Archives for 2021

TOKYO: Top Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri, who had finished joint 42nd in the men’s event at the Tokyo Olympic Games, has said that woman golfer Aditi Ashok’s monumental effort of finishing fourth at the quadrennial showpiece on Saturday should “brings a change in attitude in people” about the sport.

The world No. 200 carded a 3-under 68 in the final round to register a combined score of 15-under and missed out on a medal spot by one shot.

India’s No.1 men’s golfer Lahiri appreciated Aditi’s performance and said, “I hope it brings a change in attitude in people and golf as a sport can grow like any other Olympic sport in India.”

“The biggest win for Aditi is that so many more Indians now know what golf is, how it works. And then, really just putting golf on the map in India, I think this is really quite a turning point for golf,” Lahiri told Olympics.com.

Lahiri added that the fact that a large number of Indians woke up early on Saturday to watch Aditi’s final round in Tokyo was a “big win” for the sport.

“I think more people woke up and learnt about the sport this morning than even if she would have won a major or someone from the men’s contingent would have won. I think it’s a win for golf. That’s the biggest win.”

Lahiri felt Aditi’s performance will inspire a whole generation to take up the sport and represent the country on a big stage.

“I think it’s fantastic. Aditi just played absolutely unbelievable golf. Given all the challenges that she had to face. The competition, the stage, so many people wanting her to do well. She has done phenomenally well. It will be a big boost for golf,” Lahiri said.

“Aditi will be a superstar for young girls and she totally deserves to be so. There is a whole generation of girls who want to grow and play like her. It’s not just girls, people are going to take notice of the sport. Parents are also going to take notice of the sport,” he added.

NEW DELHI: It started with a bang, tapered off in the middle and then ended with the kind of spectacular fireworks that make historic events grand.

So, there was the first medal in track-and-field which also happened to be the first gold in 13 years, the first medal in hockey in 41 years, the first silver in weightlifting, the first boxing medal in nine years, the first woman with two Olympic medals, the most number of debutants ending up on the podium, and the most number of medals ever won, it all happened in one single Games for India.

And it all happened at the Games which carried the tag of troubled long before the opening ceremony, thanks to the unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic.

It all happened after one year of shutdown that sent most training and competition schedules haywire.

Mighty impressive? No, it was way more than that.

India’s campaign at the Olympic Games was as much a story of human resilience as of sporting excellence and it came to the fore on the opening day of competitions itself starting with Mirabai Chanu.

The Manipuri weightlifter stands a mere 4’11” but lifted 202kg (87+115) to fetch a silver and put India on the medals tally, showing the world why size doesn’t and shouldn’t matter.

In her moment of glory, the phenomenal weightlifter was a personification of perseverance.

She had left the same stage in tears and dejection five years ago, failing to log a single legal lift.

And there she was smiling ear to ear on July 24 becoming India’s first silver-medallist in weightlifting.

It was just the kind of start that the country needed but what followed was a lull.

Some top contenders bowed out without making an impact, the biggest disappointment being the 15-strong shooting contingent.

A lot many questions about their preparations came up after only one, Saurabh Chaudhary, managed to make the finals and none could get on the podium.

Nobody had a clear answer as to what went wrong even as stories of factionalism, ego battles and petty differences began to crop up from different corners.

It seemed that the Indian campaign had hit the disaster note early and would not be able to recover.

But along came P V Sindhu and put things back on track with her bronze.

The seasoned Hyderabadi shuttler was looking to better the silver she won in the 2016 Games.

She couldn’t do that but managed to become the first Indian woman with two Olympic medals.

While she was at it, the two hockey teams also showed stomach for fight after early setbacks.

And in the boxing ring, an heir apparent to the iconic M C Mary Kom began to take shape in Lovlina Borgohain (69kg).

The 23-year-old from Assam ended with a bronze on August 4 as women got down to the task of rebuilding momentum in the Indian camp.

And it worked out quite spectacularly.

The very next day, Ravi Kumar Dahiya became only the second Indian wrestler to clinch a silver at the Games but the first to do so on debut.

Hours before that came the long-awaited hockey medal, a bronze worth it’s weight and wait in gold.

Manpreet Singh and his inspired teammates scripted a comeback to remember against Germany in the play-off to sow the seeds of hockey’s resurgence in the country for a generation that grew up hearing tales of greatness while watching a painful slump in the sport.

There were tears, joy, nostalgia and above all a sense of renewed pride because hockey was India’s sport before it declined and cricket took over the mind space.

The stage seemed set for a grand finale and it was with Neeraj Chopra’s javelin striking gold, India’s first in 13 years overall and the first in athletics.

Bajrang Punia’s resolve paid off for him with a bronze on the wrestling mat as the debutant grudgingly accepted the medal after falling out of the expected gold medal contention.

Then there were those who were hit by the curse of the fourth-place finish.

Their agony was a story in itself as golfer Aditi Ashok and the women’s hockey team ended within touching distance of the podium but not quite there.

So, India’s performance at the Games was bigger than the unprecedented seven medals.

It reflected confidence, best personified by Chopra when he owned the Olympic stadium with his self-assured gait during the final in which the 90m man — the great Johannes Vetter — wilted.

In Tokyo, the Indians who did well were not surprising anyone, they were living up to the billing earned over the last three years.

Surprise was some of them falling short like the shooters, and the archers.

And in that lay the country’s story of progress in sports.

India is not quite there yet but is certainly inching closer one step at a time.

SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh Congress vice president Ravi Thakur demanded on Sunday that the state government should provide immediate compensation to the farmers of Lahaul-Spiti tribal district whose ripe crops were damaged due to the cloudburst over the Tojing Nullah on July 27.

Thakur, also a former MLA of Lahaul-Spiti, told the media here that a majority of farmers of Udaipur subdivision in Lahaul valley lost their ripe crops of peas, cauliflowers, broccoli, iceberg lettuce and lilium flowers due to flash floods triggered by the cloudburst.

At least eight people were killed in flash floods in Lahaul-Spiti triggered by the cloudburst over Tozing Nullah in Udaipur on July 27.

Several roads were also blocked due to landslides.

Thakur accompanied by Lahaul-Spiti Congress incharge Maheshwar Chauhan alleged that the BJP government in the state failed to handle the situation that arose due to the flash floods.

Alleging that state Technical Education Minister and Lahaul-Spiti MLA Ram Lal Markanda had submitted a false affidavit during 2017 Assembly polls claiming that he had no property, Thakur said he filed a petition in the state High Court in this regard.

Markanda is evading his appearance before the court while a number of witnesses including several government employees already recorded their statements in the court, he added.

Thakur and Chauhan demanded panchayat elections be held in Lahaul-Spiti district along with the by-election to Mandi parliamentary seat.

Thakur further demanded that the foundation stone installed at the site of Atal Tunnel Rohtang by Congress president Sonia Gandhi on June 28, 2010 in the presence of then CM Prem Kumar Dhumal and Union minister Virbhadra Singh, who passed away last month, should be immediately reinstalled.

The former Congress MLA stated that the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government had provided Rs 1,355 crore for the construction of the tunnel.

SRINAGAR: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Sunday pitched for her party’s self-rule formula for the resolution of the Kashmir issue, saying it addresses both internal and external dimensions of the problem.

“Self-rule is an internally consistent framework indicative of direction for the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue. It addresses the internal and external dimensions of the problem in a manner that is realistic, practical, just and acceptable. It is a creative framework for the resolution of the issue without compromising the sovereignty of the two nation states involved,” the PDP president said.

Mehbooba said the youth are the beacon of hope for bringing about a lasting change in the polity of Jammu and Kashmir.

“These are the times of the youth, for the youth. The mantle of responsibility has befallen the youth of J&K to shape a brighter future for the coming generations. Youth should not shy away from mainstream politics but rather take up the role and responsibility,” she said.

At the meeting, the party’s chief spokesperson gave a detailed presentation on the contours and elements of the self-rule roadmap and asked the participants to take it to the masses.

NAGPUR: The Nagpur civic body has allowed shops and establishments, including malls, to operate till 8 pm on all days with effect from Monday, as against the previous order of operating till 8 pm on weekdays and till 3 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Restaurants here in Maharashtra are now allowed to remain open with 50 per cent capacity for dining till 10 pm on all days, Nagpur Municipal Commissioner Radhakrishnan B said in an order issued on Sunday.

However, cinema halls, multiplexes, religious places and swimming pools will remain closed, said the order.

Social, cultural, political gatherings and marriage functions are allowed with 50 per cent capacity of the venue or 50 people, whichever is less, till 8 pm on all days, while funerals are restricted to maximum 20 people.

Salons, beauty centres and wellness centres are allowed to open till 8 pm on all days, while e-commerce services and items are regularised.

Coaching classes and competitive exam trainings are allowed till 8 pm on all days with 50 per cent capacity, the civic body said in the order.

It also said the inter-district travel, either by private cars, taxis or buses, has been regularised, except if going to a l’evel-5′ area, as per the state government’s classification based on COVID-19 positivity rate and oxygen bed occupancy, in which case an e-pass would be required.