From China's world number one Shi Yuqi's surprising loss to Thailand's Kunlavut Vitidsarn, to Malaysia's women's doubles team's brave bid for a medal, badminton at the Paris Olympics was characterised by upsets, plucky underdogs and, ultimately, reminders that some top seeds are there for a reason.
Uttar Pradesh BJP president Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, sources said, and is believed to have briefed him on a host of issues related to the party's organisational matters in the politically crucial state.
Nikhat Zareen bowed out of the Olympics after a heartbreaking 0-5 loss to China's Wu Yu on Thursday.
If Saudi Arabia, with just two Muslim holy sites of Mecca and Medina, can create a huge tourism-based ecosystem beyond oil, Ayodhya is sure to become the world's hottest religious tourism site in less than a decade, predicts R Jagannathan.
There are so many loopholes in this lazily scribbled plot, it could be a different movie and still as crummy, observes Sukanya Verma.
Can the subcontinent giants maintain their 12-year invincibility?
India captain Rohit Sharma on Wednesday urged his side to keep their focus on "things we can control" ahead of the mega World Cup clash against arch-rival Pakistan, having completed a dominating eight-wicket win over Afghanistan in New Delhi.
'It was tough financially for the first few years but my friends and family supported me and once he did well at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, there was no looking back.'
Unfortunately, the best man does not always win, but I feel enriched by the experience of the campaign and getting to know Rajeev Chandrasekhar, says Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Extreme poverty in India declined by 38 million in 2021 to 167.49 million after a surge in the two preceding years, but remained above the 2018 level, the latest World Bank data shows. While for most countries poverty rose in 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the global economy, the data shows poverty shot up in India a year earlier in 2019 to 176.09 million from 151.79 million in 2018, the lowest pre-pandemic count. India's poverty rate at 11.9 per cent in 2021 also remained higher than the 2018 level of 11.09 per cent, though easing from 14.72 per cent in 2020.
At Srinagar's famed Lal Chowk, Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf meets a computer engineer who drives an auto for a living and discovers that Kashmiris are more interested in finding jobs than discussing the assembly election.
'Is the Agniveer scheme or their post-retirement re-employment in paramilitary forces or in the state governments the BJP's answer to the crying need on the job front?' 'Or, even Finance Minister Sitharaman's one-year internship scheme in the public and private sector, is it a permanent solution, either?', asks N Sathiya Moorthy.
The coaching-tuition-profiteering model built on the back of a broken education system is a scandal and an abomination, and must go, asserts Shekhar Gupta.
Roundup of matches across the country in the ongoing BCCI Ranji Trophy
'When it comes to strategy or planning for a match, there is nobody better than Dhoni.' 'Whether he is uncapped or capped, every franchise would want to pick Dhoni, no matter what price he is available for.'
However, KN Prudhuvi Raj, the 17th player during the match against Bengal, also took to social media and lambasted Vihari for making false accusations against him.
Manoj Tiwary and Munaf Patel extended wishes to former India captain Sourav Ganguly on his 52nd birthday.
24 hours was all it took for the Congress to overturn its decision to boycott the TV debates on the exit poll results. Sudhir Bisht offers an explanation.
Tral, the former hotbed of terrorism, rocks to the music of democracy.
With the RLD part of the NDA now, Sanjeev Kumar Balyan would expect an easier contest than five years back when the RLD, SP and BSP had an alliance.
'Who are all batting in pressure situations? The young Indian batters and Dinesh Karthik. The big international names, who are supposed to take the pressure, where are they? All are back in the dressing room.'
We should reassess what India's role in the world is and whether we are doing the right thing for ourselves, notes Aakar Patel.
Former spinner Pragyan Ojha feels the current lot of young Indian batters must learn to pace their innings while the team remains on experimentation mode ahead of the ODI World Cup at home.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday met ministers from the state at his residence in Lucknow to discuss the upcoming assembly bypolls in 10 constituencies.
India's badminton ace Saina Nehwal accused the sport's administrators of placing money above players' safety by continuing last week's All England Championships despite the coronavirus pandemic. The 30-year-old lost in the opening round of the marquee event, which was among a handful which continued even as the bulk of global sporting calendar was either postponed or cancelled.
'Look at the opposition. Like in anything in life, try and learn. Why did we collapse? Why Crawley keeps getting starts and keeps getting out? Ben Duckett, got a brilliant 150, gave a charge when the ball was too new.'
'The people of Gujarat understood this a long time ago and has since been rejecting the party and its programmes.'
'I think some of us, like Mukesh Ambani, myself and those of us who head industrial units, ought to really focus on what we can really do to make the world a safer place, maybe 50 or 100 years from now.' 'For instance, how can we deal with climate change and global warming, right now?' 'The effects of it may not be felt now; in fact, we may pay a price for it today, but it will help the generations to follow.'
Rejecting the criticism of the CAA, Jaishankar said, "There are people who publicly said on record that because of CAA, a million Muslims will lose their citizenship in this country."
A political crisis involving the ruling All India NR Congress-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition is brewing in the union territory with a section of saffron party MLAs expressing displeasure against the government over issues including corruption, and have knocked on the doors of the national leadership with a plea to set things right before they 'become worse'.
'The focus needs to shift towards the ability to collect payments, particularly in tier-3 to tier-4 areas where acceptance is still lacking.'
'I am not a Shubman Gill hater but I feel Ruturaj is a better option because he has scored runs in tougher situations.'
'I would think a hundred times before I wrote a gay character or a mentally challenged character because it requires a lot of research and empathy. That's the reason I shy away entirely from stories that have rape. I just can't. It's just terrifying for me, as a woman, to handle subjects like that because it's so sensitive.'
ourav Ganguly is in favour of continuing with the Impact Player rule in IPL, but wants teams to decide their picks before the toss.
In the volatile international situation where 'nativism' is on the rise and immigrant communities are being targeted, the Leader of the Opposition's statement is like adding fuel to fire. If the Indian diaspora numbering 4 crores is threatened it will constitute a grave threat to national security, warns Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Kuldeep Yadav got a verbal lashing from MS Dhoni for not adhering to his instructions while bowling during an ODI against Sri Lanka in 2017. So scared was the UP spinner that he went upto Dhoni in the team bus to apologise and asked if he had ever lost his composure like this in the past.
'The noise that we are hearing is because the five big IT players are not hiring significantly.'
One hopes in his next term, Narendra Modi will take up the mission of inculcating respect for following rules in Indians as a mission. Therein lies the chance for India to become a developed country, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
India A set up a potentially high-voltage Emerging Asia Cup final against Pakistan A after defeating Bangladesh A by 51 runs in the semifinals in Colombo on Friday.
'In this assembly election, Muslims here will vote for one who works, but also one who safeguards their identity.' 'Their existence is more important they feel, than a faulty light meter. So yes, a Muslim representative will make a difference.'
