State-level Special Olympics kicks off in Mangaluru
Mangaluru: The state-level 'Special Olympics India Karnataka-2018-19' was inaugurated by Lions 317D District Governor K Devdas Bhandari at the Mangala Stadium in the city.
The Lions 317 D district, in association with the State Level Special Olympics Bharat Karnataka, has organized competitions in the field of good physical strength and low physical strength for differently abled children.
"450 athletes of special schools from various districts of the state, and 100 sports coaches are participating in the sports events. This special Olympics has been organized to encourage special children by providing them opportunities instead of giving compensation," Devdas Bhandari said.
Speaking at the occasion, Kumuda, director of Special Olympics at the International Olympics Abu Dhabi, said, "The 50th anniversary of the International Olympic Games Special Olympics will be held in Abu Dhabi on next March 12 to 22. 20 million children from 250 countries will participate in the event.
Twenty special athletes and five coaches have been selected from Karnataka to participate in the Abu Dhabi event. Already, two round of preliminary matches have been played, Kumuda explained.
Lions Vishwanath Shetty presided over the inauguration ceremony. Lions special children division's district organizers Muhammad Ali, Maimuna Muhiuddin, Lions cabinet's Madhvaraj Kalmadi, Shambhavi, Gunwati Ramesh, Kasturi Hegde, Krishna Kumari S. Alva, Bharathi BM, Indira Shetty, Pallavi Pai, and others were present.
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We were never really close friends: Neeraj Chopra on Arshad Nadeem
Doha, May 15 (PTI): Seeking to set the record straight, star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Thursday clarified that he and Arshad Nadeem were never really close friends and said "things won't be the same" after the recent India-Pakistan conflict.
In the aftermath of last month's Pahalgam terror attack, the decorated athlete and his family were bombarded with abuse on social media for inviting Pakistan's Nadeem to the now-postponed NC Classic in Bengaluru.
On the eve of the Diamond League here, the two-time Olympic medallist and reigning world champion put things in perspective when asked about his off-field equation with Nadeem, who won the gold medal in the Paris Games last year after the Indian finished at the top of the podium in the Tokyo edition in 2021..
"First I would like to clarify that I don't have very strong relationship (with Nadeem), we were never really close friends or something. But, because of this (tensions on the Indo-Pak border), it will not be like before. But if someone talks to me respectfully I reciprocate the respect," Chopra told reporters during a press conference.
"Yes, as an athlete we have to talk, I have some good friends from the athlete community from all round the world, not only in javelin throw, but also other events. If somebody talks to me respectfully, I will also talk to him with full respect..
"Javelin is a very small community and everyone is competing for their country and everyone wants to give their best.".
The Paris Games silver-winning star from Haryana had earlier said he was deeply hurt to see his and his family's integrity being questioned in abusive social media posts after an invitation was extended to Nadeem to compete in the tournament held in his honour.
Chopra had then clarified that invites for NC Classic were sent out a day before the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people, mostly tourists, were killed by terrorists with links to Pakistan..
