Badminton at Olympics: Satwik-Chirag duo faces formidable Chia-Soh in quarterfinals
Paris (PTI): Indian shuttlers Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will look to hit top gear when they cross swords against Tokyo bronze medallist Malaysian combination of Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the men's doubles quarterfinals at the Paris Olympics here on Thursday.
The former world number one pair of Satwik and Chirag, who won both their matches to top Group C, has been pitted against Chia and Soh after a draw of lot here this evening.
The Malaysian pair had finished in the second spot in Group A behind China's world number one Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang.
Chia and Soh once had an overwhelming 8-0 head-to-head record against Satwik and Chirag but the Indians managed to register three straight-game wins over their fancied rivals in the last three meetings.
A win is likely to put the Indians up against top seeds Liang and Wang, who are set to take on Indonesian pair of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto in another quarterfinals.
It has always been an intense match between the Indians and Malaysians, and both are chasing their respective country's maiden badminton gold medal.
The Malaysians are known for their tactical acumen, pinpoint accuracy and high tempo game, and Satwik and Chirag will have to be sharp and get on with their attacking game from the word go.
After suffering many a heartbreaks against their opponents, Satwik and Chirag finally defeated Chia and Soh, the 2022 world champions, at the Indonesia Open super 1000 final last year. The Indians followed it up with victories at the 2022 Asian Games individual event and then at the India Open in January this year.
In the second half of the draw, second-seeded Kim Astrup and Anders Rasmussen of Denmark will take on fourth-seed Koreans Kang Min Hyuk and Seo Seung Jae, while Thailand's Supak Jomkoh and Kedren Kittinupong will square off against Tokyo Games gold winners Lee Yang and Wang Chi-Lin of Chinese Taipei.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
