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Mind, Games

SIMONE BILES’S DECISION TO STEP AWAY COULD BE A WATERSHED MOMENT IN SPORTS

It was harder to win medal in Tokyo

Having the entire nation’s eyes on her is nothing new for P.V. Sindhu. She was 21 when she won her first Olympic medal—a silver at Rio 2016. In the next five years, she added more medals to her collection, including the World Championships gold and an Olympic bronze. If anything, the latest medal needed more work, sweat and strength. Work on the court aside, she had to navigate several controversies, including a spat between her father P.V. Ramana and national coach Pullela Gopichand, and questions about her changing her coach. But Sindhu kept her head down and focused on her game.

Booster shot

REGARDLESS OF THE RESULT, THE PERFORMANCE OF THE WOMEN’S TEAM WILL GIVE A HUGE FILLIP TO HOCKEY IN INDIA

India's role in Afghanistan has not been good

For the Taliban, peace is the first option, says Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesperson for the group. The 40-something Mujahid is in an undisclosed location, from where he spoke to THE WEEK. In a 45-minute-long interaction, Mujahid spoke with elegance and courtesy, expressing the Taliban's desire for a progressive Afghanistan. He said the group welcomes every initiative towards a peaceful solution, as long as there was no meddling in the internal affairs of Afghanistan. As Mujahid prefers to remain faceless, he did not share his photos. Excerpts from the interview:

GOING, GOING... WAIT!

India and the US have only a month to resolve the deadlock over the ₹750-crore Lincoln House in Mumbai. Failure could result in the Poonawallas walking out of the deal

Bitten by the spy bug

Phone tapping and bugging used to be dirty games. Snoopers used to leave bugs in target offices, and cover them up with chewing-gum blobs. Janitors in high offices often spotted disgusting gum blobs over grooves and cavities on chairs, tables, shelves, sides of air-conditioners, corners of skeleton-containing cupboards, and over dead ‘flies on the walls’. Governments spent huge sums to get offices ‘swept’, phones debugged, floors scrubbed, furniture replaced, and walls painted periodically.

The horse whisperer

Imitiaz Anees’s memoir is an ode to his horses and mentors, and a call to arms for the dreamer

Dividing with deadlines

Union Home Minister Amit Shah thunders at the Chinese that India will not yield them “an inch” of Indian territory. His acolyte, Himanta Biswa Sarma, the spanking new chief minister of Assam, echoes him: “Not an inch of Assam will be conceded…. People have sacrificed their lives, but boundary has been protected, which we will continue to do at any cost.” No, he is not warning the Chinese. He is threatening his neighbouring state of Mizoram. This is his version of faithfully implementing Amit Shah’s impassioned call on July 25, at a meeting of northeast chief ministers in Shillong, to “amicably” resolve their border issues before the 75th anniversary of India’s independence.

Mamata Banerjee's Mission Delhi

Mamata Banerjee is eyeing the possibility of leading the anti-BJP alliance nationally. There is growing support from regional parties, which are impressed by her electoral success

LAW AND BEHOLD

Governments have used the anti-sedition law to quell dissent. Several writers, journalists, cartoonists, politicians, activists and students have got entangled. The Supreme Court has now asked the Union government why it is not repealing the provision

Too hot to handle

Raj Kundra’s arrest reveals the ugly underbelly of filmdom

Trigger, happy

A NURSE WITH THE PRECISION OF A SURGEON WINS IRAN ITS FIRST SHOOTING MEDAL AT THE OLYMPICS—A GOLD

Twin win

Basavaraj Bommai, with his Lingayat link and connect with Yediyurappa, was BJP’s safest pick for chief ministership

Troubled shooters

AS THE HIGHLY RATED INDIAN SHOOTERS DREW A BLANK IN THE FIRST WEEK AT TOKYO, TOUGH QUESTIONS ARE BEING ASKED OF THEIR COACHES

Silver lining

MIRABAI CHANU’S MEDAL IS WHAT WEIGHTLIFTING IN INDIA NEEDS AT THE MOMENT

Frenemy at the gates

Mamata is one adversary the Congress would want to keep close

Dirty men and dirty looks

WhatsApp university forwards are always obnoxious. But some are first-amongst-equals, or obnoxious-est. And the one that claimed that honour, this fortnight, was something that did the rounds right after Mirabai Chanu’s incredible silver-winning performance at the Tokyo Olympics.

A BABY IN MY CART

Kriti Sanon’s latest, Mimi, takes a different approach to surrogacy

Dutee Vs Dutee

Up against the world’s best, india’s sprinting ace is focusing on tough, but realistic targets

Tokyo Olympics 2020- HERO!

A mother and a Harvard graduate threaten Florence Griffith Joyner’s record; Simone Biles tries to cement her place as the greatest gymnast ever; Naomi Osaka returns to action after much controversy. In this Olympics, it is the women who have the spotlight on them. Here are some of the best athletes at Tokyo 2020

MEDIAN MISHAPS

Road dividers, meant to streamline turbulent traffic, do more harm than good for commuters on several occasions

The best bet

NEERAJ CHOPRA, THE REIGNING COMMONWEALTH AND ASIAN GAMES CHAMPION, COULD SCRIPT A NEW CHAPTER IN INDIAN ATHLETICS

The possible dream

THE INDIAN CONTINGENT WILL BE LOOKING TO EQUAL OR BETTER THE SIX-MEDAL HAUL AT LONDON 2012, AND IT HAS A HANDFUL OF CONTENDERS

Forged in the ring

INDIA’S LARGEST BOXING CONTINGENT, TOUGHENED BY THE JOURNEY, IS LOOKING TO MAKE HISTORY

BEARING THE BRUNT

Emergency care has been strained during the pandemic and is banking on evolving protocols

Bout time

WITH FOUR SEEDED WRESTLERS IN ITS SQUAD, IT WOULD BE SURPRISING IF INDIA DRAWS A BLANK IN TOKYO

ALONE AND LONELY

The pandemic has taken its toll on pets and captive animals, too

For the forgotten

In a new book, THE WEEK’s R. Prasannan writes about India’s battles in World War II

Meet The NASA's Desi Women

Sixty years after a team of coloured women helped America put a man in space, four Indian-origin women at NASA talk about what has changed

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Ashwini Vaishnaw’s experience as bureaucrat, entrepreneur and politician will come in handy in managing the big portfolios