PV Sindhu cruises past Hooda to reach Syed Modi final, Lakshya Sen too makes title clash
Lucknow, Nov 30: Top Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen cruised to the women's and men's singles finals with dominating victories at the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament here Saturday.
Top seed Sindhu outclassed the 17-year-old compatriot Unnati Hooda 21-12 21-9 in just 36 minutes in the semifinal, while Lakshya outclassed Japan's Shogo Ogawa 21-8 21-14 in 42 minutes.
Hooda struggled to challenge Sindhu, committing a series of unforced errors that allowed her illustrious opponent to maintain control throughout the match.
"I am happy with today's performance. From the beginning, I maintained the lead. I was just trying out a few strokes and overall, I was confident with the way I was playing," Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, said after the match.
"Unnati played her best, but I didn't give her a chance to overtake me. She is an upcoming player, and I wish her all the very best."
A former world champion, Sindhu, currently ranked 18th, will face China's Wu Luo Yu in the final as she chases her third Syed Modi International title.
"I need to go back and prepare for tomorrow because it's not going to be easy. From the beginning, I need to give my best," said Sindhu
Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya, on the other hand, will face Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh in the summit clash.
India's mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila advanced to the final with a convincing straight-game victory over China's Zhi Hong Zhou and Jia Yi Yang.
The fifth-seeded Indians secured a 21-16, 21-15 win in the 42-minute semifinal. They will meet Thailand's sixth-seeded pair Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Supissara Paewsampran.
Indian men's doubles pair of Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy and Sai Pratheek K entered final with a 21-17 17-21 21-16 win over fellow Indians Ishaan Bhatnagar and Sankar Prasad Udayakumar.
Indian women's doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand beat Thailand's Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard 18-21 21-18 21-10 to advance to the finals.
But top seeds Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa missed out of a summit clash after going down 21-15 16-21 13-21 to China's Bao Li Jing and Li Qian in another semifinals.
In men's singles, second seed Priyanshu Rajawat went down 13-21 19-21 to Singapore's Jia Heng Jason Teh in 48 minutes to end his campaign at the semifinal stage.
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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.
