Category Archives: Amazing Feats

Kerala Boy to Play Alongside Neymar Jr in Qatar After Winning Online Talent Hunt

Amazing Feats, Education, NRI's / PIO's, Sports, World Opinion, , , , ,

Pazhayangadi (Kannur) KERALA / KUWAIT :

The Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five is counted among the largest amateur football tournaments in the world.

Also a fan of Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr is a huge inspiration to Shahzad. (Image Credits: Instagram/iamshahzad10)
Also a fan of Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr is a huge inspiration to Shahzad. (Image Credits: Instagram/iamshahzad10)

A teenager from Kerala qualified in an online talent hunt that got hundreds of entries from all over the world.

The boy was handpicked as one of the seven freestyle footballers in the show dubbed as 2021 Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five. Shahzad Mohammed Rafi, a boy from Pazhayangadi, Kannur, made his state proud by achieving the feat. The 17-year-old will play alongside Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr in a global five-a-side event to be held in Qatar.

The PSG footballer was a part of the committee comprising the seven panelists that examined 60-second videos of footballing talent shared by interested contestants on Instagram. They were supposed to upload a clip showcasing their skills with the hashtag: #OutPlayThemAll. Shahzad is one of the two qualified from India in the upcoming championship. The Red Bull Neymar Jr’s Five is counted among the largest amateur football tournaments in the world.

The candidates had to be evaluated under multiple level screenings based on their performance. Shahzad participated in the last year’s edition but did not qualify at the national level. A class 12 student of Wadihuda Higher Secondary School, he is born to Muhammad Rafi and Sherifa Rafi. Shahzad showed interest in football since he was in class 6. As his family is settled in Kuwait, he is listed as an entry from there.

Abhinash Shanmugamfrom Bengaluru also secured a place in the final. Jaimy Schallenbergh (Belgium), Simon Gustavo (Brazil), Leon Gillies Mannes (Norway), Giorgio Montalti (Italy), and Stanley Godian (Nigeria) are the other freestylers selected by Neymar Jr.

Shahzad told Onmanorama that he is eager to meet and play alongside Neymar Jr. Also a fan of Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr is a huge inspiration to Shahzad. A few years ago, a chance meeting with French freestyler Sean Garnier became the turning point for the boy. The event with Neymar Jr is likely to be held in December or early next year.

source: http://www.news18.com / News 18 / Home> News> Buzz / September 09th, 2021

Fathima Benazir – Science – A game changer for Covid testing

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, Education, Karnataka (under research project), Science & Technology, Useful / HEALTHCARE, Videos, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

Quick Facts

  • 42-year-old Fathima Benazir, a molecular biologist has come up with a new non-toxic used to test for viruses in labs
  • The new dye, derived from natural ingredients, can be handled without gloves and could revolutionise the field of DNA testing 
  • Dye prices have skyrocketed after the pandemic and a 500 ul vial is enough for 10,000 RT-PCR tests

A new discovery could revolutionise DNA testing, which has become so important after the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Even more remarkably, that breakthrough was made in a kitchen by a researcher whose love of science prompted her to tread the unbeaten path.

With the eruption of Covid-19, the number of RT-PCR tests, regarded as the “gold” standard of testing) have skyrocketed. But with the increased demand for such tests there are also increased lab and environment hazards. This is because the fluorescent (or fluorophore) dyes used in the testing of nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA, are often heavily toxic to lab staff and pose a serious problem when it comes to disposal.

A new non-toxic fluorescent dye invented by a Bengaluru-based scientist could potentially revolutionise how this testing is done in the near future.

Fathima Benazir, 42, a molecular biologist by training, always knew that she wanted to be a scientist, but that it was ultimately a failure to get into an MBBS programme (by a 2% margin), which pushed her towards biotechnology.

Click here to Vote for your favourite changemaker

source: http://www.deccanherald.com /(www.21in21.deccanherald.com/fathima.benazir / Home> Change Makers / 2021

Tokyo Paralympics: Sakina Khatun finishes 5th in women’s powerlifting final

Amazing Feats, Karnataka (under research project), Leaders, Sports, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion, , , , , , , , ,

Bengaluru, KARNATAKA :

India’s only woman powerlifter at Tokyo Paralympics, Sakina Khatun finishes in fifth position in the final of the women’s 50kg powerlifting.

Tokyo Paralympics: Sakina Khatun finishes 5th in women's powerlifting final
Para Powerlifter Sakina Khatun / thebridge.in

Indian para powerlifter Sakina Katun finishes fifth in the women’s 50kg powerlifting event on Friday at the Tokyo Paralympics. Participating in her maiden Paralympic Games, Sakina lifted 90kg in her first attempt, followed by an unsuccessful lift of 93kg in second. In her third attempt, Sakina successfully lifted 93 kg to finish 5th. Egyptian Reha Ahmed a best of 120kg to win the gold medal, followed by China’s Hu Dandan, who lifted 112kg to win the silver medal and Great Britain’s Olivia Broome lifted 107kg to win the bronze medal.

Sakina made the country proud by winning a silver in the Para Powerlifting World Cup in Dubai in the up to 45kg category with a lift of 80kg. Sakina Khatun is the only female para-athlete in Indian history to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games. Hailing from Bengaluru, Sakina’s father worked as a marginal farmer and her family faced many financial problems. Despite all of this, Sakina survived Polio as a child and she had to undergo four surgeries to survive the deadly disease.

source: http://www.thebridge.in / The Bridge / Home> Tokyo 2020 Paralympics / by The Bridge Desk / August 27th, 2021

Rejimol: The Muslim woman who is a role model in Kerala’s Kannur

Amazing Feats, Business & Economy, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Transport, Travel & Tourism, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), , , , ,

Kannur District, KERALA :

Rejimol, 46, is known as “Thatha”, or elder sister, by everyone in and around her hometown

Thiruvananthapuram: 

A burqa-clad, highly-religious woman in Kerala’s Kannur district has become a role model for women and youngsters for her entrepreneurial spirit and philanthropic activities.

Rejimol, 46, is known as “Thatha”, or elder sister, by everyone in and around her hometown. She is not a teacher, doctor, advocate, or social worker, but exemplifies courage, determination, and a kind heart while being owner – and worker – of a private bus service.

She, and her husband Mohammed, bought a bus for plying in Kannur, and while several people joined as attendants, all used to leave after serving for one or two months. This led to the determined Rejimol taking up the job by herself, while her husband became the driver and her son, Ajuwad who has completed his plus 2, the conductor for collecting money.

In Kerala, private buses have an attendant who rings the bell after people enter and exit at their respective stops. It has been a male bastion, as the job also involves cleaning the bus after the daily trips as well as changing tyres as and when they puncture, as also guiding the driver while overtaking a vehicle or when negotiating a curve.

All these jobs are now taken up solely by Rejimol, who has become a role model for women and youngsters alike by the determination, grit, and love for the job that she had shown.

“This is a job like any other job and when people first found a burqa-clad woman entering a male bastion, they were surprised. Some were laughing and I asked them whether they were insulting me, they said no and that they were just surprised and were full of respect and admiration for me. This made me carry on and I now have the courage and strength to face the society and life during any upside or downside,” Rejimol told IANS.

She said that life has been tough during Covid-19 times but in all, her life has been good and she used to save money for her pilgrimages to Makkah, and has done the Hajj as also the Umrah.

She said that daily she saves a portion of her income to be distributed to orphanages, adding that she was also supporting two orphanages. Rejimol also said that she intervenes in any social issue at her neighbourhood and also helps people as much as she can.

She said that she has allowed her daughter to study as much she can before giving her off in marriage.

“Education is important and marriage can come after that,” she maintains.

Her stand is in contrast to the prevailing situation in certain villages of Kerala where Muslim girls are being married off at an early age. However, signs of changes are slowly being seen in the community with more and more Muslim girls studying hard and coming up in academics and entering prestigious institutions like AIIMS, IITs and even qualifying for Civil services. However, there is still a trend of marrying off the girls at a tender age and Rejimol is strongly opposed to this.

Rejimol’s daughter, Ajinas A.M. is a PhD scholar doing her research in political science at the prestigious Karyavattam Campus of Kerala University. She did her Masters in political science from Central University of Puducherry.

The highly-determined woman entrepreneur maintains:

“Life is woven around love and without love and mutual help, nobody can survive and my policy is to love everyone and support everyone in whatever means we can. Women must be hard-working and not sit idle at home but chip in for the support of the family.”

source: http://www.ummid.com / Ummid.com / Home> India> Life & Style / by IANS / September 05th, 2021

Nisha Warsi to get Rs 50 lakh reward

Amazing Feats, Sports, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), World Opinion, , , , , , , ,

HARYANA :

Nisha Warsi

Chandigarh

Nisha Warsi, the only Muslim player in the Indian national hockey team that reached the semi-inals in Tokyo and lost a well-fought game against the English team, will get an award of Rs 50 lakh from the State government of Haryana as the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced the policy of rewards for Olympians.

He said the State will give Rs 50 lakh to each player of the Indian women’s hockey team from the state and the same amount to those who ranked fourth in the Olympics events from the state.

It’s not clear if Nisha is entitled to double award of being the Olympian and winning the fourth place in international Hockey at Tokyo. In that happens she is entitled to Rs one crore.

Khattar tweeted, “We give Rs 6 crore to Gold medal winners, Rs 4 crore to Silver medal winners, and Rs 2.5 crore to Bronze medal winners. For the first time, we have decided to give Rs 50 lakh each to the players who finished fourth.”

Apart from this, he further announced to give Rs 10 lakh each to all the players who participated in Olympics from Haryana.

source: http://www.awazthevoice.in / Awaz / Home> Women / August 07th, 2021

2-year-old Indian boy makes a record, memorizes car logos

Amazing Feats, Education, NRI's / PIO's, Transport, World Opinion

Palakkad District, KERALA / Abu Dhabi, U.A.E:

Omar is now preparing to improve his skills by memorizing 150 car logos and brand new logos within one year to create another record.

Abu Dhabi: 

A two-and-eleven-months-old United Arab Emirates (UAE) based boy of Indian origin has been recognised by the India book of records for his amazing grasping and memory skills.

Omar Zayn was born on July 31, 2018, in the Palakkad district of Kerala; has become the youngest person to recall 101 car logos in 4 minutes and 7 seconds.

While most children his age struggle to speak properly, this prodigy has answered many questions related to cars.

Zayn’s interest in cars has grown since he landed in UAE last year and his passion for car logos took a new turn when he learned it online. He has currently memorized more than 110 logos.

“His sole learning came from YouTube. He sat for hours just to understand and memorise logos,” Omar’s father Zainul Abid told Khaleej Times.

A video of Omar memorizing the names of car logos was submitted to the India Book of Records last month, and the family recently received the coveted certificate and recognized his extraordinary talent.

Omar is now preparing to improve his skills by memorizing 150 car logos and brand new logos within one year and hopes to create another record.

source: http://www.siasat.com / The Siasat Daily / Home> News> Middle East / by Sakina Fatima / September 05th, 2021

23-year-old Kashmiri girl becomes first from her village to crack civil services

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Leaders, Women/Girls(since May26-2021), ,

Punzwa Village (Kupwara District), JAMMU & KASHMIR :

Srinagar: 

Twenty-three-year-old Nadia Beigh hailing from Punzwa village in Kupwara district of North Kashmir is the first girl from her village to crack the prestigious Civil Services Examination in her second attempt.

Ranked at 350, Nadia credits her success to her family.

To escape the recurrent internet shutdowns in the valley, Nadia enrolled herself in Residential Coaching Academy, Jamia Millia New Delhi which provides free coaching to selected students who are chosen through a rigorous entrance exam. Thirty students from the academy cleared the civil services exam this year.

“If I had stayed back in Kashmir last year, I don’t think I would have been able to prepare for my exam. The internet is extremely important if you are preparing for civil services. Other than that, I live in a remote area where newspapers reach late and a single newspaper will cost you 20 or more rupees. So, I thought it was better to move to Delhi,” says Nadia.

When asked about what service she would prefer to choose, Nadia, a graduate in Economics (Honors), told TwoCircles.net that she is keen about working in administration or foreign services. But her rank doesn’t allow her to be allotted to those ranks. She now plans to sit for the civil services exam again next year and is hopeful of scoring a better rank.

“I know I have potential to do better. Though I’ll be joining services this year, I’ll sit for the exams next year as well. It is a safe option,” she says.

Fighting all the odds, 16 candidates from Jammu and Kashmir managed to clear the exam. With the abrogation of Article 370, a complete communication and security lockdown was imposed in the erstwhile state of J&K. This was followed by a massive influx of students to different states of India, especially those preparing for various competitive examinations.

“I could spot a Kashmiri on every corner of Delhi. Some students in my locality who could not afford to move out of Kashmir, unfortunately, could not clear the exams,” she says.

Nadia has two sisters who are doctors by profession and a brother, a civil services aspirant himself. Her parents are government school teachers, the reason why she believes she has been able to excel in her education.

Since the news of her cracking the exam has come out, scores of people have flocked to her home to congratulate her. She is particularly overwhelmed by the number of girls who have approached her to procure information about the examination pattern.

“If because of me more girls are inspired to appear for the exam, I believe that would be the biggest achievement. People of Kashmir are very talented. Once they set their minds to it, they can achieve anything,” she says.

Just a day after clearing the exam, somebody created a fake Twitter profile using her name and picture and posted controversial tweets that could cause problems for her, she said.

“Since I am going to be a government official now, the tweets were against the government. I have spoken to the Cyber Police Srinagar and the account has been taken down but the screenshots of those tweets have been circulated widely. I am very anxious about it,” she said.

Despite all this, Nadia wants to work for the upliftment of her people. She believes that with a high position in the administration she can serve the people of Kashmir. Her plans consist of working diligently and aiming for a better rank next year.

source: http://www.twocircles.net / TwoCircles.net / Home> Indian Muslim / by Asma Hafiz, TwoCircles.net / August 08th, 2020

11 Mewati sisters show mettle to break patriarchy, obtain higher education, job

Amazing Feats, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Education, Women/Girls(since May26-2021)

Chandeni Village (Mewat), RAJASTHAN :

New Delhi :

Muslim dominated Mewat, one of the most backward regions of the country, will now also be known for producing 11 daughters who strived hard – braving the patriarchal set up – to realise their dream of obtaining higher education and choose their own lifestyle.

All of them are well qualified and work in different sectors. Four of them are government school teachers. One of them, who is named Nusrat is a lecturer at Government Polytechnic, Malab, Mewat. Apart from them, sister Razia is an MBA and works in a private firm while Nazia has done Diploma in architecture and is employed in the private sector.

They hail from Chandeni, a village in Haryana’s Muslim-dominated Mewat area.

Shabnam, who is a government school teacher, told Muslim Mirror that she along with her sisters had gone through a long struggle to realise their dreams of education.

She recalled that her sisters had to travel a lot and move to different locations due to the lack of good colleges in nearby areas.

Locals used to tell her elders that they should not give higher education to their girls because they will have to face difficulties to marry them.

Shabnam believes that in the 90s when she and her other sisters were in schools, it was difficult to find a perfect match for educated girls in Mewat. ”However, that situation has changed nowadays,” she added.

Sometimes, the sisters have to face ‘troubles’ at the workplace due to their Muslim identity. ”We meet troubles, more specifically in private sectors,” Shabnam added.

”However, they gradually change their behaviour with us when they come to know about us,” she stated.

In her message to society, Shabnam said, ”Apart from getting degrees, people should try to be open-minded and good human beings for the society.”

Indian parents, more commonly in villages, hesitate to send their daughters to colleges and universities. That’s why a large number of girls fail to be independent financially as well as mentally. In such an atmosphere, the success story of ’11 sisters’ is encouraging.

Their Qualifications:

1: Nafeesa: J.B.T and B.Ed and working as govt.teacher.

2:Shabnam: M.A, J.B.T and working as a govt. teacher.

3:Afsana: J.B.T, M.A, B.Ed.

4:Farhana: J.B.T, M.A, B.Ed
and working as a govt.teacher.

5:Shahnaj : J.B.T, M.A, B.Ed and working as a teacher in private school.

6:Ishrat: B.A.

7:Nushrat: J.B.T, M.A, M.Ed and working as a lecturer in Malab Polytechnic.

8:Ana: J.B.T, M.A B.Ed and working as a govt. teacher.

9: Razia: M.B.A and working in private sector.

10:Nazia: Diploma in architecture and working in private sector.

11:Bushra: M.A, B.Ed

source: http://www.muslimmirror.com / Muslim Mirror / Home> Featured / by Hasan Akram / March 13th, 2021

Meet Muhammad Fadi, the Keralite who got admission at the London School of Economics

Amazing Feats, Education, NRI's / PIO's, World Opinion, , ,

Niramaruthoor (Thirur), KERALA:

Muhammad Fadi (18), who has roots in Niramaruthoor in Thirur, Kerala, has secured admission in the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE), the alma mater of Indian stalwarts like Dr. BR Ambedkar, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Interestingly, the youngster had studied in regular schools that are run by the government in Britain, from class four.

Fadi attributes his splendid achievement to his systematic approach to academics and active participation in co-curricular activities too.

An academically bright student, Fadi had scored ‘A’ stars for two subjects and an ‘A’ for another in the sixth form, which is equivalent to the higher secondary course in India, to secure a place at the iconic institution.

This indeed is an amazing feat when the criterion for admission was just ‘A’ for two subjects and ‘A’ star for one paper.

From age 15, Fadi had been dreaming of pursuing his higher education at either one of the three premier institutions in London – University of Cambridge, University of Oxford or at the London School of Economics.

The youngster says that he had even changed schools in the sixth form to help him achieve this dream. He shifted to the well-known Harris Westminster Sixth Form School which specifically trains the students to secure admission at some of the high-profile universities and institutions in the UK.

At this school, Fadi was an active member of the football, badminton, geography and economics societies. He regularly took part in the weekly discussions and debates that were conducted by these clubs. He had mentioned this in his personal profile that he had submitted along with his application to the universities. Besides this, an excellent evaluation note by his teachers too had helped him secure a seat for the famed BSc Economics graduate course at the LSE.

Life goal

Fadi says that his life’s mission is to study about the modern economic techniques that are widely used in the developed nations and to adopt these to the social and cultural scenario of the developing countries like India to alleviate poverty.

Family’s Indian roots

Fadi is the son of Niramaruthur native Valappil Shareef who had completed an MBA course from the London School of Commerce in 2004.

After completing his studies, Shareef had settled in London.

Meanwhile, Fadi had studied until class three at the MES schools in Mangalam and Thirur. He then migrated to London with his family.

As his family had permanent residency certificate, Fadi easily got admission at the public schools in London.

There, education up to the sixth form is completely free. Fadi says that there aren’t many private schools in London and most students attend government schools as they offer quality ducation.

His mother is Fousia and has a sister, Marwa. 

source: http://www.onmanorama.com / OnManorama / Home> Career & Campus / by Naseeb Karattil / September 01st, 2021

Dawakhana team distributes free medicines

Amazing Feats, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, COVID 19 - Community of Soldiers, Education, FREE : Healthcare / Assistance, Leaders, Science & Technology, Useful / HEALTHCARE, Women/Girls(since May26-2021)

Aligarh, UTTAR PRADESH :

Aligarh :

In a patient-friendly move to meet community health needs, free Unani medicines were distributed to patients from the lower economic strata by a team of Dawakhana Tibbiya College (DTC), Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). The free medicines were dispensed during the inaugural of a Unani Medicine Clinic in Jamalpur locality.

“We found that many poor patients were struggling to get medicines. Some of them have been without any income and couldn’t afford the health facilities. It prompted us to distribute free medicines to people in dire need,” said Prof Salma Ahmed (Member-in-Charge, DTC).

She distributed the medicines with the DTC Marketing Team headed by Mr Shariq Azam.

Former Dean, Faculty of Unani Medicine, Prof Abdul Mannan; Prof Shamim Ahmad (Department of Agriculture Management) and Prof Mohd Khalid Azam (Department of Business Administration) stressed that this free medicine campaign in the wake of the pandemic is a big boon for the financially backward patients.

They added that it is our duty to provide the financially weaker sections with free essential health services including medicines.

source: http://www.amu.ac.in / Aligarh Muslim University / Home> AMU News / by Public Relations Office, AMU / August 27th, 2021