Category Archives: World Opinion

Kidambi Srikanth wins French Open Super Series

Amazing Feats, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
Dominant: K. Srikanth, who is on a winning spree, exults after taking the French Open with ease on Sunday.
Dominant: K. Srikanth, who is on a winning spree, exults after taking the French Open with ease on Sunday.

Having already completed a hat-trick of Super Series titles, Srikanth won his fourth title of the season.

India’s Kidambi Srikanth’s dream season continued as he brushed aside the challenge of Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto in straight games to win the French Open Super Series men’s singles title, in Paris on Sunday.

Having already completed a hat-trick of Super Series titles, Srikanth won his fourth title of the season.

Srikanth, seeded eight in the tournament, took just 34 minutes to get the better of his Japanese opponent 21-14 21-13 in the summit clash.

The win ensured Srikanth, who played his fifth Super Series final this season, bag his second consecutive title in two weeks after winning the Denmark Open in Odense last week.

Srikanth, thus, became only fourth men’s singles player to win four or more Super Series titles in a calendar year.

Going by Srikanth’s current form, it was expected to be a one-sided summit clash and it turned out to be one, except for the first few points of the opening game which was a neck-and-neck fight between the two shuttlers.

It was Nishimoto, who started brightly to race to a 9-5 lead before Srikanth fought back to draw level at 9-9.

From there on it was no looking back as the Indian used his court coverage and superior technique to take a 14-10 lead.

Nishimoto did manage to take some points to reduce the margin to 15-14 before Srikanth used his experience at the highest level to pocket six straight points and win the first game.

Srikanth continued his good form in the second game and won five straight points to take a commanding 10-2 lead.

Nishimoto tried his best to force a comeback and managed to reduce the margin to 13-8 but the Indian showed his class and superiority in crunch situations to keep his lead intact and win the game 21-13 and claim his second consecutive title in as many weeks.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / PTI / Paris – October 29th, 2017

Intl. regatta at Krishnapatnam Port

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

The Krishnapatnam-India international regatta 2017 will be held as part of the Asian Sailing Federation (ASAF) Youth Sailing Cup 2017-18 series at Krishnapatnam Port, Nellore, from Dec. 27 to 31. The eight earlier editions were held in Chennai.

It will be organised jointly by the Navayuga Sailing Academy, the Yachting Association of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu Sailing Association and the Yachting Association of India (YAI), under the aegis of ASAF. While Krishnapatnam Port will be the venue, the racing area will be in the open sea in front of Krishnapatnam Beach.

The courses to be sailed will be windward/leeward, trapezoid, or any other configuration as may be described in the sailing instructions, which will be available approximately a week before the event at www.iiregatta.in.

The classes with age eligibility in brackets: Single hander: Optimist (Born in 2002 or later), Laser 4.7 (2000 or later), Laser Radial (1999 or later). RS: One; 420, 29er (1998 or later).

For details: Ashok Thakkar (98400 99099) and iiregatta@gmail.com

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sports / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – October 27th, 2017

UK surgeons save little hearts

Amazing Feats, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Science & Technology, World Opinion

In safe hands: Doctors from Healing Little Hearts, UK with a baby on whom they performed heart surgery at Andhra Hospital in Vijayawada on Friday. | Photo Credit: CH_VIJAYA BHASKAR
In safe hands: Doctors from Healing Little Hearts, UK with a baby on whom they performed heart surgery at Andhra Hospital in Vijayawada on Friday. | Photo Credit: CH_VIJAYA BHASKAR

Camp held at Heart & Brain Institute, Andhra Hospitals

Heart & Brain Institute, Andhra Hospitals, organised a paediatric cardiology and cardiac surgical camp in association with Healing Little Hearts, UK, from October 23 to 27. A team of doctors from reputed hospitals in UK performed 15 heart surgeries free.

The team included paediatric interventional cardiologist, p aediatric cardiac surgeons, paediatric cardiac intensivists, paediatric cardiac anaesthetist, perfusionist, paediatric intensive care nurses and the team led by Dr. Vikram Kudumula, Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist from UK.

The team performed heart surgeries which included atrial septal defect with complications, ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus with complications, total anomalous pulmonary venous drainage, Fallot’s tetralogy, etc.

Andhra Hospitals Managing Director Dr. P. V. Ramana Murthy said they had been doing children heart surgeries regularly for the past two years. Healing little hearts, UK, team had come nine times so far, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> City> Vijayawada / by Staff Reporter / Vijayawada – October 28th, 2017

Denmark Open: Kidambi Srikanth wins third Super Series title

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion
Srikanth beat a man 12 years his senior | Photo Credit: Reuters
Srikanth beat a man 12 years his senior | Photo Credit: Reuters

Beats Korean veteran Lee Hyun II 21-10 21-5 in a match that lasted just 25 minutes

Kidambi Srikanth clinched his third Super Series Premier title with a dominating straight-game victory over Korean veteran Lee Hyun II in a lopsided final of the USD 750,000 Denmark Open here on Sunday.

Playing an opponent 12 years his senior, Srikanth asserted his dominance with a 21-10 21-5 win over 37-year-old Lee in a match that lasted just 25 minutes here.

World No. 8 Srikanth didn’t give any chances to the more experienced Lee, who looked a pale shadow of the man, who had beaten World No. 2 Son Wan Ho in the semi-finals yesterday.

The duo were tied 4-4, before Srikanth changed gears and used his deception and powerful smashes to lead 9-5.

A return going to the net gave a point to Lee but Srikanth produced a brilliant cross court net dribble to bamboozle his opponent and moved into the break with a healthy 11-6 lead when the Korean went wide.

Lee had no answers to Srikanth’s razor-sharp smashes and cross court returns as the Indian led 14-8. Lee also made judgement errors at the baseline and also miscued his strokes as Srikanth extended his advantage to 17-8 with another smash.

The Korean hit two long shots and then sent one at the net to hand over a 20-8 lead to Srikanth.

The Indian made two unforced errors to allow Lee get into doubles figures. But Lee again erred with the length of his return as Srikanth pocketed the first game.

In the second game, Srikanth stepped on the gas and zoomed to a 11-1 lead even as Lee struggled with his strokes, hitting wide and long and often finding the net.

Post mid-game break, Lee produced a steep cross court return, much to the cheer of the sizable crowd who had turned out to watch the finals. The Korean lacked anticipation as Srikanth smashed his way to the title.

Ratchanok Inthanon takes title

Earlier, 2013 World Champion Ratchanok Inthanon produced another gritty display to stave off the challenge from World No. 5 and defending champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 14-21 21-15 21-19 to win her first title of the season.

“I didn’t think about winning or losing. I just wanted to give my best for our beloved King, who passed away last year. It has been difficult for us and I am happy I could find the mental strength and power to win today,” a teary-eyed Inthanon said.

Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest- reigning monarch, had passed away last year after 70 years as head of state.

Among other matches, Hong Kong’s eighth seeded mixed doubles pair of Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet, who had clinched the 2012 Japan Open Super Series, notched up their maiden major title.

They defeated top-seeded Chinese combo of Zheng Siwei and Chen Qingchen 24-22 19-21 23-21 in a thrilling contest that lasted a little less than an hour.

Korea’s women’s doubles pair of Lee So Hee and Shin Seung Chan, who had won the 2014 World championship bronze medal at Denmark, dished out another sensational performance to outwit Japanese sixth seeds Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto 21-13 21-16 to clinch the title.

Chinese pair of Liu Cheng and Zhang Nan, seeded fifth, defeated second seeded Indonesian combo of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 21-16 22-24 21-19 in the men’s doubles final clash.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sport / by PTI / Odense – October 22nd, 2017

World War II bunkers cry for attention

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion
Traces of the past: A World War II pill box resurfaces in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: K_R_DEEPAK;K_R_DEEPAK -
Traces of the past: A World War II pill box resurfaces in Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: K_R_DEEPAK;K_R_DEEPAK –

They should be restored and turned into museums, say historians

A silent reminder of a significant chapter of Visakhapatnam’s maritime history, the World War – II pill boxes or bunkers dotting the shores of the coast, resurfaces every year during monsoon when the eroded sands uncover these concrete structures hidden beneath for decades.

Lack of any effort to restore and conserve these historical concrete fortifications, vagaries of nature over the years and public apathy have left these pill boxes in a state of utter neglect, serving as a painful reminder of an earlier time, slowly crumbling back into the sea.

Maritime history

At a time when the Tourism Department in association with the district administration is making efforts to create a maritime museum circuit along the beach road, these vintage pill boxes cry for attention. According to historians and retired naval personnel, these pill boxes are a significant link to the maritime history of the region, which should be restored and included in the maritime historical circuit at the Beach Road where the latest addition is the upcoming museum project of the decommissioned TU 142 fighter aircraft.

Speaking to The Hindu, (Retd.) Cdr B.L.N. Rao, secretary of Navy Foundation – Visakhapatnam Chapter, said: “There are four such pill boxes spotted along the Vizag coast. The one at R.K. Beach is still in good shape and can easily be retrieved. Once it resurfaces from the sand, iron sheets can be kept all around it, the remaining sand can be dug till the base of the structure and with the help of hydraulic jack it can be lifted and shifted.”

Last year, Cdr. Rao had initiated efforts in the restoration of these critical historical pill boxes by taking the VUDA officials around the locations where they are seen. “Nothing much has been done after that,” he said.

The pill box at the R.K. Beach is about 20 to 30 feet wide and 10 feet high. “Similar dimensions of pill boxes exist near Kotaveedhi and Lavender Canal. However, the one near the fishing colony of Jalaripeta is nearly four times the size of the others and is beyond repair. That one was used as the command control centre by the British,” he added.

As conflict in the World War II ramped up, these pill boxes were used to fortify the shores by the British to resist invasion by Japan. According to researchers, most of them were constructed around 1938-1941.

Old timers recollect the presence of another pill box opposite the Naval Coastal Battery which they say was “mercilessly razed to the ground” in the 1960s when the road was being built. “These defence constructions were considered to be highly confidential during WW-II. Hence, there is no proper documentation of the number of bunkers present along the Vizag coast,” said historian Edward Paul.

But recently these secret bunkers have piqued the interest of historians, war veterans and enthusiasts alike – and more people are attempting to discover their locations.

“Proper signage at the locations of the pill boxes can go a long way in showcasing the maritime history of the region,” Mr. Paul added. While efforts to restore a similar British-era bunker discovered inside the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai are being taken, in other parts of the world – the most recent one being in Denmark’s western coast, World War II bunkers have been transformed into museums.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States > Andhra Pradesh / by Nivedita Ganguly / July 24th, 2017

Vizag girl makes India proud at int’l pageant

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

Visakhapatnam:

City girl Sharanya Mudundi was crowned the ‘Little Miss Grand Sea Intercontinental’ at Grand Sea Universe-2017 held in Sofia, Bulgaria, recently. Adding feathers to her cap, she also won the titles ‘Little Miss Grand Sea Asia-2017’, ‘Miss Popularity’ and ‘Best Interview’ at the fashion pageant .

Nine-year-old Sharanya represented India and competed with children from 30 countries. She also won the title ‘Little Model Earth India-2017’ and ‘Grand Prix Winner Model-2017’ at an international children’s pageant ‘Little Model Earth’ held at Johannesburg, South Africa, in March this year.

Speaking to TOI, Sharanya said, “I was on cloud nine after I won the titles at Sofia. Although it was a challenging task, bagging these has boosted my confidence. The theme being ‘Beauty for a purpose’, there were different rounds during the contest including interview round, national costume round, talent round and evening gown round. I also showcased our rich Indian culture and traditions. I performed yoga in the talent round and it was one of my memorable experience at the global fashion stage.”

Daughter of MSN Raju and M Swati, Sharanya is a Class-V student in Delhi Public School. Balancing both academics and fashion shows, she said that it is the support of her parents coupled with time management that helps her to focus on both.

National Director of India Valentina Mishra, who hails from the city, said, “She is the only Indian girl child to represent India on the global map and to win at an international pageant twice this year.” Valentina was awarded the winner of best director of the year by MMSEA BG, an international agency.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Visakhapatnam News / TNN / July 08th, 2017

Srikanth beats Sakai to win Indonesia Open Super Series Premier title

Records, All, Sports, World Opinion

KidambiSrikanthTELAN18jun2017

Highlights

1. Srikanth looked in the zone as he easily downed world no 47 Sakai in straight games 21-11, 21-19

2. The Indonesian Open is Srikanth’s second Super Series Premier title after he won the 2014 China Open Super Series Premier

3. Srikanth had finished runner-up at Singapore Open after losing to compatriot B Sai Praneeth in the summit clash last month

______________________________________

Jakarta :

Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth clinched his third Super Series title, lifting the Indonesia Open men’s singles trophy with a straight-game victory over Japanese qualifier Kazumasa Sakai in the final on Sunday.

World No.22 Srikanth, who had reached the finals at Singapore Open in April, outclassed Sakai, ranked 47th, 21-11 21-19 in just 37 minutes to take home a cheque of $75,000.

“He was playing well, especially in the second game and I think for me coming back from 6-11 down and make it 13-13 was the turning point,” said Srikanth, who had clinched the 2014 China Super Series Premier and 2015 India Super Series.

“My coach will have a special place in my heart as after he came, I reached the finals at Singapore and to win this tournament, which is considered the biggest tournament. I want to thank all the fans who have been rooting for me all this week,” he added.

Srikanth played a patient game and didn’t allow his opponent to engage in any fast-paced rally. He dictated the pace with his precise angled returns and unleashed his smashes at perfect intervals to down his rival.

Playing in tricky conditions, Srikanth took time to gauge the conditions as his initial returns went wide and out.

But his rival also suffered because of similar unforced errors and the Indian led 6-4 early on. He consolidated his lead to reach 11-8 at the break.

After the interval, Srikanth continued to dominate the proceedings. His net dribbles were better than Sakai and with Sakai struggling with precision, the Indian zoomed to a 19-11 lead and sealed it with two lucky net chord points.

After the change of sides, Sakai was more aggressive in his approach and produced an improved net game to dominate the rallies.
Soon, the Japanese was leading 7-3 as he entered the break with an 11-6 lead with the help of a backhand return near the net.

After the interval, Srikanth’s aggressive game gave him the desired results. He turned the tables and caught up with the Japanese at 13-13 with an on-rushing smash at the net.
The duo moved neck and neck after that till 19-19 before Srikanth produced two fantastic smashes to seal the deal.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> Sports> Badminton / PTI / June 18th, 2017

Jyothika Sri for Kenya

Sports, World Opinion
D. Jyothika Sri
D. Jyothika Sri

City girl and Intermediate student D. Jyothika Sri has been selected for the 400m event at the World Youth Athletic Championship, which will be held in Kenya from July 12 to 18. Earlier, she participated in the Asian Youth Athletic Championship held in Thailand in which she finished a credible fourth.

The budding athlete is training at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) National Sports Talent Center (NSTC) at the Siddhartha Public School under the watchful eyes of SAI coach D.N.V. Vinayak Prasad.

Jyothika Sri will be leaving for Sonypath in New Delhi, where she will be attending the Indian camp from June 10. “She belongs to a poor family and she is much interested in athletics. She has the promise to make it big in the world of track and field. We are eagerly waiting for sponsorship which will help her prepare for bigger challenges in a proper way,” says Vinayak Prasad. CBR Academy chairman CBR Prasad has increased scholarship to Jyothika Sri from ₹3, 000 to ₹10, 000 per month. Siddhartha Mahila Kalasala convener Lalith Prasad presented spikes to her.

The Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, which identified her, has announced that it will support her. Jyothika Sri said that she aimed for an Olympic medal and exuded confidence of performing well at the Kenya meet.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Vijayawada – June 07th, 2017

Oz some work: Vizag sculptor creates thunder down under

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion

Visakhapatnam :

At just 26 years of age, Vizagite Durugadda Harsha Vardhan has won the Rio Tinto Sculpture Award at the ‘Sculpture by the Sea-2017’ contest recently held in Australia. His work ‘Column of Sound’ has emerged as winner among works by 78 international sculptors and is now being showcased in Perth.

Harsha’s creation ‘Column of Sound’ consists of two mild steel hemispheres and slices of marble (8 ft by 4 ft dimension) stacked in between. It is based on the visual dynamics of an audio wave where sound translates to tangible and eternal, rendering a paradigm shift of sensory experience. In Harsha’s words, “It’s a translation of sound into a visual form, in the same way we store images as memories, it’s actually my memory of a sound.”

He was a student of St Francis School and Bullaya College in Vizag following which Harsha completed his B.Sc from Hyderabad and Masters in Visual Communication from Delhi. He also completed a course in arts and aesthetics from JNU. Eventually, he took up sculpting which has also been the profession of his father and grandfather.

Harsha plans to participate in the next ‘Sculpture by the Sea’ contest to be held at Bondi in Sydney in October. Speaking about his next sculpture, he said, “Made with corten steel, it would be called ‘Fish Love’. This structure will showcase misinterpretation of love. Though, love is always talked about in great terms, it’s often self-gratification rather than a selfless emotion. True love should be always giving without thinking about the self.”

“Vizag is blessed with the sea, which is a soother and contests and exhibitions by the sea can be held just like in Australia. But we need to create that environment and not ruin art by politicising the events. We need an organising committee for it with encouragement from well-to-do private patrons just like it’s in Australia. Vizag needs more galleries and more events as well as private patrons,” Harsha said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Visakhapatnam News / by Sulogna Mehta / TNN / May 11th, 2017

Wheelchair basketball players aim high

Amazing Feats, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Sports, World Opinion
Mind over matter Wheelchair basketball players at the ‘2017 Women’s Development’ camp in Thailand.
Mind over matter Wheelchair basketball players at the ‘2017 Women’s Development’ camp in Thailand.

They set sights on gold medals at international events

Binding to a wheelchair does not dampen their spirits to aim high. They feel even sky is not the limit for them. It is the inspiring tale of two women from Andhra Pradesh — 30-year-old B. Hima Kalyani and 29-year-old Pandranki Satyavathi — afflicted with polio at the age of five.

After attending the ‘2017 Women’s Development’ camp organised by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) – Asia Oceania Zone in Thailand, they not only attained great skills in wheelchair basketball but also wanted to train women suffering from a similar impairment.

Their association with the basketball made them realise that the sport would help instil great self-confidence and zest for life in such women.

Presently employed with Thomson Reuters’, Bengaluru, as a content analyst in finance and risk wing, Nidadavolu-based Hima Kalyani says she was unaware of the game until she attended a wheelchair basketball camp in Hyderabad last June.

“When we came to know about the camp through Global-AID, an NGO working for development of persons with disabilities, we wanted to give it a shot. The camp introduced us to a new world, making us realise that life is more beautiful than what we assumed it to be,” narrates Ms. Satyavathi, who is working in the Global AID, Gajapathinagaram mandal, Vizianagaram district, as teacher and hostel warden.

Five months later, the duo participated in the third National Wheelchair Basketball Championship, Chennai.

“The maiden event, organised jointly by the Wheelchair Basketball Federation of India (WBFI) and the International Committee of the Red Cross, made me win a bronze medal,” states Ms. Hima Kalyani.

‘Not an easy task’

Ms. Satyavathi was able to reach up to the semi-final round in the tournament and she along with Hima Kalyani and a few other players got selected for further intensive coaching organised by the IWBF in Thailand.

“We forgot our physical impediment for a while and competed with international players with ease.

“Playing basketball on wheels is not an easy task but the vigorous coaching exposed us to different techniques of the sport, manoeuvring special wheelchairs,” they say.

The players’ next target is to grab gold medals in international events.

“In addition to this, we also want to train wheelchair-bound women in the sport,” the players say.

According to founder-president of Global AID Sai Padma, the NGO plans to provide specialised coaching to the physically challenged persons in wheelchair basketball through the Andhra Pradesh Wheelchair Basketball Association.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Rani Devalla / Visakhapatnam – May 03rd, 2017