A 15-year-old girl etched her name in the record books by swimming continuously for 8 hours in a pond at her native village of Purai in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district.

Chandrakala Ojha, a Class 10 student from Purai village, started her record-setting swim in a pond at 5:10 am and continued till 1:10 pm in the afternoon, etching her name in the Golden Book of World Records.

Chandrakala, who has been swimming since she was five years old, is latest to be included in the Golden Book of Records from the record-breaking sports village of Purai.

The 15-year-old, who wants to represent India in swimming on the international scene, belongs to a family of sportspersons and has already won 3 gold and 2 silver medals in Junior Open National and State championships.

Chandrakala’s older sister Bhumika is a national swimmer while younger brother Siddharth is also a state-level player.

The youngster wants to make swimming her career also aspires to help other aspiring youngsters in the state to become good swimmers, however, the lack of a swimming pool and proper facilities in Purai village is an obstacle for aspiring swimmers in the area.

Speaking about her record-setting swim, Chandrakala said she practiced daily for 10-12 hours with her coach Om Kumar Ojha.

Ojha said the entire village supported the youngster’s endeavor as one group monitored her sleep while another charted her diet routine.

Chandrakala’s 8-hour record-setting swim is being widely lauded by officials and the government of Chhattisgarh.

After finishing her swim, the teen was awarded with the Golden Book of World Record certificate and medal by Chhattisgarh Home Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu while Dr Manish Bishnoi, Asia Head of the Golden Book of World Records, acknowledged her achievement.

The Purai village in Durg district of the state is popularly known as a sports-village, having produced many state and national-level sportspersons. At present, there 103 young swimmers in the village with national and state-level experience.

The internet went berserk on Sunday after a video of the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, kissing a minor boy and asking him to suck his tongue was widely circulated on social media.

The 87-year-old Buddhist monk has now released a statement and said he wishes to apologise to the boy and his family and everyone whose sentiments he hurt through the video. The statement clarified the monk often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras and he regrets the incident.

In the viral video, Dalai Lama was seen kissing the lips of a minor boy. He further asked the boy to suck his tongue which sparked social media outrage. The internet felt disgusted and tagged the monk as a paedophile. Many also demanded his arrest given his previous controversies.

For the unversed, the spiritual leader, who lives as a refugee in India, triggered a massive outrage on social media in 2019 during an interview with British Broadcaster (BBC) from the Nobel Peace Price winner’s exile in Dharamsala. He mentioned his stand from 2015 saying if his successor is a woman, she must be very attractive otherwise not much use.

Tenzin Gyatso is considered a living Bodhisattva and is serving as the leader and a monk of the Gelug school, the newest school of Tibetan Buddhism. Since the early 1970s, the Dalai Lama works for the welfare of Tibetans with the Middle Way Approach with neighbouring China to resolve the Tibet issue peacefully.

Uttar Pradesh Police has filed a complaint against a bride who opened fire in the air from a revolver on stage during her wedding. The video of the same is going viral on social media in which the bride is seen firing four rounds in just five seconds.

The incident took place in the Salempur village of Hathras Junction area on Friday night. According to the reports, the 23-year-old bride, identified as Ragni, is currently on the run after the police booked her on the charges of engaging in celebratory firing.

The firing incident happened just after the jaimala (garlanding) ceremony. After the couple garlanded each other and posed for the photographs, the man in the black shirt, reportedly from the bride’s family, handed the loaded revolver to the bride.

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The bride on the stage then looks up and opens fire in quick succession while the groom, who seems to be nervous, stares blankly ahead.

SHO of Kotwali Hathras Junction, Girish Chand Gautam, said a case has been registered against Ragni under Section 25 (9) (celebratory firing) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He said the woman is absconding, fearing her arrest.

Gautam further said they are looking out for the bride and also trying to identify the person who handed over the pistol to the bride.

Additional Superintendent of Police Ashok Kumar said the matter is being investigated thoroughly.

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