Badminton at Olympics: Satwik-Chirag duo faces formidable Chia-Soh in quarterfinals
Paris (PTI): Indian shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will look to hit top gear when they cross swords against Tokyo bronze medallist Malaysian combination of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men's doubles quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics here on Thursday.
The former world number one pair of Satwik and Chirag, who won both their matches to top Group C, has been pitted against Chia and Soh after a draw of lot here this evening.
The Malaysian pair had finished in the second spot in Group A behind China's world number one Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.
Chia and Soh once had an overwhelming 8-0 head-to-head record against Satwik and Chirag but the Indians managed to register three straight-game wins over their fancied rivals in the last three meetings.
A win is likely to put the Indians up against top seeds Liang and Wang, who are set to take on Indonesian pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in another quarterfinals.
It has always been an intense match between the Indians and Malaysians, and both are chasing their respective country's maiden badminton gold medal.
The Malaysians are known for their tactical acumen, pinpoint accuracy and high tempo game, and Satwik and Chirag will have to be sharp and get on with their attacking game from the word go.
After suffering many a heartbreaks against their opponents, Satwik and Chirag finally defeated Chia and Soh, the 2022 world champions, at the Indonesia Open super 1000 final last year. The Indians followed it up with victories at the 2022 Asian Games individual event and then at the India Open in January this year.
In the second half of the draw, second-seeded Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen of Denmark will take on fourth-seed Koreans Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae, while Thailand's Supak Jomkoh and Kedren Kittinupong will square off against Tokyo Games gold winners Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei.
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Chamoli hydropower tunnel train collision: 88 injured, magisterial probe ordered
Gopeshwar/Dehradun (PTI): Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar on Wednesday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collision between two loco trains inside the Pipalkoti tunnel of the under-construction Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydropower project, which left 88 people injured.
Earlier in the day, Kumar said that the accident occurred around 8.30 pm on Tuesday at the TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) site inside the tunnel being built by THDC (India).
A loco train carrying workers for tunnel excavation during the night shift was about two kilometres inside the tunnel when another loco train coming from the opposite direction lost control and collided with it.
One of the trains had workers and officials on board, while the other carried material.
Upon receiving information about the collision, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered proper treatment for the injured. He spoke to the DM over the phone and instructed him to ensure that all the injured receive the best possible medical facilities.
DM Kumar and Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar met the injured at the Gopeshwar District Hospital.
Kumar said 109 people were on board the loco train at the time of the accident, most of them labourers. None of the injured was serious, he said.
He said that 88 of them were injured, although none of them are in serious condition. They said that 84 workers were discharged after receiving first aid, while four are still hospitalized.
DM Kumar and SP Panwar also inspected the project site and sought detailed information about the incident from the project officials.
They instructed them to strictly implement all necessary safety standards to prevent a recurrence of such an incident in the future.
After inspection, the DM issued orders for a magisterial inquiry into the accident caused by the collision of the loco trains.
Meanwhile, the Railways said the trains involved in the collision had no connection with it.
"It is clarified that this unfortunate incident occurred in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, involving a trolley used in the local transportation system during the construction of a hydroelectric project tunnel. The train referred to in the news reports is not an Indian Railways train, but a transportation system being used locally by the project team," the government entity said in a statement.
According to officials, rail-like vehicles are used to transport workers, employees, and materials for construction work inside the tunnel.
The project, being built between Helang and Pipalkoti on the Alaknanda River, will generate 444 megawatts of electricity through four turbines. The project is targeted for completion by next year.
