Paralympic Games: Aiming For Glory, Indian Shooting Team Departs For Paris 2024

by Shambhu Datta Mishra

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

The team, comprising 10 athletes, will compete to better their Tokyo haul of four medals as the spotlight will be on reigning Paralympic gold medallists Avani Lekhara and Manish Narwal

The Paralympic Committee is expecting a record-breaking 25-plus medals at the Paris Paralympics and the performance of the shooting team will have a great impact on the overall medal tally

New Delhi, Aug 24: After a stellar performance in the Tokyo Paralympics in which it clinched two gold, one silver, and one bronze medal, the Indian Para-Shooting team has departed for the next edition of the Paralympic Games in Paris with high hopes of surpassing their previous achievements.

The team, comprising 10 athletes, will compete to better their Tokyo haul of four medals. The spotlight will be on reigning Paralympic gold medallists, Avani Lekhara and Manish Narwal, who are determined to replicate their gold-medal-winning performances in Paris.

The athletes representing India at the Paris Paralympics 2024 in shooting include Manish Narwal, Amir Ahmad Bhat, Rudransh Khandelwal, Avani Lekhara, Mona Agarwal, Rubina Francis, Swaroop Mahavir Unhalkar, Sidhartha Babu, Shriharsha Devaraddi and Nihal Singh. The shooting events will commence on August 30 at the renowned Châteauroux Shooting Centre. The shooters have been training rigorously and are confident of making the nation proud once again on the global stage.

Speaking on behalf of the team, Manish Narwal expressed his excitement, saying, "Our preparations have been intense, and we are eager to give our best shot in Paris. We aim to surpass our previous performance and bring more medals home."

The Paralympic Committee is expecting a record-breaking 25-plus medals at the Paris Paralympics and the performance of the shooting team will have a great impact on the overall medal tally. Besides the athletes, the shooters will have to contribute many medals if India realises PCI's dream of claiming a rich medal haul in Paris.

The Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) has extended its best wishes to the entire team and is confident that they will continue to inspire the nation with their remarkable achievements.

(IANS)

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RG Kar Tragedy: Junior Doctors’ Street Protest Enters Fourth Day

by Utkalika Mohanty

Kolkata, Sep 13: The dharna by junior doctors in front of the West Bengal health department headquarters at Salt Lake over the rape and murder of a doctor at RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, entered its fourth day on Friday.

The agitators are determined to continue with their protests for an indefinite period till their demands are fulfilled.

The proposed discussion with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee at state secretariat Nabanna on Thursday did not fructify as the administration refused to accept the doctors’ demand for a live-telecast of the meeting.

Following the refusal, the 30-member delegation went back to the dharna venue at Salt Lake and announced the continuation of the protests for an indefinite period.

The demonstration started on the afternoon of Tuesday and is still continuing.

The protesting doctors on Thursday morning reiterated their previous stand of going to the discussion table only if their four conditions are accepted by the state government.

These four conditions are allowing a delegation of 30 representatives, meeting with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, live telecast of the meeting for the sake of transparency among all parties and finally the meeting to be based around the five-point agenda outlined since the beginning.

One of the major demands in the five-point agenda already outlined includes the suspensions of the state health secretary, state director of health services and director of medical education.

Now, it remains to be seen whether in the next hearing at the Supreme Court in the matter on September 17, the counsel for the West Bengal government will highlight these continuing protests as contempt of the apex court’s observation about the doctors re-joining duty.

In the September 9 hearing, the three-judge Bench of the apex court observed that the court will not be able to intervene in any possible state government action against the junior doctors if they do not rejoin duty by 5 P.M. on September 10.

Legal experts are of the opinion that if the state government’s counsel makes any attempt to describe the protests as contempt of the top court’s order, going strictly by legal terms this argument is unlikely to be accepted by the Supreme Court.

According to the senior counsel of Calcutta High Court, Kaushik Gupta, the Supreme Court never gave a direction to the junior doctors to return back to duty by the deadline fixed by it.

“What the apex court observed was that it will not be able to intervene if the state government acts against the junior doctors unless the latter rejoin duty by a specific time and date.

“Legally the ball is now in the court of the state government on what administrative action it will adopt to end the protests and compel the junior doctors to rejoin duty. But in my opinion, the logic of contempt of court will not be applicable," Gupta explained.

--IANS

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ASI DG To Inspect Shreemandir Ratna Bandar On Sept 18; Darshan To Be Suspended From 1 PM

by Pabitra Mohan Senapaty

Puri, Sept 13: Darshan of deities-- Lord Jagannath and His siblings Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra-- in Shreemandir will remain suspended for devotees from 1 pm on September 18 because of the scheduled Ratna Bhandar inspection work.

Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) has set a special ritual schedule for the day.

According to the information, the Director General of the Archeological Survey of India and his team will inspect the inner Ratna Bhandar on September 18 after the second Bhoga Mandap.

The second Bhoga Mandap is likely to end by 1 pm. The ASI DG will start inspection work at 1 pm. Darshan of deities will remain suspended for the devotees during the inspection work," said an SJTA official.

Paralympic Games: Aiming For Glory, Indian Shooting Team Departs For Paris 2024

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