bengaluru l monday l june 01, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l late city EDITION SATWIK AND CHIRAG CAPTURE SINGAPORE OPEN CROWN India doubles specialists rally to overcome Indonesia pairing of Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Fikri in men’s doubles final on Sunday bwf/badminton photo FIRST TITLE IN OVER TWO YEARS happy dance, fitting celebrations The Indian pair, after going behind initially, fought back to win 18-21, 21-17, 21-16. This is massive outcome for the World No 4 combo as they had waited for over two years to come this far. Their last title on BWF World Tour was the Thailand Open, which had arrived in May 19, 2024. They incidentally became first pair from India to clinch the Singapore crown ■ ■ As was evident in their celebratory dance, this victory meant the world to them as they had endured many difficult moments, both on and off the court, in the last two years or so One of the highlights of this week was their victory over World No 1 pairing of Seo Seung Jae and Kim Won Ho in the last-four stage | P11 Third super 750 title bagged by the Indian pair CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI back-to-back B’luru brilliance Nepal squatting on Indian land, admits PM Shah g o m e s h s @ Ahmedabad FAIRYTALE finishes are hard to come by in sport. As much as one hopes for it, such moments do not happen to every sporting legend. Virat Kohli chased it for 18 years in the Indian Premier League (IPL) before the Royal Challengers Bengaluru came together to win their first title in 2025. On Sunday, in Ahmedabad, Kohli had his moment. Again. With an unbeaten 75 off 42 balls — also his fastest IPL fifty (25) in 19 years — the former captain took RCB to their second title, beating Gujarat Titans in front of 90000 fans who were cheering for him. However, the chase and title were possible because of their bowling attack, led by Josh Hazlewood and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who removed Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan early to break the contest. They were reduced to 115/6, and from thereon, despite Washington Sundar’s fighting fifty that took GT to 155/8, it was RCB’s game to lose. For the first 15 years, RCB remained a batting dynasty led by Kohli, AB de Villiers and Chris Gayle. Over the years, almost every batting superstar, especially overseas, would have turned up for the franchise. They headlined victories while bowlers remained in the shadows. Now, the batters aren’t the lead protagonists anymore. It was the Kumars, Hazlewoods and Krunals who won them their first IPL title. And it is they who made the fairytale possible for Kohli.  P11 Says both sides agreed to rope in historians, surveyors and experts to seek resolution P r e s s T r u s t o f I n d i a @ Kathmandu After becoming prime minister, I came to know that not only has India encroached on Nepal’s land, but Nepal has also encroached on India’s land in multiple places Balendra Shah, Nepal PM Former envoy raps Shah Former Nepalese ambassador to India Nilambara Acharya said Shah has “no information regarding Indian territories being encroached by Nepal”. He added that 97% of the border disputes between the two countries have already been resolved Missing pillars in border areas There are reports about some Nepalese citizens using land in India and some Indians using land in Nepal because of missing border pillars in some areas, but the Nepal government as such has not encroached India’s territory, former Ambassador Acharya said Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah was on Sunday quite candid about his country encroaching territories in India, in his response to questions in Parliament on the long-running border dispute. This was his first intervention in Parliament after taking over as prime minister. Shah said both countries have agreed to take the help of historians, surveyors and experts to seek resolution, adding that Kathmandu has also held diplomatic discussions on the issue with China and the UK. Nepal and India have an old boundary dispute over Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, with both countries claiming sovereignty over them. India maintains that the territories are part of Uttarakhand and has said the issue should be addressed through bilateral dialogue. “The Nepal government has officially sent a diplomatic note to India, mentioning the issue of encroachment of territories by India, including Lipulekh, and we have already received their response,” Shah told Parliament. “Both the countries have agreed to resolve the issue sitting together with the help of historians, surveyors and concerned experts through diplomatic means.” He, however, added that it is not only India that has “encroached” land in Nepal, the latter too had done the same with India. “You will be surprised to know about a fact, which I have learnt recently only after becoming the Prime Minister. India has not only encroached Nepalese territories, but Nepal has also encroached India’s territories in many places,” said Shah. “Now both countries should study the facts and sit together as friends and resolve the issue.” Shah said Kathmandu also held diplomatic discussions on the issue with China — the three places are located near the trijunction of India, Tibet and Nepal — and the United Kingdom. He said he took up the matter with the UK because it dates back to a period when the British Raj ended. Earlier this month, Nepal’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri said the country is committed to resolving the border issue with India through diplomatic channels. Chhetri’s comments had come days after India firmly rejected Nepal’s objection to the upcoming Kailash Mansarovar Yatra via the long-established Lipulekh Pass, dismissing Kathmandu’s territorial claims over the region as an “unilateral artificial enlargement” that New Delhi finds untenable. Royal Challengers Bengaluru players celebrate with the trophy after winning the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday | bcci We’ve to be careful while picking DKS cabinet, says Kharge Ramakrishna Badseshi @Kalaburagi “We have to be careful while choosing ministers in the new cabinet as the state will face Assembly elections in 24 months,” said AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge here on Sunday. It has not been decided as to how many would be inducted into the cabinet on Wednesday the day DK Shivakumar will be sworn in , as chief minister, and how many deputy chief minister posts will be created. There should not be any room for dissatisfaction after the cabinet is formed, he said. “We have to think of many things while creating deputy chief minister posts too. The Congress high command is considering all the facts and everything will be known by Wednesday morning. In the first phase, 8-10 might be sworn in as ministers along with Shivakumar and the remaining posts will be filled up within a fortnight or month,” Kharge said. On appointing new president to the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), Kharge said the search is on for a suitable candidate as he should take everybody into confidence and lead the party to victory in the 2028 Assembly elections. “We have to work on the caste combination, too, while selecting the new KPCC president,” he added. General Raja Subramani takes charge as 3rd CDS J a v a r i a R a n a @ New Delhi Experts: Thinning snow, depleting water level in Himalayas worrying Bosky Khanna @Bengaluru There is an ecological crisis in the Himalayas. Glaciologists and experts working in the region have expressed serious concerns over depleting water levels in rivers and streams, including the Indus river. This is impacting the water requirement of not just local communities and those living downstream, but also across international borders, experts said. Water levels have been thinning for the last decade, but it has been markedly apparent this year, they added. Prof Anil Kulkarni, noted glaciologist and distinguished scientist, Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, said there are various dimensions to the depleting water levels and reducing snow cover in the Himalayas. Rising human activity and reduced accumulation of snow mass are the two primary reasons, he added. P5 In a twin change of guard at the helm of India’s defence establishment, China-Pakistan expert General N S Raja Subramani on Sunday took charge as the third Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Admiral Krishna Swaminathan as the 27th Chief of the Naval Staff. Gen Subramani succeeds Gen Anil Chauhan, whose tenure ended on Saturday. He takes charge at a time when the armed forces are pushing ahead with the theatre command reforms, tri-service integration and accelerated modernisation. Gen Subramani said his primary focus will be transformation of the armed forces and organisational reforms to “enhance jointness, synergy and integration”. On modernisation, he said, “Greater collaboration between the military, industry, academia, startups and the research ecosystem will be the key enabler.” He had been serving as Military Adviser at the National Security Council Secretariat. He was commissioned into the 8th Battalion of the Garhwal Lt Gen NS Raja Subramani Admiral Krishna Swaminathan Rifles in 1985 and served as Vice Chief of the Army Staff from July 2024 to July 2025. Meanwhile, Adm Swaminathan succeeded Adm Dinesh K Tripathi, who retired on Sunday Adm Swaminathan said his . top priority will be to ensure the Navy maintains the highest level of operational readiness and combat effectiveness. Adm Swaminathan, who joined the force on July 1, 1987, is a specialist in communication and electronic warfare. He takes charge as the Navy aggressively pursues indigenous warship construction, submarine induction, carrier battle group operations, and unmanned systems amid growing tensions in the Indo-Pacific region. E x p r e s s Re a d Six killed as SUV rams auto in Bagepalli No terror death; May a month of peace in J&K Bagepalli: Five women and the driver died, while four other women were critically injured after an SUV hit the autorickshaw they were travelling in on Bengaluru–Hyderabad highway around 3pm on Sunday. The impact jolted the auto forward and it hit a stationary container lorry. The threewheeler was crushed between the two vehicles. P5 Srinagar: May passed off peacefully in Jammu and Kashmir with no fatality due to terror-related incidents, according to data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal, which reflects improvement in security situation. It is for the first time over three decades ago that May witnessed no loss of life in any terror incident or infiltration attempt. P8