Sania makes winning return to WTA circuit, enters women's doubles QFs of Hobart International
Hobart: Indian tennis ace Sania Mirza made a winning return to the WTA circuit by advancing to the women's doubles quarterfinals of the Hobart International Tournament here on Tuesday.
Returning to the court after two years, Sania and her Ukrainian partner Nadia Kichenok prevailed 2-6 7-6 (3) 10-3 over Oksana Kalashnikova of Georgia and Japan's Miyu Kato in a contest lasting one hour and 41 minutes.
The Indo-Ukrainian pair will next be up against Americans Vania King and Christina McHale.
The US combination upstaged fourth-seeded Spainish duo of Georgina Garcia Perez and Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-2 7-5 in a round of 16 clash.
During her two years away from the game, the 33-year-old Sania battled injury breakdowns before taking a formal break to give birth to her son Izhaan.
The 33-year-old last played at China Open in October 2017.
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Maharashtra sets up state vaccination task force to strengthen immunisation programme
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has set up a State Vaccination Task Force to strengthen the regular immunisation programme and review the progress of related campaigns, a health department official said on Monday.
The State Vaccination Task Force will comprise at least 29 members and will be headed by the administrative head of the health department, he informed.
The government has also constituted separate district-level and municipal vaccination task forces to improve implementation and address challenges at the grassroots level, he said.
Municipal task forces, chaired by respective civic commissioners, have been constituted in view of the vast urban population in Maharashtra and the role of civic bodies in implementing different health programmes.
The district-level task forces will function under the chairmanship of collectors.
"Complete immunisation of children at the appropriate age is an extremely simple, cost-effective and highly effective measure to reduce child mortality and the prevalence of diseases among kids. Immunisation is a powerful tool for reducing illness in children," maintained the official.
To ensure full vaccination of all children, the state government implements various campaigns from time to time as per the central government guidelines, he pointed out.
"Active participation and cooperation of other relevant government departments are essential (in making these campaigns successful)," according to the official.
The state-level body will review the regular immunisation programme, associated campaigns and vaccine-preventable diseases in detail. It will also conduct focused assessments of high-risk districts and municipal corporations, including vacancies at district, municipal and sub-district levels, availability of cold chain equipment, resource gaps and training requirements, he noted.
The state task force will review allocation and utilisation of funds for immunisation and ensure timely action by officers concerned based on reports from district and municipal task forces and state-level monitoring mechanisms, the official said.
It will also ensure active coordination and participation of other government departments in immunisation drives, while district and municipal task forces will carry out similar functions at their respective levels, the official added.
