Satwik-Chirag duo in finals of French Open Super 750 event
Paris: The Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty continued their dream run, sailing into the finals of the French Open Super 750 with a straight game win over Japan's Hiroyuki Endo and Yuta Watanabe here.
Satwik and Chirag, who had won their maiden Super 500 title at the Thailand Open in August, notched up a 21-11 25-23 win over the fifth seeded Japanese combination in a 56-minute semifinal on Saturday.
The duo's effort is commendable as this is the first time an Indian men's doubles pair has reached a World Tour 750 final.
Satwik and Chirag had come into the match with a 0-2 head-to-head record against the Japanese combination, having lost to them at the 2018 Indonesia Open and 2017 World Championship.
The Indian pair took the first game easily in just 15 minutes, using the smash to good effect, but Satwik and Chirag were under a bit of pressure early in the second game.
However, they came back strongly to lead 11-8 at the mid-break. This was after the Japanese had taken a 8-6 lead owing to a few errors from the racquet of Satwik.
The Japanese pair fought hard in a dramatic second game and saved multiple match points, but the determined Indian duo eventually emerged victorious with their brilliant play that was a mix of attack and defence, a far cry from the one-dimensional approach that punctuated their game in the past.
They are the only remaining Indian challenge at the USD 7,00,000 event following the defeat of reigning world champion and Olympic silver medallist P V Sindhu and Olympic bronze winner Saina Nehwal at the quarterfinals stage.
The world number 11 Indian pair will next take on top seeded Indonesian duo of Marcus Gideon and Kevin Sukamuljo in the summit clash on Sunday.
They reached their first ever World Tour Super 750 quarterfinal in Pairs in 2017, qualified for the semifinals last year and did even better this time around.
The Badminton Association of India (BAI) tweeted, "The duo stamped the mark of CLASS as they countered the current WR6 pair with absolute grit and dominance to win the match 21-11 25-23 and enter the finals of the #FresnchOpenSuper750."
The Sports Authority of India (SAI) wished the pair luck ahead of the grand finale.
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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.
