Mysuru doctor wins 2 medals at world masters games in Taipei
Mysuru: Dr Anya Saini, 62, a paediatrician from the city won two medals at the ongoing World Masters Games 2025 in Taipei, Taiwan. She won a silver medal in the 200m breaststroke and a bronze in the 100m breaststroke at this quadrennial competition.
Dr Saini said it was an honour to participate in this championship. "It feels great to compete at the World Masters and connect with athletes from across the globe,"she told TOI.
Her recent achievements in Taipei follow her accomplishment at the 20th Masters' National Swimming Championship in Bhopal in 2024, where she won four gold medals in the 50m and 100m breaststroke, and 200m and 400m freestyle events.
Dr Saini began swimming when she was eight years old, and her involvement in the sport has continued for over five decades. During her MBBS at Mysuru Medical College and Research Institute in 1984, she secured bronze medal at the All India Inter-University Championship. Since the beginning of masters' swimming competitions in 2002, she has earned over 100 medals. "Returning to the pool is nostalgic," she expressed.
Combining her medical practice with swimming, Dr Saini stays committed to her six days a week training schedule.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Glucose in space: Ax-4 crew to play key role in diabetes study
TITUSVILLE (FLORIDA): Each astronaut aboard the Axiom- mission (Ax-4), including India's Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, is contributing to a first-of-its-kind medical study - an experiment called Suite Ride - that could redefine who gets to go to space. While TOI broke this story in March, more details have now emerged from an exclusive interview with Mohammad Fityan, Clinical Lead for the Suite Ride experiment and Chief Medical Officer at Burjeel Medical City. He said the crew is central to validating new technologies that could one day allow even insulin-dependent diabetics to safely fly. "At present, astronauts with diabetes-particularly those requiring insulin-are excluded from spaceflight. This study is laying the groundwork to change that," said Dr Fityan. The Suite Ride experiment, developed in collaboration between Burjeel Holdings and Axiom Space, is focused on monitoring how glucose behaves in microgravity and whether insulin remains stable during space missions. None of the four astronauts aboard Ax-4 has diabetes, but each has undergone pre-flight tests to establish individual glucose baselines on Earth. "They act as healthy controls. This allows us to compare data from space against ground-based measures, which is crucial to validate the reliability of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) in orbit," Dr Fityan said. At least one astronaut will wear a CGM ( continuous glucose monitoring ) device throughout the mission, with real-time metabolic data transmitted back to the research team. In addition, insulin pens-though not used by the crew-have been flown to test how the compound behaves when exposed to space conditions. Samples stored at ambient and refrigerated temperatures will be analysed after the flight to check for degradation. "Microgravity gives us a chance to observe metabolic functions without the confounding factors of gravity, posture and muscle use," Dr Fityan said. This makes it easier to isolate how hormones and cells regulate glucose and could reveal early signs of insulin resistance that are harder to detect on Earth. The results, according to him, may eventually influence medical protocols for long-duration missions. "If this technology proves accurate and stable, the exclusion of insulin-treated diabetics could be reconsidered. This would be a step forward in making spaceflight more inclusive." Suite Ride also has terrestrial benefits. It could lead to smarter glucose monitoring tools and more effective insulin therapies for people on Earth-particularly those in remote or resource-limited settings. Technologies being tested include blood glucose monitors, i-STAT (blood analyser) devices, lancets, and remote data capture platforms.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Pune hospitals report rise in dengue cases among children
Pune: Hospitals in Pune have started reporting an increase in dengue cases among children following recent heavy rainfall and intermittent showers. Conditions are now ripe for mosquito breeding, experts said, as they warned citizens to ensure there's no waterlogging or stagnant pools near homes and offices. "Dengue is typically seen first in children as they often play outside," said Dr Sagar Lad, a senior neonatologist and pediatric intensivist at Jehangir Hospital and Sahyadri Hospital, Shastrinagar. Dr Lad said he's seen at least three children admitted for dengue this week, with all of them presenting high fever, low platelet counts and rashes. "Until last week, we had no dengue cases, but the intermittent rains may have contributed to mosquito breeding," he said. The affected children, aged 3 to 4 years, have a history of playing outdoors in the evening — the time when the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the primary vector for dengue, is most active. According to data released by PMC, 13 suspected dengue cases — positive for the NS1 antigen test in private labs — were recorded in the first seven days of June. This number is significant when compared to previous months - there were 18 cases reported in all of March, 19 in April and 23 in May. Dr Pradeep Suryawanshi, honorary director of the Department of Pediatrics and Neonatology at Sahyadri Hospitals, told TOI: "We have started seeing dengue cases among children. Two weeks ago we had no cases, but in the last one week, I've had two children test positive. One was managed on an OPD basis while the other needed hospitalization. They had a history of playing outside. They came with rashes and their platelets were low. " Dr Urvi Shukla, director of ICU at Aditya Birla Memorial Hospital, said: "With instances of waterlogging, sporadic cases of dengue are being reported in adults too over the last 10 days. People must take precautions. If there are vessels collecting water in the house or balcony, they must be removed. If there are water plants at home, the water has to be changed every 3-4 days." As per PMC officials, suspected dengue cases are those that have been NS1 positive in private labs and not confirmed by the National Institute of Virology or by experts at BJ Medical College, by checking IgG and IgM antibodies. But irrespective of where a person has been tested, PMC treats each such case as a dengue case. NS1 is a test that detects presence of a dengue virus protein in the blood. IgG and IgM are antibody tests that help determine if the infection is recent or past, and are typically used for confirmation.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
Family planning surgeries dip at Madurai UPHCs
Madurai: Despite increased awareness, family planning surgeries done at urban primary health centres (UPHCs) in Madurai city have seen a gradual decline over the past three years, according to official data. Family planning operation theatres going defunct in UPHCs temporarily are among the reasons cited for the decline. Health department officials told TOI that three UPHCs under Madurai corporation, at Sellur, K Pudur, and Ansari Nagar, which are upgraded community health centres, have facilities for performing family planning surgeries such as vasectomy and tubal ligation. The number of family planning surgeries performed at the three UPHCs came down from 173 in 2022-2023 to 57 in 2024-2025 till March. In fact, only 18 family planning surgeries were performed at K Pudur UPHC during the period, and the operation theatre was defunct for a while. At Ansari Nagar UPHC as well, only five family planning surgeries were recorded in 2024-2025. Health activist A Veronica Mary said the decline not only leads to more referrals to Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) but often discourages people from opting for family planning surgeries. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo "Access to getting family planning surgeries done should be made easy. People will not be willing to skip work for travel or wait for days to get appointments for such surgeries, which is what generally happens at GRH," she told TOI. "In private hospitals, family planning surgeries cost up to Rs40,000 or more, which some cannot afford," she said. She added that more specialist doctors need to be appointed and all UPHCs in the city should have facilities for the surgeries. Currently, there are only two anaesthetists and two gynaecologists appointed by Madurai corporation. City health officer (CHO) Dr P Indira said that until March 2025, only the operation theatre at Sellur UPHC was fully functional for family planning procedures. "We have now revived two more family planning operation theatres—at the UPHCs in K Pudur and Ansari Nagar. The K Pudur UPHC operation theatre became operational by the end of April, with around five family planning surgeries completed so far, including three vasectomies. In June, we also revived the Ansari Nagar theatre. With this, three UPHC operation theatres are now active in the city for family planning services, and people can approach them," she said.
