Indian para table tennis players Bhavina Patel, Prachi, and Sonalben have advanced to the semifinals of the Asian Para Games in Nagoya, guaranteeing at least three bronze medals for the country. Bhavina Patel won her Class 4-5 quarterfinal, Prachi secured a historic medal in Class 6, and Sonalben triumphed in Class 3, showcasing India's strong performance in the sport.
India commenced its Asian Para Games campaign with a spectacular performance, securing 11 medals, including four gold, across various sports on Monday. Notable victories came from shooter Mona Agarwal, long jumper Nishad Kumar, middle-distance runner Soumya, and javelin thrower Rinku, with archer Sheetal Devi also setting world records. The medal haul places India fourth in the overall standings.
'As the PLA higher command is almost dismantled and instability spreads, India needs to be prepared for any eventuality,' cautions China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
China's second-ranked general, He Weidong, is under investigation for corruption, along with nine other senior military officers punished for discipline violations and work-related crimes. This crackdown comes ahead of a key Communist Party conclave.
Assured of at least a Paralympic silver medal after reaching the table tennis final at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday, India's Bhavinaben Patel said she doesn't consider herself as disabled and her performance at the Games proves that 'nothing is impossible'.
The Chinese Communist Party reaffirmed President Xi Jinping's leadership and backed a major purge of top military officials during a key meeting. The meeting also endorsed a new 5-year plan focused on domestic market resilience and self-reliance.
China's ruling Communist Party is holding its annual leadership conclave to discuss the new five-year plan, the impact of US President Donald Trump's tariff war, and the ongoing anti-corruption crackdown in the military.
Family members and friends of paddler Bhavina Patel broke into the traditional 'garba' dance, burst firecrackers and smeared each other with 'gulal' at her native Sundhiya village in Gujarat's Mehsana district to celebrate her historic silver medal at the Paralympic Games.
The 34-year-old Patel, who had surprised even the Indian camp in this Paralympics with her sensational show, stunned China's Miao Zhang 7-11, 11-7, 11-4, 9-11, 11-8 in the semi-final showdown which lasted 34 minutes.
Bhavinaben Patel became only the second Indian woman to win a medal at the Paralympics after she claimed a historic silver following a 0-3 loss to world number one Chinese paddler Ying Zhou in the women's singles table tennis class 4 final at the Tokyo Games on Sunday.
Speculation about the missing Chinese Defence Minister General Li Shangfu may have been removed and detained became rife after he was conspicuously absent at the meeting of the Central Military Commission (CMC) in Beijing on Friday.
Wang Yang and Xi Jinping's visits signal the beginning of a major Chinese push to bring about a transformation of Tibet, observes Jayadeva Ranade, the distinguished China expert and retired RA&W officer.
The Central Committee members on Sunday elected a 25-member Political Bureau which picked the Standing Committee members to govern the country.
Bhavinaben Patel scripted history on Friday, becoming the first Indian table tennis player to secure a medal in the Paralympics after entering the semi-finals with a stunning straight-game win over world No. 5 Borislava Peric Rankovic of Serbia in the women's singles Class 4 event, in Tokyo. The 34-year-old won her quarter-final 11-5, 11-6, 11-7 in 18 minutes.
Why is China's supreme leader promoting Han Chauvinism so aggressively, asks Claude Arpi.
'He still has to deal with party norms and traditions and has been careful to follow the order of seniority,' points out Claude Arpi.
