India takes maiden Asiad medal in table tennis
Jakarta, Aug 28 : The Indian men's table tennis team had to be content with a first-ever bronze medal following a 0-3 loss to South Korea in the semi-finals of the 18th Asian Games here on Tuesday.
Sathiyan, Achanta Sharath Kamal and Anthony Amalraj went down fighting in their respective matches.
The South Koreans took the lead when Sathiyan lost 11-9, 9-11, 3-11, 3-11 to Lee Sangsu in the opening match. Kamal gave a tough fight to Jeoung Sik before going down 9-11, 9-11, 11-6, 11-7, 8-11 while Amalraj lost 5-11, 7-11, 11-4, 7-11 to Jang Woojin.
With both Sangsu and Jeoung Young Sik, figuring among the top 10 of world ranking, it was a tough ask for the Indians to do what they did against a depleted Japanese squad in the semi-finals.
Yet, Sathiyan began promisingly only to lose his way, unable to counter the speed and a strong backhand of Sangsu to fold in 34 minutes. The South Korean took some time before assessing his opponent's weak points and attacked solidly from game two onwrds.
It reflected on Sathiyan who was in definite discomfort. Yet he managed to come close to Sangsu who levelled the score. However, from game three the tie was going only one way as the Korean was severe to punish on any highball and using the flanks went from strength to strength.
The next game, too, was rather easy for the South Korean and he took just eight minutes, two more than the previous game, to give his 1-0 lead.
Sharath opened up with a good lead only to surrender midway as he led 7-4 and then let Jeoung level at 9-9 before allowing two easy points on the South Korean's service.
In the second, too, the Indian led briefly but the Korean went 8-4 up only to lose the advantage when Sharath made it 9-9. Yet again, Sharath failed to claim the two crucial points with serve on.
But the fighter that he is, brought him back in the third and fourth which Sharath won with utmost ease, as he led more than comfortably in both games. With the decider on, the Korean siwtched himself on to a cruise mode and beat Sharath with sheer speed.
Sharath did have his chance but he missed the return when he could have made it 7-8 to give a twist to the tale. But a few unforced errors made things easy for Jeoung as he won 11-9, 11-9, 6-11, 7-11, 11-8.
Playing thei third singles Jang Woojin, known for his crisp backhand and speed, undid Amalraj as early as in the first game as the Indian was left to fend for himself at 0-2. He made great efforts in the third to take a game off him. However, Woojin was quick to dispose of Amalraj to sew it up 11-5, 11-7, 4-11, 11-7.
A disappointed Sharath agreed that he missed the chance of levelling the score. "I should have taken the tie, but few mistakes at crucial junctures upset me really. Maybe, it (a win in the tie) would have give us a semblance of chance," he said at the end of the match.
He, however, was happy with the way India played overall. "It was good to go home with a medal. All team members are more than happy to reach the podium," he added.
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Ex-PM Devegowda warns opposition of electoral losses if they continue to allege 'vote chori'
New Delhi (PTI): Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda on Monday said the Opposition parties would "suffer" if they continue to raise allegations of "vote chori" and create suspicion in the minds of voters by blaming Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.
Participating in a discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, he criticised the Opposition for making a mockery about the Prime Minister "in the streets and on the public platform".
"This (India) is a very big country. A large country. Congress may be in three states. Remember my friends please, by using the words 'vote chori' you are going to suffer in the coming days. You are not going to win the battle," Devegowda said, referring to the Opposition members.
He asked what the Opposition is going to earn by "blaming Narendra Modi's leadership and creating a suspicion in the mind of the voters" through the claims of "vote chori".
"What has happened to their minds? Let them rectify," Devegowda said.
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The former prime minister said that during his over seven decades of public life, he has never raised such issues of vote theft despite facing defeat in elections.
He also cited a letter written by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru regarding inclusion of "18,000 votes" (voters) in Kerala.
"Why I am telling this (because) during the Nehru period also, there were certain lapses in the electoral system," said Devegowda, who was the prime minister between June 1, 1996 and April 21, 1997.
He said that the Congress party faced defeat in the recent Bihar elections despite raising the issues of mistakes in the electoral rolls.
"What happened after that even after so much review (of voters list). Think (for) yourself! You got six MLAs," the senior Janata Dal (Secular) leader said.
Devegowda questioned the Opposition as to why they want to make allegations against the prime minister on the issue of the voters list?
"Election Commission is there. Supreme Court is there. The Election Commission has given direction to all the state units to rectify all these things," he said.
Devegowda said people of the country have full confidence in Narendra Modi's government and it will come back to power after the next Lok Sabha elections as well.
K R Suresh Reddy, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) party's Rajya Sabha member from Telangana, said that electoral reforms are the backbone for a healthy democracy.
He said a large and diverse nation like Indi needs clean electoral rolls.
Asserting that strict re-verification should not become a mechanism for exclusion, Reddy said no eligible voter should lose their right to vote simply because accessing paperwork is difficult.
He said while the concern definitely is on the voters' exclusion, "we should also be equally concerned about the percentage of voting."
"What is happening in voting today? Once the election ends, the drama begins. The biggest challenge that the Indian democracy has been facing in spite of two major Constitutional amendments has been the anti-defection. Anti-defection is the name of the game today, especially in smaller states, especially where the legislatures are small in number," Reddy said.
The senior BRS leader suggested creation of a parliamentary committee "which would constantly look into the defection" and "ways and means to cutting that".
AIADMK's M Thambidurai raised the issues related to election campaigning.
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"Election campaigns are one of the important election processes. In that, political parties must be given the proper chance to campaign," he said and cited problems faced by his party in Tamil Nadu in this regard.
Thambidurai said political parties were facing hardships in Tamil Nadu to conduct public meetings and to express their views to the public.
YSRCP's Yerram Venkata Subba Reddy stressed on bringing electoral reforms at both the state and national levels.
He also suggested replacing Electronic Voting Machines with paper ballots in all future elections.
"EVM may be efficient but can't be trusted. Paper ballot may not be efficient but can be trusted. You need trust in democracy," Reddy added.
