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Five minutes with Sharath: Playing India's top paddler weeks before his swansong

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

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March 19, 2025

WITHIN the broad world of sports journalism, there exists a niche form of writing. Participatory journalism. It's when scribes duel with athletes — professionals with records under the belt — to get a first-hand look into what it's like to face some of the best in the world.

- SWAROOP SWAMINATHAN @Chennai

One of the most famous examples of this genre was published by George Plimpton after he faced off against Archie Moore, a boxing champ. Plimpton, who pitched to one of baseball's greatest hitters (Willie Mays) in a bid to understand his world better, was no stranger to facing some of the sport's finest. So the editor of the Paris Review fought against Moore. The latter, rather predictably, left the former with a bloody nose and some damage before the bell cut through the ring.

Table tennis isn't a combat sport but this hack is attempting to do something similar; face a pro. Not just any pro but India's No. 1 player, owner of multiple medals across events and decades and somebody who has been to five Olympics. A Sharath Kamal. Why? Since the turn of the millennium, this country has fallen in love with various cricketers, several shooters, couple of tennis stars, a plethora of badminton players and one long-haired javelin maverick.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

Edappadi accuses Stalin of 'selective sympathy' to reap political gains

AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Friday accused Chief Minister MK Stalin of playing politics over the Karur tragedy, stating that he (CM) did not bother to comfort the victims of the Kallakurichi hooch tragedy last year, but visited Karur victims overnight only because of the upcoming Assembly elections.

time to read

1 mins

October 04, 2025

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

'No provisions': Pilots can't be in AI Ahmedabad crash probe committee

THE Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has informed a leading pilot body, the Airline Pilots' Association of India (ALPA INDIA), that it would not be possible to include pilots in the ongoing final probe into the AI 171 crash at Ahmedabad.

time to read

1 mins

October 04, 2025

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

OBC minister in Gujarat cabinet named state BJP chief ahead of local polls

THE suspense over the Gujarat BJP's leadership has ended.

time to read

1 min

October 04, 2025

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

12 deaths & counting in MP, Raj; cough syrups under lens

CHILDREN aged below five years, who were prescribed a combination of medicines, including two common cough syrups, by doctors in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district, and Rajasthan, continue to die following kidney failure.

time to read

2 mins

October 04, 2025

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

REGULAR TRAINING CAN STEM ROT IN JUDICIARY

N an exemplary intervention, the Supreme Court recently directed two judicial officers in Delhi to undergo a week-long training, flagging serious lapses on their part in granting bail in a fraud case.

time to read

1 mins

October 04, 2025

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

Wangchuk's wife moves SC seeking husband's release

CLIMATE activist and Ladakh statehood crusader Sonam Wangchuk's wife, Dr. Gitanjali J. Angmo, has moved the Supreme Court seeking his immediate release from Jodhpur Central Jail, where he is being held under the National Security Act (NSA).

time to read

1 min

October 04, 2025

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

Rivers swell in Chamoli in post-monsoon deluge

POST-monsoon rains lashing Uttarakhand's Chamoli district have led to a significant rise in the Alaknanda and Pindar rivers at Karnaprayag, causing widespread waterlogging and disruption.

time to read

1 mins

October 04, 2025

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

TILLY TELLS TALES FROM NEAR FUTURE

TWO giant strides in the artificial intelligence industry one achieved, another threatened-are rekindling existential anxieties.

time to read

3 mins

October 04, 2025

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

Scrapped comps to be donated to govt schools

THE Centre has found a way to reduce the stash of old computers and laptops in government offices, as the usable machines declared scrapped will be donated to state-run schools and other educational institutions.

time to read

1 mins

October 04, 2025

The New Indian Express Tirunelveli

Coop society in every panchayat by '29, says Shah

UNION Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that by 2029, every panchayat in the country will have a cooperative society.

time to read

1 min

October 04, 2025

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