Lakshya Sen beats Kevin Cordon of Guatemala in straight games in Olympic debut match
Paris, Jul 27: Ace Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen beat Kevin Cordon of Guatemala in straight games in a group match of the men's singles badminton competition at the Paris Olympics here on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Sen won 21-8 22-20 against reigning Pan American champion Cordon in his Olympics debut match that lasted 42 minutes.
Sen, a gold medallist at the 2022 Commonwealth Games and bronze winner at 2021 World Championships, will face Julien Carraggi of Belgium on Monday in his second group match.
Despite Cordon's good comeback in the second game, Sen held his nerves and emerged as the winner to begin his campaign on a resounding note.
Sen pocketed the first game easily in just 14 minutes. He straightaway took 5-0 lead and was 11-2 ahead at the first change of ends. There was no let up from the Indian as he wrapped up the first match without much resistance from his opponent.
Cordon fought back in the second game and was 6-2 ahead after a fine net play. The Indian closed the gap at 6-8 after a nice smash.
But Sen was more error prone in the second game than in the first and he trailed 7-12 at the change of ends.
The Guatemalan kept himself ahead, winning more rallies than Sen. He was just one point away from taking the match to the deciding game as he was 20-16 ahead.
With legends Prakash Padukone and Vimal Kumar guiding him from the court corner, Sen saved his best for the last and he reeled off four straight points to level the scores 20-20 and then won another two points to seal the match.
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Gujarat HC orders man to deposit Rs 1 lakh for attending virtual proceedings from toilet
Ahmedabad, July 14 (PTI): The Gujarat High Court on Monday directed a man, facing contempt of court for attending a virtual court hearing while relieving himself on a toilet seat, to deposit Rs 1 lakh with the court's registry after observing that he was ready to tender an unconditional apology.
The incident occurred on June 20 when Justice Nirzar S Desai was hearing a case. A video of the man soon went viral, prompting the high court to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings.
On Monday, the division bench of Justices AS Supehia and RT Vachhani directed the man, identified as Samad Abdul Rehman Shah, to deposit Rs 1 lakh in the court registry by July 22, the next date of the hearing.
"The contemnor has admitted to his conduct during the live-streaming proceedings and submitted that he was ready to tender an unconditional apology. Thus, at this stage, we direct the contemnor to deposit the amount of Rs 1 lakh before the registry of this court by the next date of hearing," the court ordered.
According to the report submitted to the court, Shah attended the hearing on June 20 for a total of 74 minutes, during which he was seen sitting on a toilet and relieving himself.
Shah's lawyer told the court that his client would tender an unconditional apology for his behaviour.
When questioned, the lawyer confirmed he had advised Shah to present himself appropriately for the hearing.
The now-infamous video showed Shah using a toilet during the proceedings, sparking outrage and leading the court to order the video’s immediate removal and ban, citing damage to the judiciary’s image.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gujarat High Court has permitted lawyers and litigants to join hearings virtually. Proceedings are live-streamed via the court's YouTube channel.
After finishing his business, Shah was seen picking up his phone and leaving. Justice Desai appeared unaware of his surroundings at the time.
Wearing wireless earphones, he can be seen logging in again later in the livestream, sitting in a room and waiting for his turn.
After nearly 10 minutes, he identified himself as Abdul Samad Shah, a resident of Kim village in Surat and the complainant in an assault case.
His lawyers told the court that Shah had lodged a complaint against two individuals but that a compromise had been reached between both parties.
While hearing the petition filed by the accused seeking to quash the FIR, Justice Desai asked Shah if he consented to the plea. Upon hearing Shah’s no-objection, the judge approved the petition.
