HEALTH

IMA backs Civil Surgeon
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, Sept 24 — The Ludhiana unit of the Indian Medical Association today assured the Civil Surgeon, Hoshiarpur, of full backing in the current tiff with a former MP, Mr Kamal Chaudhary following his alleged high-handedness and show of muscle power in a post-mortem case on Friday night.

Dr Gursharan Singh, president of the unit, said in a press release that the delay in conducting post- mortems occurred not due to the laziness on the part of the doctors but due to the undue time taken by the police in completing the necessary paper work. He termed the unruly behaviour of the former MP as deplorable.

Dr Singh demanded an immediate registeration of an FIR against Mr Kamal Chaudhary and the gunmen accompanying him failing which the IMA would give a call for an outright strike. He called upon doctors of all categories to get united in order to “defeat such elements”.

SPORT

Looking at the Olympics
By Shikha Puri

LUDHIANA, Sept 24 — The Olympics symbolise the striving for excellence and the spirit of a global community.

Ankur Berri, an inter-college hockey player, says, “The Olympics are the true test of a player’s calibre; it is here that he gets a chance to prove himself to the world. To represent one’s country in the Olympics is a great honour and I wish some day I will be able to do that. But I am not happy the way Indian hockey is going these days.”

Ankur is not the only one who is excited about the Olympics. Other students in schools and colleges share this sentiment.

Paramjot Singh, an inter-college swimmer, feels that even though India participates in every Olympics, its presence is hardly felt. “I watch the Olympics as I am interested in swimming. At the Olympic level, I forget about the countries contesting and enjoy the sport (swimming) at its best,” says he.

Jatinder Bajwa, a district-level basketball player, says it is a matter of pride for any sportsperson to participate in the Olympics. “However, I watch Olympics only for enjoyment. I play because I enjoy the game and it is the best way to keep fit. Sports is not a career option for me.”

Cricket matches between India and Pakistan contest draw more people to the television. That kind of frenzy is yet to be seen among the Indians about the Olympics.

Aniruddh Kaushal, a district-level table tennis player, says, “I am very excited about the Olympics, but I feel this time the Olympic fever is missing in India. People are not that keen about the Olympics as they used to be before. I am very happy as India has already won a medal.”

Vikram Sharma, a long distance runner, is crazy about the Olympics as he loves watching the fastest and the best players of the world run on tracks on which he also dreams to run one day. Says he, “I take the Olympics very seriously as I also want to play for my country and do it proud . I feel that whoever takes sports seriously aims for the Olympics as I do.”

Prabhjot Sidhu, an inter-district hockey player, says that she is very disappointed with the way India is faring at the Olympics. “It’s a shame that India, the second most populous country in the world, has only a handful of players to feel proud of.”