India stun China 3-2 in BATC women's competition with Sindhu making a winning return
Shah Alam (Malaysia) (PTI): India stun formidable China 3-2 in the women's competition of Badminton Asia Team Championships with star shuttler P V Sindhu making a winning return after a four-month injury lay-off here on Wednesday.
With just two teams in Group W, India were already assured of a knock-out round berth even before their opening match but they did it in style with a shock win over the top seeds Chinese team.
P V Sindhu, who missed action since October last year when she suffered a knee injury at the French Open, led the way as she beat higher-ranked Han Yue 21-17 21-15 in 40 minutes to give India 1-0 lead in the tie.
The 28-year-old double Olympic medallist Indian is currently ranked 11th while Yue is world number eight.
The pair of Tanisha Castro and Ashwini Ponappa then lost to Liu Sheng Shu and Tan Ning 19-21 16-21, followed by Ashmita Chaliha's 13-21 15-21 defeat to world number nine Wang Zhi Yi as India trailed 1-2 after three matches.
India were on level terms when Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand beat the Chinese duo of Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min 10-21 21-18 21-17 in one hour and nine minutes in the women's doubles.
In the deciding match, Anmol Kharb punched way above her weight as the 472nd-ranked Indian emerged 22-20 14-21 21-18 winner over world number 149 Wu Luo Yu in a gruelling one hour and 17 minute contest to give India a memorable win.
The Indian men's team, which lifted the Thomas Cup in 2022 and secured a first-ever silver medal at last year's Asian Games, will be up against Hong Kong in a Group A league match on Wednesday.
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High Court halts mandatory installation of smart meters by BESCOM
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court passed an interim order on Friday staying the mandatory installation of smart meters for electricity supply connection by the Bengaluru Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM) and the state government.
The petition was filed by M Jayalakshmi, a resident of Doddaballapur town in Bengaluru Rural district, challenging the BESCOM communication to her asking for a payment of Rs 8,800 for the installation of the smart meter. She had said that, on March 29, she had submitted a requisition to convert the single-phase meter connection for her house located at TB Natayanappa Layout to a three-phase meter connection.
Jayalakshmi’s advocate, Prabhuling Navadgi, argued that, although the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has said that smart meters are optional, except for temporary connections, BESCOM has made it mandatory.
The installation charges, which were earlier Rs 2,000 in Karnataka, now cost Rs 8,510, proving to be a huge burden on the consumers. Also, the charges for the new meters are only Rs 900 in the neighbouring states, Navadgi pointed out. He opined that, the entire process being outsources to private agencies, making the installation of smart meters mandatory would be harsh on the consumers.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, who heard the case, questioned the respondents and also asked if the problem was an outcome of the freebies by the government.
"Advocates say that in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, it costs Rs 900. Where will poor people go? Who asked for free electricity? This is what you should reduce. You have outsourced the thing. Now if you say all permanent connections must have smart meters, where will the poor go?" the judge said.
The case has been adjourned till June 4.
