** Tokyo Olympics: India Men’s Hockey team wins bronze after 41 years, Ravi Dahiya chasing Gold in wrestling

Indian men’s hockey team rewrote history as it claimed an Olympic medal after 41 years, defeated Germany 5-4 in men’s hockey match to win bronze at the ongoing Tokyo Olympics on Thursday.

Simranjeet Singh scored two goals for India at the Oi Hockey Stadium, along with Hardik Singh, Harmanpreet Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh also adding their names on the scoresheet.

Aug 05, 2021

** PM congratulates Bhavina Patel for her performance at Tokyo Paralympics

India’s table tennis player Bhavina Patel created history at the Tokyo Paralympics on Saturday when she astonished her world world no. 3 Chinese competitor 3-2 to become the first table tennis player from the country to reach the final of the Paralympic.

This was Patel’s first victory against the former world number one Zhang Miao of China in the women’s singles Class four semi-final matches. The two players had met 11 times before.

August 28, 2021

** Journalist Nava Thakuria bags international award

Geneva-based Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) has honoured Tehelka journalist for his relentless initiatives to safeguard the rights of media persons in the south Asian country and also for defending the press freedom in the region with an exemplary commitment. 

The Guwahati-based working journalist was awarded on 30th November 2021 remotely as it was difficult for him to reach Geneva because of the Covid-19 restrictions. Even a virtual interaction program with a group of journalists there was also cancelled at the last moment.

“It is the first time that the PEC rewards a journalist from India, the second-most populous country of the world. India has a strong democracy and a vibrant press. Last year however, a record number of 15 journalists were killed in India while six have been killed this year. Journalists are targeted documenting abuses, corruption, criminal activities,” said Blaise Lempen, secretary-general of PEC.

** Bengaluru Man MD Ahmed Bags Guinness Record For Memorising Most Three-Digit Flash Numbers

Bengaluru-based author and coach Mohammed Ali Athar Ahmed, also known as MD Ahmed, entered the Guinness World Records for memorising the most number of three-digit flashcards.

Ahmed bagged the world record for recalling 32 three-digit flash numbers. The previous record was held by an Iranian (30 three-digit cards).

Ahmed is highly trained in memory techniques and also trains others to use such techniques. He decided to attempt a Guinness World Records title to help inspire others who are also interested in memorising as a skill and sport, Guinness World Records noted.

** Portugal now led by PM, 2 cabinet members of Indian origin

In a twist to that claim, Portugal is now led by people of Indian descent with family ties to the former colony: Prime Minister Antonio Costa, Finance Minister Joao Leao and Planning Minister Nelson de Sousa.

“I am very proud of visiting my father’s land as prime minister, and especially the first prime minister of Indian origin in the European Union. This visit has a strong emotional side in the personal motivation,” Costa said during a visit to India in 2017.

Costa’s grandfather Luis Afonso Maria da Costa was from Margao, where his relatives still live and his 200-year-old ancestral home is located, according to the Portuguese American Journal.

Luis Costa emigrated to what was then another Portuguese colony, Mozambique, where the prime minister’s father Orlando da Costa was born in the capital Maputo.

The elder Costa was a writer and his son released an English translation of his book, Sem Flores Nem Coroas (Without Flowers or Wreaths) while visiting India.

** Digitized war records of Indian troops killed in WWI Iraq highlight long forgotten Kut Al-Amara siege

The beautifully handwritten note on the yellowing service record, compiled by the Punjab government in 1919 and now over a century old, is as brief as it is poignant.

In faded ink, the entry for Wasawa Singh, the son of Shera, a Jat from the village of Gaike in northeast Punjab, tells the story of a young life cut short in the service of an alien empire.

There are no dates, merely a rank — havildar, equivalent to sergeant — and the name of a unit, the 30th Punjabis.

** Narinder Singh Kapany: The relentless innovator behind the science of fibre optics

Known as the ‘Father of Fibre Optics’, Dr Narinder Singh Kapany had over 100 patents under his name.

For someone who was hailed as one of the seven unsung heroes of the 20th century for his Nobel Prize-deserving invention in 1999 by Fortune magazine, Narinder Singh Kapany remains relatively unknown.

The Indian American scientist was a multi-faceted personality—physicist, innovator, entrepreneur, farmer, philanthropist, and an avid art collector.

he also invented Retinal laser coagulation treatment. He became the first Indian Sikh to take a company public in Silicon Valley. 

In 1967, Kapany created the Sikh Foundation that pioneered the display of Sikh Arts at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and established the first permanent Sikh Art Gallery in the United States and Canada

** Chanel appoints Unilever executive Leena Nair as CEO

According to the reports, Ms. Nair, in her new position with the French luxury group Chanel, will be based in London.

Leena Nair, the first female and youngest-ever Chief Human Resources Officer of Anglo-Dutch FMCG major Unilever has stepped down to join French luxury group Chanel as its Global Chief Executive.

She was a member of the Unilever Leadership Executive (ULE), which is responsible for delivering Unilever’s business and financial performance.

* World Senior Badminton Tournament At Spain: Government School Maths Teacher Wins Bronze Medal

Sunil Gladson Varadaraj, who works as an Assistant Teacher at Hosamalangi Government High School in Kollegal taluk of Chamarajanagar, is the one who had excelled at track & field events during school days and then was part of State Kho Kho team before switching to shuttle badminton.

Now, adding feather to his cap is the Bronze Medal he won at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Senior Badminton Championship held at Carolina Marin Stadium in Huelva of Spain between Nov. 28 and Dec. 4, 2021.

* World is a golf course now for this girl prodigy from city

India’s leading amateur female golfer, 15-year-old Bengalurean Avani Prashanth, has been selected for the Global Child Prodigy Award 2022.