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Mumbai: India’s top table tennis league — Ultimate Table Tennis (UTT) is set to return after a three-year hiatus and is scheduled to be held from 13-30 July at the Balewadi Sports Complex in Pune.

The Centre has finally notified an increase in minimum wages of MGNREGA workers in the country, but it is too little to offset the reduced real time wages of the rural workforce on account of the high level of retail inflation that stood at 6.44 per cent February last month, only a little below than 6.52 per cent in January 2023.

It is not easy to be Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray. The head of the vestiges of the Shiv Sena founded by Balasaheb Thackeray is being constantly tested by the disqualified Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and it has become difficult for Uddhav to keep proving his secular credentials at every turn of the road while at the same time assure his Hindutva vote-bank that he was still a Veer Savarkar fan, if not a fanatic. The former Maharashtra Chief Minister was once again forced to warn the Congress of the consequences of demeaning Vinayak Veer Savarkar for the Maha Vikas Aghadi, of which the Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Shiv Sena (UBT) is a constituent.

There has been a sudden change in the political mood of the country, especially among the non-BJP opposition parties after the conviction of the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by the Surat Court and consequent disqualification of Rahul as Lok Sabha member from Wayanad constituency of Kerala. If the conviction is not stayed by the higher court including the Supreme Court, the de facto Congress supremo will be debarred from contesting any election for the next eight years. This means that in the worst scenario for the Congress, Rahul Gandhi will be eligible to contest for elections only after March 23, 2031.

The punishment meted out to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by the Surat court in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him by a BJP MLA over his "why all thieves have Modi surname" remarks may have been considered by many as disproportionate to his sin of verbally abusing the prime minister in a public meeting. However, few will disagree that the remarks were in poor taste. Notably, the punishment perfectly fits in the provision of the Representation of the People Act under which an MP or MLA or MLC sentenced to imprisonment of two years or more shall be disqualified as a member of state legislature or parliament "from the date of such conviction" and remain disqualified for another six years after serving time.

Bengaluru: In a rare sporting gesture, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on Sunday inducted AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle into RCB Hall Of Fame and as a mark of respect, retired the jerseys of AB (17) and Chris Gayle (333) forever from its roster.

Bhopal: Sift Kaur Samra won her first individual world cup medal even as the Chinese pulled off a near sweep, winning eight of the 10 gold medals on offer at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol Bhopal, which concluded at the M.P. State Shooting Academy range here on Sunday.

New Delhi: Commonwealth Games winner Nitu Ghanghas (48kg) and three-time Asian medallist Saweety Boora (81kg) did India proud as the scripted history winning a gold each and were crowned as a World Champions for the first time after registering a sensational victories over their rivalsin the finals of the Rs 20 Crore Mahindra IBA Women’s World Boxing Championship at the Indira Gandhi Sports Complex here on Saturday.

Bengaluru: Om Prakash Chouhan fired a 66 to zoom 11 spots to tied second at 13-under 203 even as Italy’s Lorenzo Scalise shot the third day’s best score of seven-under 65 to take a two-shot lead at 15-under 201 at the US$300,000 Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge at the Karnataka Golf Association (KGA) course here on Saturday.

Bhopal: Pistol ace Manu Bhaker, won India’s sixth medal picking up a bronze in the women’s 25m pistol while China continued their domination of the tournament, winning a sixth gold medal out of the eight decided so far in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol at the M.P. State Shooting Academy range here on Saturday.