Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen wins 4th title of the season, claims Scottish Open
Glasgow: Fast-rising Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen claimed his fourth title in three months, bagging the Scottish Open title with a thrilling win over Brazil's Ygor Coelho in the men's singles summit clash here.
The top-seeded Indian overcame his Brazilian opponent 18-21, 21-18, 21-19 in a 56-minute final on Sunday night.
The 18-year-old from Uttarakhand has now clinched three titles out of the four tournaments that he has played since September -- SaarLorLux Open, Dutch Open, and Belgian International. After losing in the second round of Irish Open, Lakshya made amends this week and dished out some superb performances right from the start.
The Indian began his campaign with a straight-game win over Austria's Luka Wraber, before defeating compatriot Kiran George to reach the quarterfinals. The world no.41 Indian then recorded another straight-game win over sixth-seed Brian Yang before seeing off France's Christo Popov in the semifinals.
After this win, Lakshya will break into the top-40 in the BWF rankings and inch closer to a direct qualification in the top grade 2 events.
Lakshya thus joined fellow Indians Anand Pawar (2010 and 2012), Arvind Bhatt (2004) and Pullela Gopichand (1999) in winning the Scottish Open title.
During the final, Lakshya had fallen behind in the opening game but he managed to turn the tables and grab a 10-8 lead. Coelho, however, reeled off six straight points to move to a 14-10 lead. The Indian kept breathing down his opponent's neck but Coelho ensured he had the bragging rights after the opening game.
Stung by the reversal, Lakshya came out firing in the second round and jumped to a 7-0 lead in the second game. The Brazilian slowly clawed back at 17-17 but Lakshya managed to bounce back into the contest.
The decider turned out to be an evenly-fought contest and both the shuttlers battled hard to gain the lead. Coelho enjoyed an 11-8 advantage at the break but a gritty Lakshya kept drawing parity and eventually had the last laugh. PTI
Lakshya will now play at the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament at Lucknow starting Tuesday.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
