Danish Open: Vedaant Madhavan adds a shade of gold
New Delhi(PTI): Continuing his splendid run, fast-rising Indian swimmer Vedaant Madhavan added a second medal to his kitty, a gold in the men's 800m freestyle at the Danish Open in Copenhagen.
The 16-year-old bettered his personal best time by a whopping 11:48 to stop the clock at 8:17.28, edging past local swimmer Alexander L Bjorn by 0.10 to stand atop the podium on Sunday night.
While Vedaant's performance was good enough to fetch him a gold at the meet, it is a long way from international standards. USA's Robert Finke had won the gold at the Tokyo Olympics in the event last year with a timing of 7:41.87, while the world record for the event stands at 7:32.12.
However, Vedaant, son of Indian actor R Madhavan, has shown immense improvement. He has bettered his personal best times in all three events he has participated in in the ongoing meet.
He had won the silver medal in the 1500m freestyle event on Friday before bettering his 200m freestyle time to finish 12th overall in the event.
Ace Indian swimmer Sajan Prakash finished fifth in the 'A' final of the men's 100m butterfly with a timing of 54.24, while Tanish George Mathew topped the 'C' final by stopping the clock at 56.44.
The top eight swimmers in the heats qualify for the 'A' final, the next eight for the 'B' followed by the 'C' final.
The 28-year-old Prakash, who is preparing for the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, had won a gold in the 200m butterfly, his pet event, on the opening day.
In the women's event, Shakthi Balakrishnan finished 34 out of 42 swimmers with a time of 2:14.27 in 200m freestyle.
India now has a haul of three medals in the ongoing meet including two golds and a silver.
And So TODAY the winning streak continues.. @VedaantMadhavan gets a GOLD at Denmark open.🙏🙏❤️❤️Pradeep Sir @swimmingfedera1 #ANSAdxb & all of you for the continued blessings . 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/UhNXMostqx
— Ranganathan Madhavan (@ActorMadhavan) April 17, 2022
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Double Olympic medallist Neeraj Chopra ties knot with tennis player Himani Mor
New Delhi: Javelin superstar Neeraj Chopra, one of India's most eligible bachelors, tied the knot with tennis player Himani Mor couple of days back in an intimate ceremony that has taken everyone by surprise.
The 27-year-old Chopra announced the marriage with the 25-year-old Himani, who hails from Haryana's Sonipat, on his social media handles.
"I began a new chapter of my life with my family. Grateful for every blessing that brought us to this moment together. Bound by love, happily ever after," Chopra wrote in a post with the pictures of the marriage ceremony.
Chopra's uncle Bhim told PTI that the marriage took place in the country and the couple has left for honeymoon.
Daughter of Chand Ram, Mor is currently pursuing a Masters Degree in Sports Management (Major) at the Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire. She is an alumni of Delhi's Miranda House where she completed her bachelors degree in Political Science and Physical Education. He has a brother, Himanshu who is also a tennis player.
She participated at the 2017 World University Games in Taipei after competing at the national level for Delhi University. Her school website says she won a gold medal in the World Junior Tennis Championship held in Malaysia in 2016.
"Yes, the marriage took place in India two days back. I can't tell the place where it took place," Bhim told from his village at Khandra near Panipat in Haryana.
"The girl is from Sonipat and she is studying in the US. They have left the country for honeymoon and I am not aware of the places where they are going. We wanted to keep it like that," said Bhim, who stays with the Olympic double medallist at Khandra, when asked about the surprise development.
According to the All India Tennis Association (AITA) website, Himani's carrer best national ranking was 42 in singles and 27 in doubles in 2018. She started playing in 2018 only in AITA events.
Mor did her schooling at Little Angels School in Sonipat.
Amherst College in Massachusetts also lists her as an assistant coach of women's tennis as most major students can do some other job, along with study.
Chopra, who won a gold in Tokyo Olympics and a silver in the Paris Game, was earlier training in South Africa after he roped in world record holder javelin legend Jan Zelezny of Czech Republic.
