Category Archives: Amazing Feats

From a broken spine to a broken auto-pilot, Cdr. Tomy sailed through it all to complete the Golden Globe Race

Commander Abhilash Tomy (Retd) returned to India in triumph after creating history as the first Indian to complete the Golden Globe Race on May 18.

Five years ago, he came back to India on a stretcher and went home in a wheelchair, having suffered life-threatening injury in the middle of the Golden Globe Race . On Thursday, Commander Abhilash Tomy (Retd) returned to India in triumph after creating history as the first Indian to complete the race, a solo non-stop circumnavigation of the globe without any modern technological aids, recreating sailing in the 1960s.

“This time, I had the dream team and it is because of them that I was able to do it,” he told journalists after being felicitated by the Navy on Friday. He finished the GGR 2022 in the second place after a gruelling 236 days alone at sea in a sail boat. South African sailor Kirsten Neuschafer took the first spot, becoming the first woman to win the race.

Three weeks before the start of the race, my boat got damaged, and everyone thought I would be disqualified. But with the support of the team, I was able to fix it and get in the race,” Cdr. Tomy said. “I learned that I needed a good team to support me. So this time, I had exactly the team I had dreamt of. I had a fantastic designer from the Netherlands, who helped me set up the boat. A team manager from the U.S., along with my family and a brilliant sponsor.”

‘Most innovative repair’

Cdr Tomy sailed the last 10,000 miles after fixing a broken auto-pilot with a piece of wood from the anchor. “I think the toughest thing for me was when my self-steering broke close to Cape Horn… I remember I called my race organisers and informed about it to them. They in turn called my wife and told her that his second chance is over. Because a lot of people retired after their autopilot failed,” he narrated. “I immediately removed my toilet door, made a spear and fixed it but it also failed. I was left with a thought of what to do. I then cut my emergency radar and fashioned a spear out of it, but it did not fit. Then I finally took out a piece from the anchor and fixed it to the autopilot. From there, I sailed 10,000 miles. This was the most innovative repair I have done and I did not lose the race.”

The invitation-only race had 16 participants from 11 countries, and started on September 4, 2022 from Les Sables-d’Olonne in France.

Cdr. Tomy was unable to fulfil his long-cherished dream in the 2018 edition of the GGR when he suffered a severe back injury after the mast of his boat Thuriya broke, due to extremely rough weather and sea conditions. It took three days and a dramatic global effort by the navies of India, Australia and France to rescue him from the middle of nowhere. 

Surviving a broken spine

Recounting those tough moments, he said, “I got stuck in a storm because my name was written on it. When the boat capsized, I got separated from it, but I was holding on to the mast, and when the boat straightened I was on the top of the mast. But suddenly, I plunged from 5 to 8 metres height, resulting in a fracture in my spine, lying in the boat for three days before I was rescued. It all happened in the most remote corner area of the earth.”

He was stranded in the south Indian Ocean, approximately 1,900 nautical miles (nm) from Perth, Australia and 2,700 nm from Kanyakumari. Cdr. Tomy was in the third position out of 11 international participants, and had sailed over 10,500 nm over 84 days before the incident knocked him out of the race. 

On those three days at sea awaiting rescue, he said, “When I had an accident and I had nothing to do for three days except to wait for rescue, I was already making plans for the next race. I was figuring out which boat to buy and sponsorship for the next race. It was always in my mind and I was not willing to give up.”

In the surgery that followed, five vertebrae were fused into a single piece and two titanium rods were fixed to his spine. Cdr. Tomy began walking on crutches, did physiotherapy, and then started kickboxing to help regain his balance. He was back on duty and at sea in six months. In January 2019, he quit the Navy to focus on GGR 2022.

Recreating 1960s sailing

Participants in the GGR are required to sail around the world, single-handed and non-stop passing through the three Capes — Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, Cape Leeuwin in Australia and Cape Horn in Chile. The uniqueness of the race is that boat designs and technology newer than 1968 are not permitted; hence, the use of Global Positioning System (GPS), satellite communication and navigational aids are forbidden on the 30,000 mile journey. The sailors have a satellite phone and emergency locator beacons to be used for medical emergencies only.

The historic race is being conducted by Sir Robin Knox Johnston of the U.K. to commemorate the world’s first solo non-stop circumnavigation undertaken by him in 1968, onboard the Indian-built boat, Suhaili.

To his credit, Cdr Tomy is the only Indian to complete solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe in 2012-13 onboard the Indian Naval Sailing Vessel (INSV) Mhadei covering 53,000 nm miles under sail. 

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: INFRASTRUCTURE FOR CITIZENS: Now Track, Block Lost Mobile Phones via Sanchar Saathi Portal 

After the identity verification, the portal will interact with law enforcement agencies and telecom service providers and block your lost mobile phone.

People will be now able to block and track their lost or stolen mobile phones across India via the Sanchar Saathi Portal launched by the Department of Telecom on Tuesday.

Union telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that through Sanchar Saathi Portal, people will be able to block, track and check the genuineness of a used device before buying them.

“First leg of Sanchar Saathi portal is CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register). If you lose your mobile phone, then you can visit this portal. There will be some identity verification, requirement of undertaking and immediately after this the portal will interact with law enforcement agencies and telecom service providers and block your lost mobile phone,” Vaishnaw said.

He said that Prime Minister has a clear vision that a lot of attention needs to be paid to user safety and the facilities under Sanchar Saathi portal are aligned to his vision.

When asked about measures that the government is taking to check fraud through calls on WhatsApp, the minister said that Meta owned app has agreed to deactivate services linked to any mobile phone number engaged in fraudulent activities.

“We have actively engaged with WhatsApp and they have agreed that customer safety is most important. All the OTT platforms are actively cooperating to deregister the users which have been detected as fraud users,” Vaishnaw said.

He said that 36 lakh mobile connections have been disconnected for fraud and simultaneously their WhatsApp account has been blocked.

The minister said that there is Know Your Mobile facility Sanchar Saathi which help users verify the genuineness of second-hand mobile phone before buying them.

“We feel confident that at least with these reforms, at least the rising trends in cyber frauds will be seriously controlled and we will be able to bring them down,” Vaishnaw said.

He said that there is TAFCOP facility on Sanchar Saathi to help people check if there are other mobile numbers working in their name without their permission or knowledge.

The Sanchar Saathi facilities have been developed by C-DoT.The technology development arm under the Department of Telecom has been able to add feature to check use of cloned mobile phones across all telecom networks.

The government has made it mandatory to disclose IMEI– a 15-digit unique numeric identifier of mobile devices before their sale in India. The mobile networks will have access to the list of approved IMEI numbers which will check the entry of any unauthorised mobile phones on their network.

Telecom operators and CEIR system will have visibility into IMEI number of the device and mobile number linked to it and the information is being used in some states to track your lost or stolen mobiles through CEIR. One of the common practices is that miscreants after stealing mobile phone change IMEI number of the device which prevents tracking and blocking of such handsets.

The CEIR will be able to block any cloned mobile phones on the network with the help of various databases. C-DOT has been running the pilot of the technology in some of the telecom circles including Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and North East.

Recently, Karnataka Police recovered and handed over 2,500 lost mobile phones to their owners using the CEIR system.

Apple already has a system to track lost mobile phones with the help of Apple id but major issues have been around Android mobile phones.

With the new system in place, it will be futile to use stolen mobile phones. The system developed under Sanchar Saathi can also help in curbing the smuggling of phones.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: REGION – ASIA /SPORTS : Asian U18 Athletics Championships 2023: India Finish Campaign with 24 Medals

Indian athletes won six golds, 11 silvers and seven bronze at the Under-18 championships. Know all medal winners.

India finished with a rich haul of 24 medals at the Asian U18 Athletics Championships 2023 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan on Sunday.

Indian athletes won six golds, 11 silvers and seven bronze medals at the Under-18 championships.

China led the overall medals tally with 15 golds ahead of India. China also claimed seven silvers and two bronze, earning 24 medals in all. Kazakhstan were third with three golds, six silvers and five bronze (14 medals)

Sprinter Rezoana Mallick Heena headlined India’s campaign by winning three medals – two golds (Indian girls team relay and girls 400m) and one silver (girls 200m) at the Asian youth athletics meet.

Rezoana Mallick Heena won the girls 400m event with a time of 52.98s and in the process, broke the Under-18 400m national record previously held by Jisna Mathew (53.14s in 2015).

Rezoana Mallick Heena also broke the eight-year-old meet record by Bahrain’s former world champion Salwa Eid Nasser (53.02s). The youngster was just 0.02 seconds off the Athletics Federation of India (AFI) qualification standard for Asian Games 2023, set at 52.96.

Runner Bapi Hansda, meanwhile, won the silver medal in the 400m hurdles with a personal best time of 51.38 seconds on the last day.

With the win, Bapi Hansda became the first Indian in history to win a silver in the men’s 400m hurdles event at the competition. His timing was also better than the previous meet record of 51.96s.

India started the campaign by winning four medals, including a gold, on day one.

Priyanshu won a gold in the men’s 1500m with a time of 3.57.37s. Rahul Sarnaliya clocked 3.59.43s to finish second for a silver in the same event.

Aarti added a bronze to India’s medals tally after clocking 24:29:14s in the girls 5000m race walk.

Mubassina Mohammed from Lakshadweep won a bronze in the girls long jump event with an effort of 5.90m. In the boys 3000m, Aman Kumar won the gold medal with a time of 8:39.15s while Yogeshwar R clinched the silver with a time of 8:39.85s.

Vanshika, meanwhile, bagged the gold medal in the in the girls 3000m event with a time of 10:15.16. Anju Bala finished her course in 10:22.86 for a silver.

In the boys hammer throw event, Narpat Singh bagged bronze with an effort of 67.27m.

Incidentally, India finished with the exact same tally of 24 medals – six gold, 11 silver and seven bronze – at the 2022 edition of the continental championships held in Kuwait.

Asian U18 Athletics Championships 2023: India’s medal winners

Indian girls team – gold medal in medley relay

Vanshika – gold medal in girls 3000m

Rezoana Mallick – gold medal in girls 400m

Aman Kumar – gold medal in boys 3000m

Priyanshu – gold medal in boys 1500m

Pooja – gold medal in girls high jump

Rezoana Mallick – silver medal in girls 200m

Anju Bala – silver medal in girls 3000m

Yogeshwar R – silver medal in boys 3000m

Rahul Sarnaliya – silver medal in boys 1500m

Arjun – silver medal in boys javelin throw

Abinaya Rajarajan – silver medal in girls 100m

Ryan, Abhay, Charan and Navpreet – silver medal in boys medley relay

Mohur Mukherjee – silver medal in girls heptathlon

Ritik – silver medal in boys discus throw

Sumit Rathi – silver medal in boys 2000m steeplechase

Bapi Hansda – silver medal in boys 400m hurdles

Narpat Singh – bronze medal in boys hammer throw

Arti – bronze medal in girls 5000m race walk

Babendra Singh – bronze medal in boys 10,000m race walk

Mubassina Mohammed – bronze medal in girls long jump

Abhay Singh – bronze medal in men’s 200m

Anupriya – bronze medal in girls shot put

Sandeep Vinodkumar Gond – bronze medal in boys 110m hurdles

source/contents: olympics.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORT / ATHLETICS : Praveen Chithravel Walks the Talk, Breaks National Record in Cuba

ATHLETICS

The Tamil Nadu triple jumper qualifies for World Championships, moves to No. 2 in this year’s World list’

With the country’s top triple jumpers in great form last year, three months ago triple jumper Praveen Chithravel predicted that the National record could fall early this season.

In 2016 when Renjith Maheswary broke the National record, raising it to 17.30m in Bengaluru a month before the Rio Olympics, many rubbed their eyes in disbelief.

But Chithravel spoke of much bigger things in a chat with this writer from his training base, the JSW Inspire Institute of Sport, in Ballari in February.

“The goal is to do more than 17.40m this year. I need to jump something like 17.40 or 17.50m, that sort of process is going on and it’s going good,” Chithravel, the Asian indoor silver medallist, had told The Hindu then.

The 21-year-old walked the talk in Cuba on Saturday, breaking the National record comfortably at the Prueba de Confrontacion athletics meet in Havana with a gold-winning 17.37m. The Tamil Nadu youngster had three jumps over 17m (17.14 first jump, 17.07 fourth, 17.37 fifth) during that stunning series that saw him climb a rung, to second, in triple jump’s World list this year. That also saw Chithravel qualify (qualification standard 17.20m) for the World Championships in Budapest in August.

With Selva Prabhu Thirumaran — the Tamil Nadu youngster had won the under-20 Worlds silver medal in Colombia last year — finishing fourth with a personal best 16.59m, improving his previous best by 44cm, it was a nice day for Indian athletics. However, Asian Games champion Arpinder Singh had a disappointing 15.03m and finished sixth in the same event.

It was not clear whether Chithravel went through a dope test, an Athletics Federation of India criterion to ratify national records, after his Saturday stunner.

“We normally approve a record only after a dope test. Whether they had a dope control (in the Havana meet), I will have to collect all those details,” National chief coach Radhakrishnan Nair told The Hindu on Sunday afternoon.

“We also had national records in the men’s and women’s 5000m (Avinash Sable and Parul Chaudhary at the Sound Running Track Fest in California, a World Athletics Continental Tour-Silver event). There, dope test was done.”

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: DEFENCE: Indian Navy Test-Fires BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile

BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.

A BrahMos supersonic cruise missile was successfully test-fired from the Indian Navy’s frontline guided missile destroyer INS Mormugao, officials said on May 14.

The missile firing demonstrated the Indian Navy’s firepower at sea, they said.

“INS Mormugao, the latest guided-missile destroyer, successfully hit ‘bulls eye’ during her maiden BrahMos supersonic cruise missile firing,” a Navy official said.

“The ship and her potent weapon, both indigenous, mark another shining symbol of ‘AatmaNirbharta’ and Indian Navy’s firepower at sea,” the official added.

The location of the test-firing of the missile is not immediately known.

BrahMos Aerospace Pvt Ltd, an India-Russian joint venture, produces the supersonic cruise missiles that can be launched from submarines, ships, aircraft, or land platforms.

BrahMos missile flies at a speed of 2.8 Mach or almost three times the speed of sound. India is also exporting the BrahMos missiles.

In January last year, India sealed a $375 million deal with the Philippines for supplying three batteries of the missile.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

WORLD RECORD: Arts & Culture: 1,600 Bharathanatyam Dancers Create a New Record in Puducherry

About 1,600 Bharatanatyam students performed a mass exposition of the ‘Ananda Thandavam’ in a world record bid to recreate the divine dance of bliss associated with Lord Shiva on the Beach Promenade on Friday.

The event hosted by the Sangamam Global Academy was supported by the Department of Tourism and the regional unit of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

Adjudicators of the Unique World Records later declared a world record for the show as it passed the criteria of Bharatanatyam technicalities, especially, having a minimum participation of 1,000 dancers and extending for a duration of at least four minutes.

The event was officially recorded to have featured 1,626 dancers and lasted about eight minutes.

A spokesman for Unique World Records said 56 stewards were deployed as observers. Sababbi Mangal, Yuktha (Chandigarh), and Rahman Basha of Unique audited the show. Chinnamannur A. Chitra, assistant professor, Music Department, Annamalai University, and Athishta Balan, both Guinness record holders, were special witnesses. Chief Minister N. Rangasamy and other dignitaries witnessed the spectacle.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / RESEARCH: Novel Diagnostic Test Developed for Global Pandemic in Frogs by Researchers of CSIR & CCMB in India and in collaboration with Researchers in Australia and Panama.

Researchers from CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) in collaboration with researchers in Australia and Panama have established a new test for successful diagnosis of Chytridiomycosis in amphibians.

Chytridiomycosis is an infectious disease in amphibians caused by two fungal pathogens: Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) and Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal). It has driven more than 90 amphibian species to extinction globally.

Due to the unprecedented loss of amphibian diversity it has caused, the disease is referred to as the driver of ‘amphibian apocalypse’ and its status is being closely monitored globally.

The researchers have developed and validated a new marker for the disease, and has been now published in the journal Transboundary and Emerging Disease.

The team consisting of Ph. D. Scholars, researchers and scientists from CCMB, Bangalore University, Padmaja Naidu Zoological Park, Ashoka University in India; University of New SouthAAWales, James Cook University in Australia: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama have tested the new marker on several amphibian species including frogs, toads, caecilians (limbless amphibians) and Salamanders (tailed amphibians).

The study reported 70 per cent amphibians with Chytridiomycosis infection; an almost 8 times higher prevalence than the previous reports from India.

Surveillance and monitoring must be in order to track infection in amphibian populations, especially in region where Bd fungus has become enzootic that is where the pathogen is restricted and does not cause death.”Our previous work on Bd fungus in India had shown that existing diagnostic assays are not sensitive. A universal, sensitive, specific, repeatable, and affordable diagnostic test is, thus, required to perform surveillance of Chytridiomycosis in an efficient manner. Our new diagnostic test works well in India, Australia and Panama. Its efficiency is comparable to the gold-standard test recommended for Chytridiomycosis in different parts of the world, and it might lead to new insights into the pathway transmission and infection,” said Dr Karthikeyan Vasudevan, the lead scientist from CCMB in the study.

source/content: daijiworld.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORTS / ATHLETICS: Murali Sreeshankar Wins Gold in Long-Jump at the ‘MVA High-Performance Athletics Meet’, Chula Vista, USA

Competing in only his second event of the season, the 24-year-old, who had won a silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, produced a creditable effort which was just 0.07m off his personal best of 8.36m made last year.

Indian long jumper Murali Sreeshankar claimed the gold medal with a leap of 8.29m at the MVA High Performance athletics meet 1 held in Chula Vista, USA.

Competing in only his second event of the season, the 24-year-old, who had won a silver at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, produced a creditable effort which was just 0.07m off his personal best of 8.36m made last year.

China’s Ma Weidong secured the silver medal with a 7.99m leap, while his compatriot Huafeng Huang claimed the bronze with an effort of 7.61m.

The qualifying standard of World Athletics Championships 2023, which is scheduled in Budapest this August, is 8.25m and Sreeshankar’s effort was over it but was not considered as tailwinds were over permissible limits.

The maximum permissible wind speed is +2 m/s, while Sreeshankar’s effort came with wind speed of 3.1m/s.


Sreeshankar had a 7.94m jump at the Indian Grand Prix in Bengaluru earlier this month.

Sreeshankar held the men’s long jump national record in India with his 8.36 jump but it was surpassed by Jeswin Aldrin with an effort of 8.42m at the second Indian Open Jumps Championships in March.

source/content: indianexpress.com (headline edited)

ASIA: DEFENCE / INDIAN NAVY: Inaugural ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME) in South China Sea from May 2-8

Defence Minister arrives in Maldives on a three-day visit as Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari embarks on four-day visit to Sri Lanka.

In a further step, in the expanding India-ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations) military cooperation, the maiden ASEAN-India Maritime Exercise (AIME) is set to begin on May 2 with war games in South China Sea. Navy Chief Adm. R. Hari Kumar is in Singapore for the exercise as well as to take part in the International Maritime Defence Exhibition (IMDEX-23) and International Maritime Security Conference (IMSC) being hosted by Singapore.

In separate developments, the Defence Minister arrived in Maldives on a three-day visit while Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari embarked on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka.

Indian Naval Ships Satpura and Delhi with Rear Admiral Gurcharan Singh, the Flag Officer Commanding-Eastern Fleet “… arrived at Singapore on May 1 to participate in the inaugural AIME-2023” scheduled from May 2-8, the Navy said in a statement. “AIME-2023 will provide an opportunity for Indian Navy and ASEAN navies to work together closely and conduct seamless operations in the maritime domain,” it added.

The ‘Harbour Phase’ of the exercise is scheduled to be held at Changi Naval Base from May 2-4 and ‘Sea Phase’ from May 7-8 in the South China Sea, the Navy said. The ships, during their port call at Singapore, will also participate in IMDEX-23 and IMSC, it added.

The inaugural edition of the naval and maritime defence event IMDEX was held in 1997 and has since been expanding year on year. There are about 50 delegations this year, it has been learnt.

Established in 2009, the IMSC is co-organised by Singapore Navy and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS). The conference brings together navy chiefs, coast guard director-generals, policy makers, strategic thinkers and maritime stakeholders to exchange ideas and discuss ways to enhance and foster mutual security in our maritime commons, the IMSC website states.

Maldives visit

Mr. Singh reached Male on Monday afternoon on a three-day visit, the first by an Indian Defence Minister to Maldives in 11 years, according to the Indian High Commission. “Our meeting in Male today was very good. We exchanged views on multiple subjects including further boosting the defence partnership between India and Maldives,” Mr. Singh said after a meeting with his counterpart Mariya Didi.

The entire gamut of defence relations between the two countries will be reviewed during the deliberations. The Minister will also call on Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

In tune with India’s commitment to capacity building of friendly countries and partners in the region, Mr. Singh will gift one Fast Patrol Vessel ship and a Landing Craft to the Maldives National Defence Forces, the Defence Ministry said. “During his stay, he will also visit the ongoing project sites in the country and interact with the Indian diaspora.”

India and the Maldives are working closely to effectively address shared challenges, including maritime security, terrorism, radicalisation, piracy, trafficking, organised crime and natural disasters, the Ministry added.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: ARTS & CULTURE / LANGUAGE: Braille Edition of Assamese Dictionary ‘Hemkosh’ enters Guinness World Records

The official letter was presented at a ceremony coinciding with the 127th death anniversary of Hemchandra Baruah, who compiled it in the 19th century.

The Braille edition of ‘Hemkosh’, the first etymological dictionary of the Assamese language, has entered the Guinness World Records, an official said on Monday. The official certificate recognising ‘Hemkosh’ as the world’s largest bilingual Braille dictionary was handed to its publisher, Jayanta Baruah by the official adjudicator for Guinness World Records, Rishi Nath here on Monday.

The official letter was presented at a ceremony coinciding with the 127th death anniversary of Hemchandra Baruah, who had compiled the ‘Hemkosh’ in the last part of the 19th century. The confirmation of the recognition was received by the publisher on April 24 through an email.

The seminal work was first published in 1919, four years after Baruah’s demise. Subsequent editions of the dictionary were published and the 15th edition is currently under production, its members said. The dictionary is considered to be the standard reference of Assamese orthography, which is the set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word boundaries, emphasis and punctuation.

The braille edition is the adaption of Hemkosh’s 14th edition of the regular dictionary and is an Assamese and English one. It has 90,640 words printed in 21 volumes and are divided into six parts, comprising a total 10,279 pages and weighing 80.800 kg, a release said. Jayanta Baruah, who is himself an heir of Hemchandra Baruah and is the owner of Hemkosh Prakashan, has donated copies of the dictionary to all educational institutions for the visually impaired students, besides to different libraries.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited0