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By:

Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 3:50:16 pm

New Frontiers

India’s most telling victories at the Asian Games in Nagoya came from the most unexpected quarters. While cricket and hockey did what champions are supposed to do and defended their crowns, the more consequential breakthroughs came from a 17-year-old archer and a 23-year-old golfer, who stormed territory no Indian woman had entered before. The significance of Kumkum Mohod’s historic recurve gold and Pranavi Urs’s first individual golf gold go well beyond than merely being medals to India’s...

New Frontiers

India’s most telling victories at the Asian Games in Nagoya came from the most unexpected quarters. While cricket and hockey did what champions are supposed to do and defended their crowns, the more consequential breakthroughs came from a 17-year-old archer and a 23-year-old golfer, who stormed territory no Indian woman had entered before. The significance of Kumkum Mohod’s historic recurve gold and Pranavi Urs’s first individual golf gold go well beyond than merely being medals to India’s tally. They are markers of a sporting culture in which Indian women are no longer merely participating at the highest level, but increasingly redefining what success looks like. Kumkum’s achievement was remarkable even by the standards of a breakthrough. She defeated South Korea’s Oh Yejin in a shoot-off-like 6-5 finish after overcoming a reigning world champion, Kang Chaeyoung, in the quarter-final and former world No. 1 Jingyi Zhu in the semi-final. Her haul of two golds and a silver, alongside an Olympic quota place, suggests that this is not merely a promising teenager but the arrival of a serious international competitor who is here to stay. Pranavi’s victory was a different test of temperament. A triple bogey on the third hole had erased her three-stroke overnight advantage. While many a golfer would have watched the tournament disappear at that moment, she instead recovered with three birdies and finished at 15-under 265, one stroke ahead. Her individual gold also helped India secure the team silver, with Aditi Ashok and Diksha Dagar contributing to the effort. Women’s sport in India now is no longer simply a story of exceptional individuals overcoming exceptional obstacles. It is fast becoming an ecosystem which is producing women capable of competing across shooting, archery, badminton, boxing, wrestling, athletics, cricket, hockey and golf. While some are established stars, others are teenagers arriving with an expectation of winning rather than merely participating. Every Kumkum or Pranavi who wins a major title makes it easier for the next girl to imagine herself holding the same trophy in that field. Pranavi’s medal challenges the notion that the sport is an enclave of privilege and tradition rather than a field open to Indian talent. India’s 11-gold surge in the final two days owed much to disciplines outside the country’s traditional sporting spotlight. Archery produced nine medals, including five golds. The message here is that India’s sporting ambitions no longer rest on a handful of glamour sports like cricket. The next challenge is to convert Asian success into sustained global performance. The real test will come at the Olympics, where the fields are deeper and the margins narrower. This is the big takeaway from the astonishing performance of our women athletes at Nagoya. They are expanding the definition of what an Indian woman can achieve in sport and more importantly, what the country now expects her to achieve.

Navy doc treat injured Pakistani crew

Quaid Najmi
Apr 6, 2025
1 min read

Mumbai: In a humanitarian gesture, the Indian Navy (IN) rendered lifesaving medical assistance to save the life of a Pakistani crewman on an Iranian fishing vessel in the Arabian Sea, officials said.


The operation took place on Friday/Saturday around 350 nautical miles in the high seas off Oman coast, with the help of the stealth frigate INS Trikand.


On April 4, the INS Trikand monitored a distress call from the Omani vessel 'Al Omeedi' seeking help for a crew member, who was seriously injured with multiple fractures and blood loss.


Further enquiry revealed that the distressed crewman was working on the vessel's engine when he sustained the grievous injuries and was transferred to another Iran-bound dhow, 'FV Abdul Rehman Hanzia', in the vicinity.

On getting the SOS, INS Trikand immediately altered her course to rush medical assistance to the injured crew.


The 'FV Abdul Rehman Hanzia' has a contingent of 11 Pakistanis and 5 Iranians manning the vessel.


The Indian warship's medical officer along with a team of Marine Commandos boarded the FV.


Ob board, the MO started the three hour long medical procedures, controlling the blood flow, suturing and splinting of the crew's injured fingers.

It was a timely response which prevented the patient's total loss of the injured fingers due to gangrene.


The IN stealth warship also provided crucial medical supplies, antibiotics to the FV to ensure the injured crew's wellbeing till the dhow reaches Iran.


The entire crew of the dhow expressed their gratitude to the IN for rendering assistance on time that helped saving their injured mate's life, said the IN officials.

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