TN ushers in 2026 with night of rivalry, early morning temple visits and rain
Chennai (PTI): Tamil Nadu welcomed 2026 with vibrant celebrations at beaches and public spaces and prayers at temples amid tight security by police who deployed over 1.10 lakh personnel statewide to ensure safety.
The year started with rainfall, possibly the heaviest in a long while on the first day of the year, weather enthusiasts said.
Governor RN Ravi and Chief Minister M K Stalin extended New Year greetings to the people. The CM expressed confidence that the state would march towards great victories in 2026 with the courage from past struggles.
ALSO READ: Bengaluru rings in New Year with colour, music, people throng temples across state
The Greater Chennai Police mobilised 19,000 personnel and 1,500 home guards, conducting checks at 425 locations and deploying 30 special teams to curb bike racing in hotspots like Guindy, Adyar and Thoraipakkam.
Celebrations were permitted only till 1 am, with bans on sea bathing at beaches including Marina and Elliot's, firecrackers in public areas, and high-decibel music systems without permission.
According to officials, drone surveillance covered the East Coast Road from Panaiyur to Kovalam, while horse-mounted patrols and help desks were stationed at beaches to take strict action against drunk driving and stunts.
Thousands gathered at Marina Beach, Elliot's Beach, Besant Nagar and other venues for midnight countdowns, prayers and family events blending faith with festivities.
Popular spots hosted DJ nights, live bands and fireworks displays at resorts along ECR, with events like beach parties in select locations drawing crowds.
As is tradition, despite rain, fans made their way to their beloved stars, prompting police to post personnel in front of their houses to control the crowd. Crowd started surging in front of superstar Rajnikanth's house early morning itself.
Thousands of people also gathered at places of worship. Long queues for 'darshan' were spotted at almost all temples of Tamil Nadu, particularly the famous ones like the Kapaleeswarar temple and Vadapalani Murugan temple in Chennai, Meenakshi temple in Madurai, Arunachaleswara Temple in Tiruvannamalai, Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameshwaram, Brihadeeswarar Temple, Thanjavur and Thillai Nataraja Temple, Chidambaram.
Crowds surged along the shores of Tamil Nadu to witness the first sunrise of the year.
Unfortunately, at Kanyakumari, famous for its sunsets and sunrises, skies stayed cloudy disappointing countless people who made it there specially to witness the first sunrise. People were already disappointed that they were not able to witness the last sunset on New Year's Eve, due to the cloudy weather.
Abhinaya, who had come all the way from Tenkasi with her family, said she was at the sunrise point by 3 am itself.
"You can imagine how disappointed we are that we could not see the spectacular sunrise of Kanyakumari. But we still hold on to the hope that all will be fine in 2026," said the teenager.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
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.
