Those who want medals, can buy them for ₹15: Bajrang Punia after Vinesh Phogat loses Olympic appeal
New Delhi: Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Bajrang Punia took to social media on Wednesday to express his support for wrestler Vinesh Phogat after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) dismissed her appeal for a joint silver medal. Phogat was disqualified after missing the 50kg weight limit by 100 grams before her gold medal bout at the Games.
Punia praised Phogat, calling her the "Kohinoor of the country" and reaffirming her status as a national pride. “I believe your medal was snatched away in this darkness, You are shining like a diamond in the whole world today. The pride of world champion Hindustan Rustam-e-Hind Vinesh Phogat you are the Kohinoor of the country. The world is cheering your name everywhere,” he wrote on X (formerly called Twitter).
In his post, Punia also took a swipe at the former Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh for his alleged comment that protesting wrestlers should return their prize money, as medals are "only worth 15 rupees." “Those who want medals, can buy them for Rs 15 each," Punia added.
Punia, along with Phogat and fellow Olympic medalist Sakshi Malik, led protests last year against Singh for alleged sexual harassment of female wrestlers during his tenure. Punia had earlier criticised Singh's purported remark, stating that the medal Singh demeaned by saying it was worth just 15 rupees had been "earned after 15 years of toil." Malik highlighted that they had sacrificed everything for it and added that it was a shame the country’s athletes were witnessing such dark days.
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Andhra to be developed as knowledge, creator economy hub: CM Naidu
New Delhi/Amaravati (PTI): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Friday said the state is taking steps to transform itself into a knowledge and creator economy hub with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and quantum technology.
He noted that Andhra Pradesh has abundant tech-driven youth and the government is formulating plans to train them in futuristic technologies with support from global technology firms.
"Our goal is to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge hub by focusing on AI, quantum computing, data centres, drone cities and space cities. The youth will remain our biggest asset over the next 25 years, and we seek global partnerships to scale up the creator economy," said Naidu during his interactions at the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in Delhi.
Naidu, who participated in the summit in the national capital, also held meetings with several global technology leaders and industrialists to explore collaborations in artificial intelligence, clean energy and innovation ecosystems.
He met Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, Autodesk AI Head Mike Haley, Aramco India Director Abdul Rehman AiThukair, LEGO Education Vice President Tom Hall, Aadhaar Founder and CTO Srikanth Nadhamuni, Khosla Ventures Managing Partner Vinod Khosla and others at the AP Pavilion.
The chief minister also held discussions with Saudi Aramco representatives on clean energy projects, including solar initiatives, and invited the company to expand operations in Andhra Pradesh, stating that the state is highly suitable for green energy production.
He sought support from NVIDIA Vice President Callista Redmond for establishing AI Living Labs and proposed partnerships through the Ratan Tata Innovation Hub to promote youth innovation, including collaborations with IIT Tirupati and Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati under the Andhra Pradesh Future Innovation and Research for Science and Technology (AP FIRST) initiative.
Naidu urged Autodesk leadership to support the development of Global Capability Centres in design engineering and requested the establishment of an Innovation Academy in Amaravati aligned with quantum technology, besides proposing AI and robotics learning labs in partnership with LEGO Education.
He also discussed AI-driven smart governance solutions with Quantela Inc Chairman Sridhar Gadhi, while World Bank Group Digital AI Regional Director Mahesh Uttamchandani met Naidu on the sidelines of the summit.
Following the meetings, Naidu visited various exhibition stalls at the summit, including those of NVIDIA, Tata, Intel and Microsoft, and reviewed AI applications across agriculture, healthcare and industry.
