New Delhi (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed as "historic achievement" Indian athletes winning the highest-ever total of 107 medals at the Asian Games, and said the unwavering determination and hard work of the players have made the nation proud.

Indian athletes touched the magical figure of 107 medals at the Asian Games with their blood, sweat and toil over the last fortnight.

In a post on X, Modi said, "What a historic achievement for India at the Asian Games! The entire nation is overjoyed that our incredible athletes have brought home the highest ever total of 107 medals, the best ever performance in the last 60 years."

The unwavering determination, relentless spirit and hard work of our players have made the nation proud, he said.

"Their victories have given us moments to remember, inspired us all and have reaffirmed our commitment to excellence," Modi said.

With India concluding its engagements at the Games on Saturday, the tally of 107 medals will remain etched in the collective memory of the nation until the athletes decide to reset it in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan in 2026.

India's final tally in Hangzhou stood at 28 gold, 38 silver and 41 bronze, a quantum leap from the 70 medals the contingent bagged at Jakarta in 2018.

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Chennai: The Madras High Court has set aside a Tamil Nadu government order restricting maternity leave for a third pregnancy to 12 weeks, holding the move to be contrary to established legal principles.

A division bench comprising Justices R Suresh Kumar and N Senthil Kumar ruled that there was no justification to treat third pregnancies differently from the first two, observing that the physical and medical requirements of childbirth remain the same irrespective of the number of pregnancies, as reported by The News Minute.

According to a report published by Live Law, the court was hearing a petition filed by Shayee Nisha, a staff member of the district judiciary in Villupuram, whose request for maternity leave from February 2026 to February 2027 had been curtailed to three months by authorities citing the March 13, 2026 government order.

Quashing the decision of the Principal District Judge and related directions asking her to resume duty, the bench directed that she be granted maternity leave on par with that provided for earlier pregnancies, allowing up to 365 days.

The court noted that both the Supreme Court of India and earlier rulings of the High Court had consistently held that maternity benefits cannot be denied for a third child. Holding the restriction to be unsustainable, the court directed authorities to process maternity leave applications without discrimination based on the number of pregnancies.

It also pointed out that a similar issue had been addressed by a division bench earlier this year, which had disapproved denial of maternity leave in such cases and directed that its ruling be circulated among judicial officers. Despite this, the state issued the impugned order, the bench observed.