Chirag-Satwik stuns World No 3, Praneeth lose opener in Tokyo Olympics
Tokyo: Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty dished out a sensational show to beat the world no. 3 pair of Yang Lee and Chi-Lin Wang of Chinese Taipei in a thrilling group A match to make a superb start to their maiden Olympic campaign here on Saturday.
Chirag and Satwik, world no. 10, notched up a stunning 21-16 16-21 27-25 win over third seeds Lee and Wang, who had claimed back-to-back titles at the Yonex Thailand Open, Toyota Thailand Open and BWF World Tour Finals earlier this year.
However, 13th seeded B Sai Praneeth suffered a demoralising 17-21 15-21 loss to world number 47 Misha Zilberman of Israel in a 41-minute men's singles group D match.
Satwik and Chirag matched their fancied rivals both in attack and defence during the one hour and six minute contest, which turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller.
The Indian duo ran-up a 7-2 lead early on, before entering the break at 11-7. Satwik and Chirag continued to move ahead and eventually grabbed the opening game.
In the second game, it was Lee and Wang who converted most of the opportunities but the Indian duo managed to keep breathing down their neck at 8-10. After the interval, the Chinese duo changed gears and soon bounced back into the contest.
In the decider, the Indian pair enjoyed a slender 2-0 lead, which was quickly erased by their rivals. The two pairs moved neck-and-neck from there on till 10-10.
A net error by Satwik allowed the Chinese Taipei pair to held a one-point lead at the break.
Satwik and Chirag trailed 11-13 but two successive points helped them draw parity.
Errors crept in for the Indians as their opponents led 17-14. A powerful smash was followed by a poor serve by Chirag but Satwik unleashed a smash to make it 15-18.
A smash by Satwik and a superb serve and a follow-up body return by Chirag helped the Indian duo draw parity. Lee and Wang then erred at the net as it was advantage India.
The Chinese Taipei duo then made it 20-20 before sending the shuttle long as match points exchanged hands frequently with both the pairs looking to outwit each other.
Two lucky net chords helped the Chinese pair make it 24-24, before they grabbed a match point. But they failed to convert it and then with the shuttle going long, India once again had another match point.
Chirag and Satwik grabbed it this time when their opponent goofed up at the forecourt. Earlier, Praneeth jeopardised his qualification to the knockout stage after going down to Zilberman.
Praneeth, a 2019 World Championship bronze medallist and now ranked 15th, will next face world number 29 Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands.
In the opening game, Praneeth raced to a 8-4 lead early on but soon Zilberman reeled off five straight points to turn the table as the Indian committed a series of unforced errors.
The Indian entered the break with a one-point advantage after Zilberman made an error.
Praneeth lacked in his execution, which allowed Zilberman to lead 15-13. The Israeli shuttler dominated the proceedings next to zoom to 19-14 as the Indian miscued a few shots.
A cross-court smash helped Zilberman grab six game points and he sealed it on his fourth attempt. A fired-up Zilberman continued to look good with Praneeth sending the first two shuttles long. The Israeli soon led 8-5.
Zilberman continued to dictate terms in the rallies as Praneeth trailed 7-11 at the interval. Praneeth couldn't match the pace of his opponent, who seemed to be playing at a different level.
Zilberman eventually grabbed eight match points after Praneeth went long again and sealed the match with a smash.
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Bondi Beach shooting suspect conducted firearms training with his father, Australian police say
Melbourne (AP): A man accused of killing 15 people at Sydney's Bondi Beach conducted firearms training in an area of New South Wales state outside of Sydney with his father, Australian police documents released on Monday allege.
The men recorded a video about their justification for the meticulously planned attack, according to a police statement of facts that was made public following Naveed Akram's video court appearance Monday from a Sydney hospital where he has been treated for an abdominal injury.
Officers wounded Akram at the scene of the Dec. 14 shooting and killed his father, 50-year-old Sajid Akram.
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The New South Wales state government confirmed Naveed Akram was transferred on Monday from a hospital to a prison. Neither facility was identified by authorities.
The statement alleges the 24-year-old and his father began their attack by throwing four improvised explosive devices toward a crowd celebrating an annual Jewish event at Bondi Beach, but the devices failed to explode.
Police described the devices as three aluminium pipe bombs and a tennis ball bomb containing an explosive, black powder and steel ball bearings. None detonated, but police described them as “viable” IEDs.
Authorities have charged Akram with 59 offences, including 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of causing harm with intent to murder in relation to the wounded survivors and one count of committing a terrorist act.
The antisemitic attack at the start of the eight-day Hanukkah celebration was Australia's worst mass shooting since a lone gunman killed 35 people in Tasmania state in 1996.
The New South Wales government introduced draft laws to Parliament on Monday that Premier Chris Minns said would become the toughest in Australia.
The new restrictions would include making Australian citizenship a condition of qualifying for a firearms license. That would have excluded Sajid Akram, who was an Indian citizen with a permanent resident visa.
Sajid Akram also legally owned six rifles and shotguns. A new legal limit for recreational shooters would be a maximum of four guns.
Police said a video found on Naveed Akram's phone shows him with his father "reciting their political and religious views and appear to summarise their justification for the Bondi terrorist attack.”
The men are seen in the video “condemning the acts of Zionists” while they also “adhere to a religiously motivated ideology linked to the Islamic State,” police said.
Video shot in October shows them “firing shotguns and moving in a tactical manner” on grassland surrounded by trees, police said.
“There is evidence that the Accused and his father meticulously planned this terrorist attack for many months,” police allege.
