Sumit Nagal hammered out of Tokyo Olympics by world number two Medvedev
Tokyo: Sumit Nagal was blown away by world number two Daniil Medvedev's thunderous strokes and serves in the men's singles second round as India's tennis challenge all but ended at the Tokyo Games, here on Monday.
The Russian did not even need his 'A' game as he cruised to a 6-2 6-1 win in just 66 minutes against 160th ranked Nagal at court 1 of the Ariake Tennis Centre.
The gap between a world class Medvedev and Nagal, who is still struggling to play the ATP Tour events regularly, was pretty clear.
The Australian Open runner-up easily controlled the game even as Nagal tried hard.
Nagal had earned his moment under spotlight when he took a set off Swiss great Roger Federer at the 2019 US Open on his Grand Slam debut.
Nagal began by dropping his serve in the very first game of the match when he netted a backhand and match ended when his forehand sailed over the baseline on match point while serving to stay in the contest.
Medvedev's powerful strokes from the baseline overwhelmed Nagal, whose game was not enough to trouble a much superior opponent.
The Indian managed to hit a few winners but they were very few. The match ended when Nagal dropped his serve in the seventh by hitting a forehand long.
Nagal had won his first round against Uzbekistan Denis Istomin for India's first men's singles win at Olympics in 25 years. Sania Mirza and Ankita Raina were knocked out of the women's doubles first round after dominating the contest on Sunday.
It is highly unlikely that India will be able to field a team in mixed event, the entries for which will be announced on Tuesday.
The cut is likely to be around 50 and combined ranking of the Indian players Nagal (144) and Mirza (9) is 153.
India could not field a men's doubles team due to Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan's low combined rank of 113.
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Farmers' agitation: SC asks high-powered committee to submit recommendations
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Friday asked a high-powered committee, which was constituted to amicably resolve the grievances of the farmers who held an agitation at the Shambhu border between Punjab and Haryana in 2024, to submit its report-cum-recommendations.
The farmers were protesting over a plethora of demands, including a legal guarantee on the minimum support price (MSP) for their produce.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that the matter involving the blockade of highways, particularly at the Shambhu border, stands resolved and vehicles are plying there without any obstruction.
"It seems to us that the matter is now ripe to close these proceedings. This can be done after obtaining a report from the high-powered committee containing their brief suggestions, which can then be forwarded to the appropriate authorities," the bench said.
"We impress upon the committee to submit its report-cum-recommendations...," it added.
The bench said the report-cum-recommendations should be in a sealed cover and the committee would not divulge its content in the public domain until further orders of the court.
The five-member high-powered committee is headed by former Punjab and Haryana High Court judge Nawab Singh.
In September 2024, observing that the farmers' protest should not be politicised, the apex court constituted the committee to amicably resolve their grievances.
The top court had said the issues facing the farmers should not be politicised and be considered by the committee in a phased manner.
The court had passed the order while hearing the Haryana government's plea challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court's March 2024 order, asking it to remove within a week the barricades erected at the Shambhu border, near Ambala, where the protesting farmers were camping since February 13, 2024.
The Haryana government had set up barricades on the Ambala-New Delhi national highway in February 2024, after the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (Non-Political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha announced that the farmers would march to Delhi in support of their demands.
