Praggnanandhaa is his own man, he's handling himself mostly: coach Ramesh
Chennai (PTI): Teenaged Indian Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa is breaking new grounds in the the Chess World Cup, scalping higher-rated opponents one after the other, but he is "handling himself mostly" as far as the nuances of the game are concerned.
Praggnanandhaa is on his own at the Azerbaijan capital of Baku as his personal coach RB Ramesh is away in another country. His mother Nagalakshmi is looking after him but not for matters relating to the tactics of the game.
"He (Praggnanandhaa) is handling himself mostly. I am just chatting on WhatsApp with him," Ramesh, himself a Grandmaster, told PTI.
"Praggnanandhaa is following a routine like sleeping nine hours at night, not skipping any meal, walking in the evening after the game and preparing four hours before the match (es)."
Despite the absence of a personal coach on tour, Praggnanandhaa has only got better with each match and overcome nerve-wracking tie-breaks, including the one against talented compatriot Arjun Erigaisi.
He has been on a roll, beating top stars like Hikaru Nakamura (world No.2) and Fabiano Caruana (world No.3) on way to the summit clash.
By becoming the only Indian player after legendary Viswanathan Anand to book a spot in the Candidates tournament, the 18-year-old wonderkid from Chennai has proved that he will be the name to reckon with in future.
Grandmaster M Shyam Sundar, who is in Baku as the coach of the Indian contingent, said the players in general have their own routine and he was keeping them in good spirits through various activities.
"Players in general here have their own routine and have their own team helping in different parts of the world. I go for walks, play table tennis with them to keep them in good spirits, arrange good food for them, provide personal care to them and have casual discussions about the game," Sundar said.
He said whenever his wards play tie-breaks, he would be in the playing hall, watch their games and make himself available throughout in case the players want some last minute discussions.
Sundar said the presence of his mother Nagalakshmi is a huge support for Praggnanandhaa and that is evident in his performance.
Praggnanandhaa too had said during the course of the World Cup that his mother has been a calming influence on him.
"Definitely good to have someone here. My mother is always supportive! Even after losing games, she was just trying to calm me down," he said.
"It's good to have someone rooting for you here, and for me my mother is a big support - not only for me, for my sister as well."
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US SC rejects 26/11 attack accused Tahawwur Rana’s plea seeking stay on his extradition to India
New York, Apr 7 (PTI): The US Supreme Court has rejected 26/11 Mumbai terror attack accused Tahawwur Rana's appeal seeking a stay on his extradition to India, moving him closer to being handed over to Indian authorities to face justice.
Rana, 64, a Canadian national of Pakistani origin, is currently lodged at a metropolitan detention centre in Los Angeles.
He is known to be associated with Pakistani-American terrorist David Coleman Headley, one of the main conspirators of the 26/11 attacks. Headley conducted a recce of Mumbai before the attacks by posing as an employee of Rana’s immigration consultancy.
Rana had submitted an ‘Emergency Application For Stay Pending Litigation of Petition For Writ of Habeas Corpus' on February 27, 2025, with Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States and Circuit Justice for the Ninth Circuit Elena Kagan.
Kagan had denied the application earlier last month.
Rana had then renewed his ‘Emergency Application for Stay Pending Litigation of Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus previously addressed to Justice Kagan’, and requested that the renewed application be directed to US Chief Justice John Roberts.
An order on the Supreme Court website noted that Rana's renewed application had been “distributed for Conference” on April 4 and the “application” has been “referred to the Court.”
A notice on the Supreme Court website Monday said that “Application denied by the Court.”
Rana was convicted in the US of one count of conspiracy to provide material support to the terrorist plot in Denmark and one count of providing material support to Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashker-e-Taiba which was responsible for the attacks in Mumbai.
New York-based Indian-American attorney Ravi Batra had told PTI that Rana had made his application to the Supreme Court to prevent extradition, which Justice Kagan denied on March 6. The application was then submitted before Roberts, “who has shared it with the Court to conference so as to harness the entire Court’s view.”
The Supreme Court justices are Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
In his emergency application, Rana had sought a stay of his extradition and surrender to India pending litigation (including exhaustion of all appeals) on the merits of his February 13.
In that petition, Rana argued that his extradition to India violates US law and the UN Convention Against Torture "because there are substantial grounds for believing that, if extradited to India, the petitioner will be in danger of being subjected to torture."
"The likelihood of torture in this case is even higher though as petitioner faces acute risk as a Muslim of Pakistani origin charged in the Mumbai attacks,” the application said.
The application also said that his “severe medical conditions” render extradition to Indian detention facilities a “de facto" death sentence in this case.
The US Supreme Court denied Rana's petition for a writ of certiorari relating to his original habeas petition on January 21. The application notes that on that same day, newly-confirmed Secretary of State Marco Rubio had met with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
When Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Washington on February 12 to meet with Trump, Rana’s counsel received a letter from the Department of State, stating that “on February 11, 2025, the Secretary of State decided to authorise” Rana’s "surrender to India,” pursuant to the “Extradition Treaty between the United States and India”.
Rana’s Counsel requested from the State Department the complete administrative record on which Secretary Rubio based his decision to authorize Rana’s surrender to India.
The Counsel also requested immediate information of any commitment the United States has obtained from India with respect to Rana’s treatment. “The government declined to provide any information in response to these requests,” the application said.
It added that given Rana’s underlying health conditions and the State Department’s findings regarding the treatment of prisoners, it is very likely “Rana will not survive long enough to be tried in India".
During a joint press conference with Prime Minister Modi in the White House in February, President Donald Trump announced that his administration has approved the extradition of "very evil" Rana, wanted by Indian law enforcement agencies for his role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, "to face justice in India”.
A total of 166 people, including six Americans, were killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in which 10 Pakistani terrorists laid a more than 60-hour siege, attacking and killing people at iconic and vital locations in Mumbai.
