Force India Formula One Team will be looking for an upturn in fortune in the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours after disappointing results in Monaco and Canada.

Force India drivers Adrian Sutil and Giancarlo Fisichella’s outing in Candain Grand prix ended in a heart-break as both retired midway through the race. Before that Sutil suffered a crash in Monaco Grand Prix that dashed his hopes of a podium finish. The Vijay Mallya co-owned team will look to register a finish for bopth the cars at the Magny-Cours circuit in the heart of rural France June 20-22. The race will be on the eight round of the 18-round series, and the first of seven consecutive races in Europe.

The Qualifying round will begin at 5:27 p.m. on the 21st of June, on Star Sports.
The Race day itself starts at 4:30 p.m. on the 22nd, with the actual race starting at 5:15 p.m. on Star Sports.

Standing at the No. 9 position hammered Malaysia 2-1 in their match Saturday to book a place in the final against Argentina in the 17th Sultan Azlan Shah Cup Tournament at the Azlan Shah Stadium.

The young Indian side, netted their two goals through Shivendra Singh and Sandeep Singh while Malaysia’s consolation goal came from Mohd Amin Rahim. Earning their fourth straight win, India collected twelve points, overtaking Pakistan in second position and qualified for their fourth final since the Cup’s inception in 1983.

On the other hand, Argentina strengthend their position at the top spot after clinching a point from a 2-2 draw with Olympic-bound squad, Canada. The Argentine goals came from Facundo Calliono and Ezequiel Martin Sosa, while the Canadian’s were by Sukwinder Singh and Ravi Kahlon.

5th & 6th Place - Belgium vs. Canada will be aired on 18th May, 2008 at 12.30 PM IST on ESPN India.

3rd & 4th Place - Pakistan vs. New Zealand will be aired on 18th May, 2008 at 3.00 PM IST on ESPN India.

Final Match - Argentina vs. India will be aired on 18th May, 2008 at 8.30 PM IST on ESPN India.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have reached the finals as expected. Their win on Saturday has set up a rematch of the 2007 final of the Masters Series Hamburg.

Federer literally stole the game over form Italian Andreas Seppi with 6-3, 6-1. Standing at No. 2 position Rafael Nadal bested Australian Open titlist Novak Djokovic 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 to lock up the other spot in the finale of the clay-court French Open tuneup. This came kind of a shocker since Djokovic was last week’s clay-court champion in Rome.

Catch the Finals of the Masters Series Hamburg 2008, Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal on 18th May at 6.30 PM IST on ESPN India.

Update: Schedules have been posted. Check out the complete TV schedules and timings for Euro 2008 for Indian Television.

It’s party time for soccer fans of India as all the matches of the UEFA European Football Championship 2008 starting June 7 will be telecast in India live and exclusive by the ESPN network, and the team of My Sports India is going to make sure all its readers get up-to-date matches info, TV timings and previews.

The sports broadcaster also announced a host of production and marketing initiatives aimed at enhancing this exciting property lined up for soccer enthusiasts around the country. UEFA will showcase a bonanza of 31 thrilling matches including 24 first round matches, 4 quarterfinals, 2 semifinal matches from June 19. The finals will be played in Vienna on June 29. The tournament will be held in eight cities: Basel, Geneva, Vienna Klagenfurt, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Zurich and Berne.

Speaking on the occasion, ESPN Software India Managing Director R.C. Venkateish said, “India today consumes more international soccer than ever before. The reach of Barclays Premier League has been growing at more than 40 percent per annum since 2005. We expect impressive ratings for UEFA Euro 2008 as it is one of the most prestigious and recognizable sporting properties in the world.

Update: Schedules have been posted. Check out the complete TV schedules and timings for Euro 2008 for Indian Television

After a disappointing 1-2 defeat to Real Mallorca in the Copa del Rey, Real Madrid has got another rare shock this season. Real Madrid has been in an impressive run this season with only 2 loses out of 18 league matches. Real Madrid is still leading the league table with 44 points, keeping the seven points clear of second-placed Barcelona on the league race. However, they have not been at their best in the last two matches including the 2-0 league victory against Real Zaragoza, where they were lucky enough to pick up three points along with the heroics of goal keeper Iker Casillas. Now, the only good news for Real Madrid is that they are going to face bottom-placed team Levante in their next league match at the Ciudad de Valencia on Sunday.

However, Real Madrid can not feel relaxed considering that the fact that they have suffered a humiliating defeat to Levante last season in front of their own supporters. Levante has been on a poor form this season with only 8 points from 18 matches. Their 14 league defeats so far are enough to show their frustrating league performance. So, it is apparent that Real Madrid is favorite in the match, though Levante will try their best to count the home advantage.

Real Madrid Vs Levante Live on 18th May, 08 at 11.25 PM IST on Star Sports India.

Barcelona is going to host mid-table Real Murcia on their next league match. Barcelona is currently seven points behind the league leader Real Madrid with 37 points. So, a win against Murcia will lessen the gap up to three points, though not permanently ahead of Real Madrid’s Sunday clash against Levante. On the other hand, Real Murcia occupies the ninth place in the league standing with 22 points to their credit. They are not in the title race, but have the goal to finish the season with higher positions in the league point table.

Barcelona has been held to a 1-1 draw against Sevilla on Wednesday. However, they have won their first league match of this year against Real Malorca. After their home defeat to Real Madrid before Christmas, Barcelona has no way to afford any slip up, if they want to retain the league title. Still, they are seven points behind their arch rival in the championship race and they have to wait for Real Madrid losing points in order to decrease the gap. The match will be held at the Barcelona home ground, Camp Nou on Saturday.

Murcia Vs Barcelona Live on 18th May, 08 at 1.25 AM IST on Star Sports India.

While Andreas Seppi had to struggle to get into the semifinals, it was easier for the reigning champion Roger Federer, clay-court king Rafael Nadal and Australian Open titlist Novak Djokovic.

Standin at the No. 1 position, Federer blew past Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3, while Nadal standing in the 2nd postion floored Carlos Moya 6-1, 6-3 and the third-seeded Djokovic took the game away from the Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3 on Day 6 at Rothenbaum.

Federer will face Italian Andreas Seppi on Saturday, who took out heavy German crowd favorite Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. The 26-year-old Federer is 1-0 lifetime against Seppi, with the win coming on red clay in Monte Carlo last year. The three-time French Open champion Nadal, who has to beat Djokovic on Saturday in order to retain his world No. 2 ranking, is 6-3 lifetime against the surging Serb, including a semifinal victory in a Masters Series tournament at Indian Wells earlier this season.

Semifinal Matches
Roger Federer (1) vs. Andreas Seppi
Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Novak Djokovic (3)

The Masters Series Hamburg Semifinals will be aired on 17th May at 4.30 pm and 6.30 pm on ESPN India.

Austria and Switzerland are ready to host the European Football Championship on June 7, having completed their preparations on schedule, one month before the kick-off. The last major construction projects have now been completed in Vienna.

The Ernst Happel stadium which will host the final, have been entirely modernized and refitted to seat 51,000 people, and builders finished putting up the 460 seat media centre last month. The stadium in the seven other host cities have been ready for months, including those in Zurich, Switzerland and Klagenfurt in southern Austria, which suffered some construction and renovation delays.

As renowned tourist destination, the co-hosts are well prepared to welcome hordes of visitors in June and can rely on their existing hotel infrastructure. Austria expects an additional 1.1 million overnight stays during the championship, while Switzer5land is counting 700000. Austria And Swill Rail are also planning to sun respectively 2000 and 2500 special trains during the championship to ensure that fans reach their chosen destination in time.

The co-host are each expecting some two million visitors and estimate the championship could bring in several hundreds of millions of Euros in profit. Beyond the stadia, the eight host cities – Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland, and the Austria towns of Innsbruck, Klagenfurt Salzburg and Vienna - are planning larger public viewing zones, with live games shown on giant screens, music performers and food stalls.

The two host countries were slow to show their enthusiasm for the upcoming tournament but Euro fever has now caught up with them and preparations are in full swing for a series of side events, including concerts, exhibits and parties to keep fans entertained during the championship.

India kept their hopes of reaching the finals of the Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey tournament by beating Pakistan 2-1 Thursday. The win puts them one point behind Pakistan in the round-robin table and means they only have to beat Malaysia in their final fixture on Saturday to secure a place in the final with Argentina.

India with 12 juniors ion the squad, started aggressively and took the lead their first penalty corner in the seventh minute. Pakistan who needed to a draw to book their place in the final, did not play to form in the first half and were unable to score, despite earning four penalty corners. They also had three clear chances to equalize in the last two minutes but goalkeeper Adrian D’souza of India pulled off some stunning saves.

Argentina vs. Canada will be aired on 17th July, 2008 at 1.30 PM IST on Star Sports India.
India vs. Malaysia will be aired on 17th July, 2008 at 3.30 PM IST on Star Sports India.

Ranger’s quest for a first European trophy in 36 years ended in heartbreak as Zenit St. Petersburg claimed Russia’s second UEFA Cup in the space of four years with 2-0 victory at the Manchester City Stadium on Wednesday.

It was the second UEFA Cup success by Russian side in four seasons following CSKA Moscow’s triumph in 2005. Rangers supports travelled south from Glasgow in their thousands, easily outnumbering the Zenit fans inside the stadium and crowding the city centre tow watch on big screens.

On the pitch, the defeat suffered by Rangers ended their quest for an unlikely quadruple with the Scottish League Cup winners still contesting the league title and also lining up in the Scottish FA Cup final later this month. Zenit failed to reproduce their impressive demolition of competition favourites Bayern Munich in the semi-finals but their attacking qualities, honed by Dutch Coach Dick Advocaat, were too much for a spirited Rangers side. Zenit gave an early demonstration of their counter-attacking prowess when Captain Anatoly Tymoschuk robbed a hesitant Brahim Hemdani in midfield.

Rangers were content to soak up the pressure, showing little attacking intent of their own Zenit probed away with Arshavin a menacing presence on the left flank

With Andy Murray having his birthday on the day of his match did not do any good to him. Rafael Nadal had no birthday gift for him, winning in straight sets to join Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the Hamburg Masters.

Nadal won 6-3, 6-2 against Murray, while the defending champion Roger Federer breezed past Robin Soderling 6-3, 6-2. Djokovic defeated Ivo Karlovic 7-6 (3), 6-3 to stay on course for back-to-back titles after winning last week’s Rome Masters.

Although Nadal had to receive treatment for blisters on his left hand, he had already progressed ahead 4-1 in the second set. He did not seem to be in discomfort, unlike Murray who did not stand a chance against Nadal’s merciless treatment.

This tournament is a major warm up for the French Open 2008 later this month. 

Quarterfinal Matches

The Masters Series Hamburg Quarterfinals will be aired on 16th May at 4.30 PM, 6.30 PM and 8.30 PM on ESPN India.

It was harder for Second-ranked Rafael Nadal to get into the third round of the Hamburg Masters, while Top-ranked Roger Federer and No. 3 Novak Djokovic did so with ease. While Nadal is known to have hold his No.2 player spot on the ATP tour for 147 consecutive weeks, Djokovic is trying very hard top surpass Nadal.

Nadal needed a tiebreaker to overcome Potito Starace 6-4, 7-6 (6). Federer won against Jarkko Nieminen 6-1, 6-3, and Djokovic downed Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 6-1. Federer was at ease from the start for his match, probably because Nieminen had never won a set in eight previous matches.

Nadal had to spend more than two hours against the 47th-ranked player to seize his win. Nadal recently lost to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the third round in Rome, when he had a blister on his right foot. It was Nadal’s second loss only over the past one year, the other being to Federer in the Hamburg final last year.

Third Round Matches

Quick Info.

Location: Rothenbaum Tennis Center
                Hallerstr. 89
               20149, Hamburg
Surface: Claycourt
Draw size Singles: 56
Draw size Doubles: 24
Format: Best of Three
Winner 2007: Roger Federer (SUI)
Centre Court capacity: 9.000