Commonwealth Games: India wins silver, bronze in weightlifting

Women lifters Soniya Chanu and Sandhya Rani Devi provided the Commonwealth Games hosts their first two medals on the first day of competitions on Monday while their men’s freestyle quartet made history by reaching the final in swimming.

Chanu, favourite for the 48 kg gold medal, settled for silver by clearing 167 kg which was eight kg below what surprise winner Augustina Nwaokolo of Nigeria lifted to win the contest with a new Games record to boot.

Chanu and Nwaokolo were tied with the same clearance of 94 kg in the snatch competition but the latter, who weighed marginally less than the Indian woman, settled the issue in the clean and jerk category.

Sandhya Rani took the bronze with a total clearance of 165 kg.

In the pool, the men’s 4x400m freestyle relay quartet of Virdhawal Khade, Anshul Kothari, Arjun Jayaprakash and Aaron D’Souza finished sixth in the morning heats to make the evening final where they finished in the same position clocking 3 mins, 27.14 secs.

It’s the first time that in swimming the country had been represented in the final in the Commonwealth Games.

“This is really fantastic. We have made history by reaching the final for the first time in Commonwealth Games competition,” team coach Pradeep Kumar said.

Two other Indian swimmers — Badrinath Melkote (men’s 50m backstroke) and Shubha Chittaranjan (women’s 50m butterfly) — qualified for the semi finals by ending up 14th and 16th in the heats. Both were, however, eliminated in the evening semi finals.

But all other swimmers sunk without making a splash.

Surbahi Tipre and Arti Ghorpade finished a disappointing 22nd and 24th in women’s 200m freestyle.

In men’s 400m freestyle heats, Mandar Divase and Ullalmath Gangan finished distant 17th and 18th respectively.

 Other Indians to bow out on day one included Beijing Olympian Rehan Poncha and Tarun Tokas (men’s 200m butterfly); Priyanka Priyadarshini, Poorva Shetye and Mankiran Kaur (women’s 50m breaststroke) and Pooja Alva (women’s 200m IM).

India also made a winning start in tennis and table tennis but suffered a major blow in another racquet sport, squash, when their no. one woman player Dipika Pallikal pulled out following a bout of mild fever.

Three other men players — Sourav Ghosal, Harinder Pal Sandhu and Siddharth Suchde progressed to the round of 32.

Indian women, seeded second in the table tennis team event, started their campaign on a resounding note by blanking Sri Lanka 3-0 in Group D at the Yamuna Sports complex.

Mouma Das, Shamini Kumareshan and reigning national champion Poulomi Ghatak won their matches without dropping a game. The Indian eves have to play against New Zealand and Ghana in the group.

In tennis, Rohan Bopanna outclassed Uganda’s Robert Buyanza in straight sets.

Delhi, the day before Commonwealth Games

The wait is finally over. The 19th Commonwealth Games are now just one day away. Athletes from around the world will participate in India's biggest sporting extravaganza since the 1982 Asian Games.

There's been so much that's been wrong in the run up to the Games. Now, finally, Delhi is all set.

NDTV participated in the Queen's Baton Relay just short of its final stop of the day, the Commonwealth Games Village.

Before that it made a stop at Rajghat quite aptly on Gandhi Jayanti. Organising Committee deputy director general, SPS Dhillon carried the baton to the Games Village where it was handed over to the Village's mayor Dalbir Singh.

"It is a great moment for us. We are hosting the Commonwealth Games and we are very proud of that. We have provided world class facilities to the athletes and we are ready for the grand opening of the event tomorrow," said mayor of the village, Dalbir Singh.

Meanwhile the streets of Delhi have been dressed up, and the city is ready for visitors.

In fact, the big visitors have started arriving. International Olympic Committee chief Jaques Rogge arrived in the Capital for the opening ceremony early on Saturday morning.

Princes Charles and his wife Camilla Parker are in town as well.

"Suresh Kalmadi, Chairman of the Organising Committee, received the royal couple here," a press release from the organisers said.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had asked the Prince to represent her at the opening of the Commonwealth Games after deciding to give a miss to the ceremony.

"We are well prepared and we will have great Games," said Lalit Bhanot, Secretary General, Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.

As the sun sets on Delhi on the last day of the countdown, it's time to forget the controversies and blame games. For the next 11 days, all of Delhi is going to come out and play.

Ayodhya land to be divided into 3 parts

In a much-awaited verdict, the Allahabad High Court today ruled that the 2.77 acre disputed land in Ayodhya be divided into three parts among Hindus and Muslims and held that the place where the makeshift temple of Lord Rama currently exists belongs to Hindus.

The majority 2-1 verdict of the Lucknow bench of the court, said to be running into nearly 8,000 pages, comes after nearly 60 years of tortuous litigation over who holds the title to the disputed site. Still, the order may not be the last word and the issue may land up in the Supreme Court.

As an anxious nation awaited the court verdict in the highly-sensitive issue with lakhs of security personnel deployed in Uttar Pradesh and other sensitive places across the country, the order of Justices S U Khan, Sudhir Agarwal and D V Sharma became public just before 4.30 PM amid high drama.

The judges wrote three separate judgements but the majority verdict held that the area covered by the central dome of the three-domed structure where the idol of Lord Rama is presently situated belongs to Hindus.

"The disputed site is (indeed) the birthplace of Lord Ram," said the brief two-page official synopsis of the judgement. It ruled that the place of Ram's birth must also be construed as a juristic person and a deity.

"It is personified as the spirit of divine worshipped as birthplace of Lord Rama as a child," the majority ruling said.

Justices Khan and Agarwal said the entire disputed land should be divided into three equal parts, each to be given to Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and the parties representing 'Ram Lalla Virajman' (seated Baby Ram).

Perhaps for the first in judicial history, a verdict was delivered in high security with media and lawyers and parties unrelated to the case kept out of the court premises.

Press briefings were arranged in the District Collectorate opposite the court premises and summary of the judgements immediately uploaded on the website.

The majority judges declared maintenance of status quo at the disputed land for three months.

All the three judges of the High Court were unanimous on the ownership of the place where the makeshift temple exists. However, Justice Sharma held that the entire disputed area belonged to Hindus.

"It is further declared that the portion below the central dome where at present the idol is kept in makeshift temple will be allotted to Hindus in final decree," Justice Khan said.

"It is declared that the area covered by the central dome of the three domed structure, i.e., the disputed structure being the deity of Bhagwan Ram Janamsthan and place of birth of Lord Rama as per faith and belief of the Hindus, belong to plaintiffs (filed on behalf of Lord Ram) and shall not be obstructed or interfered in any manner by the defendants," Justice Agarwal said.

Both Justices Khan and Agarwal were also of the view that the rest of the area be shared by Hindus, Muslims and Nirmohi Akhara.

"The area within the inner courtyard (where disputed structure stood) denoted by letters B C D L K J H G in Appendix 7 (excluding (i) above) belong to members of both the communities, i.e., Hindus (here plaintiffs, Suit-5) and Muslims since it was being used by both since decades and centuries," Justice Agarwal said adding that a portion of outer courtyard in declared in the favour of Nirmohi Akhara.

KARGIL VIJAY DIWAS - JAI HIND....

Today is VIJAY DIVAS: 26th JULY, 1999 we captured our last hill from Pakistan.
But... we lost some of our most valuable, great, brave, warrior BROTHERS.

I SALUTE to all those who have pledged their lives, for our PEACE - JAI HIND



This salute is for those who... :

*
Lost their lives, trying to save the lives of millions of Indians
*
Thought that Country comes first and their own family later.
*
Bravely faught the war
*
Gave everything that they had.. without expecting anything in return.
*
Never slept nights together so that we could sleep peacefully.
*
Left their wives and children... for the safety of the Nation


I see that Americans have this yellow ribbon on their cars, which expresses how grateful they are to their troops... I really liked that Idea.




Here's a song to our troops, who sacrificed their precious life for us! - By Russ Morgan

Around her neck she wore a yellow ribbon
She wore it in the springtime
And in the month of May
And if you ask me why the heck she wore it
She wore it for her soldier who was far far away


Far away, far away
She wore it for her soldier
Who was far, far away

Around the block she pushed a baby carriage
She pushed it in the springtime
And in the month of May
And if you ask me why the heck she pushed it
She pushed it for her soldier who was far far away


Far away, far away
She pushed it for her soldier
Who was far, far away

Behind the door her daddy kept a shotgun
He kept it in the springtime
And in the month of May
And if you ask me why the heck he kept it
He kept it for her soldier who was far far away


Far away, far away
He kept it for her soldier
Who was far, far away


And this one, in our own Language :)

aye mere vatan ke logon
tum khoob laga lo naara
ye shubh din hai ham sab ka
lahara lo tiranga pyaara
par mat bhoolo seema par
veeron ne hai praan ganvaaye
kuch yaad unhein bhi kar lo
jo laut ke ghar na aaye

aye mere vatan ke logon
zara aankh mein bhar lo paani
jo shaheed hue hain unki
zara yaad karo qurbaani

jab ghayal hua himaalay
khatre mein padi aazadi
jab tak thi saans lade vo
phir apni laash bichha di
sangeen pe dhar kar maatha
so gaye amar balidaani

jo shaheed...

jab desh mein thi diwali
vo khel rahe the holi
jab ham baithe the gharon mein
vo jhel rahe the goli
the dhanya javaan vo aapane
thi dhanya vo unaki javaani
jo shaheed ...

koi sikh koi jaat maraatha
koi gurakha koi madaraasi
sarahad pe maranevaala
har veer tha bhaaratavaas
jo khoon gira parvat par
vo khoon tha hindustaani
jo shaheed...

thi khoon se lath-path kaaya
phir bhi bandook uthaake
das-das ko ek ne maara
phir gir gaye hosh ganva ke
jab ant-samay aaya to
kah gaye ke ab marate hain
khush rahana desh ke pyaaron
ab ham to safar karate hain
kya log the vo deewane
kya log the vo abhimaani

jo shaheed...

tum bhool na jaao unko
is liye kahi ye kahaani
jo shaheed...

jay hind jay hind ki sena
jay hind, jay hind, jay hind


I was listening to this song today... and I am amazed the kind of patriotic feeling it brings out in you....

दिल्‍ली की ओर बढ़ चला मॉनसून

दक्षिण-पश्चिम मॉनसून के कारण पूरे मध्य प्रदेश, गुजरात, छत्तीसगढ़, बिहार और पूर्वी उत्तर प्रदेश के कई भागों में सोमवार को बारिश हुई. इससे पिछले कुछ दिनों से जारी भीषण गर्मी से लोगों को राहत मिली है. साथ ही इन इलाकों में जल्द ही खरीफ की बुआई शुरू होने की उम्मीदें भी बढ़ गई हैं.

बंगाल की खाड़ी में निम्न दबाव का क्षेत्र
भारतीय मौसम विभाग के निदेशक बी. पी. यादव ने बताया कि बंगाल की खाड़ी में निम्न दबाव का क्षेत्र बनने से पूरे मध्य भारत के अलावा राजस्थान और पश्चिम उत्तर प्रदेश में दक्षिण मॉनसून का विस्तार हुआ है. उन्होंने कहा कि अगले 2 दिन में मॉनसून का उत्तर-पश्चिम भारत के और क्षेत्रों में विस्तार हो सकता है. यादव ने कहा कि उत्तर प्रदेश और उत्तराखंड के शेष भागों व पूर्वी राजस्थान के कुछ भागों में दक्षिण पश्चिम मॉनसून के विस्तार के लिए स्थितियां अनुकूल हैं. अगले 2 दिन में पश्चिमी तटवर्ती इलाकों में भारी बारिश होने की संभावना है.

आइला की वजह से हुआ नुकसान
मॉनसून केरल के तट पर सामान्य रूप से एक सप्ताह पहले 23 मई को ही पहुंच गया लेकिन उड़ीसा और पश्चिम बंगाल में आए चक्रवाती तूफान आइला की वजह से गायब हो गया था. इस वजह से प्रायद्वीपीय इलाकों में अपने सही रास्ते से आने में मॉनसून को एक महीने का वक्त लग गया. आमतौर पर इसमें एक हफ्ता ही लगता है.

बारिश का अनुमान घटकर 93 प्रतिशत
कमजोर मॉनसून की वजह से मौसम विभाग ने बारिश के अनुमान को 96 प्रतिशत से घटाकर पिछले हफ्ते 93 प्रतिशत ही कर दिया था. हालांकि मौसम विभाग का कहना है कि जुलाई और अगस्त में मॉनसून इस कमी को पूरा कर देगा. जुलाई और अगस्त ही खेती के लिहाज से अहम महीने हैं.

Mumbai set to zip on Bandra-Worli sea link

Mumbai is ready to set foot on a traffic-busting 5.6-km road link across the sea that promises to sharply cut down travel time between the southern island city and its north-western suburbs.

Beginning Tuesday, the impressive Bandra-Worli sea link will be thrown open to limited traffic. A massive laser display lit up Mumbai’s skies on Monday in the run-up to the inauguration.

The sea link will cut down the usually 45-minute peak-hour drive from Bandra to Worli to just seven minutes. The daily traffic volume on this route exceeds 1.4 million, leading to traffic snarls. As of now, Mahim Causeway is the only connecting link between the southern island city and the northwest suburbs.

The cable supported eight-lane link is an engineering marvel in itself. It’s India’s first open sea bridge and weighs equivalent to 50,000 African elephants. The steel wire used to build the bridge equals the circumference of the earth. The bridge is 63 times the height of Qutab Minar and constructing it has required 90,000 tonnes of cement.

Of the eight lanes, only four will be opened to public for now. The remaining lanes will be operational once the Worli-Haji Ali section is complete.

Almost 4,000 vehicles are expected on the link during peak hours. Access to the bridge will be controlled through toll plazas on both the Worli and Bandra side. The one-way toll of Rs 50 could hit a lot of commuters though.

The Bandra-Worli sea link is just the first phase of the ambitious 20-km Western Freeway project. The second phase of the project, linking Worli to Haji Ali, will take another four years. The government has still not awarded the contract to the two prospective bidders.

The third phase will connect Haji Ali to Nariman Point. The revised proposal for this stretch is awaiting approval.