Denmark's Viktor Axelsen wins badminton men's singles gold, defending his Olympic title
Paris (AP/PTI): Viktor Axelsen is once again Olympic badminton champion. The 30-year-old from Denmark defended his men’s singles title Monday by beating Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand for the gold medal. Axelsen defeated Vitidsarn 21-11, 21-11 in the final in just 52 minutes.
Axelsen celebrated by running around the court and waving the red-and-white Danish flag over his head. Fans in the stands chanted, “Viktor! Viktor!”
Axelsen went over to a young fan and handed over his racket while receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.
“I feel like I’m playing at home,” Axelsen said. “So many red and white colors, so many Danish people here supporting me. ... This support means a lot. I’m just on the moon right now.”
Axelsen became the first European to win back-to-back badminton singles gold at the Olympics. Like in Tokyo three years ago, his medal in Paris is the only one earned by a European in the sport.
“This is an amazing achievement for him, the second time in a row as Olympic champion,” said Denmark King Frederik X. “It’s unbelievable. The way he mastered the match, this is something that makes us proud in Denmark, on behalf of badminton in Denmark — but also the entire country.”
Asked if he would go for a three-peat at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, Axelsen left open the possibility.
“If I’m still competitive and I can still play well in these big tournaments and I can win and do very well, then why not?” he said. “I can’t take this life for granted. If my family is happy, if we are happy as a family and my daughters can still see their daddy, then why not? I’m living my dream, and I have my family here. Let’s see. I would love to play in LA.”
In Paris, China won five badminton medals; two silvers and three bronze. South Korea, Japan and Malaysia had two apiece.
Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia beat Lakshya Sen of India for bronze in the men’s competition. An Se-young of South Korea had a 21-13, 21-16 win over He Bingjiao of China for the women’s singles title.
“My golden age is not here yet because I am still young,” said An, who is 22. “I will still have more experiences and I will still be able to show even better games.”
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Traffic fraud: Fake 'no-entry' sticker racket busted in Delhi, mastermind among 3 held
New Delhi (PTI): Police here have busted a crime syndicate involved in traffic fraud and extortion, arresting three people including the alleged mastermind who sold fake stickers to help commercial vehicles bypass no-entry restrictions, an official said on Saturday.
The police said they dismantled a third organised syndicate linked to traffic-related frauds, with the arrest of Rinku Rana alias Bhushan, his associate Sonu Sharma and Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, who was also connected to another extortion syndicate.
According to the police, Rinku Rana was running a well-organised network that facilitated the movement of commercial goods vehicles during restricted hours by selling fake 'marka' or stickers for Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 per vehicle every month. The stickers were falsely projected as authorisation to evade traffic challans.
During raids, the police recovered Rs 31 lakh in cash, property documents worth several crores of rupees, over 500 fake stickers and six mobile phones allegedly used to operate the syndicate.
The crackdown followed a complaint filed by a traffic police officer in April this year after a commercial vehicle tried to evade checking by producing a fake sticker claiming exemption from enforcement action.
Investigation revealed that social media groups were being used to coordinate the illegal movement of vehicles and alert drivers about traffic police checkpoints, police said.
"A parallel system was being run to cheat drivers and vehicle owners while undermining traffic enforcement. On the basis of evidence, provisions related to organised crime under the BNS were invoked," a senior police officer said.
Sonu Sharma, the police said, managed social media groups through which stickers were sold and real-time alerts were circulated regarding traffic police movement. He also acted as a link between Rana and drivers operating in the field.
In a related development, Mukesh Kumar alias Pakodi, an associate of Rajkumar alias Raju Meena, who was earlier arrested under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), was also apprehended.
Mukesh allegedly helped extort money from transporters and was involved in blackmailing traffic police personnel by recording enforcement actions, the police said.
Investigators alleged the syndicate led by Rajkumar deployed drivers to deliberately violate traffic rules and secretly record police officials during challans, later using manipulated videos to extort money under threat of false allegations.
The police said that in total, eight accused belonging to three different organised crime syndicates linked to traffic frauds and extortion have been arrested so far.
Further investigation is underway to trace the remaining members, conduct financial probes, and analyse digital evidence recovered during the raids, officials added.
