Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar's coach Ramakant Achrekar dies in Mumbai
Mumbai, Jan 2: Ramakant Achrekar, the celebrated cricket coach credited for discovering Sachin Tendulkar, died Wednesday.
He was 87 and, according to a family member, had been battling old age-related ailments for the past few days.
"He (Achrekar Sir) is no more with us. He passed away this evening," his kin Rashmi Dalvi told PTI over phone.
Achrekar competed in just one first-class match in his playing career but discovered and shaped the biggest batsman in international cricket after Sir Donald Bradman on Tendulkar.
Tendulkar, who is now retired, owns almost all the batting records that were there for the taking in the game, including the highest runs in Tests (15,921) and ODIs (18,426).
Achrekar is best known for being his childhood coach and has always been acknowledged by the celebrated right-hander for the role he played in shaping his career as a child.
Tendulkar was coached by Achrekar at the Shivaji Park here.
"Sir did not say well-played to me ever, (but) I knew (when) Sir has taken me to have bhel puri or pani-puri, Sir is happy, I have done something nice on the field," Tendulkar had said last year at an event while recalling Achrekar's contribution in making him the cricketer he became.
Achrekar was bestowed the Padma Shri award in 2010.
Besides Tendulkar, he also coached some prominent players in Vinod Kambli, Pravin Amre, Sameer Dighe and Balwinder Singh Sandhu.
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First direct US-Venezuela commercial flight in 7 years to land in Caracas
Caracas (Venezuela) (AP): The first direct commercial flight between the United States and Venezuela is scheduled to land on Thursday in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, seven years after the US Department of Homeland Security ordered an indefinite suspension, citing security concerns.
The resumption of a commercial flight between the two countries comes in the wake of the US capture of Nicolás Maduro in a stunning nighttime raid on his residence in Caracas, Venezuela's capital, in early January.
It also comes a month after the US formally reopened its embassy in Caracas following the restoration of full diplomatic relations with the South American country.
Flight AA3599 operated by Envoy Air, a subsidiary of American Airlines, was scheduled to depart from Miami at 10:16 a.m. local time and arrive three hours later in the Venezuelan capital, returning to Florida later in the afternoon.
Earlier, the airline said a second daily flight between Miami and Caracas will start on May 21.
In late January, US President Donald Trump said he informed Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez that he would open up all commercial airspace over Venezuela, allowing Americans to visit.
“American citizens will be very shortly able to go to Venezuela, and they'll be safe there,” Trump said at the time.
The flights mark the resumption of nonstop travel between the US and Venezuela for the first time since diplomatic ties were severed in 2019. For the past seven years, passengers have relied on international airlines and indirect routes through neighbouring Latin American countries.
In January, when the airline announced the resumption of flights it said it would give customers the opportunity to reunite with families and pursue new business opportunities.
American Airlines was the last US airline flying to Venezuela. It suspended flights in 2019 between Miami and Caracas, as well as flights to the oil hub city of Maracaibo. Delta and United Airlines pulled out in 2017 amid a political crisis that forced millions to flee the country.
