P V Sindhu enters BAC semifinals, assured of a medal
Manila (Philippines)(PTI): Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu eked out a thrilling win over China's He Bing Jiao to make it to the women's singles semifinals of the Badminton Asia Championships here on Friday.
With this win, Sindhu assured herself of a medal in the continental championships, which is making a return after a gap of two years due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The fourth-seeded Sindhu, who had claimed a bronze in the 2014 Gimcheon edition, got the better of the fifth seeded Chinese 21-9 13-21 21-19 in a quarterfinal match that lasted an hour and 16 minutes.
World number 7 Sindhu came into the match with a 7-9 head-to-head record against Bing Jiao, whom she has beaten twice in the last two meetings.
Sindhu galloped to 11-2 lead in no time and then kept things under her firm grip to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Bing Jiao came back strongly after the change of sides, moving to 6-4 lead before managing a slender 11-10 advantage.
After the break, the Chinese reeled off five points on the trot to grab a 19-12 lead to eventually roar back into the contest.
In the decider, it was 2-2 early on but Sindhu unleashed her cross-court smashes to gather points, moving to a massive 11-5 lead going into the final change of ends.
Bing Jiao, however, scripted a recovery after the interval to narrow down the deficit to 15-16 as Sindhu let the momentum slip despite being 15-9 up at one stage.
It was 18-16 next with Sindhu's slice going to the net. The Indian then unleashed a body smash before grabbing four match points with Bing Jiao erring on the backcourt.
The Chinese saved three match points before Sindhu prevailed.
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It's govt's responsibility to support youth who dare to dream: Omar Abdullah
Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the government may not be able to provide jobs to everyone, but it can create an ecosystem for youngsters to become entrepreneurs and innovators.
It is the responsibility of the government to support youth who dare to dream, he said.
After inaugurating the 11th National Conference and Exhibition on Emerging and Innovative Trends in Engineering Technology (NCEEITET) at the Government College of Engineering and Technology (GCET) in Jammu, Abdullah said, “We may not be able to provide jobs to everyone, but we can certainly create an environment where our youngsters become entrepreneurs and innovators.”
The two-day conference is being organised by the GCET in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur and the World University Consortium (WUC).
Addressing the gathering, Abdullah assured that all necessary steps would be taken to strengthen infrastructure and support systems at the GCET, ensuring that it continues to evolve as a premier institution.
The chief minister also inaugurated a new building for the School of Architecture in the college, built at Rs 19.71 crore.
Stressing the need to balance modernity with the region’s cultural and historical identity, Abdullah said, “Not every building needs to be made of glass and steel. Our structures must reflect our heritage and preserve our cultural ethos.”
Highlighting the role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, Abdullah said they could significantly improve tourism management, visitor experience and service delivery in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, he cautioned that technological advancement should complement human effort rather than replace jobs, especially in a region where unemployment remains a concern.
The chief minister said that attracting tourists to Jammu and Kashmir was not difficult, but ensuring repeat visits required consistently enriching experiences and better infrastructure across tourism segments, including pilgrimage, border and leisure tourism.
To address the infrastructure gaps in the college, Abdullah announced that funds would be provided this year for the construction of an auditorium.
He also assured support for setting up an incubation centre in GCET.
During the event, Abdullah also released the e-proceedings of the conference, comprising 28 shortlisted research papers.
