Paddler Swastika wins bronze at Hong Kong Open
New Delhi, Aug 6 : Young Swastika Ghosh annexed a medal in the Hang Seng Hong Kong Junior and Cadet Open table tennis meet, claiming the bronze in the junior girls doubles along with Singapores Jingyi Zhou.
The pair began on a high note, beating their Taipei opponents Pei-Ling Su and Yu-Chin Tsai in the round-of-16, according to the official statement issued on Monday.
They won 3-1 to progress to the next round. Swastika starred in the quarters too, overcoming the Chinese duo of Binyue Zhang and Yi Chen with a similar score.
The combination of Li Lin Jassy Tan of Singapore and Ruei Ling Wen of Taipei, however, proved to be too strong for them in the semi-finals as they clinched the final game and won 3-2.
In the Junior boys' doubles category, the combination of Raegan Alberquerque and Payas Jain got through to the pre-quarters but couldn't continue their momentum as they lost to the Thai pair of Yanapong Panagitgun and Supakron Pankhaoyoy.
In the junior boys' singles category, even though Raegan made it to the main draw, his journey was short-lived as he couldn't get past local lad Pak Hei Cheng as he went down with a narrow 3-4 margin.
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TN Assembly elections: Eight-month pregnant homemaker wins Thiru Vi Ka Nagar seat for TVK
Chennai (PTI): Before giving birth, she had already delivered a mandate—a symbol of hope for Thiru Vi Ka Nagar.
Echoing Delhi’s 2013 “common citizen” political churn associated with the rise of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), an eight-month-pregnant homemaker, M R Pallavi, has been elected as an MLA from Chennai’s Thiru Vi Ka Nagar constituency, emerging as one of the notable first-time faces of the Vijay-led TVK in the recently held Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
In the narrow lanes of Thiru Vi Ka Nagar, a steady stream of media personnel has been making their way to Pallavi’s residence—a scene reminiscent of the result day in Delhi when journalists thronged the modest home of Rakhi Birla, who had won from Mangolpuri on an AAP ticket.
Pallavi, 36, a homemaker educated up to class XII, defeated the DMK candidate K S Ravichandran by a margin of 22,333 votes in the reserved Thiru Vi Ka Nagar Assembly constituency.
Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam emerged as the single largest party by winning 108 seats, while DMK and AIADMK got 59 and 47, respectively.
Pallavi’s victory has drawn attention due to her personal circumstances. She campaigned extensively while eight months pregnant, going door-to-door to reach voters.
According to local accounts, she even fainted once during the campaign but continued her outreach.
She has not spoken to the media following her victory, as doctors have advised her to rest. Her husband, Rajesh, briefly recounted her campaign efforts.
A self-professed admirer of actor-turned-politician Vijay, Pallavi joined TVK soon after its formation and is now among its first-time legislators.
Doctors have advised her to be hospitalised around May 20, as she is expecting her second child. Ahead of that, voters in Thiru Vi Ka Nagar have entrusted her with representing them in the state Assembly.
Political observers say the rise of candidates like Pallavi signals a possible shift in Tamil Nadu’s political landscape, with voters backing a new party and candidates from non-traditional backgrounds.
