Swimmers Nataraj, Prakash finish fifth, seventh
Jakarta, Aug 19: Swimmers Srihari Nataraj and Sajan Prakash finished fifth and seventh in the men's 200m butterfly and 100m backstroke final events respectively at the 18th Asian Games here on Sunday.
Starting in lane 3, Prakash clocked 1:57.75 seconds in 200m butterfly final. Japan's Seto Daiya won the title with a timing of 1:54.53 seconds.
Meanwhile, in the 100m backstroke event, Nataraj clocked 56.19 seconds.
Prakash had earlier qualified as the third fastest swimmer in the heats.
His qualification time of 55.86 was the slowest among the eight finalists.
Earlier Nataraj started in lane six and clocked 55.86 seconds in the heat while compatriot Arvind Mani finished second but failed to qualify to the next round.
Prakash qualified for the final with a time of 1:58.12 seconds.
Prakash was 0.06 seconds behind Nao Horomura of Japan who led the pack.
Saurabh Sangvekar, the other Indian in the fray, crashed out in the 200m freestyle event, clocking 1:54.87 seconds.
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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.
