Satwik-Chirag win French Open men's doubles title
Paris (PTI): The star Indian pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won the French Open Super 750 crown with a straight-game demolition of Chinese Taipei's Lu Ching Yao and Yang Po Han in the men's doubles final here on Sunday.
The world number 8 pair, who had finished runners-up in the 2019 edition, rode on their formidable attack to outwit the 25th ranked Lu and Yang 21-13 21-19 in the summit clash that lasted 48 minutes.
The Indian pair thus continued their dream run this year, which saw them win the Indian Open super 500 title, Commonwealth Games gold, Thomas Cup crown and an unprecedented bronze at the World Championships in August.
It is the pair's third world tour title, following the 2019 Thailand Open Super 500 and India Open Super 500 this year. They are also the first Indian duo to win a super 750 tournament.
In a battle between two attacking teams, it was Satwik and Chirag who emerged victorious as they showed better tactical acumen and hunger to reign supreme over their rivals.
The Indian pair came out all cylinders blazing to jump to a 5-0 lead. They kept moving ahead, not giving any chance to their opponent to make a comeback.
Eventually, it was a great serve by Satwik that helped them to take a six-point cushion at the midgame break.
The Indian duo continued to dominate the fast-paced rallies and earned seven game point opportunities after a series of flat exchanges, and Chirag sealed it on the first chance.
The Taipei pairing needed a good start in the second game and they looked competitive initially, but the Indian duo once again ensured a six-point cushion at the interval.
However, the Indians were guilty of taking the foot away from the pedal as Lu and Yang started taking control of the rallies, narrowing it down to 10-12.
A service error from Lu Ching Yao broke the run of points, but they soon drew parity at 14-14, when Chirag went long. A couple of mistakes from Chirag, including a service error, handed the Taipei combination the lead.
The Indians, however, quickly clawed back at 19-19 after winning a lucky net chord and Yang sending one wide from the net.
They moved to one match point with a towering smash from Satwik, who sealed it with another attacking return.
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Congress being run by gang of urban Naxals, alleges PM Modi
Washim (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday alleged that the Congress is being run by a "gang of urban Naxals", and asked people to unite to defeat the "dangerous agenda" of that party.
He also accused the Congress of looting the poor and not improving their condition for its selfish politics.
"They (Congress) think that if we all unite, then their agenda to divide the country will fail," Modi said, addressing a rally in Washim district of Maharashtra after launching various projects.
"Congress only knows how to loot the poor and keep them poor for its selfish politics. It only knows how to divide people. We have to be alert and remain united. Congress is run by a gang of urban Naxals," he alleged.
Everyone can see how closely Congress stands with those people who do not harbour good intentions for India, Modi said.
"Drugs worth thousands of crores of rupees were seized in Delhi recently. A Congress leader is suspected to be the kingpin. Congress wants to contest elections from the money it gets by pushing the youth towards drugs," he said.
Modi alleged that Congress' thinking has been foreign from the very beginning.
"Like the British rule, this Congress family also does not consider Dalits, backward and tribals as their equals. They feel that India should be ruled by only one family. That is why they have always maintained a derogatory attitude towards the Banjara community," he said.
"Saints from the Banjara community inspired culture and spiritualism. Britishers harassed the community, but when they left, successive Congress governments continued the trend and prevented the community from coming into the mainstream," the PM alleged.
The PM also accused the Congress of leaving no stone unturned to make the lives of farmers miserable.
"The governments run by the Congress used the money meant for farmers and irrigation schemes for corruption," he alleged.
Modi asked people to beware of the Congress propaganda of false assurance of farm loan waiver.
"People in Telangana are still waiting for the loan waiver. In Karnataka, the Congress government stopped the irrigation schemes started by the BJP regime," he said.
Stating that Maharashtra has the capacity to lead the country to economic progress, Modi said the state government was giving double benefit to farmers in terms of financial assistance, in addition to what the central government was providing.
When the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government was in power, it put a speed breaker in the work of the Poharadevi pilgrimage centre upgradation, which was started during the chief ministership of Devendra Fadnavis. But it has now been completed at a cost of Rs 700 crore, he said.
As long as MVA was in power in Maharashtra, it worked with only two agendas - to stop the projects related to farmers and to commit corruption in the money of these projects. The funds sent by the Centre were being diverted away from the beneficiaries by that government, he claimed.
The prime minister, who launched various initiatives of Rs 23,3000 crore related to agriculture and animal husbandry sectors, expressed happiness over the completion of the Banjara Virasat Museum in Poharadevi.
This museum would introduce future generations to the ancient culture and vast heritage of the Banjara community, he said.
"Our Banjara community has played a big role in India's social life and journey of development," he said.
Modi paid tributes to several revered figures from the Banjara community, including Raja Lakhi Shah Banjara and Sant Sevalal Maharaj.
"The Banjara community has given many such saints who have given immense energy to the spiritual consciousness of India," he said.
The PM highlighted their efforts in preserving and nurturing the country's cultural legacy over centuries and lamented that during British rule the entire Banjara community was branded as criminals.
"Our government's every decision, every policy is committed to Viskit Bharat, and our farmers are a major foundation of this vision," PM Modi said.
Farmers in Maharashtra, especially Vidarbha, faced big hardships for many decades, he said.
On the disbursal of the 18th instalment of the PM-KISAN Samman Nidhi worth about Rs 20,000 crore to around 9.5 crore farmers, the prime minister said the state government strives to provide double benefits to its farmers.
Speaking about providing assistance to beneficiaries of Ladki Bahin Yojna, the PM said the scheme is empowering the capabilities of 'nari shakti' (women power).
