Fans were left rubbing their eyes in disbelief as Giancarlo Fisichella of the unheralded Force India pulled off the shock of the season to grab the pole position for tomorrow&rsquo;s Belgian Grand Prix here today.

Fisichella stuns at Belgian Grand Prix

Press Trust of India

Veselin Topaloiv maintains No 1 rating position in the July list. The Bulgarian GM is at 2813 &ndash; he's played 10 games in the past three months. World champion Anand stays at #2 with 2788 - he's played just two games (both in the Bundesliga). Magnus Carlsen at #3 also maintains his ranking&nbsp; comfortably.

CHESS #595

Business Standard

Saina Nehwal is already a household name, and now she aims to become the best in the world.

The new IT girl

Lawn tennis was once enjoyable to watch because of the serve and volley facet. Now that has been lost partly due to technology.

Baseline metronomes

Soccer mania is building up in India with the arrival of European clubs.

In a leagueof their own

The World Series of Boxing is set to bring fame and fortune for Indian pugilists.

Boxing bell augurs well

The Wimbeldon final between Andy Roddick and Roger Federer showed that there's no shame in defeat.

The loser takes it all

Cricket coaches have never got too much credit, but on Mumbai's maidans a few good men continue to seek new talent.

Bowling a lesson

Vinod Kambli's claims that he got a raw deal in Indian cricket due to his caste and colour are questionable.

Moment of truth

West Asia consortia are slowly making their presence felt in English football, with Manchester City leading the way.

A major Sheikh-up

Pele laments the rise in football players' salaries, with a sense of envy at an opportunity missed.

Money matters

People are chanting for the &lsquo;God&rsquo; out there. They think Schumi can return to the paddock, wear a slightly larger racing suit, jump into Massa&rsquo;s Ferrari and start winning races. Whatever the outcome may be, the return of The Champion is the best thing that could have happened to Formula One this year after the Brawn 1-2 at Albert Park.

Schumacher, the underdog?

After the month-long Indian Premier League (IPL) 20-20 cricket extravaganza in South Africa, Indian cricket fans aren&rsquo;t keen on going to England for the T-20 World Cup in England this month.

Few takers for trip to T-20 World Cup

European football clubs have finally begun to tap their large fan base in India. English clubs like Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United as well as Germany&rsquo;s Bayern Munich have queued up to capitalise on their fan base in the country and create new business opportunities.

European football clubs shoot for India

Gymnast Raj Bhavsar wants to train Indian kids and give back to his country of originIt&rsquo;s been a difficult but a memorable last fortnight for Raj Bhavsar. He has travelled across continents and won a silver medal at the Moscow World Stars, and now he finds himself in India on a short trip to meet his family. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s been a tiring journey but I am enjoying every bit of it,&rdquo; he says.

Living the American dream

My boarding school could be compared with Sparta, except that it was a little more Spartan. For one, there was almost zero access to television. An enduring memory of those days is to &ldquo;manage&rdquo; the keys to a tiny room, controlled by a staff member who had a strange liking for some of us. This room had nothing but a television. One day, after midnight, three or four of us made our way to that room, sat cross-legged on the floor, with little space to move, and watched Steffi Graf play Gabriella Sabatini at the US Open.

No star power

Zaheer Khan has been arguably the best fast bowler in the world in the last two years or so. Apart from bowling well, the 29-year-old pacer has managed to keep fit for long periods of time, which have made him more lethal than ever. But during the IPL, the injury curse struck him yet again, and even now there are concerns over his fitness in the T20 World Cup.

No escaping breakdowns

From Captain Cool to Captain Cranky, M S Dhoni is running out of the luck that once favoured him.

Fallen hero?

Real Madrid begin a new era under Fiorentino Perez.

Galacticos part II

The sharp discord in the Indian camp over the reasons for their shock exit from Twenty20 World Cup continued with captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni insisting that fatigue was not a factor for the debacle.

Dhoni airs difference with Kirsten

Formula One faces its biggest crisis in the history of the sport.

Rebels with a cause

Other Sports: Get the latest news headlines of other sports category such as Badminton, Chess, Volleyball, basketball and other Olympic Games with live coverage on Business Standard.

Other Sports News: Latest News from Olympics Games, Volleyball, Badminton | Business Standard

Get the latest news headlines of other sports category such as Badminton, Chess, Volleyball, basketball and other Olympic Games with live coverage on Business Standard.

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