Air Marshal B C Sekhar named as New Commandant of IAFA

Air Marshal B Chandra Sekhar, recipient of the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal (AVSM), has been named Commandant of the Indian Air Force Academy. The Air Marshal is a Telangana native who attended school in Hyderabad before enrolling at the National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla. Air Marshal B Chandra Sekhar, AVSM was commissioned in the Indian Air Force on December 21, 1984, after attending Defence Services Staff College Wellington, Flying Instructors’ School, College of Defence Management, and National Defence College New Delhi.

India’s S L Narayanan wins Grandiscacchi Cattolica International Open Chess Tournament

In Chess, Indian Grandmaster, S L Narayanan was declared the winner in the Grandiscacchi Cattolica International Open, held in Italy. Meanwhile, his compatriot R Praggnanandhaa came second. Though Narayanan and six others, including Praggnanandhaa, finished equal first with 6.5 points after nine rounds. But, Narayanan took the top spot on the basis of a better tie-break score. The 24-year old S L Narayanan from Thiruvananthapuram earned the title of Grandmaster in 2015 and is the 41st Grandmaster from India.

Bangladeshi Rizwana Hasan to get US International Women of Courage Award 2022

Bangladeshi environmental lawyer, Rizwana Hasan has been selected for the International Women of Courage (IWOC) Award for 2022. She is among the 12 women from around the world who will be honoured by the US Department of State with the award for showing exceptional courage and leadership to make a difference in their communities. The awards ceremony on March 14 in a virtual ceremony to honour the 12 women selected for the award.

IPC banned Russian, Belarusian athletes from Beijing Winter Paralympics

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has banned the athlete’s entries from the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) and National Paralympic Committee (NPC) Belarus for the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics due to the war in Ukraine. Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics is scheduled to take place from 4th to 13th March 2022 & it marks the 13th Winter Paralympic Games.

India’s largest reclining statue of Lord Buddha being built at Bodh Gaya

India`s largest reclining statue of Lord Buddha is being built in Bodh Gaya. Built by Buddha International Welfare Mission, the statue will be 100 feet long and 30 feet high. Lord Buddha is in the sleeping posture in the statue. The construction of the giant statue started in the year 2019. It is being made with fibreglass and built by sculptors from Kolkata.

Olympic champion Duplantis sets pole vault world record of 6.19m in Belgrade

Sweden’s Olympic pole vault champion Armand Gustav “Mondo” Duplantis cleared 6.19m to smash his own world record by one centimetre at the World Indoor Tour Silver meeting in Belgrade. Duplantis set the record of 6.18 in February 2020 indoors in Glasgow.

Lupin named Mary Kom as brand ambassador for his Shakti initiative

Global pharma major Lupin Limited (Lupin) has announced that it has signed on six-time world boxing champion, Mary Kom as the brand ambassador for its Shakti campaign. The campaign is aimed at increasing awareness of heart diseases among women. With Mary Korn anchoring the campaign, to drive the much-needed awareness on the issue and encourage women to sign up for early screening checks and take corrective measures to avoid the future risk of heart diseases.