World Women's Chess: Harika draws against Mariya, duel enters tie-breaker

CHENNAI: Indian chess Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli on Monday drew against Ukraine Women GM (WGM) Mariya Muzychuk in 78 moves in the World Women's Chess Championship 2015 semifinal at Sochi in Russia.

In the other return semifinal game, Russian WGM Natalija Pogonina took sweet revenge for her loss on Sunday by defeating Swedish GM Pia Cramling in 38 moves.

The contests between the semifinalists now enters the tie-breaker. The two finalists will emerge in the play-offs on Tuesday.

Playing white pieces, Dronavalli -- with FIDE Elo rating 2492 and ranked 16th in the world -- opened the game by putting her knight at f3 square.

The Ukraine opted for Dutch defence and pushed her 'f' pawn two squares forward.

"In the Dutch defence, Muzychuk has chosen a sideline variation and not the mainline," WGM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman said.

According to Subbaraman, both the players have contrasting styles.

"While Mariya is more open and aggressive, as could be seen from the choice of defence, Harika is a positional player," Subbaraman said.

"To win in the knockout format, players need to play smart and steady chess. Gambling may yield short-term dividends but will not work overall," Susan Polgar, a four-time women's world chess champion, said.

"Harika has played steady chess so far and that is why she is still in it. In this game, she is playing solidly for results. I like her choice of opening. She is controlling the pace of this game. If her opponent does not play accurately, she (Harika) will take advantage of that," Polgar added.

On the 7th move, both took their kings to safety by castling.

Both players also fianchettoed all their bishops.

However, Dronavalli started lagging on time unlike on Sunday when she had the time advantage during the first half of the game.

Soon Mariya started pushing her queen-side pawns thereby opening up the space.

On the 30th move, the Ukrainian went for exchange of queens and seven moves later the players traded one of their rooks.

At this position, each player had a rook. Dronavalli had four connected pawns to Muzychuk's three.

"Though Harika had a slender advantage throughout the game, it was not enough to win," Subbaraman said.

The semifinal contests consist of two games. If the score after two games remains equal, the match is continued in the tie-break.

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Harika in tiebreaks of World Women's Chess semis

SOCHI: Grandmaster D Harika kept herself in contention for a place in the finals by settling for a second straight draw with Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine in the second game of the World Women's Chess semifinals here.

After drawing the first game as black, it was Harika's turn to exert pressure with her white pieces in the return game and she tried hard to make it count before splitting the point.

In the other game of the semifinal Natalija Pogonina of Russia again won on demand against Pia Cramling of Sweden to force a tiebreaker in this match too. The Russian had lost the first game with black pieces and it was the third time during the course of this knockout championship that Pogonina scored a victory in a must-win situation.

With the stage set for a thrilling tiebreaker to decide the two finalists, Harika and Cramling will be under more pressure although the latter is a rating favourite against the Russian.

For the records, the players will play two tiebreak games of 25 seconds each and in case of a tied score two more games of ten minutes each will be played. If the scores are still level in this 450000 USD championship, Armageddon game with five minutes to white and four to black will be played to determine the winner.

However in this case, white will be forced to win as in case of a draw black will go through to the next round. To sum it up, it will be about nerves compiled with skills that will see the two finalists through to decide the next women's world champion.

Harika starts as the underdog against Muzychuk who not only has a higher rating but also is someone who ousted pre-championship favourite Koneru Humpy in the quarterfinals.

It was a Dutch Leningrad by Muzychuk that met with an original setup from Harika. The middle game saw black saddled with a weaker pawn structure and Harika kept pushing for more despite the pieces getting traded at regular intervals.

In the heavy pieces endgame that ensued, the Indian was still in command but could not quite force matters despite enjoying advantage. Muzychuk, to her credit, gave up a pawn when the opportunity came and reached a rook and pawns endgame with pawns on the same side. Harika kept looking for more but in the end the draw was reached after 78 moves.

Cramling went for a very risky Sicilian defense against Pogonina. Needing just a draw to go through to the finals - the veteran Cramling, who is a surprise in the semis at over fifty years of age, is here because of her uncompromising chess all through and this was probably the reason for her to continue in similar vein.

Pogonina got her king side attack rolling in almost no time and it was clear that black struggled from the start. Finally, Pogonina's Queen and Knight created havoc in the opposition camp and it was all over in just 38 moves.

Cramling will now have to deal with a resurgent Pogonina in the shorter version, something her previous opponents in the championship have found impossible to tackle.

Results quarterfinal game two: D Harika (Ind) drew with Mariya Muzychuk 1-1, goes to tiebreak; Natalija Pogonina (Rus) beat Pia Cramling (Swe) 1-1, goes to tiebreak.

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Tough test awaits Saina, Srikanth in Malaysia

HYDERABAD: For the last three weeks Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal made all the headlines with their tremendous success on court. While Srikanth won back-to-back titles in Switzerland and India, Saina finally managed to conquer the India Open and had also realised her long-time dream of becoming World No. 1.

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But the badminton world will be eagerly waiting to watch how these two superstars will fare at the Malaysia Open. The $500,000 event which will kick off in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday will have a strong field as all the top players of the world including the Chinese, who were half-fit for the All England and missed the India Open, will be back for the Premier event.

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World champion Chen Long, Lin Dan, Koreans and the Danes will test Srikanth while Li Xuerui and the Wangs along with the upcoming teen talents will pose a serious challenge for Saina, who will be crowned No. 1 during this tournament.

Srikanth, who will also improve his ranking, is in the lower half of the draw. The fourth seed has a tricky opener against Rajiv Ouseph of England. He is likely to face the legendary Super Dan in the quarterfinals. After Lin Dan was knocked out of India Open, Srikanth said he would have liked to win the title by beating top player like him. Surely, it will be not be an easy match for Srikanth as Dan will be keen to make up for his quick exit from the New Delhi.

Parupalli Kashyap is in the top half of the draw and will run into Chen Long in the second round. Indonesia Masters champion HS Prannoy, who stunned top seed Jan O Jorgensen last week, may face Lin Dan in the second round.

India Open Super Series champion K Srikanth. (AFP Photo)

With PV Sindhu still nursing her leg injury, Saina will be the lone Indian in the women's singles draw. The Indian needs to do well in this tournament to hang on to the top rank. A good show by Xuerui or Shixian will push Saina down in the rankings. It would be interesting to see how the Chinese, who are making a comeback after injury layoffs, will prosper at this tournament.

Saina is clubbed with Xuerui and Yihan in the top half of the draw. She will begin her campaign against world No. 47 Maria Febe Kusumastuti of Indonesia on Wednesday. She is likely to meet either Sun Yu of China or Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei in the quarters. Seasoned campaigners Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa got a tough draw.

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Coach lost weight in making me World No. 1: Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal never fails to surprise. In this cricket-crazy country, this young Hyderabadi has done what no other Indian could. On Saturday afternoon, India cheered at the news that Saina has become the numero uno of world badminton. "I can't believe it...," she said in an interview minutes after her semifinal victory at the India Open here in Delhi, which brought her the World No. 1 crown.

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While India hailed the new queen, Saina said her focus was on the final (which she later won). "I want to keep doing well," she said. Focused she may be, but Saina knows what she has achieved is no mean feat. And that too at 25 (Saina celebrated her birthday just before the India Open). "It's a great day for me... It's a big day... It's an awesome day... I am the first woman from India to become World No. 1... Wow!" Saina said excitedly.

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A few years ago, after three back-to-back tournaments wins that put her in the World No. 3 slot, she had told us, "I am not perfect, but if I can be World No. 3, I can become World No. 1 as well."

But the focus is not on the numbers game for Saina, as she said, "If I stay focused on the game, the other things (rankings) will fall into place." However, it's not been easy for the shuttler. "I was World No. 9 last year. I never thought that in seven months, I would be World No. 1. It has been a difficult journey, but I am glad I have achieved this. Everyone dreams of being World No. 1 - I had that dream too and it has come true."

Saina credits her rise in ranking to coach Vimal Kumar, under whose tutelage she not only overcame her nemesis, the Chinese, but also created history. "The credit for my success goes to Vimal. He has worked very hard to train me. He even lost a lot of weight in the process! Also, Prakash sir's inputs have helped me a lot," she said.

Not many know that the first thing she does after achieving something big is picking up the phone and calling her parents. But Saina couldn't do that after becoming World No. 1. "Papa is busy on the phone. I will speak to him in the night," Saina told us after the semis. Later, after speaking to her parents, she excitedly said, "My mom and dad are very simple people. Today, I am World No. 1, but they are like 'Beta, did you have food?' and other similar questions, but I am sure they are very happy. They don't show it as they believe I can achieve a lot more."

All hail the new Queen of badminton

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World Women's Chess: Harika wins second tie-breaker in semis

CHENNAI: Indian chess Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli on Tuesday kept her chances alive in the World Women's Chess Championship, underway at Sochi in Russia, by winning the second tie-break game in the semifinals on her 80th move against Ukraine WGM Mariya Muzychuk.

Dronavalli, who earlier lost the first tie-break game in 38 moves, opted for Pric defence, playing with black pieces.

By the 13th move, both the players took their kings to safety by castling.

At one point of time, Dronavalli was two pawns down but soon regained one with some attacking play.

On move 32, the Indian brought her rook to the second rank and mounted pressure on the opponent.

At the end of 35th move, the Ukrainian had two connected passer pawns at the centre and was one pawn up.

While both the players had a rook and queen, Dronavalli had her two bishops for Muzychuk's two knights.

An error by either one of them would have been costly at that juncture.

With deft attack, Dronavalli equalized the pawn deficit and in a tactical manner, pocketed Muzychuk's knight.

After that, with good play, the Indian won the game.

"Despite a point down, Harika played well and kept the pressure on her opponent," WGM Vijayalakshmi Subbaraman said.

With the scores tied, the winner will be decided in a five-minute blitz game that was slated to commence shortly.

In the other tie-break game, between Russian WGM Natalija Pogonina and Swedish GM Pia Cramling, the former won to move into final.

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Srikanth is a fighter, says Pullela Gopichand

NEW DELHI: Chief national coach Pullela Gopichand has lavished praise on K Srikanth after his India Open triumph, describing him as a fighter with a great range of strokes but said he still needs to improve "mental aspects" to win more laurels for the country.

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Srikanth edged out world no. 6 Viktor Axelsen 18-21, 21-13, 21-12 in the final to clinch his maiden India Super Series and Gopichand said consistency will be the key to his success in the coming days.

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"I think consistency will be his key. We've seen him play well. When you win, you normally look invincible," he said.

"Talking from a coach's perspective, somebody's winning matches and suddenly they become slow and then they look as ordinary as anybody.

"From that perspective it's good. He's got that ability to fight and he's got a great range of strokes that can help him change the tide of the game very quickly. We need to work on the mental aspect and physical aspects. There's still some way to go before we could be winning everything," he added.

Elaborating further on Srikanth's game, Gopichand said: "He has a big smash, good net hand, and with the range of strokes he has, it makes him very good at the end points. Because he has those elements of surprise, all he needs to do is create the opening and when he does, he has a big one to round it up and follow it up really well.

"Having said that, we also have H S Prannoy, RMV Gurusaidutt, Ajay Jayaram, I think all of them have good strength."

Before Srikanth scooped his trophy, new world no. 1 Saina Nehwal had already clinched her maiden women's singles title at the India Open after four years.

Saina Nehwal displays her gold medal after winning the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2015 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. (AFP Photo)

Gopichand said it was a "dream come true" for him to see Srikanth and Saina bringing double delight to India yesterday at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

"It's fantastic. Last few days have been great for Indian badminton. I'm extremely happy," he said.

"When we started off, it was a dream. Today it's a reality. It could've been better With H S Prannoy knocking out Viktor Axelsen. (RMV) Gurusaidutt also had his chances against Xue Song. We could've had three players in the semis.

"Having said that, they're all young. There is still time and it's a great beginning and we hope to continue with our success."

Asked about Saina's rise to the number one status, Gopichand said: "Fantastic. Last few years have been great for her. And I think to reach this ranking, is amazing for Saina, badminton and for sport in general."

"I think she is playing well, moving well. With whatever she's doing, she's comfortable with it."

For someone, who leds by example, Gopichand said he is still learning as a coach and a better supporting staff will help India to get more accolades.

"I'm learning as well. Since when I started coaching, there was no one in top 100. Suddenly there were few. There was one Saina in the top 5 and (P V) Sindhu, Srikanth, (Parupalli) Kashyap and Prannoy there. Then you have Guru and all hanging behind them and then (B Sai) Praneeth," Gopichand said.

"We need a larger group of coaches. Need some more committed work to be done. We need more personal attention. People like Kiran as a physio have worked relentlessly in the last few years. We need support staff which is solid. Then we'll get there.

"Not many people have the experience to tell me so that I can learn from them as well because not many people have these problems. But conditions are such and I'm working on them and hopefully we will come back next year with some answers," he added.

While India have done really well in the singles category, doubles remains an area of concern and Gopichand said there are some fundamental issues in the doubles competition.

Asked if he is planning to hire someone for doubles, Gopichand said: "Yeah, but there are fundamental issues. We do not have still systems running across in the country. Look at the Chinese team, or the Korean or Japanese. The coach is in-charge of everything.

"Here unfortunately that freedom and system is not there. Unless that system is not there in place, no coach can help us. We do not have enough people under the age of 18 who take doubles in the first place.

"So unless you have a bunch of 30 kids playing doubles, we won't be able to produce players for the next 6-8 years. We need proper structures to be made. We need proper effort, decisions to be made. Decisions need to be hard, solid, you can not leave to various diktats of people to decide which route to go.

"People who have the knowledge of the sport should sit together and decide. There might be 3 or 4 different ways of doing it. We don't have to find a perfect system. I think it's just important to put a system in place, put rules in place and then everything will flow," he said.

Asked about Srikanth, Gopichand said: "He is a complete player but there are certain areas that need to be worked upon. His tosses were sloppy.

"Every player will have certain strengths and weaknesses. It's important to win your matches on your strengths and not lose your matches on your weaknesses. Srikanth is smart enough to know when change is needed."

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Respect Virat and Anushka's personal lives: Yuvraj Singh

NEW DELHI: Out-of-favour India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has appealed to the cricket fans to respect Test captain Virat Kohli and his actress girlfriend Anushka Sharma's personal lives.

Anushka, who was in attendance at the Sydney Cricket Ground during India's World Cup semifinal against Australia, was blamed for Kohli's failure in the match which the team lost by 95 runs.

"To all our real Indian fans who support us in our wins and loses ! Let's respect @imVkohli and @AnushkaSharma personal life," Yuvraj wrote on his Twitter handle.

The 33-year-old Yuvraj, who was Man of the Tournament in the 2011 edition but could not find a place for the just-concluded mega-event, was also supportive of Kohli.

Virat Kohli and actress Anushka Sharma upon their arrival at the international airport in Mumbai. (PTI Photo)

"Someone who's scored 5 hundreds on Aus tour deserves much more respect and support from his fans!

"I'm sure in the coming times he will shine for his country again and again," he said.

The Bollywood fraternity, too, took to the micro-blogging site to extend its support to the actress.

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Dilip Pagay emerges veteran chess champion

NAGPUR: Top seed Dilip Pagay lived up to his billing to emerge champion in the second NDCA Veteran Chess tournament, which concluded at the NIT Neighboorhood Recreation Hall, Surendra Nagar here on Sunday.

Pagay captured 8.5 points out of possible 9 to make the light of competition. He was followed by V Ramachandran with 6.5 points. Yashwant Shyamkuwar finished third with 5.5 points.

In the final round on top board, Pagay outwitted Bhimandas Kewalramani. On the second board, Ramchandran downed Anzar Ahmad Khan, while Shyamkuwar got the better of TS Patil.

RESULTS (Round 9)

Bhimandas Kewalramani (4) lost to Dilip Pagay (8.5), Anzar Ahmad Khan (5) lost to V Ramchandran (6.5), TS Patil (5) lost to Yashwant Shyamkuwar (5.5), Sanjay Guha (5) lost to BC Borkar (5.5), VK Shrivastava (5) bt HK Khan (4), Vinay Barhanpure (5) bt Shashank Kohale (2), SA Pathan (2) lost to T Chandran (5).

Final standings: 1. Dilip Pagay (8.5), 2. V Ramchandran (6.5), 3. Yashwant Shamkuwar (5.5, 39.5), 4. BC Borkar (5.5, 37.5), 5. TS Patil (5 44).

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Saina, Srikanth now eye Malaysia crown

KUALA LUMPUR: Newly-crowned India Open champions, Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth will look to continue their fairytale run as they eye another podium finish at the $500,000 Malaysia Open Super Series Premier which gets underway with the qualifiers on Tuesday.

Left with hardly any time to celebrate their maiden title wins at the India Super Series, Saina and Srikanth had to rush for Malaysia on Sunday night itself and the duo will look to recover quickly before starting their campaign on Wednesday in the main draw.

Set to be officially crowned the world no. 1 on Thursday, Saina will start her campaign as a third seed against Indonesia's Maria Febe Kusumastuti in the opening round. The girl from Hyderabad is likely to face Thailand's Busanan Ongbumrungpan, ranked 19th, in the second round.

If Saina can produce the same magic which helped her clinch India Open then she is likely to find herself face to face with Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying, seeded seventh, in the quarterfinals.

However, the road to the podium will be tougher here as the top Chinese, including Li Xuerui and Wang Yihan, will be back in business and ready for the new World No. 1.

"In last three months, I have reached three finals, which means I am learning. I am not taking any tournament easily. Every tournament is difficult and every one will be prepared for me and I will have to be ready everytime," Saina said.

On a roll with back-to-back titles, Srikanth, on the other hand, will face 2010 Commonwealth Games silver-medallist Rajiv Ouseph of England in the first round.

The Indian will take heart from the fact that he had beaten Rajiv during the World Championship in August last year and would look to do an encore on Wednesday. A win will pit him against world no. 16 Tian Houwei of China next.

"Every win is important to me, every win motivates me, every win gives me the confidence to perform well in the next tournament," Srikanth had said last night.

Among other Indians, giant-killer HS Prannoy, who knocked out world no. 2 Jan Jorgensen of Denmark in the quarterfinals last week, will be up against Ireland's Scott Evans, ranked 25th in the world. If he wins, he may face the legendary Lin Dan or Tommy Sugiarto next.

Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap will be up against Korea's Lee Dong Keun in the opening round and a win will see him face off against world no. 1 Chen Long.

In women's doubles, 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will face Keshya Nurvita Hanadia and Devi Tika Permatasari, while Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy will take on Indonesia's Andrei Adistia and Hendra Aprida Gunawan in men's doubles.

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President hails Srikanth for India Open win

NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee on Monday congratulated shuttler Kidambi Srikanth for winning the India Open Super Series men's singles title here on Sunday.

The World No.4 defeated Danish Viktor Axelsen 18-21, 21-13, 21-12 in 55 minutes in the final at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

"Please accept my hearty congratulations and best wishes on your winning the Men's Singles title in the India Open Super Series badminton tournament," the president said in a message.

"Your success is a matter of great joy and pride for all Indians. My best wishes are with you for even greater success in the future."

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'Unlucky' Humpy crashes out of Women's World Chess Championship

SOCHI (Russia): Running out of luck, Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy crashed out of the Women's World Chess Championship after losing the rapid tiebreak 0.5-1.5 against Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

Having done everything right, Humpy was cruising to a victory in the second game after drawing the first and a win would have sealed her berth in the quarters, instead the Indian lost track of the position and a one-move blunder saw the tables turned.

Mariya Muzychuk thus advanced to the semifinal to set up a clash with India's D Harika, who had made it to the semis at the expense of Meri Arabidze of Georgia.

On rating, Mariya is the favourite but going by the form, Harika might hold an edge especially as she also got a days' rest ahead of the semis.

Veteran Pia Cramling of Sweden was a surprise entrant in to the semis defeating Mariya's sister Anna Muzychuk in the second set of tiebreak games. Cramling won the first rapid game as black but lost the next that set the stage for the ten-minute games wherein the Swede triumphed winning the first game and drawing the second.

The 450000 $Championship saw the local challenge still alive as Natalija Pogonina ousted the last remaining Chinese - Zhao Xue in the rapid games. Pogonina won her second game in the match with black pieces in the first rapid game and a draw was enough for the Russian to move to the last four in the return game with white pieces.

All eyes were on Humpy as despite a tied result in normal time control games, she had shown enough tenacity and better understanding than Muzychuk. In the first rapid game as black Humpy again nearly outplayed Muzychuk after a Scotch opening by the Ukrainian.

The Indian had to find some fine defensive manoeuvres and then she picked up a pawn to exert pressure in the endgame. Muzychuk however also put up a decent fight to steer the game to a draw in 58 moves.

The second game was a Semi Slav and Humpy went for a topical variation to gain advantage after playing aggressively against the Isolated Queen pawn. Mariya made a few errors and lost material to find her in a hopeless situation and it was one last trick that salvaged the day.

Humpy had an extra rook and a position to be proud off when suddenly she missed a simple knight fork on the 35th move that proved disastrous. It was all over six moves later for the Indian.

Complete Results Quarterfinals: Koneru Humpy (Ind) lost to Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr) 1-1, 0.5-1.5; Zhoa Xue (Chn) lost to Natalija Pogonina (Rus) 1-1, 0.5-1.5; Pia Cramling (Swe) beat Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) 1-1, 1-1, 1.5-0.5; D Harika (Ind) beat Meri Arabidze (Geo) 1.5-0.5.

Semifinal line up: D Harika v/s Mariya Muzychuk; Pia Cramling v/s Natalija Pogonina.

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Kidambi Srikanth beats Viktor Axelsen to win India Open

NEW DELHI: Kidambi Srikanth defeated Viktor Axelsen in grueling three games 18-21, 21-13, 21-12 to win the India Open Super Series title at the Siri Fort Complex here on Sunday.

READ ALSO: Saina wins maiden India Open title

World No. 4 Srikanth had beaten Axelsen during the summit clash of the Swiss Open final earlier this month. He beat the Dane 21-15, 12-21, 21-14 in three games to clinch his then third international title in 21 months.

Srikanth, who had clinched the Swiss Open earlier this month, made his second successive finals after prevailing over Chinese qualifier Xue Song 21-16, 21-13 in a 42-minute match on Saturday.

Srikanth fought back after being 0-3 down initially to level score at 4-4 and then broke off at 7-all and never looked back despite Song giving him a charge and narrowing the gap to 16-17 at one point.

Commenting on Srikanth's performance after the match on Saturday former national coach Vimal Kumar said: Srikanth is the next player (after Saina Nehwal), who has the real possibility of becoming the number one and winning big tournaments."

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It's a great day for me: Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal never fails to surprise us. In this cricket-crazy country, this young Hyderabadi has done what no other Indian could. On Saturday evening, Saina became the numero uno of world badminton.

"I can't believe it...," she says, minutes after her semifinal victory at the India Open in New Delhi that brought her the World No. 1 crown.

While India hailed the new queen, Saina said her focus is on the final. "I am playing the India Open final for the first time. I want to keep doing well," she adds. Focused she may be, but Saina knows what she has achieved is no mean feat. And that too at 25. "It's a great day for me... It's a big day... It's an awesome day... I am the first woman from India to become World No. 1... Wow!" Saina says excitedly.

A few years ago, after three back-to-back tournament wins that put her in the World No. 3 slot, she had told us, "I am not perfect, but if I can be World No. 3, I can become World No. 1 as well."

But the focus is not on the numbers game for Saina, as she says, "If I stay focused on the game, the other things (rankings) will fall in place."

However, it's not been easy for the shuttler. "I was World No. 9 last year. I never thought that in seven months, I will be World No. 1. It has been a difficult journey, but I am glad I have achieved this. Everyone dreams to be World No. 1 - I had that dream too and it has come true."

Saina credits her rise in ranking to coach Vimal Kumar in Bengaluru, under whose tutelage she not only overcame her nemesis, the Chinese, but also created history. "The credit for my success goes to Vimal. He has worked very hard to train me. He even lost a lot of weight in the process!" she says with a laugh, adding, "Also, Prakash (Padukone) sir's inputs have helped me a lot."

Not many know that the first thing she does after achieving something big is picking up the phone and calling her parents. But Saina couldn't do that after becoming World No. 1.

"Papa is busy on the phone. I will speak to him in the night," Saina told us after the semis. Later, after speaking to her parents, she excitedly said, "My mom and dad are very simple people. Today, I am World No. 1, but they are like 'Beta, did you have food?'... and other similar questions, but I am sure they are very happy. They don't show it as they believe I can achieve a lot more."

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Saina Nehwal beats Ratchanok Intanon to win maiden India Open title

NEW DELHI: First Indian women shuttler to achieve world number one ranking, Saina Nehwal on Sunday clinched her maiden India Open Super Series title after notching up a dominating straight game victory against former world champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in the summit clash here.

READ ALSO: Saina, the quintessential fighter

The London Olympic bronze medalist played like a champion to get the better off a Intanon 21-16, 21-14 in a battle that kept the crowd hooked from the first point to the last at the Siri Sports Complex.

Coming into the match with a 5-3 overall advantage over her rival, Saina was not tested much as the Indian was prepared for Intanon's deceptive game.

Saina encountered her rival with her better movements and powerful and accurate smashes to eventually wrest her second title of the season.

The girl from Hyderabad, who has been on a roll ever since her victory at the China Open, played like a champion as she anticipated her opponent's moves and caught her on the wrong foot during rallies.

Intanon, seeded third, seemed to be affected by her marathon semifinal match against Carolina Marin of Spain which lasted for close to an hour and half on Saturday.

The energy-sapping clash seemed to have made her movements slow on the court as she struggled with her returns.

Gold medal winner Saina Nehwal (R) and silver medalist Ratchanok Intanon pose after the women's singles final of India Open Badminton. (AP Photo)

The deafening cheers of the near-packed house crowd which chanted 'India India' and 'let's go Saina let's go', seemed to disrupt Intanon's concentration as nothing went for her in the match.

Saina used her powerful smashes and rode on her opponent's unforced errors to lead 11-5 early on. She was up for the deceptive drops and half smashes which Intanon used to trouble the Indian.

After the break, Intanon gave a glimpse of her superb game as she engaged in a long rally with the Indian and her wristy dribbles to narrow the gap to 10-12.

However, Saina didn't allow the Thai to threaten her as she anticipated well and retrieved everything that was thrown at her end. She closed the points with a smash whenever there was a chance.

Intanon had no answer to Saina's accurate and powerful strokes as she ended up sending them wide and long or at net to allow her opponent gain a massive nine game point advantage at 20-12.

Intanon saved four game points before Saina sealed the opening game when the Thai girl hit long.

The change of side didn't alter anything as Saina once again rushed to a 5-0 lead. Intanon gained a few points with her half smashes and deceptive strokes but the Indian still managed to zoom into the break with a 11-6 lead.

After the break, Intanon caught Saina a few times at the forecourt but those were few as Saina raced to a 17-11 lead.

Intanon reduced the gap to 18-14 but the Thai girl once again hit out twice to first give Saina the match point and then the title.

Saina won the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold in Lucknow in January, before becoming the first Indian women to reach the final of the All England Championships. She achieved her dream of becoming the world number one on Saturday after Carolina Marin lost in the semifinals.

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Kidambi Srikanth beats Viktor Axelsen to win India Open men's title

NEW DELHI: Kidambi Srikanth defeated Viktor Axelsen in grueling three games 18-21, 21-13, 21-12 to win the India Open Super Series title at the Siri Fort Complex here on Sunday.

READ ALSO: Saina wins maiden India Open title

World No. 4 Srikanth had beaten Axelsen during the summit clash of the Swiss Open final earlier this month. He beat the Dane 21-15, 12-21, 21-14 in three games to clinch his then third international title in 21 months.

Srikanth, who had clinched the Swiss Open earlier this month, made his second successive finals after prevailing over Chinese qualifier Xue Song 21-16, 21-13 in a 42-minute match on Saturday.

Srikanth fought back after being 0-3 down initially to level score at 4-4 and then broke off at 7-all and never looked back despite Song giving him a charge and narrowing the gap to 16-17 at one point.

Commenting on Srikanth's performance after the match on Saturday former national coach Vimal Kumar said: Srikanth is the next player (after Saina Nehwal), who has the real possibility of becoming the number one and winning big tournaments."

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Saina needs to work harder now, says father

HYDERABAD: Saina Nehwal's father Harvir Singh on Saturday attributed her daughter's rise to the top of the world rankings to sheer hard work.

"She was not getting good results and then she shifted to Bangalore. She was not staying at home. She was striving hard. The coaches and others helped her. We thank the almighty and her supporters for this day," Harvir said.

Saina Nehwal created history by becoming the first Indian woman to become world number one.

He, however, felt that Saina would face fierce competition from the formidable Chinese players.

"The Chinese would not let her remain there for long. She needs to put in extra effort. The Olympics and other important tournaments are also coming," he said.

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Saina Nehwal storms into maiden India Open final

NEW DELHI: Crowned as the world number one, Saina Nehwal on Saturday celebrated her numero uno status with a straight-game demolition of Japanese Yui Hashimoto to reach her maiden final of the $275,000 India Super Series at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

READ ALSO: Superb Saina scales historic World No.1 ranking

The Olympic bronze medallist, Saina became the world number one even before she took the court for the semifinals after her closest competitor Carolina Marin of Spain lost in the other last four match against Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon.

The girl from Hyderabad thrashed Hashimoto 21-15, 21-11 in a match that lasted for 43 minutes to set up a title clash with former world champion Hashimoto.

"It is a dream come true. I can't even believe that I have become the world number one. I guess till the time I see my name there myself I won't be able to believe it. It has been a long journey," Saina said.

"I want to thank Vimal Sir, my parents for the success. Vimal sir had told me that I will be number one by may. I can't still believe it."

Even before she took the court for the semifinals, news started floating about Saina reaching the number one ranking after her closest rival for the top spot Marin lost to former world champion Intanon.

Once on the court, Saina played like a champion as she dominated the long rallies with her repertoire of strokes and pushed the Japanese to commit mistakes.

Egged on by a vociferous weekend crowd, Saina lead 11-8 at the break. The Indian continued her dominating run after the interval, using her drops, deep returns and accurate smashes to lead 18-12.

Saina lost a few points due to service fault and a couple of miscued shots, before grabbing the first game courtesy two unforced errors by her opponent.

The change of sides didn't change Hashimoto's fate much as she continued with her unforced errors, hitting wide and long and faltering at the nets to allow Saina to zoom to a 11-2 lead with a delicate net shot that found the Japanese napping.

The loud cheers of 'jitega bhai jitega India jitega' reverberated across the Siri fort complex that was thronged by fans.

The script didn't change much after the interval as Hashimoto struggled with her strokes. She also lost a video referral as Saina reached 15-3 lead. The Indian continued to ride on the Japanese' erratic strokes to grab a couple of points.

Hashimoto won a point after a net exchange and added a few more when Saina hit wide but she could never threaten the Indian who moved to a 14 match points after the Japanese hit long.

Not ready to go down without a fight, Hashimoto saved five match points before Saina completed the demolition with a delicate push at the net.
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Force India miss Q3 again, drivers to start 13th, 14th

SEPANG: Sahara Force India's Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez were 13th and 14th fastest in a wet qualifying at the Formula 1 Malaysian Grand Prix here on Saturday.

It was the second time in a row that either Force India failed to make Q3.

However, the team can hope for some points on Sunday as it had secured a double points finish at the season opener in Melbourne with Hulkenberg and Perez finishing seventh and 10th from 14th and 15th on the grid.

"It was a short qualifying session in the end with the rain arriving quite early in Q2. Maybe it would have been better for us if the rain had arrived five minutes earlier and Q2 was completely wet because everybody was able to complete a lap on slicks when the track was quite dry," said Hulkenberg.

"It was only on the in-lap that the skies really opened. As it happens I think it would have been very difficult to reach Q3 anyway. The race tomorrow will be tough, especially managing the tyres in the high temperatures.

"There is always the chance of more rain and that's when you have to adapt quickly because it's all about being on the right tyre at the right moment. Whatever happens we will try our best to come away with some points," the German added.

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Saina has achieved three great things this year: Pawar

MUMBAI: India's ace shuttler Saina Nehwal had achieved three memorable feats this year enroute to her gaining the coveted and unprecedented World No.1 status on Saturday, said former international Uday Pawar.

"It's welcome news. She is the first woman player to become World No.1. Prakash (Padukone) had already become World No.1 (among men)," Pawar said, while reacting to the development.

"This year, she has achieved three new feats. The first feat she achieved this year was to win the China Open as very few outsiders have done it. The second was in reaching All England final and now becoming the No.1. It has been an exceptionally good year for Saina," said Pawar.

Pawar felt the switch that the London Olympic Games bronze medalist made by moving her base from her hometown Hyderabad to Bengaluru to train under former national champion Vimal Kumar has played a huge role in her rising career graph.

"That has happened because Vimal has made a lot of changes in her game. Basically her smash has improved, she is hitting harder and her net game has improved a lot. These new dimensions have made a big difference," said Pawar.

"She had always lost to Wang Yihan (of China), but this time she won in straight games at the All England. The way she was playing earlier, all players knew how to play against her as her attack was not so good then.

"Now her movement towards the net is quicker, which has also caught her opponents unaware," Pawar explained.

He said Saina would not be satisfied with only becoming No.1 and a lot more could be expected from her in the future.

"I think she looks very determined and won't be satisfied with no 1. We can expect better results. Though she lost in the All England final she dominated for one and a half games (against Spain's world champion Carolina Marin). Only a lapse in concentration saw her lose her grip."

While saying next year's Rio Olympics was too far ahead, Pawar noted the slump of the all-powerful Chinese women armada and felt this has opened up some new possibilities.

"Rio is far away as in badminton terminology the next tournament is what you have to think of. If she remains injury-free, she will do well."

According to the former doubles expert, who is now a coach, the Chinese women have had a downward curve in performance and paradigm shift in badminton is visible.

"The Chinese are going through a big slump. They are the leading players in women but of late none of their top players have been playing well. Probably they play a lot of badminton. It could be small injuries or they may be mentally stale. These ups and downs are there. In the top ten, anyone can beat anyone else depending on fitness and form.

"Marin and Saina thrashed all Chinese players in the All England, which means there's a new force in world badminton. Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) is the youngest to win the world championship (in 2013). She had a slight injury, but today she won a hard fought match (against Marin) which means she is also fit," Pawar concluded.

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Saina true role model for aspiring sportspersons: Tendulkar

NEW DELHI: Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and other eminent sporting stars on Saturday congratulated Saina Nehwal on becoming the first Indian woman shuttler to attain the world number one ranking in badminton.

Tendulkar hailed her as a "true role model" for aspiring sportspersons.

Returning home after India's cricket campaign ended at the semifinal stage of the 50-over World Cup, Virat Kohli, also praised the fellow sportsperson for making the country proud. Saina's personal coach Vimal Kumar was also pleased at her wards accomplishment and urged the top shuttler to maintain consistency.

"I am quite pleased. Now she needs to find consistency. So many events are coming up, showing consistency is the key," said Kumar.

Saina scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman shuttler to reach the number one spot in world rankings, reaffirming her status as the country's most consistent performer in the international circuit.

The 25-year-old, who has reached the final of the ongoing Yonex Sunrise India Open Super Series here, zoomed to the top after her closest challenger for the position, Spain's Carolina Marin, lost in the semifinal.

Meanwhile rising Indian shuttler HS Prannoy, who lost out in the quarterfinals of the ongoing event, and former player Aparna Popat also hailed Saina's achievements at the highest level.
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Srikanth enters India Open semis

NEW DELHI: Five-time World champion Lin Dan suffered a shocking loss against eighth seed Tommy Sugiarto, while leading Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth entered the semifinals of the $275,000 Yonex Sunrise India Open Superseries here on Friday.

Two-time Olympics champion Dan of China was stunned 17-21, 21-15, 17-21 in the quarterfinals by the World No.8 Sugiarto of Indonesia in an hour and 18 minutes at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here.

World No.2 Saina beat Indonesia's Hana Ramadhini 21-15, 21-12 in 40 minutes to advance to the last four stage along with Spaniard Carolina Marin. Reigning World champion Carolina overcame Japan's Nozomi Okuhara 21-15, 17-21, 21-15 in an hour and 14 minutes.

Former World champion Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand will meet world No.4 Carolina, while Japanese Yui Hashimoto will face crowd favourite and Olympic bronze medallist Saina in the semi-finals.

"It is not about the No.1 or No.2 spot right now," Saina said when asked if she sees becoming world No.1 a possibility. "I am concentrating on one match at a time and on winning them."

World No.4 Srikanth staved off a strong challenge from Japanese Takuma Ueda, who lost 15-21, 25-23, 18-21 in a marathon encounter that lasted for an hour and 18 minutes.

In the semi-final, Srikanth will meet China's Xue Song, who defeated R.M.V. Gurusaidutt 15-21, 21-18, 21-13 in an hour and four minutes.

H.S. Prannoy, who grabbed everyone's attention on Thursday by ousting top seed Jan O Jorgensen, found another Dane a little tricky to handle. World No.6 Viktor Axelsen was determined to take revenge of Jorgensen's defeat, and he achieved that by beating Prannoy 16-21, 21-9, 21-18 in 58 minutes.

In a thrilling match involving Dan and Sugiarto, the Indonesian made the third seeded Chinese move all over the court with his cleverly-placed shots which paid off as Lin Dan made many unforced errors.

Dan was stretched to three games for the first time in this Superseries event. Sugiarto looked dangerous in the beginning of the match itself and Lin Dan struggled throughout the match to catch-up with him.

Sugiarto gave credit to his father, the legendary Indonesian player and former world champion Icuk Sugiarto, who is now his coach and mentor.

"This has been my best performance till now as I have played against Lin Dan thrice before but never won," an overwhelmed Sugiarto said after the match.

Axelsen, who is seeded 6th in this tournament, will now face Super Dan-slayer Sugiarto in the semifinal.

"I know Lin Dan is not 100 percent fit right now, but still it would have been difficult to play against him in the semis. But playing Sugiarto is definitely not easy, he is in good form," the 21-year-old from Denmark said.

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Tommy Sugiarto stuns crowd favourite Lind Dan at India Open

NEW DELHI: Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto on Friday earned the prized scalp of five-time World Champion Lin Dan, notching up a stunning three-game win over the Chinese legend to reach the semifinals of the India Super Series badminton tournament.

Former world no 3, Sugiarto scraped past the two-time Olympic champion 21-17, 15-21, 21-17 in a grueling match to silence the vociferous crowd who were chanting 'Lin Dan' 'Lin Dan' in support of the Chinese star at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

"You know who Lin Dan is. He is a legend in badminton. I had lost to him thrice so I had to come up with my best as I know Lin Dan's game," Sugiarto said still feeling out of breath after battling for an one hour and 18 minutes.

"He is a superstar wherever he goes. The crowd was backing him so I had to motivate myself and concentrate point after point. I am happy, this is one of my best wins," he added.

Talking about Dan's game, Sugiarto said: "I think he has changed his game in the last few years. His game was more of speed power but he has more accuracy. For me I had to match his accuracy.

"I think at 15-all, Lin Dan lost his concentration. He made a lot of mistakes."

Asked what is the most difficult thing facing Dan, he said: "He is extremely confident. So I had to come up with my best game.

"He is a special player. Sometimes he is at his best and sometimes he doesn't give his best."

As a teenager, Sugiarto had won a silver medal at the BWF World Junior Championship in 2006, besides claiming the Thailand Satellite title. He clinched a series of international challenge titles at Laos, Malaysia, Bahrain, Iran and Indonesia in 2010-2011.

The 26-year-old won the Chinese Taipei Open and finished runners-up at the Indonesia Masters in 2011 but he was inconsistent after that.

Sugiarto, in fact, had resigned from the national camp in 2010 before returning to the team under Joko Suprianto's supervision three years later. He soon clinched the Singapore Open and reached the finals of German Open and BWF Super Series Finals.

Last year, he reached the finals of Malaysia Open before bagging a bronze at the prestigious World Championship at Copenhagen and reached the world number three position in October.

However, his performance suffered after Joko resigned as the men's singles trainer in June 2014.

As a result, Sugiarto resigned from the national camp again in January this year as he felt he didn't improve under the national trainer and returned to his club, Pelita Bakrie.

He soon started training under the watchful eyes of his father Icuk Sugiarto, who is a former world champion.

"I am not in the National team in Indonesia. Two months ago I started coaching with my dad. His approach is more physical. Before the match, I spoke to him. He told me 'Believe in yourself and you can beat the best'," he said.
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Ramteke upsets third seed Shrivastava in district veteran chess

NAGPUR: Pramod Ramteke shocked third seed VK Shrivastava while V Ramchandran held second seed Vinay Barhanpure to a draw in the first round of the second Nagpur District Chess Association-organized Veteran Chess tournament which got underway at the NDCA Hall, Surendra Nagar, here on Thursday.

On the top board, top seed Dilip Pagay bruhsed aside BC Borkar. Ramchandran held Barhanpure to a draw in the second board. Ramteke upset Shrivastava.

Earlier, Vidarbha Chess Association secretary RN Shriwas and NDCA secretary Kalyan Barat inaugurated the four-day tourney.

On Friday, second round will start at 6 pm, while the third round will commence from 7.30 pm.

RESULTS (Round 1)

BC Borkar (0) lost to Dilip Pagay (1), Vinay Barhanpure (0.5) drew with V Ramachandran (0.5), Pramod Ramteke (1) bt VK Shrivastava (0), Yashwant Shamkuwar (1) bt Bhimmandas Kewalramani (0), HK Khan (0) lost to MK Jain (1), TS Patil (1) bt Shashank Kohle (0), Ravi Karmarkar (0) lost to T Chandran (1), Anzar Ahmed Khan (1) bt SA Pathan (0).

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Humpy shocked by Mariya Muzychuk in World Women's Chess Championship

SOCHI (Russia): Top seed Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy's winning streak in the World Women's Chess Championship ended as she went down to Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine in the first game of the quarterfinals on Friday.

After winning six games in a row, Humpy committed a blunder from a seemingly harmless position to lose the game. The Indian now faces tremendous pressure in the return game in a must win situation.

If Humpy is able to win the second game, games of shorter duration will be played to determine the winner.

Grandmaster D Harika played out a quick draw with black pieces to keep herself in contention for a berth in the semifinals. Up against Meri Arabidze of Georgia, Harika decided not to exert herself while her opponent thought for some time before agreeing to the proposal.

The Russian challenge suffered a near-decisive setback when Natalija Pogonina lost the first game as white against Zhao Xue of China. Pogonina now faces a tough task of a win with black to stay in the contest. The other game was drawn as Swede Pia Cramling played solidly with white pieces to hold second seed Anna Muzychuk to a draw.

Humpy faced the Scotch opening as black. Mariya played the opening fast showing some fine preparation but Humpy played the first part skilfully to give little away even though it was clear that the Ukrainian was better prepared.

A couple of pieces changed hands and it was an almost symmetrical pawn structure on board with the position hanging in balance. Humpy rightly decided to press for more and went for exposing some weaknesses on the queen side. However, sadly for the Indian, the clock ticked away and Humpy faced time pressure.

Still, all would have been fine but for a forgettable blunder on the 25th move. Mariya had put her Knight on the fifth rank and Humpy erred by trying to immediately remove it from its outpost. What followed was instant disaster for the Indian as tactics flew out of position in quick time. Humpy faced irresistible threats and had to resign four moves later.

Harika employed the Queen's gambit declined and apparently studied the games and style of Arabidze carefully. The Georgian has been following a plan and hoping to have a crack over her opponents in the tiebreak games. Harika decided to offer a draw amidst complexities arising out the opening and Arabidze shook hands.

In the second game now, Harika plays with white and will definitely have a go against the lowest ranked player in the quarterfinals.

Results Quarterfinals Game 1: Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr) beat Koneru Humpy (Ind); Meri Arabidze (Geo) drew with D Harika (Ind); Natalija Pogonina (Rus) lost to Zhao Xue (Chn); Pia Cramling (Swe) drew with Anna Muzychuk (Ukr).

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Saina storms into maiden India Open semifinal

NEW DELHI: Saina Nehwal sailed past Indonesia's Hana Ramadhini to make her maiden semifinals at the India Open Super Series while giant-killer H S Prannoy and RMV Gurusaidutt went down fighting in the quarterfinals here on Friday.

Olympic bronze medallist Saina defeated Hana 21-15, 21-12 in the women's singles competition at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

Prannoy, who had sent the top seed and world no 2 Jan Jorgensen of Denmark packing out of the tournament, conjured up hopes of another upset before falling short against world no. 6 Viktor Axelsen 21-16, 9-21, 18-21 in a 58-minute contest.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, Guru, had started the proceedings for India and despite playing a compact game initially, he too ran out of ideas to go down 21-15, 18-21, 13-21 to China's Xue Song.

After plotting an early exit for Jorgensen, Prannoy was up against yet another Dane. He used his backhand and powerful smashes to dominate the first game but Viktor came back strongly in the second and didn't allow the Indian to play his game. Prannoy faltered with his down the line smashes which went wide and long as the Dane roared back into the contest.

In the decider, Prannoy committed too many unforced errors as Viktor took a 11-6 lead with a smash. The Dane faltered in the nets and also had a service fault which allowed the Indian to gather a few points. However, the Dane still managed a five-point lead reaching 19-14.

Prannoy tried his bit and saved a few points but it was too late as Viktor closed out the match with a smash.

"I was making lot of mistakes on the sideways, smashes were not accurate and I was not patient on the court. I am not happy with my performance today," Prannoy said.

Guru started on a positive note and led 11-8 in the opener. He troubled Song with his sharp angled strokes and dominated the rallies before earning the bragging rights when the Chinese hit the shuttle out.

In the second game too, Guru led 11-9 at the break but Song changed his tactics after the interval to open up a slender 14-12 lead. The duo fought hard to move 14-14 to 17-17 before the Chinese changed gears and bounced back.

In the decider, Guru once again was ahead 7-3 but Song ensured he went into the break with a narrow 11-10 lead. The Chinese started dominating the rallies and rode on Guru's unforced errors and soon earned a seven match points when the Indian hit wide. Song then closed the door on the Indian at the next chance.

"I was dominating initially but then Song didn't give me a chance to dribble and he started attacking. I took too long to realise, and could not switch to plan B," said Guru.

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Harika in quarterfinals of Women's World Chess Championship

SOCHI (Russia): Grandmaster D Harika joined compatriot Koneru Humpy in the quarterfinals of the World Women's Chess Championship beating former champion Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia in the rapid tie-break games that concluded on Thursday.

Harika beat the local favourite 1.5-0.5, showing nerves of steel. Harika won the first game in the rapid chess after being pushed to the tie-break by Kosteniuk and then held on to her own in the return game to make it to the last eight of the championship.

In the next round now, Harika plays the lowest remaining seed Meri Arabidze of Georgia while Humpy will take on Ukrainian Mariya Muzychuk.

It turned out to be another exciting day of tie-breaks and the biggest gainer was Arabidze who caused another upset at the expense of Viktorija Cmilyte of Lithuania winning the first and drawing the second tie-break game.

The other winner in the tie-break was Natalija Pogonina of Russia, who scripted a big comeback beating Marie Sebag of France in both rapid games. Pogonina, the last remaining Russian in the fray, had lost the first game under normal time control against Sebag and had to equalise first before winning the tie-break.

The championship this year had started with 64 players under knockout system. There are two games in each round except the final which will be played over four games. In case of tied result, games of shorter duration are played to determine the winner. The champion will take home USD 60000.

Playing white in the first game, Harika went for a quiet opening against Kosteniuk. The Indian was content not to look for a decisive opening advantage and this proved a good strategy.

The Russian lady solved her opening problems and got a decent middle game with dynamics in place. However, an erroneous plan in the later stages made the position roughly equal but Harika left looking for more.

The position was still level when Kosteniuk blundered a pawn in the ensuing rook and pawns endgame and Harika did not miss anything after that to win in style.

Going for the French defense in the second game as black, Harika equalised in the opening and capitalised on a miscalculation by Kosteniuk to win a pawn. Kosteniuk, however, found some complications in her favour as the game progressed and it was a difficult defense for Harika.

Kosteniuk could have obtained a big advantage in the rook endgame that followed but, with her clock ticking away, the Russian walked in to a theoretically drawn position. Harika saved the game without further ado.

The young Georgian Meri Arabidze showed excellent endgame technique against Victoria Cmilyte in the first game of the tiebreaker and won without difficulty.

In the return game, Cmilyte created complexities and won a pawn only to let the position drift towards a draw with perfect play by Arabidze.

Quarterfinal line-up: Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr) - Koneru Humpy (Ind); Meri Arabidze (Geo) - D Harika (India), Natalija Pogonina (Rus) - Zhao Xue (Chn), Pia Cramling (Swe) - Anna Muzychuk (Ukr).

Complete results round 3: Koneru Humpy (Ind) beat Alisa Galliamova (Rus) 2-0; Marie Sebag (Fra) lost to Natalija Pogonina (Rus) 1-1, 0-2; Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) beat Lela Javakhishvili (Geo) 1.5-0.5; Meri Arabidze (Geo) beat Viktorija Cmilyte (Ltu) 1-1, 1.5-0.5; Alexandra Kosteniuk (Rus) lost to D Harika (Ind) 1-1, 0.5-1.5; Pia Cramling (Swe) beat Valentina Gunina (Rus) 1.5-0.5; Zhao Xue (Chn) beat Bela Khotenashvili (Geo) 1.5-0.5; Antoaneta Stefanova (Bul) lost to Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr) 0.5-1.5.

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Heavyweight Harrison retires from boxing

LONDON: Former boxing golden boy Audley Harrison is to retire for the second time in his career due to problems associated with head injuries sustained in the ring.

The Englishman, who won Olympic gold at super-heavyweight in 2000 last fought in April, 2013 when he was knocked out in 70 seconds by Deontay Wilder.

He announced his retirement a few days after that defeat only to make a sharp U-turn soon after.

However, Harrison has not climbed back into the ring since then, despite hints on social media that he would resume his career.

"My boxing career has come to an end," said the 43-year-old in a statement on his official website. "I am no longer a professional boxer."

Harrison admitted that his decision had been prompted by research into head injuries he suffered as a result of the punishing blows he took during his 38-bout professional career.

He added: "I looked at the latest research into concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). After years of denial and sticking to my guns, I'm finally getting out of my own way. As tough as it is to say this... it's time to stop.

"I've suffered a few TBIs and will have to work hard to reverse some of the effects taking punches to the head has brought about to my overall health.

"I have vision problems, vestibular injuries that leads to balance disturbances, and have bouts of serious irritability and moodiness that comes with TBI recovery."

Harrison failed to live up to all the hype that followed his golden triumph in Sydney - although he won the European heavyweight title and fought fellow Londoner David Haye for a world title in 2010, when he was stopped inside three rounds.

Harrison, who was most recently on the latest version of Celebrity Big Brother, retires with a record of 31 wins and seven defeats.

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Heavyweight Harrison retires from boxing

LONDON: Former boxing golden boy Audley Harrison is to retire for the second time in his career due to problems associated with head injuries sustained in the ring.

The Englishman, who won Olympic gold at super-heavyweight in 2000 last fought in April, 2013 when he was knocked out in 70 seconds by Deontay Wilder.

He announced his retirement a few days after that defeat only to make a sharp U-turn soon after.

However, Harrison has not climbed back into the ring since then, despite hints on social media that he would resume his career.

"My boxing career has come to an end," said the 43-year-old in a statement on his official website. "I am no longer a professional boxer."

Harrison admitted that his decision had been prompted by research into head injuries he suffered as a result of the punishing blows he took during his 38-bout professional career.

He added: "I looked at the latest research into concussions and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). After years of denial and sticking to my guns, I'm finally getting out of my own way. As tough as it is to say this... it's time to stop.

"I've suffered a few TBIs and will have to work hard to reverse some of the effects taking punches to the head has brought about to my overall health.

"I have vision problems, vestibular injuries that leads to balance disturbances, and have bouts of serious irritability and moodiness that comes with TBI recovery."

Harrison failed to live up to all the hype that followed his golden triumph in Sydney - although he won the European heavyweight title and fought fellow Londoner David Haye for a world title in 2010, when he was stopped inside three rounds.

Harrison, who was most recently on the latest version of Celebrity Big Brother, retires with a record of 31 wins and seven defeats.

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Prannoy upsets top seed Jorgensen, Kashyap loses in India Open

NEW DELHI: Young Indian shuttler H.S. Prannoy created the biggest upset of the Yonex Sunrise India Open when he outplayed top seed and tournament favourite Jan O Jorgensen to advance into the quarterfinals here on Thursday.

In a high-octane match played at the Siri Fort stadium, World No.17 Prannoy played some punishing rallies to defeat the Danish World No.2 18-21, 21-14, 21-14.

Olympic champion Lin Dan cruised into the last eight stage with a 21-13, 21-16 win over Hu Yun of Hong Kong.

Women's top seed Saina Nehwal got the better of birthday girl Ruthvika Shivani, who is also the current national champion. The World No.2 beat the 18-year-old 21-16, 21-17.

Men's second seed and World No.4 Kidambi Srikanth defeated Japanese World No.15 Kento Momota 21-12, 15-21, 21-15.

However, Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap's campaign was halted by Xue Song of China, who won 21-17, 21-11.

The lone Indian challenge in women's doubles also ended with the defeat of the spirited pair of Kuhoo Garg and Ningshi Hazarika, who lost to seventh seed Chinese pair Bao Yixin and Tang Jinhua 4-21, 6-21.

Denmark's Jorgensen was clearly struggling to find answers to the fast pace of Prannoy's game, but said that the "best player won" this match.

Though five-time World champion China's Dan and India's Saina Nehwal were playing on adjacent courts, the crowd was totally focused on the Prannoy-Jorgensen battle.

Jorgensen started off aggressively in the first game though Prannoy, who has won the Vietnam Open and Indonesia Masters in 2014, matched him point-for-point. Both the towering players were hitting the shuttle all over the court and tested each other's capabilities.

Though Jorgensen pocketed the first game, Prannoy came back strongly in the second and took advantage of the drift to which many players are trying to adjust.

The decider game saw some tense moments when Prannoy was leading 13-11. The chair umpire over-ruled the line-umpire's judgement over a line-call thus awarding the point to the Dane. By the time Prannoy and chief national coach P Gopichand realised what had happened, the Indian had run out of time to challenge the call.

"Though I lost the point, I was determined to keep my focus on the game. I have had some pretty close calls in many tournaments, so I did not let the coach's and crowd's agitation get to me," Prannoy said about the incident after the match.

Jorgensen won the next point, but he admitted that the "aggressive approach of the coach was a bit too much for him," and he lost focus thereafter.

Prannoy saw his chance and raced away to victory, sending the crowd into a frenzied celebration.

"The conditions were suitable for me and I was playing really fast as I knew Jorgensen doesn't like my style of playing. Overall, it was a really good game and the incident did not bother me," said the 22-year-old Prannoy.

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Prannoy upsets top seed Jorgensen, Kashyap loses in India Open

NEW DELHI: Young Indian shuttler H.S. Prannoy created the biggest upset of the Yonex Sunrise India Open when he outplayed top seed and tournament favourite Jan O Jorgensen to advance into the quarterfinals here on Thursday.

In a high-octane match played at the Siri Fort stadium, World No.17 Prannoy played some punishing rallies to defeat the Danish World No.2 18-21, 21-14, 21-14.

Olympic champion Lin Dan cruised into the last eight stage with a 21-13, 21-16 win over Hu Yun of Hong Kong.

Women's top seed Saina Nehwal got the better of birthday girl Ruthvika Shivani, who is also the current national champion. The World No.2 beat the 18-year-old 21-16, 21-17.

Men's second seed and World No.4 Kidambi Srikanth defeated Japanese World No.15 Kento Momota 21-12, 15-21, 21-15.

However, Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap's campaign was halted by Xue Song of China, who won 21-17, 21-11.

The lone Indian challenge in women's doubles also ended with the defeat of the spirited pair of Kuhoo Garg and Ningshi Hazarika, who lost to seventh seed Chinese pair Bao Yixin and Tang Jinhua 4-21, 6-21.

Denmark's Jorgensen was clearly struggling to find answers to the fast pace of Prannoy's game, but said that the "best player won" this match.

Though five-time World champion China's Dan and India's Saina Nehwal were playing on adjacent courts, the crowd was totally focused on the Prannoy-Jorgensen battle.

Jorgensen started off aggressively in the first game though Prannoy, who has won the Vietnam Open and Indonesia Masters in 2014, matched him point-for-point. Both the towering players were hitting the shuttle all over the court and tested each other's capabilities.

Though Jorgensen pocketed the first game, Prannoy came back strongly in the second and took advantage of the drift to which many players are trying to adjust.

The decider game saw some tense moments when Prannoy was leading 13-11. The chair umpire over-ruled the line-umpire's judgement over a line-call thus awarding the point to the Dane. By the time Prannoy and chief national coach P Gopichand realised what had happened, the Indian had run out of time to challenge the call.

"Though I lost the point, I was determined to keep my focus on the game. I have had some pretty close calls in many tournaments, so I did not let the coach's and crowd's agitation get to me," Prannoy said about the incident after the match.

Jorgensen won the next point, but he admitted that the "aggressive approach of the coach was a bit too much for him," and he lost focus thereafter.

Prannoy saw his chance and raced away to victory, sending the crowd into a frenzied celebration.

"The conditions were suitable for me and I was playing really fast as I knew Jorgensen doesn't like my style of playing. Overall, it was a really good game and the incident did not bother me," said the 22-year-old Prannoy.

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Fit-again Guru, Sameer finding their way back

NEW DELHI: Finding their way back after a string of injuries left them on the sidelines, RMV Gurusaidutt and young Sameer Verma today received a big confidence-boost following their stunning victories in the opening round of the India Super Series.

While Guru was plagued by a spate of injuries mainly after his Commonwealth Games bronze medal feat in Glasgow, Sameer literally spent almost two years watching his compatriots breaking new grounds after hurting his back and then suffering from Appendicitis.

However, the duo battled through the tough times and is hoping to make a mark on the international circuit. World no. 60 Guru eked out a hard-fought 21-14 17-21 23-21 win over Korea's Lee Dong Keun, ranked 31, Sameer, who has slipped past 200 in ranking, sent packing world no. 9 Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 21-15 21-17.

"The last year has been tough for me. Probably six weeks of break then two weeks of training then one tournament and then once again I am injured. This win should take me forward," Guru said.

"Last year I picked up an Achilles injury in the Japan Open when I was playing against Takuma Ueda. After that there was a knee injury before the Commonwealth. Then there was a back injury before the Denmark and France Opens and then during the Syed Modi, I hurt my neck.

"So Polish Open was the comeback. I just took that tournament to start off. The conditions were completely different and it didn't suit me. But I like the conditions here because I have always had good matches here in the Thomas and Uber Cup, India Open. I like to play on these courts," he added.

For 20-year-old Sameer, on the other hand, it was a long wait to play proper badminton as he took a long time to recover from the back injury which he suffered in 2012.

"In 2012, I had injured my back but I could not really recover after that. I was going to physiotherapy. Last July, I had Appendicitis so I was out of the scene. I started training again in August. So I lost a lot of time since 2012, I could not really play. Now I am completely fit," said the soft-spoken Sameer.

After recovering from appendicitis, Sameer played the Tata Open and Syed Modi GPG in December and January but was knocked out in the second round. He then played at the inter-State, inter-zonal team championship and helped Air India win the tournament.

He also reached the finals of the 79th Senior National championship in February.

Talking about his match against Hans-Kristian, Sameer said, "I was confident of playing well. In 2011 Syed Modi, I had beaten him in three games in pre-quarters. So I was confident to beat him. I was under pressure in the starting thinking how I will play. After I started playing it became comfortable."

"I feel a lot of confident after beating Hans. He is a top 10 player. He is a rally player, so I wanted to finish the match quickly, so I was attacking right from the start," said the former national junior champion and Asian Junior Championship silver medallist.

Guru and Sameer will clash tomorrow for a place in the quarters tomorrow.

"Next I will be playing Guru. We have been practising together, so it will be 19-20 between us. It is the first time we will be playing in a competition," said Sameer, who has been training at the Gopichand Academy for more than four years now.

While Guru and Sameer set the tone early on, top Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, K Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap also made their way to the second round with contrasting victories.

After beating Riya Mukherjee in her opening match, top seed Saina Nehwal said, "I think most of the girls got first round easy. But still Riya played a very good match. In the second game, she gave me a good fight."

Asked about her fitness, she said, "I am okay. No player is fit always. The pain is still there but I am feeling okay."

On being the World no. 1, the girl from Hyderabad said, "Right now, the important thing for me is that I am playing well. Whether my ranking is 1,2 or 10, it doesn't matter. For me I need to be fit first and whomever I play I have to give my 100 per cent."

Talking about her All England final loss to Carolina Marin, the Indian said, "The last six-seven months I am coming out with very good performances, which I never expected."

"The first thing I am thinking is to train the way I want to and that what I have been doing with Vimal Sir. We are not thinking about results but focusing on areas where I am weak at. I need to first correct them and become a better player on court and try to pick up those shots."

Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap, who also got into good rhythm after recovering from a hamstring injury with a tricky 16-21 21-19 21-18 win over Chinese Taipei's Hsu Jen Hao, said it was a tricky opening match but he was happy with his performance.

"I lost to him in Asian championship, so I was little tentative throughout the match but I trusted my fitness as I have put on a good effort last two weeks. No matter how much I train, I feel out of sort in the first round. He is a very tricky player, and I think I played well today," he said.

"I tried to be more alert on my legs. I was able to play my strokes. I was making many errors with my smashes, crosses and not hitting the center of the racquet. The guy didn't have a lot of attacking strokes but you can't play a slow rally game in this court. I am sure I will do well in the next game."

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Mandeep recalled, Gurjinder dropped from Indian hockey team

NEW DELHI: Newly-appointed chief coach Paul van Ass on Wednesday recalled young strikers Mandeep Singh and Satbir singh in the 18-member Indian men's hockey team for the 24th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia from April 5-12.

Among the surprising omissions, defender-penalty corner specialist Gurjinder Singh and attacking midfielder Danish Mujtaba have not found van Ass' favour. Van Ass has decided to go with two preferred drag-flickers Rupinder Pal Singh and V.R. Raghunath.

Allahbadi link-man Mujtaba has made way for Manipuri Chinglensana Singh, who had an impressive outing for Dabang Mumbai in the Hockey India League (HIL) 2015.

The Sardar Singh-led Indian team will take on reigning world champions Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Malaysia and Canada for the title.

It will be the first assignment for Dutchman van Ass, who takes over the reins of the eight-time Olympic champions from Australian Terry Walsh.

"I look forward to a positive start by doing well in this tournament. The players and I are still getting to know each other both professionally as well as on the personal front," he said in a release Wednesday.

Star goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh has been retained as the vice-captain and will be the senior custodian. Harjot Singh is the second goalkeeper to get a call-up.

Mandeep, 19, had a decent performance for HIL side Ranchi Rays that emerged champions in the 2015 edition. He was part of the Australian tour but didn't play in the Champions Trophy.

Also, young striker Lalit Upadhay has not been included. Satbir and Mandeep will join Ramandeep Singh, S. V. Sunil, Akashdeep Singh and Nikkin Thimmaiah in the attack.

"By the intensity and efforts put in by these players on the field, during the preparations, gives me much confidence in this team and a hope to have a great start as one unit, van Ass said.

"I have seen them play in Champions Trophy last year and they are turning into a formidable line-up who are keen to take on new challenges."

Speaking on the team announcement, skipper Sardar said: "The team composition is almost the same as Champions Trophy, though we have three new inclusions Chinglensana Singh Kangujam, Satbir Singh and Mandeep Singh."

"All three will help boost our options for attack. I think their contribution for their respective teams in 2015 HIL helped them make a comeback into the national squad," he said.

Team:

Goalkeepers: P. R. Sreejesh, Harjot Singh

Defenders: Gurbaj Singh, Rupinder Pal Singh, Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh, V.R. Raghunath

Midfielders: Manpreet Singh, Sardar Singh, Dharamvir Singh, Chinglensana Singh, S. K. Uthappa

Forwards: Ramandeep Singh, S. V. Sunil, Akashdeep Singh, Nikkin Thimmaiah, Satbir Singh, Mandeep Singh.

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Saina and co advance, Sameer stuns world no.9 at India Open

NEW DELHI: Saina Nehwal, K Srikanth and P Kashyap reached the second round while young Sameer Verma created the biggest upset of the day by stunning World No. 9 Hans-Kristian Vittinghus at the USD 275,000 Yonex Sunrise India Super Series badminton tournament here on Wednesday.

World No. 2 Saina brushed aside young Riya Mukherjee 21-5, 21-13 in the women's singles while World No. 4 Srikanth saw off Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-17, 21-16 without much ado in the opening round of the men's singles main draw at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

All England finalist Saina will next take on compatriot Ruthvika Shivani Gadde, who beat qualifier Rucha Nikam 21-7, 21-6.

Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap got into good rhythm after recovering from a hamstring injury with a tricky 16-21, 21-19, 21-18 win over Chinese Taipei's Hsu Jen Hao. He next meets Chinese qualifier Xue Song, who beat fourth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei.

However, it was Sameer, brother of 2011 National Champion Sourab Verma, who notched up a stunning 21-15, 21-17 win over Denmark's Hans-Kristian, seeded fifth, to set up a match with Commonwealth Games bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt.

Guru prevailed over Korea's Lee Dong Keun 21-14, 17-21, 23-21 in another match.

Among other Indians in fray, Indonesia Masters winner H S Prannoy set up a clash with world No. 2 Jan Jorgensen of Denmark after beating Misha Zilberman of Israel 22-20, 21-8.

In the women's singles, Riya Pillai beat qualifier Ekta Kalia 23-21, 21-5 to reach the second round.

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Humpy cruises to quarterfinals; Harika loses to Kostenuik

SOCHI (Russia): Continuing with her winning ways, Indian Grandmaster Koneru Humpy cruised into the quarterfinals of the World Women's Chess Championship after defeating Russian GM Alisa Galliamova in the second game of the third round here on Wednesday.

Having taken the lead of a full point coming into the return game, Humpy just needed a draw in the second game to proceed further in the championship, but the Indian did not take things likely and scored what turned out to be her sixth win in a row.

The other Indian in the fry, Dronavalli Harika suffered a setback as she lost her return game against Alexandra Kosteniuk with white pieces. Harika's fate in the championship now hangs in balance as she needs to take part in the tiebreak games to determine the winner.

Apart from Kosteniuk, Natalija Pogonina of Russia also made a comeback by winning the second game after losing the first. Up against Marie Sebag of France, Pogonina leveled the scores by winning with white pieces to force the tiebreaker.

Humpy is the only one maintaining an-all win record and the top ranked Indian has not played a single tiebreaker here. Playing black against Galliamova, Humpy did not deter from entering complications even though she just needed a half point.

It was a surprising opening choice by Galliamova as she went for a symmetrical structure from a Queen pawn opening and went for the risky hanging pawns structure while looking to complicate matters.

Humpy did not miss the chance and ripped apart the queen side with a thematic breakthrough in the middle game and after the queens got traded, it was just a worse endgame for the Russia. Not giving any further chances to her Russian counterpart, Humpy wrapped the issue in 53 moves after entering a pawn plus rook and pawns endgame.

Kosteniuk played ultra-flexible Black Knights' Tango, where white could not just force simplification. Harika could boast of a slight advantage out of the opening but the complications remained.

Desperately seeking equality, Harika went for a couple of wrong exchanges that allowed black to seize the initiative in the center. With a blocked pawn structure, Harika could do little as black's pieces became active and launched an attack on the king. Once the game entered the queen and rooks endgame, her position was beyond repairs.

Ukrainian duo of Mariya Muzychuk and Anna Muzychuk also moved to the quarterfinals along with Zhao Xue of China and Pia Cramling of Sweden,

Results of Round 3 Game 2: Koneru Humpy (Ind) beat Alisa Galliamova (Rus) 2-0; Marie Sebag (Fra) lost to Natalija Pogonina (Rus) 1-1 goes to tiebreak; Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) drew with Lela Javakhishvili (Geo) 1.5-0.5; Meri Arabidze (Geo) drew with Viktorija Cmilyte (Ltu) 1-1 goes to tiebreak; Alexandra Kosteniuk (Rus) beat D Harika (Ind) 1-1 goes to tiebreak; Pia Cramling (Swe) beat Valentina Gunina (Rus) 1.5-0.5; Zhao Xue (Chn) beat Bela Khotenashvili (Geo) 1.5-0.5; Antoaneta Stefanova (Bul) lost to Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr) 0.5-1.5.

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Srikanth visits Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah

NEW DELHI: World No 4 Kidambi Srikanth on Wednesday visited Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah to pray for 2016 Olympic success.

Currently playing in the India Open, Srikanth clinched the Swiss Grand Prix Gold earlier this month. The 22-year-old from Guntur rose to World No. 4 on the back of some sizzling performances, including title win at the China Open last year.

Srikanth visited the famous and oldest Indian mosque - Hazrat Nizammuddin Dargah and spent little over an hour, learning about the 800-year-old mosque. He was accompanied by his academy coach Md Shadab.

"I went to Nizamuddin Dargah to pray for a successful year ahead. I went to seek Almighty's blessings for Olympics," Srikanth said.

Syed Aamir Ali Nizami, Priest, Dargah MaiSahiba, said, "Kidambi, keenly learnt about the rich past of this holy shrine. We prayed for his continued success & glory for nation at Olympics."

The soft-spoken Indian shuttler today reached the second round of the India Open after beating Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-17 21-16 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.

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Carolina targeting world no.1 ranking at India Open

NEW DELHI: The world No. 1 ranking is on her mind but reigning World and All England champion Carolina Marin on Tuesday said she will have to fight her way through some tough matches before she reaches the summit clash of the India Super Series badminton tournament.

"Every tournament is important for me. This tournament is important because I know if I win here I am going to be No. 1 so that is one of my goal. I am taking one match at a time," World No. 4 Carolina told reporters.

"I want to reach the final but I have some tough matches before that. Though Chinese players are not playing, it is still tough, every tournament is tough. It's not going to be easy but maybe it is an opportunity to reach the final and win the tournament."

Coming from a country with no fan following in badminton, the 21-year-old from Huelva put Spain on world badminton map after she clinched a historic World Championship gold last year and followed it up with the All England crown, beating India's Saina Nehwal in the final.

Come Sunday and Carolina will have a chance to add another feather to her cap as she could be the first non-Chinese to top the women's singles rankings in more than four years - the last being Denmark's Tine Baun, who was no.1 in December 2010.

However for that to happen, Carolina will have to make the finals and hope that Saina falls in the quarterfinals.

"My team and me we are doing good work together. We work on our game. We change tactics, know my opponents. My coaches watch matches and tell me the tactics. So when I am practicing, I have goals and I have been able to achieve some of them. That makes me happy and I keep fighting for my next goal," she said.

Left-handed Carolina has high respect for Saina, whom she considers a difficult opponent.

"Saina has very good quality in her strokes. When I have to play her it is difficult," she said.

Talking about their recent All England final clash, Carolina said: "It was a very tough match. At the beginning of the match I was very nervous because I thought I have the opportunity to beat Saina.

"Then the first set I played very bad. In the second, when she was leading 11-8, I spoke to my coach and he gave me some advice. From there on, I was able to play much better," she said.

Asked about her career-goals, she said: "When I started to play badminton one of my goals was to win gold at the world championship, Olympics Games and be No. 1. One of the goals this year was to be top 5 in world rankings.

"So this year target will be to get another world championships gold medal and then I will look towards Olympics."

Always an entertaining character on court, Carolina said she expresses herself on the court to boost herself and put mental pressure on her opponents.

"Sometimes I use that to give me power and confidence on court. When my opponent is leading I want to show her that I am on court and still fighting," she said.

For someone who single-handedly changed the profile of the sport in her country, it has not been an easy journey for Carolina.

"Badminton is not so popular in Spain. We don't have too many international players. So it has been difficult because I don't have many players like in China, Indonesia or in India.

"After I won world championship medal, many parents want their children to play badminton and know about the sport," she added.

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Humpy crushes Galliamova; Harika beats Kosteniuk

SOCHI: Indian Grandmasters Koneru Humpy and D Harika inched closer to the quarterfinals stage of the world women chess championship, defeating Russian aces Alisa Galliamova and Alexandra Kosteniuk in their respective first game of the third round.

On what turned out to be her fifth victory in as many games, top seeded Humpy remained on course for her maiden world title and her form remained excellent in to the fifth game too.

Harika on the other hand, had to survive some difficult moments in the opening but stayed in her best fighting spirit to get the better of Kosteniuk, a former world champion.

The Russian challenge in fact suffered a near-decisive setback in the championship despite having four players in the last-16 stage.

The other two Russian ladies, Valetina Gunina and Natalija Pogonina also suffered defeats and now stare at a must-win return game in this two-game mini-match. Gunina was outdone by experienced Pia Cramling of Sweden while Pogonina found her nemesis in Marie Sebag of France.

Also taking the lead with one game to go in the third round were Mariya Muzychuk of Ukraine who accounted for former champion Antoaneta Stefanova of Bulgaria and Zhao Xue of China who had it easy against Bela Khotenashvili of Georgia.

For Humpy, this is turning out to be one of the best campaigns ever in a world championship. Maintaining an-all win record, Humpy outwitted Galliamova from the white side of a Slav defense game.

"The game was quite interesting from the opening itself. I did not expect her to play this kind of position. At one point it was not easy for white to continue to play. I had to be very accurate then," said Humpy after the game.

As it happened in the middle game, Humpy allowed black a pawn roll on the king but only at the expense of a weakened king in the centre. Launching an attack in the centre soon after, Humpy found enough weaknesses in black's position to convert to a winning endgame with her rooks occupying the seventh rank. It was all over in just 38 moves.

Harika faced one of the main lines of the French Winawer as black and Kosteniuk seized the initiative showing better preparation. However, the Russian allowed a dangerous passed pawn on the queen side after reaching the endgame and that proved decisive. Harika had to battle hard in the ensuing rooks and pawns endgame but her technique came good in this all important game.

The Indian will now play with white pieces in the return game and a draw will take her in the quarterfinals. Harika had made it till the semis in the previous knockout edition of the championship.

Complete results round 3 game 1: Koneru Humpy (Ind) beat Alisa Galliamova (Rus); Marie Sebag (Fra) beat Natalija Pogonina (Rus); Anna Muzychuk (Ukr) drew with Lela Javakhishvili (Geo); Meri Arabidze (Geo) drew with Viktorija Cmilyte (Ltu); Alexandra Kosteniuk (Rus) lost to D Harika (Ind); Pia Cramling (Swe) beat Valentina Gunina (Rus); Zhao Xue (Chn) beat Bela Khotenashvili (Geo); Antoaneta Stefanova (Bul) lost to Mariya Muzychuk (Ukr).

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