Bengaluru (PTI): Air Marshal Seethepalli Shrinivas took over as Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief (AOC-in-C), Training Command, Indian Air Force on Thursday.

An alumnus of National Defence Academy, Air Marshal Shrinivas was commissioned in the fighter stream of IAF on 13 June 1987, an official statement said.

Air Marshal Shrinivas is a ‘Category A' Qualified Flying Instructor with over 4,200 hours of flying experience on MiG-21, Iskra, Kiran, PC-7 Mk II, HPT-32 and Microlite amongst other aircraft.

The AOC-in-C is also qualified as a second pilot on Chetak / Cheetah helicopter and a categorised Operations Officer on the Pechora missile system.

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The Air Marshal has held a number of command appointments in his career.

He has been the Commandant of the Air Force Academy, Air Officer Commanding (AOC) of a frontline fighter base on the Western border, and a premier flying training base, AOC Advance HQ Western Air Command (Jaipur), Commanding Officer of the prestigious Flying Instructors’ School, Commandant of the Institute of Aerospace Safety and CO of Basic Flying Training School.

His staff and other appointments include Assistant Chief of the Air Staff (Personnel Officers), Chief Instructor (Flying) at Air Force Academy, Ops Staff at HQ Central Air Command and Directing Staff at College of Air Warfare. Prior to his current assignment, he was the Senior Air Staff Officer at HQ SWAC.

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Air Marshal Shrinivas is a graduate of National Defence College, College of Defence Management and Defence Services Staff College. His educational qualifications include Master of Philosophy in Defence and Strategic Studies, Master of Management Studies and Master of Science in Defence and Strategic Studies.

In recognition of his meritorious services, he was awarded the Vishisht Seva Medal in 2017 and the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal in 2024 by the President of India.

After assumption of his new appointment, the Air Marshal paid homage to bravehearts by laying a wreath at the Training Command War Memorial.

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Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.

The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.

On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."

His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.

In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”

Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”

Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.

After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.

“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.

“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”

Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.

Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay. 

Chaotic end to a poor season

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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.

It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.

Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.

Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.