Sindhu out of Thailand Open, loses to Yamaguchi in quarterfinals
Bangkok (PTI): Indian badminton ace PV Sindhu squandered a one-game advantage to go down fighting to top seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open tournament here on Friday.
Sindhu lost 21-19, 18-21, 15-21 to world number three Yamaguchi in the women's singles quarterfinal match that lasted just over one hour in the USD 500,000 Super 500 tournament.
The two-time Olympic medallist and sixth seed Sindhu had reached the quarterfinals after beating Denmark's Amalie Schulz 21-13, 21-15 on Thursday.
Lakshya Sen, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, and the duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will feature in the men's singles and men's doubles quarterfinals respectively later in the day.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Private bus operators in Karnataka to hike fares by 20-30 pc after fuel price rise
Bengaluru (PTI): In the wake of the hike in fuel prices, private bus operators have decided to increase fares by 20-30 per cent, depending on the route, effective from Friday midnight.
They have also called for government subsidies, a reduction in cess, and lower road taxes to improve the situation.
"The situation for bus owners in the state is already distressing due to high road tax and the impact of the Shakti scheme (free bus travel for women in government buses). On top of this, fuel prices have increased," Karnataka State Bus Owners’ Association President S Nataraj Sharma said.
"This will impose a burden of Rs 15,000 per vehicle per month on bus owners. If an owner has three buses, the burden will be Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 per month," he added.
ALSO READ: 'Aurangzebi govt': BJP slams Cong-led Karnataka dispensation over saffron shawl ban in schools
Speaking to reporters, he said the situation has made it inevitable for owners to increase fares by 20-30 per cent, depending on the route, under current conditions.
The increase may be roughly Rs 200 per seat, he added.
"For example, the current bus fare from Bengaluru to Belagavi is around Rs 1,000–Rs 1,200, which is likely to rise to Rs 1,350–Rs 1,400. Similarly, fares from Bengaluru to Mangaluru or Udupi currently range from Rs 900–Rs 1,000 and are expected to go up to Rs 1,100–Rs 1,200," he said.
Petrol and diesel prices were each hiked by Rs 3 per litre on Friday, the first rate increase in more than four years, amid mounting losses for fuel retailers due to surging global crude prices in the wake of the West Asia conflict.
The increase comes a couple of weeks after the Assembly elections concluded in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, and Puducherry.
