking their opponents in the first, third and fifth games to go 5-0 up in the second set.

Knowle and Ram made a last-ditch fightback and narrowed the gap to 5-2 but it was too little and too late as Paes and Dlouhy won the second set 6-2 in 38 minutes to pocket the match comfortably.

In another semifinal, Nestor and Zimonjic beat Wesley Moodie of South Africa and **** Norman of Belgium 6-0 6-3.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ive-French-Open-title/articleshow/6008442.cms

 

[nandu]

Paes-Dlouhy loses in French Open final

A second successive French Open doubles title eluded Leander Paes as the Indian ace and his Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy lost the final to Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic in straight set here today.

In line for a second successive title, the defending champions ran out of steam and lost 5-7 2-6 to their second seeded opponents Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia in a 65-minute contest at Roland Garros here.

The third seeded Indo-Czech duo failed to convert the two breakpoints that came their way in comparison to their rivals who converted three of the four breakpoints that they earned.

"It has been a great two weeks and I'm happy to be in the finals for the second successive time. I would like to thank Lukas for making it happen and sticking with me," said Paes, who won the title in 1999 and 2001 (both with Mahesh Bhupathi) and then with Dlouhy in 2009.

Ads by Google

Dlouhy, on his part, credited the opponents for playing terrific tennis and said hopefully next year they would regain the title.

"They were just too good today. Hopefully me and Leander will play some more tournament in the future and regain the title next year," Dlouhy said.

Paes already has six men's doubles and five mixed doubles Grand Slam crowns in his pocket, same as his estranged partner Bhupathi.

Paes and Dlouhy, who put up an impressive performance coming into the final, earned a breakpoint as early as in the second game after five deuces but couldn't convert it.

Locked 5-5, Nestor-Zimonjic finally broke the Indo-Czech pair in the 11th game and held their serve in the next to wrap up the first set 7-5 in 40 minutes.

With momentum going their way, the Canadian-Serbian duo quickly earned two more breakpoints in the first game of the second set and even though Paes and Dlouhy saved one, they were eventually broken as Nestor-Zimonjic lead 1-0.

Lagging 1-2, Paes-Dlouhy earned another breakpoint in the third game but failed to covert it yet again.

To make things worse, Dlouhy double faulted and gave away three breakpoints which the Canadian-Serbian pair converted without much ado as they surged ahead 4-1.

The Indo-Czech narrowed the gap to 2-5 but it was too late too little as Nestor-Zimonjic held their serves to eventually wrap up the second set 6-2 in 25 minutes and pocket the match and the title comfortably.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/paesdlouhy-loses-in-french-open-final/630020/0

 

[nandu]

Saina Nehwal wins India Open Grand Prix

Saina Nehwal wins India Open Grand Prix​

CHENNAI: Top seed Saina Nehwal rallied to beat Malaysian Mew Choo Wong 20-22, 21-14, 21-12 and win the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Grand Prix badminton tournament on Sunday.

World No.6 Saina came back strongly in the title clash after losing the first game and stepped up the gas against the second-seeded Malaysian in the next two games, with the home crowd cheering for her.

"Initially, I was a bit nervous and was not playing my own game. But then I calmed down and told myself to be confident. There was too much of drift sideways and I was finding it difficult to counter. I thought I came back well in the next two games, playing long rallies and my stamina was also good," Saina said.

Saina, who lost in the semifinals of the Asian Badminton championship in New Delhi in April, said after this title win she will be more confident to play at home.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...India-Open-Grand-Prix/articleshow/6043934.cms