Shooter Vijayveer Sidhu clinches 17th Paris Olympics spot for India
Jakarta (PTI): India's Vijayveer Sidhu clinched a 17th Paris Games quota place for the country while clinching a silver medal in the men's 25m rapid-fire event at the Asia Olympic Qualifiers here on Saturday.
The 21-year-old team bronze-medallist at the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, joins senior country-mate Anish Bhanwala in securing a Paris berth in the 25m rapid fire.
Anish had bagged the Olympic quota with a bronze medal in the Asian Championship in Changwon, Korea, last year.
Vijayveer did not have to wait for a medal to secure a quota place. He earned it by qualifying for the final in fourth place with a score of 577.
Four out of the six finalists on Saturday were eligible for quota places and the youngster, who hails from Chandigarh, did it in style by shooting 28 in the elimination round to clinch silver behind Kazakhstan's Nikita Chiryukin, who shot 32 for the gold medal.
Rapid-fire pistol is traditionally a strong event for India as Vijay Kumar had bagged a silver at the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Before the 2020 Olympics, Anish had looked a strong contender to book a Tokyo berth but had missed out during the ISSF World Cup in New Delhi in 2021.
If both Vijayveer and Anish get the opportunity to represent the country at the Paris Olympics, it will be the first such instance in the rapid-fire shooting.
Indian shooters have so far bagged four Paris Olympics quota places in Jakarta, with Esha Singh (women's 10m air pistol), Varun Tomar (men's 10m air air pistol), Rhythm Sangwan (women's 25m sports pistol) besides Vijayveer nailing the spots here.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
