Vijender Singh knocked out of London Olympics

LONDON: India's star pugilist Vijender Singh crashed out of the middleweight category as he lost by 13-17 to Uzbekistan's Abbos Atoev in the quarterfinal at the Excel Arena on Monday.

The Beijing Games bronze medallist wasn't really impressive during his last eight bout against an opponent whom he had beaten 7-0 in the Asian Games final at Guangzhou two years back.

A defensive boxer by nature, Vijender stayed in his shell a tad too long giving Atoev a chance to make inroads, which proved to be decisive in the end.

Atoev's left and right hook combination also fetched him more points than the Indian's right hooks that occasionally landed on spot.

In the first round, it was even-stevens as both boxers were locked at 3-3. However, in the second round, Vijender rattled Atoev with a lethal left hook but the Uzbek came up with a few solid counter punches as he won the round 7-5.

The two-point cushion proved good enough as the winner started the third round with a bang as his right hook landed flush on Vijender's face to help him consolidate his lead.

He held onto it as he scored another seven points in the third round and clinched the issue with a 17-13 scoreline ensuring atleast a bronze medal.

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Olympics 2012: Saina Nehwal’s medal huge for India, says Gopichand

Saina Nehwal’s victory was special in many ways for Indian badminton. The first ever shuttler from the country to have won a medal at the Olympics was an occasion to celebrate for the entire contingent. But Pullela Gopichand topped the celebrations with a generous flow of tears of happiness and thankfulness.

Gopichand used the big occasion to recall all the hard work that his pupil Saina has put in and the strict regimen that she had gone through in the last few years. He said that Saina’s victory will be an inspiration and will attract many more girls to the sport.

“It is a great victory and this is huge for Indian badminton. This was something that we all worked towards for so many years and I am happy that Saina won the medal here,” said the former All England champion minutes after Saina’s historic feat at the Wembley Arena.

Gopichand was completely convinced that Saina was surely going to pull off this match, had it continued further in spite of her losing the first game to world No 2 Xin Wang. “It was unfortunate that Wang had to retire. I feel that Saina would have won anyway if the match would have gone on. Saina was shocked when she lost the first game. Nevertheless a win is a win,” added the national coach.

Gopichand, too, suffered a knee injury during his playing days but then made a remarkable comeback to win the All England Open thereafter. He sympathised with Wang’s injury but then felt that the way Saina fought back from 6-14 down to make it 18-20 at one stage was remarkable and had looked like she is going to pull it off in the next two.

“Wang was a little tired and I think she pushed herself a little too much,” observed Gopichand, adding: “The Chinese shuttler was getting a little weary as the match progressed.”

Gopichand was not just thrilled by Saina’s bronze here but has also been thrilled by Parupalli Kashyap’s achievements here. He, too, like Saina, became the first ever male Indian shuttler to reach the quarterfinal stage before losing to top seed and eventual runners-up Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia.

“This is really huge for Indian badminton. It has been my dream for many years,” Gopichand said in a choked voice before moving on for more media interviews lined up after this historic feat.

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US Senator questions US' aid to India

WASHINGTON: Arguing that borrowing from countries which receive aid from the US is dangerous, a Republican Senator questioned the decision of the Obama Administration to give financial assistance to nations like India that has bought $39.8 billion of American debt bonds.

"Borrowing money from countries who receive our aid is dangerous for both the donor and recipient. If countries can afford to buy US debt, they can afford to fund their own assistance programmes," Tom Coburn said in his report 'Back in Black: A deficit Reduction Plan', unveiling the most ambitious plan yet to break the debt ceiling stalemate.

In his 621-page report, Coburn referred to a recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) which revealed that the federal government gave $1.4 billion in foreign aid to 16 countries, including India and China, to whom the US owes $10 billion each.

According to the US Treasury Department, the largest holder of US debt is China, owning $1.1 trillion Treasury bonds and having received $27.2 million in foreign aid in FY2010. "Brazil held $193.5 billion in Treasury securities and received $25 million in foreign aid, Russia had $127.8 billion and received $71.5 million, and India held $39.8 billion and received $126.6 million from the US," the Senator said.

In a letter to Coburn on May 13, the CRS said India in 2010 received $126.6 million - this includes $2.5 million for counter-terrorism, $700,000 for combating weapons of mass destruction, $30 million for fighting HIV/AIDS, $22 million for family planning, $19 million for maternal and child health and $13.7 million for fighting tuberculosis.

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