Force India achieves 1st F1 pole position at Belgian GP

September 22nd, 2009 Former No. 1 Henin to return to tennis next yearBRUSSELS — Justine Henin will return to competitive tennis next year. The former top-ranked player made the announcement Tuesday, barely a week after fellow-Belgian Kim Clijsters capped her comeback from retirement by winning the U.S.

September 21st, 2009 Belgian media reports say Henin to returnBRUSSELS — Former top-ranked player Justine Henin will announce her return to competitive tennis Tuesday, according to two top Belgian newspapers. La Derniere Heure and Le Soir reported the comeback Monday Her spokeswoman did not return phone calls and Henin's Web site had no comment on the rumors.

September 16th, 2009 LONDON - Force India has said that they will give GP2 driver Karun Chandhok a chance to prove he can make the grade as a Formula One driver. The emerging team, which has a technical partnership with McLaren, will put Chandhok in the world champions' sophisticated F1 simulator to see if he can make the grade.

September 12th, 2009 Hamilton takes pole position for Italian GPMONZA, Italy — Lewis Hamilton of McLaren will start the Italian Grand Prix from the pole position after leading qualifying on Saturday, and Giancarlo Fisichella will make his Ferrari debut from 14th on the grid. The defending Formula One champion earned his 15th career pole after setting a leading lap time of 1 minute, 24.066 seconds to edge Force India driver Adrian Sutil at the Monza circuit.

August 30th, 2009 Spa-FRANCORCHAMPS - Formula One Racing team Force India, which is backed by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, on Sunday claimed its first podium finish at the Belgian Grand Prix, as Giancarlo Fisichella exhibited an incredible performance to finish second in the race. It was also Force India's first points finish in the team's second season in the sport, where Fisichella finished 0.9-second behind Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen at the high-speed track.

August 30th, 2009 Raikkonen wins F1's Belgian GP for 4th timeSPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Kimi Raikkonen held off Force India driver Giancarlo Fisichella to win Formula One's Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, the Ferrari driver's fourth triumph at the high-speed track in the past five years. The former world champion, who started sixth, immediately overtook pole sitter Fisichella after the safety car came in following accidents on the opening lap — including one involving overall F1 leader Jenson Button — and held for a 0.9-second victory.

August 29th, 2009 Spa-FRANCORCHAMPS - Formula One Racing team Force India, which is backed by liquor baron Vijay Mallya, on Saturday claimed the pole position in qualifying session for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix, as Giancarlo Fisichella exhibited an incredible performance to come on top. It was Force India team's first-ever pole and the fourth for Fisichella, as he recorded a remarkable qualifying time with a lap of 1 minute, 46.308 seconds to start the Belgian Grand Prix at the front of the grid.

August 29th, 2009 Fisichella gives Force India its 1st F1 poleSPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium — Giancarlo Fisichella gave Force India its first Formula One pole during qualifying Saturday for the Belgian Grand Prix. The 36-year-old Italian earned the Indian team its maiden pole with a lap of 1 minute, 46.308 seconds around the high-speed Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

July 6th, 2009 DUBAI - India's Yuvraj Singh achieved a career-best second position in the Reliance Mobile International Cricket Council's rankings for ODI batsmen released Monday. Yuvraj jumped two places following his good performance against the West Indies that included a century at Kingston.

July 4th, 2009 St.LUCIA - A responsible knock of 46 from 34 balls by skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni helped India to defeat West Indies by six wickets in the rain-affected third One-day international against India here Friday. Bating first West Indies made 185 for seven in 27 overs in the truncated match, but the target for India was adjusted to 195 on the Duckworth/Lewis method.

July 3rd, 2009 St.LUCIA - Ramnaresh Sarwan scored a quick 62 as the West Indies made 185 for seven in 27 overs in the rain-affected third One-day international against India here Friday. Ashish Nehra picked up three for 21 and Harbhajan Singh got two for 35 after India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni opted to bowl at the Beausejour Stadium.

June 27th, 2009 KINGSTON - India defeated West Indies by 20 runs in the first of the four one-day internationals here at the Sabina Park Friday. Brief Scores: India 339/6 in 50 overs (Yuvraj Singh 131, K.D.

June 21st, 2009 BRNO - In a repeat performance, 20-year-old Armaan Ebrahim from India finished sixth in Race 2 of the Formula 2 Championship here Sunday. The Chennai-based Armaan, driving for the JK Racing team, was sixth in the first race Saturday after starting 19th on the grid and he came up with yet another stunning drive Sunday, moving up from 17th to six out of 25 cars.

June 16th, 2009 NOTTINGHAM - South Africa defeated India by 12 runs in the last Super Eight Group E match of the World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge here. Brief Scores: South Africa 130/5 in 20 overs (AB de Villiers 63, Graeme Smith 26; Ravindra Jadeja 1-9) beat India 118/8 in 20 overs (Rohit Sharma 29, Yuvraj Singh 25; Johan Botha 3-16).

June 16th, 2009 NOTTINGHAM - South African captain Graeme Smith won the toss and decided to bat against India in a Super Eight Group E match of World Twenty20 at Trent Bridge here Tuesday. Defending champions India have already crashed out of the tournament, losing to West Indies and England.