The Indian team clinched 2 silvers and a bronze medal at the recently concluded Archery World Cup – Stage I in Shanghai, China. The bronze medal was won in the women’s compound section and silver medals were won in Women’s Recurve Individual category and Recurve Mixed event category.

Indian team won their first-ever Archery World Cup medal in the women’s compound section when Trisha Deb, Gagandeep Kaur and Lily Chanu  defeated their Italian opponents 228-223 in the bronze medal play-off in Shanghai on Saturday. The Indian team, who got a bye in the first round, defeated Mexico 230-224 in the Quarterfinals but unfortunately lost to the top seeded U.S.A 228-227 in the semifinals because of which they went to a bronze medal play-off match.

In the recurve section, the Indian team had two gold medal winning opportunities but unfortunately they were unable to win either of them. In the mixed recurve section, the Indian pair of Deepika Kumari and Jayanta Talukdar, who were seeded 3rd, lost to the 5th seeded American pair of Khatuna Lorig and Ellison Brady 154-146 in the finals. The bronze medal was won by Korea after defeating Mexico 147 T 19-147 T 14. In the semifinals, the Indian pair defeated the 2nd seeded Mexican pair of Aida Roman and Juan Rene Serrano 146-140. Juan and Aida won the silver medal at the London Olympics 2012.

In the women’s recurve Individual section, World No. 2 Indian Archer Deepika Kumari lost 4-6 to the Korean Archer Yun OK-Hee. In the Semifinals, Deepika defeated 2008 Olympic Games Gold medalist Korean Archer Hyun-Jung Joo by 6-4. Deepika, who lost in the first round at the London Olympics, was in top form in this tournament. World Cup Stage-2 will be held in Antalya, Turkey from 10-16th June.

17-year-old Indian Badminton sensation P.V Sindhu clinched her  maiden level three title by defeating Gu Juan of Singapore 21-17 17-21 21-19 in the final of Yonex Sunrise Malaysia Open Grand Prix Gold Tournament. Sindhu, who is currently the World No. 13, defeated the World No. 27 in an hour and 11 minutes.

Top-seeded Sindhu started the match with a bang as she took the first 5 points in a row, but then Juan made the comeback and took the next 5 points thus making the scores 5-5. Sindhu, who was leading 11-10 at the mid-game interval of the first game, took the next 2 points thus making the scores 13-11. After that, it was all Sindhu in the first game.

Sindhu’s start to the second game was not as good, as she was trailing 6-9 at one stage in that game. But Sindhu somehow managed to make the comeback as she took a 2-point lead after the mid game interval. The scores were 15-all at one stage in the second game, but after that Juan showed her class and took the next 3 points. Sindhu gave her best to make a comeback, but unfortunately lost the second game 17-21.

The third game was a lot more evenly contested. Both the players were fighting hard for each and every point. Juan was looking very good in the first half of that game, as she took a 4-point lead to make the score 11-7. Things got worse for Sindhu as Juan was leading that game 8-14. But after that, the 17-year-old Indian shuttler made an outstanding comeback as she took the scores to 15-16. Sindhu, who was leading 20-18 in that game, won the game 21-19.

So let’s have a look at the performance analysis of two of them – P.V Sindhu and K. Srikanth.

1.  P.V SINDHU

She really is the wonder girl of India, for she has the future of Indian badminton in her hands. P.V. Sindhu, who currently trains in Hyderabad at the Gopichand Badminton Academy and is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest in her mission for success, came into the limelight when she defeated the current world no. 1 and London Olympics Gold Medallist, Xuerui Li of China, in the quarter final of the China Open Super Series in September last year.

Sindhu’s performance over the last few months has been remarkable. Sindhu, who was the world no. 29 till May 2012, is now the world no. 15. This 17-year-old Indian teenage badminton sensation has defeated some of the top names in the badminton world over the last few months. Apart from defeating the current world no. 1, Li Xuerui, Sindhu also defeated the former world champion and the current world no. 7, Wang Shixian, in the recently concluded Badminton Asia Championship.

At the age of 15, Sindhu had to travel 56 kms every day to reach the academy for her practice sessions. Sindhu, who won the Badminton Asia Youth Under-19 Championship in July 2012, was also the runner up in the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold title in December last year.

“P.V. Sindhu is one of the most promising and dedicated shuttlers in India’s younger lot at the moment as she has the potential to become the one of the top players in the world”, said India’s national coach and former All England winner, Pullela Gopichand.

Probably it will take at least one or two years for Sindhu to come closer to Saina’s achievements, but in all the tournaments P.V. Sindhu has played, she has shown a great fighting spirit and commendable temper. At 17, she is one for the future.

2. K. SRIKANTH

This 19-year-old talented shuttler from Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) is surely the future of Indian Badminton. K. Srikanth, who recently defeated the world no. 6 Danish shuttler, Jan O Jorgensen, in the first round of Yonex Sunrise India Open Superseries, also reached the semifinals of the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold title in December last year.

Srikanth’s rise in the past few months has been tremendous. Srikanth, who was the world no. 240 till May 2012, is now the world no. 63. In this span of one year, he has defeated some top players of the world, including Jorgensen and Alamsyah Younus. Srikanth, who came into limelight in June 2012 after winning the Maldives International Badminton Challenge, also reached the semifinals of the Kumpoo Macau Open Badminton Grand Prix Gold in November 2012.

When K Srikanth joined Pullela Gopichand’s badminton academy around 2009, his main aim was to fly the nation’s colours in the doubles arena, more specifically on the mixed doubles circuit. But coach Gopichand advised him to concentrate more on singles rather than doubles and this decision was proven right by this young lad when he reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Junior Championships and even entered the pre-quarterfinals of the World Junior Championships in 2011.

Srikanth has really achieved a lot in the last one year or so, but he still needs to work a lot lot harder if he needs to be in the top 10 or top 20 of the world rankings. He really has the potential and capability to turn things around quickly, but he needs to be a little more consistent in his performance.

Mumbai Indians batsman Sachin Tendulkar (L) talks with teammate Dwayne Smith during the IPL Twenty20 cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Man Singh stadium in Jaipur on May 20, 2012

2. Do you know which team holds the record for the highest margin of victory by runs in an IPL match? Yes, it’s the Kolkata Knight Riders. KKR defeated the Royal Challengers Bangalore by 140 runs in the first match of the IPL. It was the same match when the Kiwi batsman Brendon McCullum smashed an unbeaten 158 runs of just 73 balls which also serves as the highest individual record by a player in the IPL.

3. Do you know that Amit Mishra, Shane Warne, Manish Pandey and Parthiv Patel share a common record between them? All the above listed players holds the record for the maximum no. of ducks (7) in the IPL history. While both Shane Warne and Amit Mishra have played 29 innings each, Manish Pandey and Parthiv Patel have played 37 and 52 innings respectively.

4. Do you know which player holds the record for the highest strike rate in the IPL? No, it’s not Chris Gayle; it’s our very own Viru. Virender Sehwag with a whooping strike rate of 167.31 in 66 innings is above Chris Gayle who has a strike rate of 161.63 in 43 innings.

5. Do you know that Rajasthan Royals hold the record for having the oldest Indian and foreign player in IPL 6. Rajasthan Royals recently signed the leg spinner Pravin Tambe for the IPL 6. Tambe, who is currently 42 years old, earned his maiden call up for the Mumbai team a few weeks ago for the Vijay Hazare trophy and now Royals have signed this player. Life is surely starting at 42 for Tambe. In the overseas players category, left-arm chinaman Brad Hogg of Australia is the oldest foreign player playing in the IPL 6. Hogg, who is currently 42 years and 58 days, made his debut for Royals in IPl 5.

Brad Hogg of RR is the oldest overseas player in the IPL

6.New entrants Sunrisers Hyderabad (SH) have the youngest squad in IPL 6 with an average age of 25.69 years. Sunrisers skipper Kumar Sangakkara (35 years, 154 days) is their oldest player while uncapped batsman Hanuma Vihari, who was a member of the World Cup winning India Under-19 squad, is the youngest at 19 years, 174 days. On the other hand, Kolkata Knight Riders have the oldest squad. The average age of the KKR squad is 28.52 years and it has 11 players in their 30s – the most among all the IPL teams. After KKR follows RR and RCB. Maharashtra batsman Vijay Zol (18 years and 133 days), who plays for RCB, is the youngest player in the cash-rich league.

7. Sunrisers Hyderabad, previously known as Deccan Chargers, have a very bad record when they are playing in their home ground i.e at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket stadium in Hyderabad. The Hyderabad team, who have played 19 matches at this venue, have won only 4. They lost 7 consecutive matches at Hyderabad in the inaugural IPL edition. It took them 9 matches to get their first victory at their home ground but after that victory, they lost 5 consecutive matches there.

8. Matches between Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore have been the ones to watch out for, in terms of runs and wickets. Twelve matches(till IPL 5) between the two teams have produced 3750 runs, the most runs involving any two teams, and 150 wickets, again the highest involving any pair of teams.

9. Pakistani Cricketer Mohammad Yousuf and South African cricketer Ashwell Prince were the two players who went unsold in the first IPL auction. Mohammad Yousuf didn’t receive any bids in the auctions because he was initially associated with the rebel Indian Cricket league(ICL). He later on decided to switch to IPL but the ICL decided to sue him; as a result of the court battle, no team wanted to take risk of bidding for him.

10. Sachin Tendulkar, who won the Orange Cap in IPL 3 by scoring 618 runs in 15 matches at an outstanding strike rate of 132.61, smashed just 3 sixes that year, the least by any Orange Cap winner in the 5 seasons and 86 boundaries, the highest by any Orange Cap holder. On the other hand, the Orange Cap holder of last year, Chris Gayle, who made 733 runs in IPL 5, smashed 59 DLF Maximums, the highest by any Orange Cap winner, and 46 boundaries, the least by any Orange cap winner.

Chris Gayle has hit the most number of sixes by an Orange Cap holder

Note: Stats current upto 6th April, 2013

Star Indian shuttler and London Olympics Bronze medalist Saina Nehwal has been given the top seed at the Swiss Open 2013, which will be held in the city of Basel from 12th March to 17th March. This USD 125,000 tournament is a Grand Prix Gold category tournament and is the second Grand Prix Gold Tournament of the year after Yonex German Open Badminton Championships.

Saina Nehwal, who recently lost in the Semifinals of All England Badminton Championships, will play the World No. 40 Sashina Vignes Waran of France in the opening round. If Saina manages to reach till the Quarterfinals, then she could well play the World No. 9 and 6th seeded Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei. Top two Chinese shuttlers Li Xuerui and Wang Yihan are not playing in this tournament.

World No. 4 German shuttler Juliane Schenk has been given the second seed while  Korea’s Ji Hyun Sung is the 3rd seeded player in the tournament. Wang Shixian, who lost to Saina in the Quarterfinal of the All England Badminton Championships, is the 4th seeded player and the 17 year old teenage sensation, who recently defeated Saina in the semifinal of All England Badminton Championships, is the 5th seeded player of the tournament. Another Indian shuttler, P.V Sindhu, will play the 3rd seeded Ji Hyun Sung in the opening round.

In women’s singles qualification round three, Indian women shuttlers will be in action. Firstly the 20 year old Tanvi Lad, who is currently the World No. 111, will play the World No. 98 Japanese shuttler Shizuka Uchida in the first qualification round. Another Indian shuttler and World No. 125 P.C Thulasi will play the World No. 113 German shuttler Olga Konon in the opening qualification round. Lastly, Arundhati Pantawane, who is the World No. 104, will play the 91 ranked Taipei shuttler Ya Lan Chang in the opening qualifier. Only 4 out of the 16 players will qualify for the main draw of the Tournament.

In men’s singles category, Parupalli Kashyap, who is currently the World No. 9, has been given the 5th seed of the tournament. Kashyap, who recently lost to World no. 2 Chen Long of China in the Quarterfinals of Yonex All England Badminton Championships, will play the World No. 75 Taipei shuttler Yi Hsuan Hsueh in the first round. China’s Du Pengyu is the top seeded player of the tournament while Indonesian shuttler Soni Dwi Kuncoro has been given the second seed.

World No. 43 Indian shuttler Sourabh Verma will play the World No. 25 Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia in the opening round while K. Srikanth, who is currently the World No. 66, will be up against the 4th seeded Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark in the first round. Another Indian shuttler, H.S Pranoy, will play the Austrian shuttler Michael Lahnsteiner in the first round of the Swiss Open 2013.

In men’s doubles, World No. 51 Indian pair of Prannav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar will play the World No. 8 Thai pair of Bodin Isaara and Sudket Prapakamol in the opening round. If the Indian pair wins their first round match, then they could be up against the World No. 3 and top seeded pair of Lee Yong Dae and Ko Hyun Sung in the next round. There is no Indian participation in the Women’s doubles and mixed doubles category of the tournament.

World No. 2 and star Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal defeated world number 20 Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand 21-8, 18-21, 21-16 in the first round of Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships, 2013. Saina will now face the winner of the match between Japanese shuttler Minatsu Mitani and Indonesian Belaetrix Manuputi in the next round.

Saina started the match with a bang, as she took the first game 21-8 in just 13 minutes, but her real test started in the second game when the Thai shuttler started to put pressure on Saina by getting some smash winners and net winners. The Thai player got 5 points in a row when the scores were 7-7 in the second game. Saina, who was trailing 15-18 in the second game, tried her level best to make a comeback, but unfortunately lost the game 21-18.

Saina’s start to the third game was not good, as she lost the first four points of the game, but from there onwards it was all Saina. Saina, who was leading 11-9 at the mid-game interval of the third game, took 6 points in a row when the scores were at 11-11. The Thai player tried her best to cause a huge upset in the first round of the tournament, but lost after fighting for 53 minutes.

In the mixed doubles, the Indian pair of Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponappa, who are currently ranked 31 in the world, lost to the world number 10 Indonesian pairing of Shendy Puspa and Fran Kurniawan 18-21, 10-21 in just 24 minutes. Another Indian mixed doubles pair of Akshay Dewalkar and Pradnya Gadre were absolutely no match for the Malaysian pair of Jian Guo and Yin Loo Lim, as they lost 8-21 13-21 in just 23 minutes.

In the Women’s singles category, star Indian shuttler and World No. 2 Saina Nehwal will be up against the World No. 20 Saspiree Taerattanachai of Thailand in the first round of Yonex All England Badminton Championships which will take place in the city of Birmingham from March 10-15. This tournament is the Second Superseries Premier event of the year after the Victor Korea Open in January. Saina had never lost against the Thai shuttler in her previous four encounters. If Saina manages to reach the Quarterfinals then she could well face the World No. 6 Chinese shuttler Wang Shixian against whom Saina had a win-loss record of 3-1.

Indian teenage Badminton sensation and World No. 16 P.V Sindhu will start her campaign against the World No. 17 Thai player Busanan Ongbumrungpan. If Sindhu manages to defeat Busanan, she could face World no. 4 Juliane Schenk of Germany in the next round. Top seed of the tournament and World No. 1 Li Xuerui of China will start her campaign against the World No. 13 Yeon Ju Bae of South Korea.

In the men’s singles category, India’s Parupalli Kashyap will face the World No. 31 Hsu Jen Hao of Taipei in the first round of the tournament. Kashyap, who is currently the World No. 11, could be up against the World No. 6 Kenichi Tago of Japan in the second round. Another Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram, who is currently the World No. 32, will play the World No. 19 Chinese shuttler Wang Zhengming in the opening round. If Jayaram is able to overcome the strong Chinese opponent then he could most probably face the World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the second round.

In the men’s singles qualification round, four Indian players will be in action. World No. 51 Anand Pawar will face the top seed of the qualification round and World No. 34 Rajiv Ouseph of England. Saurabh Verma, who is currently the World no. 42, will play the World No. 49 French shuttler Brice Leverdez. If Saurabh Verma and Anand Pawar both manage to win the first qualification round then they will play against each other in the final qualification round. World no. 55 B. Sai Praneeth will play the World no. 46 Zi Liang Derek Wong of Singapore in the first qualification whereas the World no. 37 R.M.V Gurusaidutt will play the World no. 39 Tanongsak of Thailand.

No Indian pair has got the direct entry in men’s doubles category of the tournament, but there will be two Indian pairs who will be in action in the qualification rounds. Firstly, the World no. 48 pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar will face the World no. 60 Polish pair of Adam Cwalina and Przemyslaw Wacha in the first qualification round. The World no. 42 Indian pair of Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu, who are also the second seeded in the qualification rounds, will play the Thai pair of Bodin Isaara and Pakkawat Vilailak. If both the Indian pairs win their first qualification round matches then they will play each other to get the entry in the main draw.

Just like the men’s doubles, no Indian Women doubles pair has got direct entry in the main draw of the tournament. In qualification, two Indian pairs will be in action; Ashwini Ponappa and Pradnya Gadre, who are 4th seeded in the qualification round, will take on the Welsh pair of Sarah Thomas and Carissa Turner. The second Indian pair of Jwala Gutta and Prajakta Sawant will face the Thai pair of Artima and Peeraya in the first qualification round.

Jwala Gutta, who is playing her first international tournament after the London Olympics, will also be in action in the Mixed doubles event of the All England Badminton Championships. Jwala, along with her partner V.Diju – the current World Ranking of 39, will face the German pair of Peter Kaesbaeur and Isabel Herttrich in the first round. Another Indian mixed doubles pair of Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponappa will face the Indonesian pair of Fran and Shendy Puspa.

In the mixed doubles qualification, the Indian pair of Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan will face the strong Korean pair of Sang Joon Lee and So Young Kim.

Pinki Jangra

1. PINKI JANGRA

Pinky Jangra, a 21 year old Boxer from Haryana got into spotlight by defeating five-time world champion M C Mary Kom almost three years ago. She also reached the Quarterfinals in the 7th AIBA World Women Boxing Championships by defeating top boxers at Qinhuangdao, China in May 2012. She is currently at the joint 4th postion (1000 points) with Kim Klavel of Canada in the 48 kg weight category.

She also emerged as the new national champion in November 2012 in 48 kg weight category and was also the runner-up in 6th Asian Women’s Boxing Championships in March 2012.

2. SARJUBALA SHAMJETSABAM DEVI

India’s 19 year old rising star Sarjubala Shamjetsabam Devi, who became the Gold medallist at the inaugural AIBA Women’s Youth World Boxing Championships in 2012 is currently at the joint 7th position (800 points) with two other boxers in 48 kg weight category. Russia’s Svetlana Gnevanova is at the top position with 1500 points.

3. M.C. MARY KOM

Mangte Chungneijang  Mary Kom or simply Marykom, who is the 5 times World Boxing Champion and the Bronze medal winner at the London Olympics is currently at the joint 3rd position with Marlen Esparza of America in the latest AIBA World Women’s Ranking in 51 kg weight category. Marykom, with 2050 points is behind London Olympics Gold medallist Nicola Adams of England (2900 points) and Ren Cancan of China (2700 points).

4. SONIA LATHER

Sonia Lather Singh, a 21 year old boxer from Haryana who emerged as the National Champion in November 2012 is at the 10th place with 600 points in the 54 kg weight category. China’s Ke Jia Liu is at the top spot with 1500 points while Vietnam’s boxer Thi Duyen holds the second spot.

5. LAISHRAM SARITA DEVI

Sarita Devi, a 27 year old boxer from Imphal, Manipur is the current Asian Champion in 60 kg weight category. Sarita Devi, who is also the former World Champion and Arjuna Award winner is currently the World No. 7 with 800 points in 60 kg weight category. Ireland’s Katie Taylor is at the no. 1 position with 3300 points.

6. MINU BASUMATARY

Minu Basamatary, one of the most talented young boxers in India is currently at the joint 4th spot with 800 points along with 2 other boxers in the latest AIBA World Women’s Ranking in 64 kg weight category. Minu, who came into limelight by winning the Gold medal at the AIBA Youth and Junior World women Boxing Championship in Turkey in 2011 also won the Bronze medal at the Senior Women’s National Boxing Championships in November 2012.

7. MEENA RANI

Meena Rani, who is the current Gold medal winner in the Senior Women’s National Boxing Championships is at the 8th position in 64 kg weight category. Joslin Mayer of USA is at the no. 1 position while Mongolia’s boxer Uyanga Eredenesoyol is at the 2nd position.

8. MONICA SAUN

Monica Saun, the Silver medallist at the 13th Senior Women’s National Boxing Championships has the World Ranking of 9 in 69 kg weight category. Monica Saun also won the Silver medal in the 6th Asian Championships held in Mongolia last year.

9. KAVITA CHAHAL

Kavita Chahal, who was the lone Indian boxer to win the medal at the World Women’s Boxing Championships in China last year is currently the World no. 5 in +81 kg weight category. Chahal, who won the Bronze in Asian Games in 2010 is also the current National Champion in her weight category. China’s Yunfei Li is the World No. 1 followed by Kazakhstan’s Lazzat Kungeibaiyeva.

10. LAISHRAM DEVENDRO SINGH

Devendro Singh, a 20 year old boxer from Manipur who reached the Quarterfinals at the 2012 London Olympics after defeating 2008 Beijing Olympics Silver medallist Purevdorjiin Serdamba of Mongolia in Round of 16 has the current World Ranking of 4 with 950 points in the 46-49 kg weight category. Korea’s Shin Jonghun is the current World No. 1 with 1600 points.

11. VIKAS KRISHAN

Vikas Krishan Yadav, who got a bye in the opening round of London Olympics lost to Errol Spence of USA in what many say was the most controversial bouts at the London Olympics. Vikas, who won the bout against Spence on 3rd August 2012, lost it on 4th August when the decision of the bout was overturned. Vikas who won the Bronze medal at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Baku, Azarbeijan in 2011 is the current World No. 6 in 69 kg weight category. Kazakhstan’s Serek Sepiyev is the no. 1 boxer in this weight category.

1. LEANDER PAES

Indian tennis legend and one of the greatest and most respected contemporary doubles and mixed doubles players in the world, Leander Paes is the current World No. 8 in the latest ATP Doubles Rankings. American brother duo of Mike and Bob Bryan hold the No. 1 and 2 spot respectively. Paes holds the record for being the first and only tennis player to compete at six consecutive Olympic Games from 1992-2012 and has won 7 doubles Grand slam titles and 6 mixed doubles Grand Slam titles till now. Paes, who started his career in 1991, has won 51 doubles titles in his career and became only the second man (after Rod Laver) to win Wimbledon titles in three different decades after winning mixed doubles title in 2010.

2. MAHESH BHUPATHI

Another Indian tennis star, Mahesh Bhupathi is currently the World No. 10 in the latest ATP Doubles Rankings. Mahesh Bhupathi, who became the first Indian to win a Grand Slam tournament in 1997 is also among one of the eight tennis players who have achieved a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles. Mahesh Bhupathi has won 12 Grand Slam titles till now (4 doubles and 8 mixed doubles) and is regarded among the best doubles players in the world.

1. PANKAJ ADVANI

Pankaj Advani, who is considered as one of the best Billiards and Snooker players in the world is currently the World No. 6 with a total of 252.2600 points in the latest World Billiards Rankings.

England’s David Causier is at the no. 1 place with 398.5500 points. Pankaj Advani, who recently lost in the Quarterfinals of BetVictor Welsh Open Pro Snooker Series at Newport, Wales is the winner of 8 World Titles in billiards. Pankaj has won everything there is to be won in the world of billiards, a feat achieved by none other. Pankaj also received Arjuna Award in 2004, Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 2006 and Padma Shri in 2009.

2. RUPESH SHAH

Rupesh Shah, who won his second World title in billiards in October 2012 has currently got the World Ranking of 7 in billiards with 248.0300 points. The Ahmedabad pro became only the fifth Indian cueist to lift the World title twice. In the same tournament, Shah defeated the current World no. 2 Mike Russell of England in the Quarters and World no. 3 Peter Gilchrist in the semis.

1. VIKAS GOWDA

Vikas Gowda, a 29 year old discus thrower who finished 8th at the London Olympics with a best throw of 64.79m is currently at the no. 10 position in the latest Men’s Discus Throw World Rankings. Vikas Gowda, whose personal best throw is 66.28 meters, which is also the Indian national record in discus throw, is supported by the Olympic Gold Quest. Germany’s Robin Harting is at the no. 1 position while Estonina’s discus thrower Gerd Kanter is at the second place. In women’s section, India’s Krishna Poonia is the World No. 12.

1. SAINA NEHWAL

Indian badminton queen and London Olympics Bronze medallist, Saina Nehwal is currently the World No. 2 in the latest BWF World Rankings in the women’s singles category. Saina Nehwal, who lost in the semifinals of Maybank Malaysia Open Superseries in January, has 80461.7444 points and is behind Li Xuerui of China who has 94626.7153 points.

2. PARUPALLI KASHYAP

London Olympics quarter-finalist Parupalli Kashyap is currently the World No. 9 with 52786.6900 points in the latest BWF World Rankings in the men’s singles category. Kashyap, who was World No. 20 till mid December 2012 has played remarkably well over the last two months. After winning his maiden international title last year, Kashyap has not looked back and is determined to increase his ranking in the upcoming tournaments.

1. VIRAT KOHLI

Indian cricket star and one of the most stylish bachelor of Indian Cricket team, Virat Kohli is currently at the 3rd spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings with 812 rating points. Kohli, who became the fastest Indian to reach the 4000 runs mark in ODI cricket is behind Hashim Amla and AB De Villiers of South Africa. If he continues to carry on with his performance, we would soon see him at the No.1 spot.

2.  MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI

Captain cool “Mahendra Singh Dhoni”, who is famous for his ‘cool as a cucumber’ attitude and his cool temperament is currently at the 4th spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings with 784 rating points. Dhoni, who made his ODI debut against Bangladesh on December 23, 2004 in Chittagong has shown the world that even with unorthodox skills. determination and hunger for success can propel you to the spotlight.

3. RAVINDRA JADEJA

Ravindra Jadeja first caught the attention of the national selectors with his strong all-round showing in the 2008–09 Ranji Trophy with 42 wickets and 739 runs and is currently the World No. 9 in the latest ICC ODI Bowler Rankings. Pakistan’s Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez are at the top two positions followed by West Indies off break bowler Sunil Narine. Jadeja who performed really well in the recently concluded ODI series against England, with 128 runs and 9 wickets in 5 matches is also at the no. 5th spot in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings.

4. PRAGYAN OJHA

This 26 years old slow left-arm orthodox bowler is currently at the No. 9th spot in the ICC Test Bowler Rankings. Ojha, who made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in Nov 2009 has taken 89 Test wickets till now in 18 matches. South African fast bowler Dale Steyn is at the no. 1 position followed by his teammate Vernon Philander and Sri-Lankan slow left arm bowler Rangana Herath.

5. MITHALI RAJ

Right hand bat and right arm leg break bowler, and the current captain of Indian women’s cricket team, Mithali Raj is the World No. 1 player in the latest ICC ODI women’s Batting Rankings. Mithali Raj, with 4491 runs in 142 ODI matches has an outstanding average of 48.29.

6. JHULAN GOSWAMI

Jhulan Goswami, a 30 year old fast bowler from Kolkata,West Bengal is currently the World No. 3 in the ICC ODI Bowling Rankings. Jhulan Goswami, who recently played his 100th ODI match in ICC Women’s World Cup has 796 rating points and is behind Katherine Brunt of England and Lisa Sthalekar of Australia.

7. GOUHER SULTANA

Gouher Sultana, who debuted against Pakistan in May 2008 is currently at the no. 8th spot in the ICC ODI Bowling Rankings for Women. Born in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh Sultana has taken 58 wickets in 48 matches with an average of 21.74 and economy of 3.43.

1. VISWANATHAN ANAND

India’s first chess Grandmaster and also the first recipient of India’s highest sporting honour Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in 1991-92, Viswanathan Anand is currently the World No. 6 in the latest FIDE World Rankings with 2780 FIDE ratings. Anand was at the top of the world rankings five out of six times, from April 2007 to July 2008, holding the number-one ranking for a total of 15 months. Anand, who finished joint third at the recently concluded 75th Tata Steel Chess tournament in Netherlands, became the undisputed World Champion in 2007. He successfully defended his title in 2008 against Vladimir Kraminik of Russia. He won the title in the World Chess Championship in 2010 against Veselin Topolov and in the World Chess Championship 2012 against Boris Gelfend. As the reigning champion, he will face the winner of the upcoming Candidates Tournament for the World Chess Championship.

2. KONERU HUMPY

Koneru Humpy, who held the record as the youngest woman ever to become a grandmaster (not merely a women grandmaster) at the age of 15 is the current World No. 3 in the latest FIDE World Rankings, however the above mentioned record was broken by Hou Yifan of China in 2008. Koneru Humpy, with a total of 2597 FIDE ratings is one of the three female chess players who have achieved FIDE ratings of above 2600. She achieved her peak rating of 2623 in July 2009. Hungary’s Judith Polgar is at the no. 1 position while China’s Hou Yifan holds the second place.

DEEPIKA KUMARI

Indian archer Deepika Kumari is at the 2nd postion in the latest FITA World Rankings in the women’s recurve section. Deepika, who went to London Olympics as the World No. 1 archer failed to qualify even for the second round at the biggest sporting event because of which her ranking slipped to 2nd spot. Deepika who won 7 medals in the recently concluded Sahara Senior National championships in Chennai will next participate in the Archery World Cup Stage-1 in Shanghai from 13-19th May 2013.

1. GAGAN NARANG

2012 London Olympics Bronze medallist Gagan Narang is currently the World No. 5 in Men’s 10m Air Rifle event. Romania’s Alin George Moldovenu holds the top spot while Italy’s Nicollo Campriani is at the second spot. Narang, who is supported by Olympic Gold Quest also runs a shooting academy named “Gun For Glory” in which India’s future shooting stars are given excellent training. Gun for Glory is the first international world class shooting academy in India initiated under the aegis of Gagan Narang Sports Promotion Foundation.

2. VIJAY KUMAR

Vijay Kumar, a 27 year old shooter from Hamirpur District of Himachal Pradesh who won the Silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, is the World No. 2 shooter in Men’s 25m Rapid fire pistol event. Vijay Kumar is currently serving as Subedar Major in the Dogra Regiment (16th Battalion) in Indian Army. Vijay Kumar, with a total of 2342 points is behind Leuris Pupo of Cuba with 2980 points.

3. RONJAN SINGH SODHI

Ronjan Singh Sodhi, who disappointed his fans in the London Olympics after failing to qualify for the finals is currently at the No. 7th position in men’s double trap event. Great Britain’s Peter Wilson is at the No. 1 position while Sweden’s Hakan Dahlby holds the second position.

4. JOYDEEP KARMAKAR

Joydeep Karmakar, a 33 year old shooter from Kolkata, West Bengal is currently the World No. 5 shooter in men’s 50m Rifle Prone event. Joydeep Karmakar missed the Bronze medal at the London Olympics by just a whisker when he finished fourth in the finals. Sergei Martynov of Belarus is at the no. 1 position and Slovakia’s Rajmond Debevec is at the 2nd position.

Volleyball is quite a popular sport in India at the school and college level and many tournaments are organised every year to promote the game. But unfortunately, at the higher level, not many youngsters want to make their career in this game. Indian men’s Volleyball Team, who are currently sponsored by Sahara India Parivaar, failed to qualify for the London Olympics last year. Indian team, with a total of 21.75 points, are currently ranked 30th in the world and are 4th in Asia. London Olympics Silver medallists Brazil are at the no. 1 spot in the latest FIVB men’s World Rankings. In Junior World Rankings, Indian boys are currently at no. 12 in the world. Indian Women’s Volleyball team doesn’t even feature in the top 100, and are currently ranked at the 103rd spot.

INDIAN HOCKEY TEAM

The Indian men’s Hockey team who finished last at the 2012 London Olympics are currently at the 11th position in the latest FIH World Rankings with 1418 points. The Germans are at the top spot with a total of 2528 points. Indian team who recently lost to Pakistan in the Final of Asian Champions Trophy, are at 3rd spot in the Asian region, behind Pakistan and Korea. In Women’s hockey, the Indian women are currently the worldno. 12, with a total of 1280 points. The Indian women’s hockey team were unable to qualify for the London Olympics when they lost to South Africa in the finals of Olympic Qualifiers at New Delhi.

INDIAN CRICKET TEAM

After being thrashed 0-4 by Australia and 1-2 by England last year, Team India’s Test ranking has suffered a lot. Indian team is currently at the 5th position with a total rating of 118 in the latest ICC World Test Rankings. South Africa is at the top of the chart with a total rating of 124, while English team is at the second spot with 118 rating points. In the ICC ODI Rankings, the Indian team is currently at 3rd place with a total rating of 116. English team are at the top with 122 rating points. In the T20 format of the game, Indian team is at the 3rd position behind Sri Lanka and West Indies. Indian Women’s cricket team are at 4th place in ODIs and at 5th place in the T20 format.

INDIAN FOOTBALL TEAM

The Indian men’s football team, with a total of 96 points, are currently ranked 166th in the world out of 209 nations, while within Asia, India remain 31st amongst 46 nations in the rankings. Amongst the South Asian nations, the Blue Tigers are now second behind the Maldives (159th), ahead of Bangladesh (168th), Nepal (171st), Afghanistan (186th), Pakistan (189th), Sri Lanka (190th) and Bhutan (207th). With no international friendlies planned for January, India’s rankings could fall further. World champions Spain stay at the top with 1,606 points while Germany and Argentina are at second and third place respectively. Indian women’s football team are at the 52nd position with a total of 1441 points in the latest FIFA World Rankings. USA, Germany and Japan are at 1st, 2nd and 3rd place respectively.

INDIAN BASKETBALL TEAM

The Indian Men’s Basketball Team, which qualified for the Olympics in 1980, have really not performed well in the recent years at the highest level. The Indian team is currently ranked 58th in the world out of the 82 countries. Team India is at 11th place in the Asian region. The Indian Basketball Team, with a handful of 6.6 points, are way behind the top teams of the world. Olympic Champions U.S.A. are at the top of the FIBA rankings with a total of 952 points, while Spain are at second spot with a total of 870 points. The Indian Women’s Basketball team are in a much better position and are currently at 40th position with 14.1 points. In the Asian region, the Indian Women’s team are at 6th position behind China, Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Malaysia. In Junior World Rankings, Indian boys are currently at 43rd spot and girls are at 39th spot.

INDIAN ARCHERY TEAM

Because of the disappointing performance by the Indian archers at the London Olympics last year, their rankings have gone down badly. Indian women’s Recurve Archery team, who were at the second spot before the London Olympics, are currently at 6th position in the latest FITA world rankings, while the Indian men’s Recurve archery team are at 5th place. In compound section of the game, Indian men’s team is at 10th place while women’s team is at 9th place.

INDIAN TENNIS TEAM (Davis cup and Fed cup)

In the Davis Cup Rankings, the Indian team, previously at the 24th spot, have now moved down to the 25th spot in the latest rankings. The Indian team defeated New Zealand 5-0 in September 2012 to secure their place in Asia/Oceania Zone Group I. They will now play South Korea from 1-3 Feb 2013 to go through to the next round. It would be a tougher challenge this time around as the top players of the country, including Mahesh Bhupati, Rohan Bopanna and Somdev Devvarman, will not be playing this tie. The 8 top players of the nation have revolted against the All India Tennis Association (AITA) for not completing their demands. In the Fed-Cup, the Indian girls have moved up 2 spots and are now at 45th position with 703 points. In the Davis Cup, Spain is at the No. 1 spot while in the Fed-Cup, Czech Republic held their no. 1 position.

INDIAN RUGBY TEAM

Rugby is not one of the popular sports in our country and as a result, the Indian team is one of the weakest. Talking about the latest world rankings by IRB, the Indian team is at 68th position in the world, out of the 100 playing nations, with 40.81 points and 12th in the Asian region. Indian team gave their best to qualify for the second leg of the World Cup Qualifiers in June 2012 but unfortunately, lost to Thailand 29-42. If Indian team would have won that match, they would have been promoted to Division-I of the World Cup Qualifiers. Their current record in IRB-recognised internationals is ten wins, one tie, and twenty four losses. However Indian Rugby team has really improved a lot in the last two years.

INDIAN NETBALL TEAM

Netball is also not one of the popular sports in India but slowly and steadily, Indian team is improving so that they can compete with the top teams of the world. Netball is basically a women’s game and as of 2006, the IFNA (governing body of Netball), recognizes only women’s netball. But from the last five or six years, men’s participation in the game has also increased. However, in India, it is only limited to women’s team. Indian team, who finished 5th out of the 10 teams in the Asian Netball Championship last year, are currently ranked 28th in the world with 67 points. Australia are at the top with 6,739 points. India is another netball nation bursting with potential. Many knowledgeable netball fans and experts have said that that the Indian team is very promising – suggesting India could be the number one netball side in Asia in the next decade, if the team is provided with sufficient funding.

INDIAN BADMINTON TEAM

In the Individual rankings, Saina Nehwal is currently at the 3rd spot but taking into account the team rankings, the Indian Badminton team is currently at the 10th place with 6855 points. China is at the top of the table with 17500 points and after China, comes Denmark, Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Chinese Taipei and Germany. There are a total of 102 nations.

INDIAN KORFBALL TEAM

Korfball is a sport which is very popular in European countries, especially in Netherlands and Belgium. It is a mixed gender team sport in which the team comprises of  8 players(4 male and 4 female). In India, Korfball is gaining popularity slowly and steadily. India, who organised the World Korfball Championships in 1995 are currently ranked 14th out of the 57 nations. Netherlands hold the first place while Belgium team is at the second spot.

INDIAN SEPAK-TAKRAW TEAM

Sepak-taraw is also not a well known sport in India but the game is very popular in the northeastern state of Manipur and some of the best players hail from there. It is quite similar to volleyball but instead of using hands, players have to use their their feet, knee, chest and head to touch the ball and also, the sepak takraw ball is made up of synthetic fiber or one woven layer. Indian team, who won the bronze medal in the 22nd King’s Cup International Sepak Takraw World Championships in 2007, are currently ranked 9th in men’s section and 8th in women’s section. Thailand is at the top spot in both the sections of the game.

The Victor Korea Open, which starts from 8th Jan, is the first Superseries Premier event of the year. The event will be featuring all the top badminton players in the world including our very own Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Parupalli Kashyap and Ajay Jayaram.

Saina Nehwal, who is currently World No. 3, will be up against World no 22 Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand in the first round of the Tournament.If Saina wins her first two matches, then in the quarterfinals she could be up against another Thai player, Intanon Ratchanok. Ratchanok, who is currently the World No. 9, defeated Saina in the Group match of BWF Superseries Finals last year.

Another Indian Women’s Singles player who performed brilliantly last year is P.V Sindhu, who is currently the World No. 19. She will face World no 25 Lindaweni Fanetri from Indonesian in the first round. Fanetri recently defeated Sindhu in the Final of Syed Modi International Grand Prix Tournament; so Sindhu needs to give her best if she wants to get through to the next round. But if Sindhu gets past Fanetri, then she could well face World No. 1 Li Xuerui of China in the next round.

In men’s singles category, Indian No. 1 and World No. 14 Parupalli Kashyap will be up against the World No. 32, Rajiv Ouseph, from England. If Kashyap wins his first two matches, then he could probably face world no. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia in the Quarterfinals. Kashyap, who jumped 6 places after winning his first Grand Prix Title last year, will be high on confidence in this Tournament.

Another Indian player, Ajay Jayaram, who is currently World No. 31, will face World No. 3 Jin Chen of China in the first round. Unfortunately, there is no Indian participation in Women’s Doubles, Men’s Doubles and Mixed Doubles category in the tournament.

1. Apurvi Chandela (Shooting)

This 19 year old shooter from Jaipur who won the women’s 10m air rifle gold in the Sahara 56th National shooting championship in New Delhi few days ago, also won the gold medal in her senior international debut in Netherlands in February, defeating some of the top players of the World. In the  Sahara 56th National shooting championships, Apurvi scored 498.7 points (395+103.7) and defeated the nation’s top rifle shooters, including Avneet Sidhu,Lajja Gauswami,Anjali Bhagwat, Tejaswini Sawant and Suma Shirur.

Apurvi is ranked  fifth among India’s female air rifle shooters and currently trains at Gagan Narang’s Gun for Glory Academy in Pune. This 19 year old talented Shooter has a bright future waiting for her and she can be one of India’s best medal prospect in the next Olympics.

2. Mampi Das (Shooting)

Mampi Das, who is just 15 years of age, is also the youngest shooting star from West Bengal and is considered to be India’s biggest hope in 10m air rifle women in the near future. Mampi Das, who announced her coming of age by matching the world record score of 400/400 in women’s 10m air rifle in the National selections trials at the Shivaji Chatrapati Sports Complex at Pune on 2nd September 2012, was also the part of the team that won the silver medal in January 2012 at the Asian Shooting Championship in Doha. However, Mampi’s effort would not be considered as a world record since the nationals and selection trials are not taken into account by the International Shooting Sports Federation. But nonetheless, this girl surely has the potential to win the medal at the Olympics and World Championships.

3. P.V. Sindhu (Badminton)

P.V Sindhu, or Pusrala Venkata Sindhu, is now a well known name in the World of Badminton. Just at the age of 17 years, she is now the World no. 24 in Women’s Singles category. PV Sindhu, who is the current Asian Youth Under 19 Champion, was recently the  runner up in the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold Tournament in Lucknow. But her remarkable achievement of the year came on 14th September 2012, when she defeated the London Olympics Gold Medalist and current World no. 1 Li Xuerui of China in the Quarterfinals of China Open.

At the age of 15, she won the Under-19 National Juniors where, incredibly, she did not drop even a single game. PV Sindhu surely has the potential and caliber to defeat the top Chinese shuttlers in the World and become the future World No.1 player.

4.Shiva Thapa (Boxing)

Teenage boxing sensation Shiva Thapa, who became the youngest Indian pugilist to qualify for the London Olympics earlier this year, is also the Junior World Boxing Champion in 56 kg wt. category. Thapa, however, lost in the first round in the 56 kg wt. category at the London Olympics to Mexico’s Oscar Valdez Fierro. 19 years old Thapa qualified for the London Olympics by winning the Gold Medal in the Asian Olympic Qualifiers held in Baku, Ajebeijan in April this year by defeating some of the top boxers in the world, including Syria’s Wessam Salamana. Shiva Thapa will surely be one of India’s top medal contenders in Boxing in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

5. Unmukt Chand (Cricket)

Unmukt Chand, who plays for Delhi Daredevils in the IPL, was the captain of the Indian U-19 team that won the World Cup in August 2012 by upsetting the hosts Australia in the finals. Unmukt Chand played a captain’s knock of 111* in 130 balls, which consisted of 6 sixes and 7 fours. He is currently playing in the Ranji Trophy season and has made 359 runs in 7 matches, with an average of 51.22. He made his Ranji debut while still in school, and hit his maiden century (151) in his fourth game. Chand, who is currently 19 years, will surely be one of the best batsmen in the world in the coming future.

6. Baba Aparajith (Cricket)

This 18 year old talented cricketer played a significant role in India U-19 World Cup  triumph. Baba Aparajith, who came into limelight during the Under-19 Quadrangular series played at Visakhapatnam in October 2011, took 11 wickets and made 367 runs in the U-19 World Cup. On his debut U-19 match, he surprised everyone with an outstanding bowling spell of 5/38 against the Aussies, thus starting his career with a bang. Baba Aparajith is a right handed batsman and a right arm offbreak bowler.

He is also playing in the Ranji Trophy season currently, and has made 338 runs in 7 matches and has also taken 2 wickets. Baba Aparajith, along with his brother, joined a cricketing academy at the young age of seven and has been dreaming of playing for his country ever since.

7. Brandon Fernandes (Football)

The Indian U19 international from Goa, dubbed as the “Indian whizkid”, is currently the biggest thing in Indian football. The  youngster’s two week trial with Premier League strugglers Reading in October ended with no offer being made for the player by the club. He then went on a three week trial to English Championship side Leicester City, which also ended with no offer. While his stay in England ended without an offer being made for the Indian youth prospect, Steptoe, who is the director of ASD Cape Town, revealed that “several Premier League and Championship sides are continuing to monitor Fernandes’ progress”.

What sets Brandon Fernandes apart from other footballers back in India is his superb technical ability with the ball and his pace. This is only the beginning for the young Brandon and at the age of 18, this footballer is surely the future of the Indian Football.

8. Rutuja Bhosale (Tennis)

16 years old Rutuja Bhosale, who made it to the Australian Open doubles semi-finals in the junior category this year, is a member of the MSLTA’s Vision Programme, which aims to promote players from Maharashtra in the Grand Slams and is also supported by Lakshya Foundation. Rutuja is currently ranked 527th in Women’s singles in the latest WTA rankings. Rutuja also won the South/Cental Junior circuit Tournament played at Zimbabwe this year, in which she defeated much higher ranked Junior players.

Recently, Rutuja has been selected in the Indian Fed Cup women’s tennis team along with Sania Mirza,Kyra Shroff and Rishika Sunkara that will compete in the Asia-Oceania Group 1 event to be staged in Astana, Kazakhstan, from February 6 to 9 2013. Rutuja Bhosale along with Prarthana Thombare,Ankita Raina,Kyra Shroff and Rishika Sunkara will be the future prospects of Tennis in India.

9. Akashdeep Singh (Hockey)

-

Akashdeep Singh, who lead the Indian Junior Hockey team in the 7th Junior Asia Cup at Malacca, Malaysia from May 3—13, is also a part of the senior team. The Indian team, under the captaincy of 17 year old Akashdeep, finished 3rd in the tournament at Malaysia with him scoring the golden goal to bag a consolation bronze medal. With this win, the Indian team qualified for the Junior World Cup, which will be held in India in 2013. Akashdeep also performed brilliantly in the recently concluded Indian National Hockey Championships. He was also a part of the senior team which finished 4th in one of the biggest tournaments in Hockey – the Champions Trophy. This young lad from Punjab has a very bright future waiting for him.

10. Soumyajit Ghosh (Table Tennis)

Soumyajit Ghosh, who was the only Indian player in men’s category in T.T who qualified for the London Olympics, is currently ranked 186th in the world,73rd in Asia and 3rd in India. This 19 year old paddler became the first Indian to clinch a medal in the World Junior Table Tennis Championships after he teamed up with NG wing Nam of Hong Kong to win the mixed doubles bronze at the event in Bratislava, Slovak Republic. He also won the Gold Medal in Singles in the Junior and Youth National Championships this year. If this Siliguri born player needs to match his skills with the Chinese and Korean players, then he needs to work very hard in the coming future.

His journey in ODIs was like a beautiful picture which can be portrayed from start to an end. Sir Don Bradman once said “I see myself in Sachin”. The way he used to play attracted more and more people to watch his game. He was the only bowler to bowl medium pace, off spin and leg spin. The first person on the planet to score 200 in an international match, most number of 100’s, most number of runs in cricket, most number of man of the matches in World Cup, most World Cups played by a player and the list goes on. It’s like a dream, watching Sachin playing on the field.

Tendulkar remains, by a distance, the most worshipped cricketer in the world. During the Australian tour of India in 1998, Matthew Hayden said “I have seen God. He bats at no. 4 in India in Tests.” It was the dream of every bowler to take the wicket of the greatest batsman in the world, “Sir Sachin Tendulkar”. Tributes started flowing as soon as he announced his retirement. Former India captain Sourav Ganguly noted that he could have played the upcoming series against Pakistan. Anil Kumble said it would be tough to see an Indian ODI team list without Tendulkar’s name in it. Javagal Srinath mentioned that Tendulkar changed the way ODIs were played, right from the time he opened in New Zealand in 1994.

Now I think cricket will be divided into 2 eras, one before Sachin (BS) and second after Sachin (AS). We all know that he would be  retiring eventually, but this was so shocking that nobody could believe it. We will all miss this legendary cricketer from One day cricket but it feels good that he will continue playing Test cricket. Sachin not only showed his class in one day and Test cricket, but also in T20 cricket, which is considered the fastest form of cricket. In the 2010 edition of Indian Premier League, Mumbai Indians reached the final of the tournament. Tendulkar made 618 runs in 14 innings during the tournament, breaking Shaun Marsh’s record of most runs in an IPL season. He was declared player of the tournament for his performance during the season. He also won Best Batsman and Best Captain awards at 2010 IPL Awards ceremony.

After his retirement from the ODIs, Sachin Tendulkar, in an emotional message, thanked his fans on Twitter for being supportive during his 23-year ODI career. Master Blaster tweeted: “Words are not enough to express my thanks to each of you for all the love & support I have received over the years…& especially now in the last couple of days. Your expressions have brought joy to my heart…& at times a tear to my eye! “Those magical moments of our ODI journey will stay with me for the rest of my life. Thank you so much.”

The year 2012 has been one of the best year uptil now for the Indian Badminton Queen and Star shuttler Saina Nehwal. This year, Saina Nehwal participated in 14 tournaments. Out of the 14, she emerged as Champion in 4 tournaments, as runner up in 1, lost 3 times in the semifinals, 2 times in the Quarterfinal, 2 times in the second round and 2 times in the opening round. Saina Nehwal, who started this year with a World Ranking of 4 and with 68126.5778 tournament points, ended the year with the World Ranking of 3 and with 80461.7444 tournament points. Now let’s have a look at how Saina performed this year in detail:

Tournaments in which SAINA NEHWAL emerged as Winner

As stated above, this year Saina Nehwal won 4 tournaments including the two Super-Series Premier Titles.

1. Swiss Open (13-18th March) - Saina Nehwal, who was seeded 3rd in the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold tournament, defeated 2nd seeded Wang Shixian of China in the final in 48 minutes by 21-19 21-16. In the Quarterfinals also, she defeated 6th seeded Chinese Shuttler Xin (F) Liu 21-12 21-13.

2. SCG Thailand Open (5-10th June) - This was also a Grand Prix Gold category tournament. Saina Nehwal, who was the top seed of the Tournament, defeated 2nd seeded Inthanon Ratchanok of Thailand in the Final by 19-21 21-15 21-10.

3. Djarum Indonesia Open Superseries Premier (12-17th June) - Djarum Indonesia Open, which started just one day after the completion of Thailand Open, was the 3rd Superseries Premier event of the year after Korea Open and the All England Championship. This tournament is one of the most important tournaments of Badminton in the year. Saina Nehwal, who was seeded 5th in the tournament as the top 4 seeds were Chinese players, defeated Li Xuerui of China in the final by 13-21 22-20 21-19. In the Quarterfinals she defeated another Chinese shuttler Wang Shixian in a match which lasted for 96 minutes. Saina, who was down match point in the second game, won the match by 21-17 21-23 21-19.

4. YONEX Denmark Open Superseries Premier (16-21st Oct) - Yonex Denmark Open was the 4th Superseries Premier event of the year. Saina Nehwal, seeded 3rd in the tournament, defeated 6th seeded German player Juliane Schenk in the finals by a score of 21-17 21-8. But in this tournament, for the first time in her career, Saina Nehwal defeated World No.1 Chinese Shuttler Wang Yihan. Saina defeated Wang in the Semifinal when Wang decided to retire from the match due to injury. Wang was losing 21-12 12-7 when she retired. Before this, Saina had lost to Wang Yihan for 6 consecutive times in her career, including the defeat in the Semifinals of London Olympics 2012.

Tournament in which SAINA NEHWAL emerged as Runner-up

1. Yonex French Open (23-28th Oct) -Saina emerged as runner up in just one tournament in 2012. After her victory in Denmark Open, she made it to the finals in the Yonex French Open Superseries but lost to the giant killer Minatsu Mitani of Japan by 21-19 21-11. Saina Nehwal was the top seed of the tournament while Mitani was unseeded.

Tournaments in which SAINA NEHWAL lost in the Semi-finals

1. MAYBANK Malaysia Open (10-15th Jan) - Maybank Malaysia Open was the second major tournament of the year after Korea Open. Saina, seeded 4th in the tournament, lost to the top seed Wang Yihan in straight sets in the semis by 21-15 21-16.

2. London OLYMPICS (27th July-12th August) -  It’s a dream for any player to win the most precious Olympic Medal for his/her country. This was also the dream for the star shuttler Saina Nehwal. Saina, who was seeded 4th in the Quadrennial Tournament, won the Bronze Medal after defeating Wang Xin of China in the Bronze medal match. She however lost to Wang Yihan in the Semis to go one on one with Wang Xin for the bronze medal. Wang Xin retired from the match after an injury with the match at 18–21, 0–1. But nonetheless, Saina became the first ever Indian Shuttler to win the medal at the Olympics.

3. BWF Superseries Finals (12-16th dec) - BWF Superseries Finals is played on the Group basis. This is not a knockout tournament. Saina Nehwal, who was in Group-B along with Tine Baun,Juliane Schenk and Intanon Ratchanok, lost in the first two matches against Baun and Ratchanok but won the last group match against Schenk but as Nehwal, Baun and Schenk had same points after the completion of group matches, Nehwal got the better of the two as she had a better win/loss margin.In the Semifinal she was up against the top seed Li Xuerui of China. Saina, who lost the first game 22-20, made a strong comeback in the second game and won 7-21, but unfortunately lost the third game 21-13.

Tournaments in which SAINA NEHWAL lost in the Quarter-finals

1.Victor Korea Open (3-8th Jan) -Victor Korea Open was the first tournament of the year 2012. Saina Nehwal, who was the 4th seeded player in the tournament, lost to the 6th seeded Chinese player Yanjiao Jiang in straight sets by 21-17 21-10.

2. YONEX All England Badminton Championships (6-11th March) - Saina Nehwal, who was seeded 4th in the oldest and the most awaited Badminton tournament of the year the All England Badminton Championships, lost in the Quarters to the 7th seeded Chinese Shuttler Li Xuerui of China by a score of 23-21 21-13.

Tournaments in which SAINA NEHWAL lost in the 2nd round

1. YONEX Sunrise India Open (24-29th April) - This tournament which was played in New Delhi was a Superseries Tournament. Saina Nehwal, playing in front of home crowd, lost to a lower ranked Korean player Youn Joo Bae in the second round by 21-19 21-10.

2. YONEX Sunrise Hong-Kong Open (20-25th Nov) - 3rd seed of the tournament Saina Nehwal lost to Chinese shuttler Wang Lin 21-19 21-15 in the second round.

Tournaments in which SAINA NEHWAL lost in the Opening round

1. Uber Cup Preliminaries (13-19th Feb) - Uber Cup is a team Tournament. Indian team first lost to Malaysia 2-3 and then lost to strong Chinese team by 0-5. Saina however won her match against the Malaysian opponent in the first round but unfortunately the Indian Team lost the rubber.

2. Syed Modi International Grand Prix Tournament (18-23rd Dec) - In the last tournament of the year, India’s Olympic bronze medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal retired on match point from the women’s singles first round at the KL Garg-Syed Modi International India Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament at the Babu Banarsi Das Stadium.

World No. 3 shuttler and London Olympics Bronze Medalist Saina Nehwal has pulled out of the China Open scheduled to start in the second week of November as she feels that she has to give rest to her right knee which is posing some discomfort now. After playing 10 matches (370 minutes) in 12 days in the Denmark and French Opens, a tired Saina Nehwal has withdrawn from the Li Ning China Open in Shanghai which will begin from November 13 and end on November 18.

In an interview Saina said, “I was not fully fit before the 2 European Tournaments. I could play only 85% of my game at either tournament. When I look back, it just seems amazing, winning a big tournament like Denmark Premier and reaching final of French Open the next week”. The Semifinal win over World No. 1 Wang Yihan in Denmark Open Superseries Premier is something which I will remember for a long time, though she conceded the match in the second game because of an injury,” said Saina.

She will be back in the circuit for the Hong Kong Open which will start from Nov 20. Saina will also skip the Macau Open, a Grand Prix Gold tournament, at Macau from November 27 to December 2 and will return to action in the BWF Superseries Finals in Shenzhen, China, (December 12 to 16). Meanwhile, the China Open will see the return of the second highest ranked Indian player, PV Sindhu. Sindhu, who recently defeated World no. 2 and London Olympics Gold Medalist Xuerui Li of China, is currently the World No. 25 player and will face World no. 14 Eriko Hirose of Japan in the first round.

Also returning to competition is London Games men’s singles quarterfinalist Kashyap. Kashyap, who missed the Denmark and French Open, will face Swedish Shuttler Henri Hurskainen in the first round. Another Indian Shuttler Ajay Jayaram will face the French Open Superseries winner Daren Liew of Malaysia in the first round.

Second seed Joshna Chinappa beat top-seed and local favourite Siti Munirah Jusoh 11-9 11-7 11-1 in 34 minutes to clinch the IJM Land Penang Open Squash 2012 title in Malaysia. The top two seeds battled it out at the Nicol David Squash Centre, having both dropped just one game en route to the final.

Chinnapa gained a walkover in her first round tie after Pakistani qualifier Zahab Khan withdrew due to injury. The Indian later battled from a game down against No.6 seed Karman Siu and defeated her by 9-11 11-6 11-2 11-7 in 25 min to face another Hong Kong international in No.3 seed Carmen Lee.

Jusoh made short work of her first round clash against compatriot Teh Min Jie, before facing fellow-Malaysian Rachel Arnold, whom she also dispatched in three games. Tong Tsz-Wing proved a tougher challenge in the semi-finals, and the top seed needed an hour to defeat the Hong Kong international.

It was the Indian who kept up her dominant form in the final however, winning a narrow first game. Jusoh’s resilience waned as the match progressed, and the gap in the score was more pronounced in the second game.  Unable to match the pace, the Malaysian succumbed to defeat claiming just one point from the third game, allowing Chinnapa to claim her seventh WSA World Tour title.

Star shuttler Saina Nehwal has been named as top-seed for the Yonex French Open Badminton Superseries tournament in the absence of the top-three ranked Chinese players – Wang Yihan, Li Xuerui and Wang Xin starting at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin in Paris on Tuesday.

Nehwal who recently won the Denmark Open Superseries Premier title by defeating Juliane Schenk of Germany in the finals will be playing her second tournament after the London Olympics. She will take on Han Li of China in the opening round on October 24, after the first day will witness qualification rounds. The two have met only once previously, at the Thailand Open in June this year, with the Indian emerging on top against the World No. 22 Chinese.

Nehwal who defeated World No. 1 Wang Yihan of China in the semifinal of Denmark Open is the strongest contender to win the French Open Title. Apart from winning Denmark Open Title Saina has already won Thailand Open, Indonesian Open Superseries Premier, Swiss Open and Bronze medal at the Olympics this year.

The highest-seeded Chinese in the tournament is Wang Shixian, whom the Indian defeated in three games in the Djarum Indonesian Open final, which tired both the shuttlers in the one-hour-and-36-minute marathon and which Saina had termed as the longest match she was involved in. World No. 6 Danish girl to whom Saina defeated in the quarter-final of the Denmark Open, Tine Baun is the third seed of the tournament. Juliane Schenk is seeded 4th for this tournament.

While Saina is the only Indian entrant in the women’s singles, the other Indians in the fray are Ajay Jayaram and Sourabh Varma, both in the men’s singles main draw. Arvind Bhat and Anand Pawar will go through the qualification rounds. While Varma will open his campaign against Indonesian Soni Dwi Kuncoro, Jayaram will open with the fourth qualifier. World No. 5 Indonesian Shuttler Simon Santoso is the top seed in men’s singles category, with World No. 6 Sho Sasaki of Japan is the second seed in the tournament

Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu will participate in the men’s doubles while Kona and Ashwini Ponnappa have gained direct entry in the mixed doubles main draw. In men’s doubles Kona and Vishnu will be up against the World No 10. and 4th seeded Korean pair of Ki Jung Kim and Sa Rang Kim while in mixed Doubles Ponappa and Kona will face Thai pair of Patiphat and  Savitree.

Indian Badminton Queen and London Olympics Bronze medallist Saina Nehwal has won the Yonex Denmark Open Superseries Premier by defeating World No. 7 and 6th seed of the tournament Juliane Schenk of Germany in the Final. Saina thrashed the German 21-17, 21-8 in only 35 minutes to win the Denmark Open Title.

The ace shuttler from Hyderabad, who is ranked No 4 in the world, had defeated top seed and World No 1 Wang Yihan in Saturday’s semifinal. In the Quarterfinal, Saina defeated local girl and World No. 6 Tine Baun. Saina was playing her first tournament after the London Olympics and was in top form for the entirety of the tournament as she didn’t lose even a single game throughout the Championship.

Saina started the final match with a bang as she took the starting 4 points and continued her great form to make the score 8-2, but then Schenk made a good comeback and made the scores 9-9. Both the players played neck to neck till 17-17, but then Saina took the next four points in a row to win the first game 21-17. It was a brilliant start of the second game by both players but after 5-5, it was all Saina. The Indian, who was leading 11-7 in the first half of the second game, took the next 10 points out of the 11 to win the game by 21-8. Saina won the championship point rather easily as Schenk couldn’t even return the Indian’s serve. The victory was sweet revenge for Saina who had lost in straight games to Schenk last year.

This is Saina’s second Premier title of the year and 6th Super Series Title of her career, and her first in Europe. In June, Saina lifted the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold title before winning the Indonesian Open Super Series Premier.

“I thank Denmark and the Indian fans here for supporting me. I never expected to win this tournament,” an elated Saina said after the win which took her overall lead against Schenk to 6-3.

Star Indian Shuttler and London Olympics Bronze Medallist Saina Nehwal finally defeated World No. 1 and London Olympics Silver Medallist Wang Yihan of China in the semifinals of Yonex Denmark Open Superseries Premier. Saina, who had never managed to defeat Wang in her 6 previous meetings, was in top form from the start of  this match.

Wang started the match with a bang and took five straight points and made the score 0-5 but from then on, it was all Saina. From 0-5 down, Saina came back strongly and from the next 12 points, she managed to win 11. After taking a commanding lead in the first half of the first game, Saina never looked back and took the game 21-12.

In the second game with the scores at 2-2, Saina took the next 7 points in a row and made the score 9-2. Wang tried to make a comeback from there when she managed to get 4 points in a row to make the score 9-6. When Saina was leading  12-7 in the second game, Wang retired from the match due to the pain in her right leg. With this win, Saina completed her revenge of the London Olympics loss when Wang defeated her in the semis by 21-13, 21-13.

Saina Nehwal, who has not lost even a single game in the entire tournament, will now face World No.7 and 6th seed of the tournament Juliane Schenk of Germany in the Finals. Schenk defeated another Chinese shuttler Yanjiao Jiang by 21-13, 14-21, 15-21 in the semis. The final between Saina and Schenk will be played on Sunday and will start at around 5:45 P.M IST.

]]> http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/10/20/saina-avenges-loss-to-wang-yihan-enters-the-final-of-denmark-open/feed/ 3 347668 http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/10/04/top-5-celebratory-dances-in-the-history-of-cricket/ http://www.sportskeeda.com/2012/10/04/top-5-celebratory-dances-in-the-history-of-cricket/#comments Thu, 04 Oct 2012 14:20:23 +0000 vishal kungwani http://www.sportskeeda.com/?p=803568

Cricket is a game of emotion, but while some celebrate a tad more subtly, there are a few individuals who burst into a more extravagant dance routine. Here is the list of the five best celebrations in the history of cricket:

5. GAYLE DANCING IN A MATCH AGAINST ENGLAND IN ICC WORLD T-20 2012

West Indian swashbuckler Chris Gayle, who is very famous for hitting long sixes, is also one of the most exciting and entertaining player on the field. His unique dance style, the signature lightning pose, the celebrations and the calypso dance after the wickets fall as it brings a smile to every cricketer on-field and also the fans watching the match. Gayle’s ”Gangnam Style” of dancing has become a YouTube phenomenon in a World Twenty20 match after dismissing England’s Johnny Bairstow in his first over. Gayle has promised his fans around the world that he will keep celebrating in the “Gangnam Style” as the World Twenty20 progresses. Let’s see how many more times we can see him dancing on the field.

4. BRAVO AND BOLLINGER’S DANCE AFTER WINNING THE IPL 4

It was a very funny moment seeing Doug Bollinger and Dwayne Bravo dancing to Tamil beats. We have seen Bravo’s calypso dance moves a number of times during games, but it was a rare moment when Bollinger showed his dance moves as well. It was a proud moment for all the CSK players and fans as they had lifted the IPL 4 trophy after defeating RCB in the finals.

3.ENGLISH TEAM DOING THE SPRINKLER DANCE

It was a big moment for the English cricketers in 2010 as they had retained the Ashes for the first time in more than 20 years, and so they celebrated the victory with the famous ‘Sprinkler Dance’. The dance, which involves holding an arm out and imitating the jaunty rotation of a ­garden sprinkler, was started by England all-rounder Paul Collingwood, and quickly adopted by the rest of the team. Captain Andrew Strauss described it as England’s version of the New Zealand rugby team’s ‘Haka’.

2. HARBHAJAN SINGH DOING BHANGRA DURING A MATCH

India were just a ball away from winning their semifinal in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 against Australia at Kingsmead when Bhajji started doing the Bhangra on the third man boundary. The Indian team defeated Australia in that match by 15 runs, and went on to beat Pakistan in the finals to lift the Trophy.It was a proud moment for all the Indian fans, as their side was about to reach the finals of a World Cup after a terrible showing earlier in the year at the 50-over World Cup earlier in the year, and they too started doing the Bhangra with Bhajji.

1. SREESANTH’s SPECIAL DANCE AFTER HITTING ANDRE NEL FOR SIX

This was one of the funniest incidents in the history of cricket. Sreesanth, who is known to display his anger to batsmen while bowling, was taunted by the South African fast bowler Andre Nel. Sreesanth retaliated by breaking into his famous impromptu dance after he hit Andre Nel for a six during a test match between the teams in Johannesburg. Later on, it was revealed that Andre Nel had taunted Sreesanth, calling him ‘scared’ and a ‘rabbit’. ”As soon as I walked in to bat, Nel said ‘I can smell blood. You do not have the guts.’ Showing his emblem on the shirt, Nel said ‘I am playing for this. You are a scared fellow, rabbit. I will get you next ball,’” said Sreesanth after the match.

INCIDENTS THAT JUST MISSED THE LIST

1. MAKHAYA NTINI DANCING IN CHENNAI

Makhaya Ntini is one of the most entertaining cricketers ever to have played cricket. In a rain-affected match in Chennai in 2005, Makhaya Ntini showed some of his dance moves to the Chepauk crowd. Ntini also shared jokes with journalists who had gotten wet on their way to the Chepauk, and also posed for the camera in weird poses with Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock.

2. JEEVAN MENDIS COPYING CHRIS GAYLE”S DANCE STYLE IN T-20 WORLD CUP 2012

This incident took place recently in the match between West Indies and Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup when Jeevan Mendis dismissed all rounder Dwayne Bravo, with the bowler doing the Sri Lankan version of the Gangnam Style.