New ball game for wannabes

Many years before Roger Federer started notching up Wimbledon titles as a matter of routine, he used to pick up balls dumped by other champions, as they dribbled towards the peripheries of the court. Now, four aspiring young tennis players from Delhi will get a chance to emulate “Fed-ex” — as he is called — and learn from him.

Through a tie-up between insurance firm Aviva and organisers of the Australian Open, the selected children will be seen at next year’s first Grand Slam. “The children were selected based on their performance at a preliminary training session,” an Aviva India official said.

Hand-eye coordination, concentration levels, work ethics, reaction time and general tennis knowledge were some of the factors tested in the children early this month. Only those between 12 and 15 contested. The selected children will be flown to Melbourne in January 2008.

“They will get to see the best players in the world in action. The opportunity is unique. They’ll be closer to the Federers and Sharapovas than any other fan,” the official said.

Mother of twins at 55

Brinda might have been used to counting cash at the bank where she worked. Now, she can hardly count her blessings.

The 55-year-old recently became the mother of twins in a pregnancy made possible because of in-vitro fertilisation.

The baby boys weigh 2.20 kg and 2.25 kg and doctors at Chennai’s Akash Fertility Clinic, where they were delivered through a caesarian section, said they were normal.

The twins have ended a 28-year wait for Brinda and husband Alagappan, 57, since their marriage. The doctors did not have to contend only with the lady’s advanced age; she had high pressure, too.

“We injected the sperms into three eggs, which were transferred into Brinda’s uterus. Two of the three embryos survived,” said Dr Kamaraj, who carried out the procedure.

Court stinker

Pollution in Hyderabad refused to slip out of the court scanner.

After reminders to the government about the mess failed to improve the state of affairs, exasperated judges recently fretted that the residents were almost “living in hell”.

The observation, made by a two-member bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court, was actually directed at the city municipal corporation that has not cleaned up its act.

Chief Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice C.V. Nagarjuna Reddy were hearing a public interest petition on the problem. “You (governments and the civic bodies) are responsible for creating this hell,” they said.

The forest, science and technology, irrigation and revenue departments were asked to spell out the steps taken to reduce pollution and ensure a cleaner Hyderabad.

Earlier, the court had rapped the authorities for the inability to control the filth in the Hussainsagar Lake.

Power alert

There is light at the end of the tunnel for those troubled by power cuts, espec- ially at night.

Delhi power minister A.K. Walia last week asked the private power companies feeding the capital to furnish a detailed list of those colonies where power cuts take place for more half-an-hour at night.

He also asked the companies to improve their system of resolving customer problems and consider an amnesty scheme in cases of power theft, faulty meters and tampering as a way to encourage installation of electronic metres. The suggestions follow frequent complaints about power cuts and shoddy services.

Delhi: Watch the colours come alive on canvas. “Transforming Rasa: Ideation and Expression”, an exhibition of several artists is on at the Suruchi Art Gallery this Tuesday. The venue is C-16, Sector 26, Noida. The exhibition is on between 11am and 7pm.