Saina Nehwal through to semis

 

Saina Nehwal on Thursday created history as she became the first Indian shuttler to reach the semifinals of the Olympics after notching up a hard-fought straight-game victory over Tine Baun of Denmark in the women’s singles quarterfinals at the London Games. 

Fourth seeded Saina edged past fifth seed Tine 21-15, 22-20 in a 39-minute match at the Wembley Areana to set up a clash with the current world No 1 and World champion Yihan Wang of China in the semifinals, whom she hasn’t beaten once in her last five encounters. 

With this win, Saina bettered her quarterfinal finish at the Beijing Games four years ago and also excorcised the demons of that painful defeat to Maria Kristin Yulianti of Indonesia. 

The world No 5 Indian had to toil hard against the two-time All England Champion Tine, who matched her strokes but was a tad erratic, which proved to be her bane in the quarterfinal match.

Saina was very precise with her strokes, while Tine was erratic initially and it allowed the Indian to lead 11-7 at the break. 

After the breather, Saina slowly mixed her strokes to move into the game point at 20-12 with a short smash but she committed some unforced errors and a few judgemental mistakes on her part allowed the Dane to save three game points. Saina finally pocketed the first game with a smash which Tine netted.

In the second game, Tine opened up a slender 3—0 lead and extended it to 10—7 but Saina reeled off four straight points to lead 11—10 at the break once again. 

Saina tried to exploit the length of the court and started combining lifts and clears with drops and net-shots but Tine was up for the job as she caught up with Saina at 15-15 and even managed to earn three game points at 20-17. 

But Super Saina was not the one to take it lying low as she executed a cross court smash to move to 18-20. 

She also pocketed the next point when her stroke was judged ‘in’ by the line-umpire, much to chagrin of Tine, who thought it was out and was celebrating her comeback by pumping her fists. 

After that, Tine committed to three unforced errors as Saina burst into celebration. 

Keywords: badminton, Saina Nehwal

 

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A sister’s guide on which rakhi to send on Raksha Bandhan

Chances are that your boss won’t give you a week’s leave for Raksha Bandhan and your home town isn’t a day’s journey away. Also, chances are that no matter how many times your brother had been a total jerk, tattled to your mother about you or made fun of your dress, glasses, friends or curls, you tend to miss him, especially at this time of the year when the shops at Crawford market are lined with colourful and various types of Rakhis.
You tend to recall all the bygone years when you were actually there to celebrate Raksha Bandhan with him and your family and remember many little anecdotes from the past when, he hadn’t been that annoying and pestering. And you feel like catching a train and going home right at this moment. Well, if you are good at making excuses call in sick and head towards the station. But if you aren’t that great at it and have a sneaky suspicion that your boss might find some uncanny association between your falling sick and Raksha Bandhan, it doesn’t mean you still can’t send him a Rakhi.

Infact, there are a host of websites that offer Rakhis online and will deliver it on your behalf. IndiaPlaza. com, RakhiGiftPortal.com, Jabong.com  are some sites which offer you plethora choices.  Websites such as  makemygitfz and archiesOnline.com are a good choice to pick out a rakhi gift for your brother.
Several courier services such as DTDC and DHL-Blue Dart have also launched various schemes especially for Raksha Bandhan. DTDC have introduced various rakhi boxes to deliver rakhis and Bluedart- DHL has come up with a unique ‘Rakhi Express’  which will allow you to send your Rakhis  in a special Rakhi envelope with a personalized greeting card.
Times of India reported that the postal department of Allahabad region had also organised designer water-proof envelope to send your Rakhis.
Now, that you know some how to send a Rakhi, here are some unique kind of Rakhis to chose from:
1. Batman Rakhis : If your brother is a The Dark Knight Rises fan, here is what, buy him a Batman Rakhi. It available for Rs 25 only.
2. Angry Bird Rakhis: These kind of rakhis are becoming increasingly popular.The price range is between 15-50.
3. Musical rakhis: If your brother likes Bollywood  music there are musical rakhis  which play tunes of popular Hindi songs.
4. Feng Shui rakhis :  Want your Rakhi to bring your brother good luck? Send him a Laughing Buddhas rakhi or a dragons rakhi.
5. Boutique Rakhis: Well, if you can spare a little more you can buy rakhis studded with pearls and crystals studded rakhis from boutiques.

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India Against Corruption supporters worry for Anna Hazare's health

NAGPUR: As anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare joined the fast in the national capital, his supporters in Nagpur raised concerns over his health. On Sunday, the biggest topic for discussion at RBI Square protest site was about the Gandhian's jumping into the thick of things, and the toll this current indefinite fast would take on his health.

City coordinator for IAC Ajay Sanghi said, "We were always worried about Anna's health and in fact even Arvind Kejriwal yesterday expressed a deep concern. Kejriwal said that after independence we lost Mahatma Gandhi and it took decades before Anna came on the scene. Now after Anna we do not know how long it will take to have a national icon."

The last agitation by Anna in December had to be cut short after his health took a turn for the worse. Also the dwindling crowd support for the agitation is said to have played a major role in IAC's decision to pull the plug back then. This time Arvind Kejriwal led from the front by sitting on an indefinite fast giving some breathing space to Anna. But as TOI had reported earlier the Gandhian was forced to join the fray after the government did not heed to his demands.

Even with Anna leading the agitation, now crowd support is still not reflecting at the ground level. Though there was a decent crowd turnout on Sunday, IAC Nagpur has decided to innovate in trying to spread Anna's message across. About a thousands posters will be put at tea stalls across the city so that when people come there, they will come to know about Anna's plans to tackle corruption. Sanghi said, "The poster will have details on how Anna will deal with graft, about our current problems in the country etc. The basic idea is to get people talking about the issue for a few minutes. We are also urging them to spare some time and join us at RBI Square and give support in writing."

IAC youth members have also planned to visit colleges, hostels and other educational institutes and talk to them about giving support to Anna's cause.

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the hot news

'Draft bill against manual scavenging with stricter provisions in monsoon session'

New Delhi : Even as actor-activist Aamir Khan Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to raise the age-old issue of manual scavenging the government said it is taking up the matter as "top priority" and a draft bill with stricter provisions on eradicating the dehumanising practise and rehabilitating the people involved is to be introduced in the monsoon session of parliament. According to Census 2011, there are around 700,000 manual scavengers in the country engaged in the task of removing and transporting night soil. Of these, 586,067 are in the rural areas and 2,08,323 in the urban areas. "Yes, we know it persists, and we are taking up this matter as top priority. The draft for the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012 is under circulation to the concerned ministries and departments. We intend to introduce it in the monsoon session of parliament. Everything is in the process," Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik told IANS. "We are working out a survey of the manual scavengers in the country. Data on manual scavengers would be available soon," the minister added. Elaborating on the rehabilitation of scavengers, the minister said: "The rehabilitation scheme is being implemented through state channelizing agencies. Whenever a state government demands funds for rehabilitation programme, the amount will be sanctioned as per its proposal." According to Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), a voluntary organisation working for manual scavengers, the funds for rehabilitation have been almost tripled from Rs.1.36 crore (Rs.13.6 million) in 2007-08 to Rs.3.43 crore (Rs.34.3 mn) in 2010-11. Aamir Khan, who highlighted the issue in a recent episode of his popular television programme "Satyameva Jayate", met the prime minister and Wasnik over the issue Monday. Meanwhile, around 200 scavengers from across Maharashtra protested in Mumbai to demand an end to the pernicious practice. The protesters, led by a social group Campaign Against Manual Scavenging in Maharashtra, are demanding alternate and dignified jobs, decent housing and education. Highlighting their plight, Sumitra, a manual scavenger who hails from Nand Nagri, north Delhi, told IANS: "I don't have a choice. I'm at the absolute bottom of the society, the job came as a legacy. But I don't want my children to touch these baskets. During rains it is terrible doing this filthy job." According to the census, 23 lakh of the country's total population use dry or non-flush latrines and over a lakh defecate in open spaces. To government has enacted the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act in 1993, according to which construction of dry latrines and employment of scavengers to clean it would invite imprisonment up to one year and a fine of Rs.2,000 or both. The Act has not been effectively implemented since its formulation 19 years ago. The National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi had been stressing for years on the need to come up with a stricter law and Gandhi had also written to the prime minister in October 2010 to take immediate action. Stressing on the need for a stronger law, former NAC member Harsh Mander told IANS: "The 1993 law is weak, it needs to be replaced. The NAC has been stressing for a new law and a stronger bill to eradicate the inhuman practice, which persists in India despite being banned. We need a stronger law, as it is not just a sanitation issue, but a question of fundamental rights and dignity." The Delhi Commission for Safai Karmcharis says the proposed bill which is supposed to include emancipation of manual scavengers should include in its ambit all forms of sanitary workers such as sewage cleaners and septic tank cleaners. "Since sewer workers have to enter manholes filled with fermented faeces and are also at risk, they should be covered by the bill. This practice is still prevalent under official patronage at all levels. The new bill should emancipate sanitary workers of all levels," Harnam Singh, chairman of the Delhi Commission for Safai Karmcharis, told IANS. Accusing the government of not being serious about the issue, D. Raja, national secretary, Communist Party of India (CPI) told IANS: "Despite several legislations and an Act, manual scavenging continues in the country and is a national shame. This indicates the callousness of the government. Around 19 years ago, the government has created an Act and now it is saying they will introduce a bill. This is just a question of passing time." He also said the CPI had suggested that the government call a meeting of chief ministers of those states where manual scavenging is prevalent to work on measures to eradicate it. "A law, a new bill or giving money to the state governments will not eradicate the disgraceful practice. The central government must make sure that state governments have some accountability in eradicating the practise. They should rope in good NGOs and penetrate to the grass-root level," Bindeswar Pathak, founder, Sulabh International told IANS.

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Buttermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich

Image via WikipediaButtermilk Fried Chicken Sandwich

4 chicken thighs, boneless & skinless
1 cup buttermilk
4 cup hot sauce
Mix together.

Soak chicken for minimum 1 hour.

Dredge:

1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon pepper
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups corn flour
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Mix hot sauce and buttermilk together and soak the chicken in it for an hour. Next combine all the other dry ingredients together and dip or "dredge" the chicken in the mixture and fry in a large pan in 3 cups oil at 350 degrees F for approximately 4-5 minutes (flip after 2 minutes).Season with salt and pepper. (Use caution:The oil may fly up)

To assemble sandwiches:

1 long baguette

Dress with condiments as desired (optional:1 cup guacamole, pickled onions, queso fresco)

Root Beer & Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake

4 oz. milk
3 oz root beer syrup
4 toasted marshmallows
Blend milk with root beer syrup, then pour over 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream in serving glass, top with a toasted marshmallow.

So, how did Jason do in our "How Low Can You Go?" competition?

His grand total was $37.14

Our Leaders Board for the year so far:

1.Floyd Cardoz $33.54

North End Grill

2.Fabio Vivani $36.22

Café Firenze

3. Marco Canora $36.33

Hearth

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