New Delhi: The Government of India on December 26 conferred the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar 2025 on mountaineer Vishwanath Karthikey Padakanti, with President Droupadi Murmu presenting the national honour in recognition of his achievement as the youngest Indian and the second youngest person globally to complete the prestigious 7 Summits Challenge.

December 26 is observed annually as Veer Baal Diwas, commemorating the martyrdom of the sons of Guru Gobind Singh. On this occasion, the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is conferred by the President of India to recognise exceptional achievements by children below the age of 18 across six categories—Bravery, Social Service, Environment, Sports, Art and Culture, and Science and Technology.

The national honour recognises Karthikey’s completion of the 7 Summits Challenge at the age of 16, placing him among the youngest mountaineers worldwide to achieve the milestone. The challenge involves scaling the highest peaks on all seven continents—Mount Everest (Asia), Aconcagua (South America), Denali (North America), Mount Elbrus (Europe), Mount Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mount Kosciuszko (Australia), and Mount Vinson (Antarctica).
Born on October 30, 2008, in Hyderabad and currently residing in Ferozguda, Balanagar, Vishwanath Karthikey began mountaineering during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. At the age of 11, he undertook his first high-altitude attempt at Rudragaira in Uttarakhand. Although the summit remained out of reach, the expedition marked the beginning of a sustained and disciplined pursuit of high-altitude climbing.

He later trained at the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering, acquiring essential technical and safety skills for extreme-altitude expeditions. Alongside formal training, Karthikey followed a rigorous fitness routine, often beginning his day at 4 a.m. Over the next five years, he climbed 23 mountains across continents, setting multiple age-related benchmarks.

A defining milestone in his journey came on May 27, 2025, when he successfully summited Mount Everest, completing the Seven Summits Challenge.

Throughout this period, he also maintained steady academic progress, balancing school education with demanding international expeditions.

Karthikey’s journey has been supported by his family, his parents Rajendera Prasad and Laxmi, grandparents Shiva Kumar and Soumya Laxmi, and elder sister Vaishnavi. His training and expeditions were guided by his coach Bharath Thamineni, founder of Boots & Crampon, and Romil Barthwal, whose mentorship played a critical role in his development as a mountaineer.

Notably, the award marks a hat-trick for Boots & Crampon, following earlier Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar recipients Samanyu Pothuraju (2020) and Virat Chandra Telukunta (2022).

Reacting to the honour, Karthikey said mountaineering had taught him discipline, consistency, and resilience in the face of setbacks. He added that receiving the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar has strengthened his resolve to pursue higher goals in the sport.

पिछले कई वर्षों से वेतन और पेंशन के बकाये के भुगतान की मांग कर रहे इन पूर्व सैनिकों का कहना है कि लंबे समय से जारी टालमटोल ने उन्हें अब सड़क पर उतरने को मजबूर कर दिया है।

यह विरोध प्रदर्शन प्रेस क्लब ऑफ इंडिया में हुई ब्रीफिंग के अगले दिन आयोजित किया गया।

प्रदर्शनकारियों का कहना है कि दशकों की देरी के कारण अब वे और उनके परिवार गंभीर आर्थिक संकट का सामना कर रहे हैं। उनके अनुसार, यह केवल पैसों का नहीं बल्कि 96 परिवारों के सम्मान और भविष्य का सवाल है।अब आगे क्या?

सैनिकों का प्रतिनिधित्व कर रहे वी. एस. सालुंखे और अन्य साथियों ने स्पष्ट किया कि वे इस आश्वासन पर करीबी नजर रखेंगे। उन्होंने चेतावनी दी कि यदि कोई ठोस और समयबद्ध समाधान नहीं निकला, तो वे अनिश्चितकालीन धरने सहित अपने आंदोलन को और भी व्यापक रूप देंगे।

पूर्व सैनिकों ने दोहराया कि उनका संघर्ष लोकतांत्रिक और संवैधानिक है, लेकिन कई साल का लंबा इंतजार अब उनके सब्र की परीक्षा ले रहा है।

वर्ष 1997–98 के दौरान तत्कालीन दाभोल पावर कंपनी (DPC) ने अपनी सहयोगी इकाई ऑफशोर पावर ऑपरेशन (OPO) के माध्यम से परियोजना की सुरक्षा के लिए पूर्व सैनिकों की तैनाती की थी। वर्ष 2000–01 में, एनरॉन के दिवालिया होने के बाद DPC ने रत्नागिरी स्थित डबोल परियोजना को अधूरा छोड़ दिया। इसके पश्चात माननीय बॉम्बे हाई कोर्ट द्वारा नियुक्त कोर्ट रिसीवर ने परियोजना स्थल एवं उससे संबंधित परिसंपत्तियों का कब्ज़ा संभाल लिया।

परियोजना स्थल की सुरक्षा व्यवस्था बनाए रखने के लिए कोर्ट रिसीवर द्वारा एक निजी सुरक्षा एजेंसी को नियुक्त किया गया, जिसके अंतर्गत पूर्व सैनिक सुरक्षा कार्य करते रहे।

भारत सरकार के मंत्रियों के समूह (GoM) की निगरानी में जुलाई 2005 में रत्नागिरी गैस एंड पावर प्राइवेट लिमिटेड (RGPPL) का गठन किया गया। यह कंपनी NTPC लिमिटेड, गेल (इंडिया) लिमिटेड, विभिन्न वित्तीय संस्थानों तथा MSEB होल्डिंग कंपनी के बीच स्थापित एक संयुक्त उपक्रम है।

माननीय बॉम्बे हाई कोर्ट के दिनांक 05/06 अक्टूबर 2005 के आदेश (मुकदमा संख्या 1116/2005) के तहत RGPPL ने दाभोल पावर कंपनी की परिसंपत्तियों का अधिग्रहण किया। उक्त आदेश में यह स्पष्ट रूप से उल्लेखित था कि परिसंपत्तियों का यह हस्तांतरण किसी भी प्रकार की पूर्व देनदारी या कानूनी उत्तरदायित्व के बिना किया जाएगा।

परियोजना का अधिग्रहण करने के पश्चात, RGPPL ने सभी निर्धारित नियमों एवं प्रक्रियाओं का पालन करते हुए दिसंबर 2006 में टेंडर प्रक्रिया के माध्यम से एक नई सुरक्षा एजेंसी को सुरक्षा कार्य का ठेका प्रदान किया। इसके बाद से संबंधित पूर्व सैनिक किसी भी रूप में RGPPL द्वारा नियुक्त किसी सुरक्षा एजेंसी के अधीन कार्यरत नहीं रहे हैं। यह स्पष्ट किया जाता है कि ये पूर्व सैनिक न तो कभी RGPPL के कर्मचारी रहे हैं और न ही NTPC के पेरोल पर।

इस बीच, संबंधित पूर्व सैनिकों ने दाभोल पावर कंपनी (DPC) के विरुद्ध रत्नागिरी के सहायक श्रम आयुक्त के समक्ष वाद दायर किया। वर्ष 2006 से 2010 के बीच, इन मामलों में RGPPL को भी पक्षकार बनाया गया। उक्त मामलों को श्रम न्यायालय, रत्नागिरी को संदर्भित किया गया, जबकि पूर्व सैनिकों के एक संघ से संबंधित मामला औद्योगिक न्यायालय, कोल्हापुर में भेजा गया।

विस्तृत सुनवाई के उपरांत, श्रम न्यायालय, रत्नागिरी एवं औद्योगिक न्यायालय, कोल्हापुर — दोनों ने ही RGPPL के पक्ष में निर्णय देते हुए मामलों का निपटारा कर दिया। इसके पश्चात, संबंधित पूर्व सैनिकों द्वारा माननीय बॉम्बे हाई कोर्ट में अपील दायर की गई है, जो वर्तमान में विचाराधीन है।

RGPPL का मानना है कि वर्तमान में प्रसारित की जा रही जानकारी तथ्यों से परे है और इससे कंपनी की छवि को धूमिल करने का प्रयास किया जा रहा है, जिसके पीछे किसी दुर्भावनापूर्ण या छिपे हुए उद्देश्य की संभावना से इनकार नहीं किया जा सकता। RGPPL ऐसे सभी भ्रामक आरोपों का सख्ती से खंडन करता है और अपने कानूनी अधिकारों की रक्षा हेतु सभी आवश्यक कदम उठाने के लिए प्रतिबद्ध है।

During the period 1997–98, the erstwhile Dabhol Power Company (DPC) had engaged ex-servicemen for security services through its associate company, Offshore Power Operation (OPO). In 2000–01, following the bankruptcy of its parent company, Enron, DPC abandoned the Dabhol Power Project at Ratnagiri.

Subsequently, the Court Receiver appointed by the Hon’ble Bombay High Court took possession of the project site and its assets. To ensure continued security of the project, the Court Receiver engaged a private security agency, under which the ex-servicemen continued to render security services.

Under the aegis of the Group of Ministers (GoM), Government of India, Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt. Ltd. (RGPPL) was incorporated in July 2005 as a joint venture of NTPC Ltd., GAIL (India) Ltd., various financial institutions, and MSEB Holding Company.

Pursuant to the order of the Hon’ble Bombay High Court dated 05/06 October 2005 in Suit No. 1116 of 2005, RGPPL took possession of the assets of Dabhol Power Company. The said order explicitly provided that the transfer of possession would be without any past liabilities or encumbrances.

After taking over the project, RGPPL, following due process and established procedures, awarded the security services contract through a tendering process to a security agency in December 2006. Since then, the concerned ex-servicemen have not been engaged by or worked under any security agency appointed by RGPPL. It is reiterated that these ex-servicemen were neither on the rolls of RGPPL nor on the rolls of NTPC at any point in time.

Meanwhile, the ex-servicemen filed a case against Dabhol Power Company before the Assistant Labour Commissioner, Ratnagiri. Subsequently, during the period 2006–2010, they impleaded RGPPL in the matter. The cases were referred to the Labour Court, Ratnagiri, while one association-related case was referred to the Industrial Court, Kolhapur. After due consideration and hearings, both the Labour Court, Ratnagiri and the Industrial Court, Kolhapur disposed of the cases in favour of RGPPL.

Aggrieved by the said orders, the ex-servicemen have filed an appeal before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court. As on date, the matter is sub judice before the Hon’ble Bombay High Court.

In light of the above, RGPPL strongly refutes any attempt to spread misinformation or create a misleading narrative with ulterior motives. The Company remains committed to transparency and compliance with all legal and statutory requirements.

Live Your City, a brand under the American company Fever Labs Inc., the world’s leading tech platform for discovering culture and live entertainment, which inspired over 300 million people last year to enjoy the best real-life experiences across 40+ countries, joins UPKL as its official ticketing partner.

With a mission to democratize access to real-life culture and entertainment, Live Your City will connect fans with the electric energy of UPKL through seamless digital ticketing, real-time seat availability, personalized offers, and structured access for brand partners. UPKL Season 2 kicks off on December 24, 2025, with tickets starting at ₹299 and available exclusively on Live Your City by Fever.

Through this partnership, Live Your City will amplify the vibrant spirit of the league and tap into its high-energy fandom inside the stadium, maintaining a strong brand presence throughout the season while inspiring more people to live unique, authentic, and exciting experiences in their city.

Commenting on the partnership, Simran Malik, Chief Operating Officer, SJ Uplift Kabaddi, said, “The partnership strengthens the league’s commitment to delivering a smooth and reliable experience for fans. Having Live Your City by Fever as our ticketing partner ensures we can manage this scale smoothly and offer spectators a hassle-free way to book tickets and access matches.”

Speaking on the association, Sheetal Birla, General Manager India, Live Your City, said, “We are proud to join the Uttar Pradesh Kabaddi League as their Official Ticketing Partner. This partnership reflects Live Your City’s commitment to delivering an outstanding user experience and offering our partners seamless access to a global platform that elevates entertainment across all categories.”

The league will host 69 matches throughout the season, leading up to the semi-finals on January 09, 2025 and the grand finale on January 10, 2025, ensuring fans and advertisers enjoy a seamless, well-managed match experience. All the matches broadcast live on Zee Bollywood, &Pictures HD, Anmol Cinema 2 and streaming on ZEE5.

New Delhi, Jan 16: Lone Indian Mens Singles player, Kiran George kept his nerves under pressure to register straight game wins while the men’s doubles combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty came back from a game down to advance to the quarter-finals of the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2025, a HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750 event, at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall here on Thursday.

Kiran defeated Frenchman Alex Lanier 22-20, 21-13 in the men’s singles second round clash.Later in the day, 2022 champions Satwik and Chirag had to regroup after losing the first game to beat Japan’s Kenya Mitsuhashi/Hiroki Okamura 20-22, 21-14, 21-16.

Earlier, Kiran saved six game points against Lanier in the opening game of their second round clash. The 24-year-old, who got a last-minute entry into the competition from the reserves list, looked out of sorts as the Frenchman’s attacked precisely in the opening game.

Lanier raced to 20-14 lead in the opening game before Kiran staged an improbable comeback, winning eight straight points to pocket the game 22-20. At that stage, he simply kept the shuttle in play long enough for his opponent to make a mistake and the errors began coming think and fast for the Frenchman as the Indian started closing in.

“At 14-20, I was just taking at one point at a time, not thinking about the lead, whether I’m trailing. I was just playing one point at a time. I think that helped me to secure the game,” said Kiran after the win.

It looked like Satwik and Chirag will also take a straight games route to the round of 8 when they opened up a 18-14 lead and had a game point at 20-19 but could not convert it and lost the opening game. But that blip did not prove costly as they quickly took control of the action in the second game and then maintained the advantage to win in one hour 11 minutes.

New Delhi, Jan 16: Former champion PV Sindhu rekindled memories of her old aggressive self up and coming Kiran George kept his nerves under pressure to register straight game wins while the men’s doubles combination of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty came back from a game down to advance to the quarter-finals of the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2025, a HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750 event, at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall here on Thursday.

Sindhu, playing only her second tournament since the Paris Olympics, hammered Japan’s Manami Suizu 21-15, 21-13.While that match kept the badminton fans at the edge of their seats, Sindhu and Kiran gave them enough reasons to celebrate.

Having spent over six months on the side-lines, Sindhu had looked rusty in the opening match against Shuo Yun Sung of Chinese Taipei in the opening round. But the former world champion played aggressively against Suizu by going for winners from both sides of the court.

After the initial exchanges, Sindhu raced to a 13-6 lead in the opening game and though Suizu narrowed the gap to 14-13, the Indian star always looked in control and he again opened a big gap. The second game saw complete domination of Sindhu, who found cross court winners at will.

“After a break, what I liked about my game today was my movement and my attacks were working well. Moving forward, I need to be ready for anything because matches will get harder,” said Sindhu, who will now face Indonesian fourth seed Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, who defeated another Japanese Natsuki Nadaira 21-12, 24-22 in the other second round clash.

It was not a fruitful day for the other Indian contenders in the fray with women’s doubles combination of Ashwini Ponnappa/Tanisha Crasto, Rutuparna Panda/Swetaparna Panda and mixed doubles pairs of Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha and Ashith Surya/Amrutha Pramuthesh getting knocked out in the second round.

Dhruv and Tanisha played their hearts out against eighth seeds Hiroki Midorikawa and Natsu Saito of Japan but ended on the losing end of the 21-18, 21-17 score-line. Later Tanisha and Ashwini also had a mixed day in office as they lost 9-21, 21-23 against Japan’s Yuki Fukushima and Mayu Matsumoto.

New Delhi, Jan 15: Malvika Bansod and Priyanshu Rajawat put their best foot forward by putting their much higher ranked opponents to the sword but were unfortunate to end on the wrong side of the score-line in the opening round of the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2025 at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall here on Wednesday.

It was the heart-breaking losses of the young guns, Malvika and Rajawat, that left the home badminton fans speechless as both of them played their hearts out. Malvika saved two game points in the opening game and fought back from 7-14 to 16-16 in the second against women’s singles third seed Han Yue of China before going down 20-22, 21-16, 21-11 in an hour and six minutes.

Malvika, who had gone down in straight game against Han last week in Malaysia, started strong in the opening game and though the Chinese took control of the game in the later stage, kept her nerves and forced errors to save two game points and pocket the first game. It looked like she could do an encore in the second after winning eight the nine points from 7-14 but a couple of errors derailed her effort and the experienced Han tightened the noose in the decider.

In the men’s singles match, Rajawat saved a match point in the second game to force a decider against the 2023 world championships silver medallist and sixth seed Kodai Naraoka but could not avoid a 21-16, 22-20, 21-13 loss in a match that lasted an hour and 22 minutes in the HSBC BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament.

Rajawat displayed delectable stroke play and employed the big jump smashes to keep pace with Naroaka. The Japanese was made to work hard for every point and the error the Indian forced the sixth seed to commit at match point in the second game after a long rally showed that he was prepared for the scrap. But once again it was experience of Naraoka that counted in the final analysis.

New Delhi, Jan 15: Anupama Upadhyaya won the battle between two rising women’s singles players while Malvika Bansod and Priyanshu Rajawat put their best foot forward by putting their much higher ranked opponents to the sword but were unfortunate to end on the wrong side of the score-line in the opening round of the Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2025 at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall here on Wednesday.

Among the foreign stars, Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen fought back from a game down to beat Chi Yu Jen (Tpe) 16-21, 21-11, 21-13 in men’s singles opening round while An Se Young defeated Chiu Pin-Chian of Taipei 22-20, 21-15.

Former National champion Anupama engaged Rakshita in long rallies, not giving her many chances to use the big smash to win 21-17, 21-18 in 43 minutes to advance to the second round.

“This is my first time playing in India Open Super 750 level. Last year, I was just watching all of them play. Before this I had played in the Super 500 but the standard at this level is different. Last year, I played my first 750 in China and last week also played Malaysia Super 1000. These performances help me believe that I can be their equal. I have the speed and compatibility against the top players,” said Anupama.

Also advancing to the next round were seventh seeded women’s doubles combination of Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, Rutuparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda and the mixed doubles combination of Ashith Surya and Amruta Pramuthesh.

Ashwini and Tanisha defeated compatriots Kavya Gupta and Radhika Sharma 21-11, 21-12 while the Panda sisters got the better of the young Thai combination of Phattarin Aiamvareesrisakul and Sarisa Janpeng 7-21, 21-19, 21-14. Ashith and Amruta then teamed up to beat K Tarun and Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli 21-14, 21-15 to advance to the mixed doubles second round.

Asian Games and world championships bronze medallist HS Prannoy’s comeback bid was also cut short by Su Li Yang as the 32-year-old Indian went down 16-21, 21-18, 21-12 in an hour and 13 minutes.

The day ended on a disappointing note for the hosts as 2022 champion Lakshya Sen went down 21-15, 21-10 against Chinese Taipei’s Lin Chun-Yi.

New Delhi January 14, 2025: The Indian women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand inked history as they entered the top 10 in the BWF rankings released on Tuesday. With their new World No.9 ranking, they became the highest-ever ranked Indian women’s doubles pair. The pair surpassed the previous best rankings by an Indian women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponappa and Jwala Gutta. Ponappa and Gutta became the world number 10 in 2015.

In the paired events, while fifth seeded women’s doubles combination of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand (daughter of Pulela Gopichand, Chief Coachof India) went down 21-23, 19-21 against Japan’s Arisa Igarashi and Ayako Sakuramoto in the opening round.

The duo won Syed Modi India International last year and then performed in an impressive manner at the world tour final. Their performance placed them at No.11 in the BWF rankings.

Earlier, the Indian duo missed out on the qualification for the Olympics but added crucial points to their tally in the Macau Open and Canada Open. Also, a quarter-final finish at the Malaysia Open helped them get an entry in the top 10.