India beat Indonesia 3-0 to lift maiden Thomas Cup trophy
Bangkok(PTI): A determined Indian men's team etched its name in the history books by lifting the Thomas Cup title for the first time with a dominant 3-0 win over 14-time champions Indonesia in the final here on Sunday.
India dished out a performance for the ages with World Championships medallist Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and world number 8 doubles duo of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy producing memorable performances.
After being offcolour in the knockout stages, Sen delivered when it mattered the most as he gave India a 1-0 lead with a come-from-behind 8-21 21-17 21-16 win over world number five Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in a superb show of temperament and skill.
The country's best doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty then showed nerves of steel as it saved four match points in the second game to eventually outwit Mohammad Ahsan and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 18-21 23-21 21-19.
In the second singles, Srikanth then produced a fine performance to outclass Asian games gold medallist Jonatan Christie 21-15 23-21 in 48 minutes to seal the contest.
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Vinay Somaiah Suicide: BJP stages road blockade protest in Madikeri
Madikeri: The Kodagu district unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a road blockade protest in Madikeri on Thursday, demanding the immediate arrest of those allegedly responsible for the suicide of party worker Vinay Somaiah.
BJP leaders and workers assembled at General Thimmaiah Circle in the heart of the city, raising slogans against the Congress party and the state government. The protestors specifically demanded action against a Congress spokesperson mentioned in a note Vinay reportedly left before his death.
Addressing the gathering, former Assembly Speaker K.G. Bopaiah expressed strong dissatisfaction with the government and the police. He said the FIR against Vinay originally stayed by the court was later revived under a different section by the police. “Vinay had merely posted about the unhygienic condition of the Napoklu public toilet. Instead of addressing the issue, an FIR was filed against him. This is unacceptable. The police seem to be functioning under the directions of Congress MLAs, disregarding even court orders,” he stated.
District BJP President Napanda Ravi Kalappa also criticized the police, saying Vinay had no direct connection to the original post and was wrongly targeted. “An innocent man has lost his life. Two MLAs in Kodagu district are misusing police power to suppress dissent. The FIR was registered under political pressure,” he alleged, further demanding that the two MLAs resign and cooperate with the investigation into Vinay's death.
The protest led to a road blockade that lasted for over an hour, significantly affecting traffic. Despite requests from police officers to clear the area, BJP workers insisted on the arrival of the District Superintendent of Police (SP) to address their concerns.
SP K. Ramarajan later arrived at the protest site and informed the protesters that since the incident occurred in Bengaluru, the investigation was being conducted by the police there.
He assured full cooperation from the Kodagu police in the ongoing probe. Following his assurance, the BJP workers dispersed peacefully.
District BJP General Secretary Mahesh Jaini, SC Morcha District President P.M. Ravi, Women’s Wing President Anita Poovaiah, and other key party functionaries including Suvin Ganapathy, Jagadish, Arun Shetty, municipal council members, and BJP office-bearers from across the district were present on the occasion.
