New Delhi (PTI): Young Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen definitely deserved a medal for his "fantastic performances" at the Olympics, reckons two-time world champion Viktor Axelsen, who defended his gold medal at the Paris Games.
The 22-year-old Sen became the first Indian men’s badminton player to qualify for the semifinals at the Olympics this year but lost in the final four clash to the Danish superstar.
Sen had to deal with further disappointment as he lost to Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia in the bronze medal playoff to eventually finish fourth in the competition.
While replying to Sen’s post on 'X' in which the Indian had expressed his gratitude for the support that he received from his fans, Axelsen wrote, “Keep going brother. You can be really proud of yourself. Wish all semifinalists could get a medal as you definitely deserve one.” (sic)
"Congrats to you all on a fantastic performance at the Games," he added.
Having defeated Sen 22-20 21-14 in their semifinal match, Axelsen had predicted a gold medal for the Indian player in the next iteration of the summer Games.
"Lakshya is an amazing player. He has shown in this Olympics that he is a very, very strong competitor and I am sure in four years from now, he will be one of the favourites to win the gold,” he had said.
"(He is) an amazing talent and a great guy and I wish him all the best."
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Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
