This 21-Year-Old Cricketer Retires To Become A Pilot
Hong Kong's Christopher Carter has retired from cricket to pursue his childhood dream of becoming a pilot. The 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman had earlier put his studies on hold for two years to represent his country. He now thinks it's time to do what he always wanted to. "I already put my studies on hold before, but I think it's time to do what I've always wanted to do, and that is to become a pilot," Carter was quoted as saying by icc-cricket.com.
After his debut for Hong Kong in November 2015, Carter played 11 ODIs and 10 T20Is, and had become an integral part of the team.
In the 11 ODIs, he managed to score a total of 114 runs, with a highest score of 43. In T20Is, he scored a total of 55 runs, highest being 17.
Carter, who was born in Hong Kong and grew up in Perth, Australia, has now moved to Adelaide to take pilot training for 55 weeks. He will vie to become a second officer with a Hong Kong airlines.
Hong Kong qualified for the recently held Asia Cup by beating Malaysia in the qualifiers but crashed out of the six-nation tournament after losing their respective group matches against Pakistan and India. They suffered an eight-wicket defeat at the hands of Pakistan and lost to India by 26 runs.
Carter had a poor run in the Asia Cup as he could gather only five runs from two outings.
With eyes set on his new career, Carter still hasn't ruled out a return to the Hong Kong national team.
courtesy :sports.ndtv.com
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Ahmedabad plane crash: Six months on, college hostel lies in ruins, sans bustle of students
Ahmedabad (PTI): Six months after the AI-171 plane crash, the B J Medical College hostel complex in Ahmedabad stands as a haunting reminder, with its charred walls and burnt trees replacing the once lively chatter of students with an eerie stillness.
Scattered across the crash site are grim remnants of daily life - burnt cars and motorcycles, twisted beds and furniture, charred books, clothes and personal belongings.
The Atulyam-4 hostel building and the adjoining canteen complex stand abandoned, with entry strictly prohibited.
For residents near the site, memories of the incident still linger, casting a lasting shadow on their lives, with some of them saying they are still afraid to look up at the sky when an aircraft passes overhead.
On June 12, Air India flight AI-171, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner bound for London, crashed moments after take-off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, killing 260 persons.
The aircraft slammed into the BJ Medical College hostel complex in Meghaninagar, turning a lively student neighbourhood into a landscape of ruin and grief.
"The area now lies very silent, only a few birds chirp here," Sanjaybhai, a security guard deployed at the premises by authorities to prevent trespassing, told PTI.
Mahendrasingh Jadeja, a general store owner whose shop is just 50 metres from the point where the aircraft struck, described it as an unimaginable calamity. "In all my years, I have never seen anything like this."
Pointing to a tree behind his shop, the 60-year-old said the aircraft first struck there before crashing into the hostel building.
"It was a scorching summer afternoon. Not many people were outside. When I heard a loud crashing sound, I ran out of my shop. We were all terrified," he recalled.
"Even today, we instinctively look up whenever a plane passes overhead," he added.
Another local, Manubhai Rajput, who lives barely 200 metres from the site, said he witnessed the horror unfold on June 12.
"The plane was flying unusually low. Before I could understand what was happening, there was thick black smoke and a deafening crash," he said.
For over three decades, Rajput and his neighbours lived close to the airport without giving much thought to the aircraft overhead.
"We never looked up at the sky. But that day is etched in my mind. The plane hit a tree first, and then there was a loud sound," he said.
Rajput recalled how hundreds of locals rushed to the site even before police, fire services or the Army arrived.
Tinaben, another resident of Meghaninagar, said she never imagined something like this could happen in Ahmedabad.
"Despite being close to the airport, this area always felt safe," she said.
As an aircraft roared overhead during the conversation, Tinaben paused, looked up nervously and said, "It's still scary."
A senior official of Civil Hospital Ahmedabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the state government has yet to decide what to do with the damaged site.
Currently, investigations are going on and the site is strictly prohibited for people, he added.
