Daily Briefing: Neeraj Chopra’s silver medal; PM Modi’s appeal to the new Bangladesh regime; and more

From the junior championships to the Olympics, Neeraj Chopra has always been the person to step up at big moments, being unflustered and the country’s one of the most bankable medal winners. It’s been six years since he has finished below top 3 in a competition. Silver in Paris, done in style; gold at last year’s World Championships, wrapped up by the second throw; silver a year earlier at the World Championships, despite a muscle strain; gold at Tokyo, his first-ever Olympics, and the list goes on. How does he do it? Here’s the secret.

It will be the biggest thing for Pakistan, said Arshad Nadeem’s father, the morning before his son crafted history, winning Pakistan’s first medal at the Olympics — of any colour, in any sport — since 1992. Arshad had been knocking on the door to greatness, making multiple 85m throws in the last eight years, including a 90.18-m throw to win the gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. However, his journey is best summed up in these lines of his father: “. I have worked as a labourer all my life but see how far my son has gone.”

Comebacks are usually associated with football and Real Madrid but little is spoken about the magic that Harmanpreet Singh weaves when he is on the hockey field. One was fortunate enough to witness it when India took on Spain for the Bronze medal in the Paris Olympics when Harmanpreet’s twin strikes helped the Men in Blue script a confident comeback and record their second-straight podium finish at the Olympics. But it was not all about Harmanpreet as amid the wild scenes on the pitch, everyone sprinted towards one man — PR Sreejesh, who, like in most matches, had the last and loudest say.

However, as Sreejesh signed off with consecutive podium finishes, thousands of kilometres away, his family recalled his growing up in hockey-virgin Kerala’s Kizhakkambalam, amidst paddy fields, where dad Raveendran had to sell dairy cows to buy a Rs 10,000 kit.

And of course, when speaking about the team, there will never be enough words to describe Harmanpreet Singh’s contribution, who finished the season becoming the team’s highest scorer with 10 goals. Delve into the story of how this boy, who was only passionate about music and his harmonium when young, ended up becoming one of the greats of the sport.

Are more medals in the reckoning for India? Definitely. Although Aman Sehrawat’s journey to a gold in the 57 kg men’s freestyle category wrestling was cut short by Japan’s Rei Higuchi from the famed Nippon Sport Science University, he still has the chance to take a bronze medal home, if he can beat Puerto Rican wrestler Darian Cruz.

Only in Express

In our ongoing series on the five years since the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, we take a look at the UT’s economy, which is seeing a revival since the jolt of the COVID-19 pandemic. While it continues to rely on the service sector for income generation, on the ground, the administration is pinning hopes on private investment. This comes after the government announced the ‘New Central Scheme for Industrial Development in J&K’ three years ago.

In case you missed it, click here to read our previous story from the series.

From the Front Page

After Nobel laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus was sworn in as the head of the interim government in Bangladesh on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his wishes to the new administration in Dhaka. In his wishes, Modi has also implored Yunus to ensure “the safety and protection of Hindus and all other minority communities”.

The dissension over The Waqf (Amendment) Bill continues with not just the Opposition but BJP’s own allies wary about the widespread changes proposed by it. The government has now sent the legislation to a Joint Committee of Parliament. The panel will be constituted by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and include members from both the Houses of Parliament across parties.

New drugs for weight loss, Alzheimer’s or cancer, that have been approved by top regulatory authorities in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the European Union but are awaiting approval in India, will no longer be required to undergo clinical trials in the country, making way for quicker access to popular weight loss drugs and other vital therapies in the Indian market.

Must Read

“The biggest lesson for me then is that Phogat went to the Olympics a hero — and will come back a bigger one.”

Priya Ramani, in her latest column, writes about Vinesh Phogat’s journey at the Paris Olympics, what it has stood for, and why her joy and grief is personal for many of us.

In a draft law, shared with a handful of industry stakeholders in a watermarked format, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has proposed introducing onerous regulations on independent creators of news events on platforms like YouTube, Instagram and X – sparking concerns over freedom of speech and expression and the government’s powers to regulate it. How does the draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill seek to include YouTube creators under its remit? What are the requirements proposed by social media companies? We explain.

And Finally..

Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya passed away at his residence in Kolkata on Thursday. For many, he was a lost name in the pages of the Left’s history in Bengal but for me (Rounak), who grew up with Buddha babu at the helm of the state, the former Marxist CM, in his classic bhadralok attire, was an artist in politics. Buddha babu for us was the communist who believed that a liberalised economy could coexist with communism, part of which was his attempt to establish the Tata Nano plant in Singur, which ultimately led to the movement.

But away from politics, I would remember him as a poet and a Gabriel Garcia Marquez fan, attending reading sessions organised by him. Buddha babu’s last public speech was in 2015 and the ending to that would be how he would have wanted to bow out: “Comrades, Lal Salaam”.

Delhi Confidential: A question about his income left Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav miffed on Thursday. He was speaking at an event ‘Swadesh Conclave 2024’, organised by a news channel at Vigyan Bhawan, when a member in the audience asked him about the change in his family’s income during his political career. Don’t miss today’s column to know what Yadav’s reply was!

In today’s edition of the ‘3 Things’ podcast, we discuss why Vinesh Phogat was disqualified from the Paris Olympics, take a look at the recent developments in the Israel-Hamas war, and talk about Muhammad Yunus swearing in next door.

Until tomorrow,

Ayesha Jain and Rounak Bagchi