Sir — With the disqualification of Novak Djokovic, the top seeded player in men’s tennis, the US Open 2020 has lost much of its charm (“Novak out of US Open after accidentally hitting line judge”, Sept 8). With Rafael Nadal withdrawing from the tournament owing to safety concerns amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and Roger Federer recovering from a knee injury which might keep him from playing till 2021, Djokovic was a fan-favourite to win the championship. While modern tennis has seen many outbursts — John McEnroe was infamous for his antics on court — any untoward behaviour must be penalized. The Serbian was dramatically disqualified after striking a line judge with a ball in frustration during the fourth round. Although he has apologized, he should consider taking a leaf out of the playbook of Federer, who is known for his politeness and calm demeanour on and off the court.

While this mishap was clearly accidental, Djokovic is a habitual offender and has a history of losing his temper. It is deeply disappointing to see the 17-time Grand Slam winner exit like this. The argument that his punishment was too harsh and that he would have simply been asked to pay a fine had the ball not hit the line judge in the throat misses the point. Perhaps now Djokovic will be far more professional in his conduct on court.

Shovanlal Chakraborty,
Calcutta

True grit

Sir — The 25-year-old law student from Ranchi, Ananya Choudhary, must be lauded for taking a stand against the decision of the Indian railways to cut short a trip from Delhi to Ranchi that left hundreds of passengers scrambling for alternative transportation (“‘Atma nirbhar’ Ananya tames rail”, Sept 5). The Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express truncated the trip at Daltonganj citing a track agitation and asked the 900-odd passengers on board to catch buses to their destination. While most passengers submitted to the railway authorities, one young woman opposed the decision and refused to budge from her seat.

Choudhary — she was returning home after appearing for her exams in Varanasi — insisted that the move was irresponsible, especially when it was the only train linking Delhi to Ranchi. After a long agitation the authorities gave in to her demand and finally resumed the journey with Choudhary as the lone passenger for 300 kilometres, even providing her with a Railway Police Force escort.

Although the railway authorities have since tried to downplay Choudhary’s fight for her rights — they argued that the train had to be taken to Ranchi at some point anyway — it must be admitted that the Banaras Hindu University student displayed exceptional grit. Moreover, if the route could have been eventually diverted and the passengers taken to their final destination, the Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express should have done so to begin with. The railways ministry must look into the matter at the earliest.

Rabindranath Sarkar,
Calcutta

Sir — While Ananya Choudhary must be commended for taking a stand against the Indian railways and refusing to leave her seat on the Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express, it is unfortunate that she had to evoke the prime minister’s mantra of being “atma nirbhar”. The moral strength shown by the 25-year-old law student from Ranchi, who single-handedly fought for her rights, is truly one of a kind.

However, the call to atmanirbharta by Narendra Modi does grave injustice to the millions of ordinary Indians who have always struggled for their basic rights without any support from the government. The Centre must be called out for suggesting that people become self-reliant at a time when they need the government to fulfil its duties the most.

Kajal Chatterjee,
Calcutta

Health first

Sir — An alarming study conducted by a team of experts at the University of Navarra, Spain, found that excessive consumption of sugar and fat-laden foods doubles the chance of shortening telomeres — a section of chromosome that helps determine biological age. Processed foods have long been linked to obesity, heart disease and diabetes. Given the fact that our health infrastructure is already groaning under the weight of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is of utmost importance that we pay close attention to the food we consume so that we can at least avoid falling prey to other serious illnesses.

Ritabrata Ray,
Calcutta