FIR against Badminton star Lakshya Sen, coach Vimal over age fraud, cheating
Indian badminton star Lakshya Sen, his family and former national coach Vimal Kumar were charged with cheating and age fraud in an FIR filed in Bengaluru.
The FIR, filed on Thursday by M Goviappa Nagaraja, alleged that the 21-year-old reigning Commonwealth Games champion, along with his brother Chirag Sen, had fudged their age to get into playing age-group tournaments since 2010.
The complaint, a copy of which is in possession of PTI, also names Sen's father Dhirendra, a coach with the Sports Authority of India, mother Nirmala and Kumar who has been coaching the duo for more than 10 years.
They have been charged with cheating (Section 420), forgery (468), using a forged document as genuine (471) and acts done by several persons of common intention (34) under the Indian Penal Code.
The Sens, who hail from Uttarakhand, train under Kumar at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru, while the complainant runs another academy in the metropolis.
The complainant alleged that Kumar colluded with Lakshya's parents to forge a birth certificate in 2010. Categorically denying the charges, Kumar told PTI: "It is very annoying. It is cheap stuff. Lakshya has done well and has started training again after a break. It is mentally very disturbing for him."
Currently No. 6 in the world, Lakshya was on Wednesday honoured with the Arjuna Award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He won a World Championship bronze after going down to compatriot Kidambi Srikanth in 2021.
He was also a runner-up in the All England Championships and played a key role in India's historic Thomas Cup triumph earlier this year.
The chief coach of Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, Kumar further said in a statement that the allegations were "baseless, frivolous and made with malicious intent".
"Age verification is the sole prerogative and responsibility of the Badminton Association of India who is sole governing authority for administering the game in India," he said. "All players no matter where they train always represent their respective affiliated state units or the country while participating in any domestic or international tournament."
"My focus over the 30 years as a coach has always been to groom our upcoming youngsters to the best of my ability to bring laurels for our country based on their merit. I therefore deny all these false allegations against me. I would not like to make any further comments in this regard," he added.
As per the complaint, Lakshya's age is 24, while the date of birth (August 16, 2001) registered with the Badminton Association of India makes him three years younger.
His elder brother Chirag, on the other hand, is alleged to be 26, even as his BAI ID makes him 24 (July 22, 1998).
According to the complaint, Lakshya deprived several children from getting access to quality badminton facilities and sponsorships by participating in several tournaments in age group category. The complainant further alleged that their family and the coach spoiled many upcoming talented shuttlers in the region and demanded legal action.
Lakshya and his family are yet to respond on the matter.
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Indian students being put off applying to UK universities, report finds
London (PTI): Indian students are being put off applying to UK universities, adding to their financial woes at a time when education institutions are already coping with constrained budgets, a new report into the stability of the higher education sector in England has revealed.
Based on UK Home Office data on confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) by UK providers from 2022-23 to 2023-24, an Office for Students (OfS) analysis released on Friday shows a 20.4 per cent drop in Indian student numbers – down from 139,914 to 111,329.
Indian student groups in the UK said the fall was to be expected amid limited job prospects and also safety concerns following recent anti-immigration riots in some cities.
“There has been a considerable decline in student visa applications from prospective non-UK students in some major source countries,” notes the report by OfS, a non-departmental public body of the government’s Department for Education.
“This data shows an 11.8 per cent decline in the total number of sponsor acceptances issued to international students, as well as considerable variation for students with different nationalities, with the largest declines reported in the number of CAS issued to Indian and Nigerian students, down 28,585 (20.4 per cent) and 25,897 (44.6 per cent) respectively,” it said.
It warns that universities with financial models that depend heavily on students from countries such as India, Nigeria and Bangladesh are likely to be significantly affected due to this downward trend.
“The number of international students from certain countries that send significant numbers to study in the UK has decreased significantly,” OfS cautions.
“By 2025-26, based on current trends and not taking into account significant mitigating action, we estimate a net income reduction for the sector of GBP 3,445 million, and, without significant mitigating actions, a sector-level deficit of minus GBP 1,636 million, with up to 72 per cent of providers being in deficit, and 40 per cent having low liquidity,” it adds.
The Indian National Students’ Association (INSA) UK said it was not surprised with the significant decrease in students from India given the government’s clampdown on foreign students being allowed to bring along their dependent partners and spouses.
“Students are not allowed to bring their partners to the UK under the new policy and given the economic conditions here and recent rioting stories, unless the government addresses this issue the outlook for UK universities is bleak as they rely heavily on Indian students,” said INSA UK President Amit Tiwari.
Indians overtook the Chinese in recent years as the leading nationality granted study visas to the UK and are the largest cohort to access the Graduate Route post-study work visa, which was thrown into disarray due to a review which has since concluded it is here to stay.
“Many reasons contribute to the decline in numbers, including the Conservative ban on dependents, confusion around post-study work visa, increase in skilled worker salary thresholds and an apparent lack of jobs in the UK,” said Sanam Arora, chair of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK.
“We discovered the scale of misinformation that continues to persist; for the first time, safety is also being raised as a concern… Universities need to ensure that they are communicating the UK offer adequately and at scale in India to address the confusions that persist," she said.
"Universities also need to invest significantly in their employability support in order to stay competitive and provide a wholesome, outcome-oriented offer for students,” she added.
