Jhajharia, Venkatesh Prasad in panel to decide National Sports Awards

by Argus News

New Delhi, Sep 8: Three-time Paralympic medallist Devendra Jhajharia is among sportspersons who have been included in the selection panel for this year's National Sports Awards. Retired Supreme Court judge, Justice Mukundakum Sharma, has been named as the chairperson of the committee.

According to information received, veteran boxer Savita Devi, hockey coach Baldev Singh, former rifle shooter Anjali Bhagwat and former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad are the other sportspersons included in the panel. Former India women's cricket captain Anjum Chopra is also among the selectors, although she has been included as a journalist and commentator.

Speaking to IANS, Jhajharia, India's most decorated Paralympian, expressed his delight by saying, "I am happy that the sports ministry considered me for the selection committee. It is an honour to be part of it, and other members of the committee also understand sports so well."

Jhajharia won a silver medal at the recent Tokyo Games, adding to the two gold medals he had won in the 2004 and 2016 editions.

The committee will be meeting in the next few days to decide the winners. This year's awards were delayed after the government decided to wait for India's performance at both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The selection committee also includes Sports Authority of India Director General Sandip Pradhan, and journalists Vikrant Gupta and Vijay Lokapally.

The country bagged historic results in both the events with an unprecedented seven medals in the Olympics being followed by a record haul of 19, including five gold, at the Paralympics.

The highest honour is the Khel Ratna award, which was rechristened from Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna to Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna this year, followed by the Arjuna Award. The Khel Ratna carries a prize money of Rs 25 lakh, while the Arjuna comes with a prize money of Rs 15 lakh.

For coaches, the Dronacharya award is there. The annual honours also include the Lifetime Achievement award, the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, and the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) trophy for the year 2021.
(IANS)

Argus News is hiring!

Seeking highly motivated professionals.

APPLY NOW

UGC Urges All Delhi Colleges To Set Up Selfie Points To Create Awareness About India's Achievements

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

New Delhi, Dec 1: The University Grant Commission (UGC) has requested all Delhi colleges to set up selfie points on their respective campuses.

The Ministry of Education has approved the designs for these selfie points.

According to UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar, this initiative has been taken to create awareness among the youth about India's achievements in areas such as space exploration, sports excellence, infrastructure development, women-led development etc.

Sustainable rural development, information technology, digital connectivity, and much more can be exhibited through these selfie points, he added.

The UGC said the selfie points will not only serve as a source of pride, but also enlighten every citizen about the transformative initiatives that have propelled India's growth on the global stage.

A letter on this count was sent on November 15 to the principals of all Delhi colleges (53), requesting them for setting up of selfie points on their respective campuses, Kumar added.

(IANS)

Read More National News

4th T20i: Rinku, Jitesh, Jaiswal Help India To 174/9 Against Australia

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Raipur, Dec 1: A late charge by Rinku Singh, who blasted a 29-ball 46, and Jitesh Sharma, who hammered a 19-ball 35, helped India recover from a mid-innings collapse and scamper to 174/9 in 20 overs against Australia in the fourth T20I of the five-match series here on Friday.

Rinku and Jitesh raised 56 runs for the fifth wicket before India lost a few wickets towards the end of the innings and managed only 174.

After Australia skipper Matthew Wade won the toss and inserted India in to bat first, the hosts raised 50 runs in the sixth over with openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad going great guns at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium here.

In a stadium that was reportedly facing power problems because of allegedly unpair electricity bills, Jaiswal struck six fours and a six in his 28-ball 37 before pacer Aaron Hardie extracted extra bounce with a cross-seam short delivery outside off to have the Indian batter pulling to Ben McDermott, running in from mid-on.

India lost two quick wickets as Shreyas Iyer (8) and Suryakumar Yadav (1) departed, falling victim to Tanveer Sangha and Ben Dwarshuis respectively.

Ruturaj Gaikwad, who struck 32 off 28 balls hitting three fours and a six, was caught by Dwarshuis off Sangha as he attempted to go big over extra cover but edged it to short third man.

India were reduced to 111/4 in the 14th over before Rinku and Jitesh Sharma came together to raise a quick-fire half-century that propped up the Indian innings. Rinku slammed four boundaries and two maximums while Jitesh struck one four and three sixes as they propelled India to 167 before the wicketkeeper batter was out, caught by Travis Head off Dwarshuis.

Trying to raise as many runs as possible, India lost five wickets in the last two overs starting from the fourth ball of the 19th over. Jitesh Sharma (18.4), Axar Patel (18.5) and Rinku Singh (19.1) got out over three consecutive balls spread across two overs while Deepak Chahar (19.3) and Ravi Bishnoi (19.6) also fell in the final over.

For Australia, Ben Dwarshuis claimed 3-40 while Jason Behrendorff (2-32) and Tanveer Sangha (2-30) claimed a couple of wickets apiece.

India will now have to come up with a superb effort with the ball to prevent Australia from levelling the series 2-2 going into the fifth and final T20I at Bengaluru.

Brief scores:

India 174/9 in 20 overs (Rinku Singh 45, Yashasvi Jaiswal (37), Jitesh Sharma 35, Ruturaj Gaikwad 32; Ben Dwarshuis 3-40, Jason Behrendorff 2-32, Tanveer Sangha 2-30) against Australia.

(IANS)

Read More Sports News

Musk's X Sees Wave Of Resignations From Sales Team After Giving Bonus: Report

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

San Francisco, Dec 1: Elon Musk-run X Corp has witnessed a wave of resignations from the sales team over the past month, media reports said.

According to a report by Claire Atkinson, the sales staff started exiting the company shortly after X gave out bonus checks in November.

The microblogging platform has experienced a wave of resignations from both senior and junior employees, making this a chaotic month for the site and its owner.

According to the report, X is running its headquarters with a skeleton crew and its advertising business is losing money.

Meanwhile, Musk stunned the world when he told advertisers to "go f*** yourself" late on Wednesday after some top companies pulled advertising on his platform over his endorsement of anti-Semitism.

At The New York Times' DealBook Summit, when Andrew Ross Sorkin asked the X owner about pauses in advertising, Musk replied: "Don't advertise."

"You don't want them to advertise?" Sorkin asked him. "If somebody's going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money? Go f*** yourself," Musk said.

Musk's remarks came after he promoted an anti-Semitic post on X last month and faced a storm of criticism. However, he apologised for what he called his "dumbest" ever social media post on Semitism.

Companies that have paused or pulled advertising on X in the last few weeks include Apple, Comcast/NBCUniversal, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, IBM, Paramount Global, Lionsgate and the European Commission.

Jhajharia, Venkatesh Prasad in panel to decide National Sports Awards

Download Mobile App