Navy Chief visiting Bangladesh
New Delhi, June 24: Navy chief, Admiral Sunil Lanba is on a "goodwill visit" to Bangladesh from June 24 to 29 to consolidate bilateral defence relations and to explore new avenues for naval cooperation, an official statement said on Sunday.
During the visit, Lanba will hold discussions with the chiefs of the three armed forces of Bangladesh besides government and military officials, as per the Defence ministry statement.
He is also scheduled to call on President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
"In addition to Dhaka, the Admiral is also scheduled to proceed to Chittagong and Khulna where he will be visiting various Bangladesh Naval establishments," the statement said.
Lanba is also scheduled to inaugurate the first edition of Indian Navy - Bangladesh Navy Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) which is being instituted as an annual feature between the navies of both countries.
"The commencement of CORPAT is major step towards enhanced operational interaction between both navies.
"Naval cooperation between India and Bangladesh has been traditionally strong, encompassing a wide span which includes operational interactions through port calls, passage exercises along with capacity building, capability enhancement and training initiatives," it said.
Bangladesh Navy was also the Chair of Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS), launched by the Indian Navy in 2008, from 2016 to 2018.
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Lakshya stuns Li Shi to enter All England semifinals
Birmingham (PTI): Lakshya Sen continued his dream run and kept India's hopes afloat at the All England Open, stunning China's world No. 6 Li Shi Feng in straight games to storm into the semifinals here.
The world No. 12 Indian, who was a finalist here in 2022, ousted Li 21-13, 21-16 in the men’s singles quarterfinal that lasted an hour at the Utilita Arena on Friday.
The win also served as a sweet revenge for Lakshya, who had lost to the same opponent at the quarterfinal stage of the 2025 edition.
Lakshya dominated the opening game and built a comfortable lead before Li attempted a comeback midway through.
The Indian, however, stepped up his attack to close out the game convincingly.
The second game saw a closer contest with both the players trading points in the early exchanges.
Lakshya held a slender lead at the mid-game interval and then pulled away in the closing stages to seal the match.
The victory also improved Lakshya's head-to-head record against Li Shi Feng to eight wins in 15 matches.
Lakshya, the top-ranked Indian badminton player who also made the semifinals here in 2024, is now the only Indian left in the fray this year.
He had earlier stunned world No. 1 and defending champion Shi Yuqi in the opening round.
He will face Canada’s world No. 16 Victor Lai in the semifinals.
The other Indian players were knocked out earlier in the week. The men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty lost in the first round, while Malvika Bansod and Unnati Hooda also bowed out in the opening round of women’s singles.
Two-time Olympian PV Sindhu had withdrawn from the tournament after failing to reach Birmingham in time due to travel disruptions in the Middle East, while the mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila retired from their match on Thursday.
