Polychronidis with his coach. Photo: Nikos Karanikolas / Hellenic Paralympic Committee.
The 39-year-old lost in the final to Adam Peska of the Czech Republic.
Initially, when Peska was ahead 3-0, he forced Grigoris to chase him to the score. In the next three sets, the Greek Paralympian managed to equalise, winning each set 1-0.
Polychronidis won the silver medal. Photo: Elef Boccia Ramps / Facebook.
Polychronidis has ranked first in the World Ranking List since 2018 and has won four Paralympic Medals (Gold in London 2012, Silver & Bronze in Rio 2016, Silver in Beijing 2008), as well as 35 medals in official international boccia competitions and 18 consecutive Greek Championships.
The other Paralympian medallists so far are Panagiotis Triantafyllou, Demosthenes Michalentzakis, Dimitrios Bakochristos, Antonios Tsapatakis, Athanasios Konstantinidis andEfstratios Nikolaidis.
The club has announced that five players from last year’s roster will re-join the team, while new signings are soon to follow.
More specifically, defenders Michael Glassock and Ben van Meurs, alongside midfielders William Angel, Brendan Cholakian and Darcy Burgess, have all agreed to remain at the club throughout 2022.
The 21-year-old defender Michael Glassock record\ed 17 appearances and one goal before last season came to a premature end. As for the rest of this group of players, van Meurs has played 26 times and scored twice for the blue-and-whites, Angel has 28 appearances across three seasons, while Darcy Burgess is one short of that. Finally, Brendan Cholakian was quick to gain his position in the team’s midfield, as only last season he was able to score twice in 15 games.
The club’s CEO John Boulous made the following statement regarding the renewal of the collaboration with the aforementioned group of players:
“Over the coming weeks we will be announcing both the players that have re-signed for the Club as well as our new signings that will call Olympic home in 2022.”
“Today, we would like to welcome back defenders Will Angel, Michael Glassock and Ben Van Meurs, while midfielders Brendan Cholakian and Darcy Burgess will be back in Blue in 2022”.
Player re-signing announcement | We are delighted to announce the first group of players returning in 2022. Welcome back defenders Will Angel, Michael Glassock and Ben Van Meurs, while midfielders Brendan Cholakian and Darcy Burgess will be back in Blue”. pic.twitter.com/VauStFhHZb
Additionally, club manager Ante Juric pointed out that his team’s potential will greatly increase with the inclusion of this group within the squad:
“These players will again provide a great mix of youth and experience within our squad”.
“As we know the 2021 season was cut short and with a young squad, we were in the top 5 and had qualified for the Round of 32 of the FFA Cup. We are confident we will build on this strong foundation set last season from a squad full of youth, aspiration and enthusiasm for the season ahead”.
Yianni Skoulakis has many talents. He’s a proud Cretan, laouto player and a Leading Aircraftman for the Royal Australian Airforce (RAAF).
It’s for these reasons The Greek Herald asked Yianni to perform Cretan music live on our Facebook page on Saturday, August 21 and he definitely didn’t disappoint.
With such a glowing and positive response from our readers, we just had to find out more about this Leading Aircraftman and in his open and humble way, Yianni was more than happy to share where his passion for the laouto and the RAAF comes from.
His grandfather and the laouto:
Originally from Hobart in Tasmania, Yianni was immersed in the Cretan culture from a very young age and always wanted to learn how to play the laouto like his grandfather.
“My pappou Yianni, who died before I was born, he bought a laouto in Crete in 1951 [and brought it to Australia with him]. I never knew how to play it, but we had it because it was the only thing we had of him,” Yianni tells The Greek Herald exclusively.
Yianni’s pappou in 1951.
“This laouto was beautiful. We still have it. It’s nearly 100 years old. It’s got whalebone inscriptions on it. It’s a masterpiece.
“But I grew up all my life hearing Kritika and I’d always see it in the case there at our house and I was always thinking, ‘I would like to learn it’.”
Yianni learnt how to play the guitar first at 11 years old and then two years later, when he was 13, he visited Crete with his family and had ten laouto lessons from Harilaos Vlastakis.
“I learnt ten songs with him, just real basic stuff and he was shocked at how quickly I was picking it up… and I fell in love with it. After the tenth lesson, my mum and dad bought me the laouto that I was playing on,” Yianni explains.
Yianni playing his pappou’s laouto.
“Then we came back down to Tassie and I started playing my pappou Yianni’s one as well. Everything else was pretty much self-taught.”
Since then, Yianni has never looked back. He plays the laouto at home at least two hours every day and can also be seen performing at events hosted by the Cretan Association of Sydney and NSW.
“I’m very passionate. I get very emotional when I play and I think of it like a tribute to my grandfather who I never got to meet,” Yianni says passionately.
“I like entertaining people, especially the oldies, because I play the very traditional stuff from the 30s, 40s, 50s… and I love seeing them get emotional and think of their childhood.”
Joining the RAAF:
When Yianni isn’t entertaining people with his laouto playing, he’s also busy working as an avionics technician with the No. 37 Squadron. He says another family memory ultimately led him to join the RAAF in 2018.
Leading Aircraftman Yianni Skoulakis. Photo by- Corporal David Said.
“It started when I was eight years old. My dad bought a 1949 Cadillac and I remember he had a book on the history of Cadillacs and it talked about that car he had… and said the wings for the fins at the rear of the car were inspired off a World War II aircraft, which was the Lockheed P-38 Lightning,” Yianni explains.
“I was obsessed with that plane and then I got really into World War II and all the other aircraft and innovations and all that, and that led up to me wanting the military life. That was probably around Year 10.”
Yianni says he did initially get ‘a bit of pushback from my family because they always think worst case scenario,’ but that didn’t stop him. He ended up doing a gap year in the navy, before transferring over to the RAAF.
“I’d say it’s the closest to a family I can get while being away from the family. That’s why I like it. The routine too because I’m a very routine kind-of person,” Yianni says.
“To me, there’s no better feeling serving. It’s like giving back. The Australians helped during WWII and now that we migrated to Australia, well my grandparents… it’s like a thank you, you could say.”
Chris Sperou, 82, is an adrenaline junkie and has been flying aeroplanes as a stunt pilot for more than 60 years.
His first flight was just as risky as his next.
“Basically, I was self-taught,” he grins to ABC News.
”The instructor would say ‘go out and do some revision and come back’.”
“I’d go out and put the aeroplane through its paces, so all the advanced [aerobatics] was self-taught”.
Mr Sperou said he wants to continue flying for as long as he can (Photo: ABC News)
Sperou’s love for aviation began in Ceduna in South Australia’s south and took him on an international stage.
Sperou has represented Australia in international aerobatic championships several times, along with winning a swag of awards locally, and competed at the World Aerobatic Championships six times.
“I’ve flown in a formation of three aeroplanes, and we won the Australian title seven times and I’ve been the Australian champion 13 times in solo aerobatics,” he said.
Mr Sperou and his long-time flying buddy, Warren Stewart, 83, say they have no intention of slowing down anytime soon.
“People ask me that, they say because of your age how do you keep going? Buggered if I know,” Mr Stewart told ABC News.
But Mr Sperou knows that time will come one day.
“When I’ve got to start thinking about it while I’m up there doing it, [it’s time to] give it away,” he said.
“Until then, he’s happy to keep turning his life upside down.”
Last season’s top scorer in the Dutch league cited the Greek-Australian’s presence as the main reason for signing with the Celts.
It was one of this transfer season’s most talked-about rumor and now it has finally come to pass. Giorgos Giakoumakis, the former AEK and OFI Crete player, has agreed terms with Celtic Football Club and after a highly successful season with Eredivisie side VVV-Venlo, will be moving to Glasgow on a five-year-deal.
Speaking to Celtic TV, Giakoumakis made special note of coach Ange Postecoglou, pointing out that it was his attacking-minded playstyle that eventually made him choose the Bhoys over a number of other interesting offers he was given: “It was one of the main reasons that I wanted to sign for this beautiful club, because the style of play is something that really suits me.”
🇬🇷 𝕆𝕦𝕣 𝟙𝟘𝕥𝕙 𝕤𝕦𝕞𝕞𝕖𝕣 𝕤𝕚𝕘𝕟𝕚𝕟𝕘 📝
Giorgos Giakoumakis has joined #CelticFC on a five-year deal, subject to international clearance! 💪#WelcomeGiakoumakis 🍀
The 26-year-old also spoke about one of his former colleagues who also had the opportunity to play for Celtic, leaving quite a lasting impression on the fans, Giorgos Samaras: “During this time, I was watching a lot of his games (for the club.) We also worked together in Greece. He is now the president of the beautiful club from which I came from, OFI Crete, I played there two years ago. So we really know each other and we keep in touch. I’ve heard many great things from him, which is why I’m looking forward to playing for Celtic. He told me this is a big club with crazy fans and the atmosphere (at the Celtic Park) is amazing. The only target for every game is to win.”
Giakoumakis capitalized on last year’s excellent season in the Netherlands, which saw him score 26 goals in 30 games, taking the title for best goal scorer. Besides Postecoglou, he will also meet fellow Greek and former AEK teammate Vasilis Barkas at his new club.
He says life was very tough for Afghan nationals who had to leave their families behind to flee the Taliban.
“The trauma will be very raw,” he told SBS on Monday.
“The Australian people can wrap their arms around these people, let them know that we want them to be here, that we’re glad that they’re here, that we’re going to care for them and take care of them.”
Mr. Aristotle has been appointed co-chair of the new Advisory Panel on Australia’s Resettlement of Afghan Nationals.
The man tasked with coordinating the nation's humanitarian intake – of 3,000 Afghans fleeing the Taliban – has described their level of need as extreme. Paris Aristotle has told SBS World News he wants Australians to open their arms to the new arrivals. @pablovinalespic.twitter.com/lCeynqqt8v
Australia’s evacuation efforts in Afghanistan ended late last week with an official withdrawal from its military operation in the country.
4100 people were evacuated in the nine-day rescue mission but Aristotle says some of the more vulnerable Afghans were having their desperation to flee exploited.
“People are offering to fill out applications for $8000 and they would guarantee a Visa,” he says.
“In one case I heard $15,000. It doesn’t cost anything like that,” he said.
The Australian government has committed 3000 places out of its existing humanitarian visa program to resettle Afghan refugees after the Taliban takeover.
Greece’s public order and tourism ministers were replaced and a civil protection ministry was created on Tuesday.
The Presidential palace, in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
Public Order Minister Michalis Chrysochoidis was replaced by Takis Theodorikakos, a political analyst and former interior minister.
Health Minister Vassilis Kikilias replaced Harry Theoharis as Tourism Minister.
Athanasios Plevris is the new health minister.
A new civil protection ministry was also to be headed by the retired admiral and former defense minister Evangelos Apostolakis before his withdrawal hours before he was due to be sworn in.
Apostolakis pulled out after the political opposition accused him of being disloyal.
The prime minister’s office confirmed plans to look for his replacement.
Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, right, and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speak as they attend a swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed ministers at the Presidential palace, in Athens, Greece, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
The reshuffle comes less than two weeks before Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is due to outline his 2022 economic policy in a keynote speech in Thessaloniki.
It follows the creation of a natural disaster recovery committee mid-last month and Mitsotakis’ public apology for delays and breakdown in the official response to the summer wildfires in July.
NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, announced on Friday her roadmap for the staggered return to face-to-face learning across Greater Sydney from October 25.
This plan will see Kindergarten and Year 1 return to school from October 25, Year 2, Year 6 and Year 11 from November 1 and the remainder of the school population from November 8. The Higher School Certificate exams will also be delayed until November.
But according to the NSW Teachers Federation President, Angelo Gavrielatos, the implementation of this plan is conditional on “two critical health factors”: a double dose vaccination rate of 70-80 percent of the eligible population, and that cases in impacted areas be 50 or less per 100,000 people.
Mr Gavrielatos says whilst he acknowledges this science, there still needs to be a more targeted application of health advice across the education sector.
Angelo Gavrielatos says vaccination is one pre-condition to the return to school plan.
“We have said, since the beginning of this pandemic and certainly since the second Delta wave, that we respect the science. What we seek is a consistent application of health advice and restrictions in all settings across impacted communities, including our schools,” Mr Gavrielatos tells The Greek Herald.
“We certainly hope that the caseload declines dramatically. We certainly hope that the vaccination rates and the double dose vaccination rates continue to grow. We certainly want our students to return to face-to-face teaching however when it’s safe to do so when those conditions, as announced by the Premier, are met.”
‘It’s extremely distressing’:
Anna*, who is a Sydney teacher and mum-of-two, echoes Mr Gavrielatos’ sentiments and says she’s ‘very nervous’ about sending her daughter back to Kindergarten because of the high number of local COVID-19 cases in the state.
“I see none of the numbers coming down… so it’s quite concerning to see the numbers of COVID cases rising, whilst our kids are being forced back unvaccinated and the teachers have been rushed back,” Anna says.
Add to this Anna’s personal experience with COVID-19 after her husband contracted the virus last year and it’s clear this intensifies her hesitation when it comes to Gladys Berejiklian’s return to school plan.
Anna is worried about sending her daughter back to school.
“My daughter had only been in school for four weeks before lockdown so socially, she’s definitely in a bit of limbo and it would be very important for her to be able to get back in a classroom,” Anna says.
“But I’m also very nervous because my husband actually had COVID last year and so I know what’s involved when it comes into the house and it’s extremely distressing.
“The mental toll was enormous, the physical toll of having to clean the house and keep him in quarantine away from the kids and all while suspecting that I had COVID myself, was enormous. So I actually don’t know what we will decide to do.”
‘They will have some sort of protection’:
A poll published by The Greek Herald on Facebook asking what people thought about the plan for schools to return from October 25 saw many others voicing their concerns and even approval.
“Yes [students should return],” writes one reader. “We need some sort of normality back for sanity, even if it is for five weeks.”
NSW Education Minister, Sarah Mitchell, also described the plan on Friday as a “safe and sensible approach.”
“We know that the best teaching and learning happens in the classroom, but we also know it’s really important for the social and emotional wellbeing of our students to be with their friends and back with their teachers,” Mitchell said.
For Angela Boyacioglu, she’s ‘skeptical’ about the return to school plan but doesn’t completely rule it out. Her 11-year-old son, Chris, and 12-year-old daughter, Vanessa, are in Year 5 and Year 7 respectively at schools in Liverpool, which is one of the 12 Local Government Area’s (LGA) of concern across Greater Sydney.
She says she’s not as concerned about Chris returning to school because in her opinion, younger kids are “basically going from home to school” and there’s less of a chance of COVID-19 spreading.
Angela Boyacioglu. Photo: Andriana Simos.
“I really think it affects Vanessa more than Chris because she can’t get motivated. Both of their return dates will be November 8 so it’s a fair distance away and theoretically, they’re only going back for about four weeks and I don’t think that’s enough time for them to play catch up on work they’ve actually missed,” Ms Boyacioglu tells The Greek Herald.
“But I must say that their schools have been a great support system. I get a phone call [from the school] every Monday just to see how we are, how we are travelling mentally… so they’ve been really great.
“We’ve also been made aware that all teachers will have to wear masks, and all high school students will have to wear masks [when schools return], which is some sort of protection.”
Mandatory vaccinations for school teachers:
Besides these mandatory masks, the NSW Government’s return to school plan is also dependent on mandatory vaccinations for school staff.
Anna says this pre-condition was stressful for her as a teacher because she struggled to find a vaccination appointment due to confusing government information and the fact that she was only eligible for Pfizer “a few days ago.”
“When it was announced on Friday that schools were going back I thought, ‘I’m going to have to go back to school and I’m unvaccinated.’ It was very nerve-wracking,” Anna says.
Vaccinations have been made mandatory for teachers in NSW.
Although Anna has since received her first dose of Pfizer, the President of the NSW Teachers Federation says she isn’t the only teacher who has found it difficult to get access to vaccines.
Still, Mr Gavrielatos encourages them to keep persisting with the NSW Government’s vaccine rollout because ‘vaccination is key.’
“We recognise and acknowledge the science that vaccines and vaccinations are very important and are a key component in us getting out of this pandemic and we will continue to encourage teachers to be vaccinated and we will continue calling on the government to make sure they address issues of access to vaccination,” Mr Gavrielatos said.
At last count, a survey of 50,000 Department of Education staff found 70 per cent had received their first dose of the vaccination and 40 per cent were fully vaccinated.
The ‘Knockouts’ round on The Voice Australia came to an end on Monday night and singing superstar, Rita Ora, took only two of her five team members through to the semi-finals of the singing competition.
Among those two into the semi-finals were Mateja Sardelis and her girl band, G-Nat!on, as well as 16-year-old Sian Fuller.
Sardelis, 16, Isla Ward, 17, Taylah Silvestri, 18, Emma Caporaso, 18, Alessia Musolino, 17 and Rylee Vormelker, 17, had the audience on their feet after their showstopping rendition of ‘Bye Bye Bye’ by boyband, NSYNC.
We won't be saying Bye Bye Bye to G-Nation anytime soon after they brought the fire to the stage once again! 🔥 #TheVoiceAUpic.twitter.com/IkjzU4HDpy
“In Australia, we haven’t had a girl group in such a long time. To come out with girl power is extreme so what a performance, I must say. Well done,” fellow judge, Jessica Mauboy, said after the girl band’s singing.
Rita agreed and sent them straight through to the semi-final instead of making them wait for the other singers on her team to perform before making her final decision.
‘I have so much respect for you’:
Halimah Kyrgios, the sister of tennis sensation Nick Kyrgios, was one of two sent home by Rita despite a powerful rendition of This is Me from The Greatest Showman.
“I have so much respect for you, so much admiration for you in so many different ways,” Rita said after Halimah’s performance.
“Your voice is so strong and so persistent. I’m thinking in my mind, ‘What can I give you, now that you’ve had this amazing moment? How can I coach you to potentially winning this show?’
“Because I know as a musical director watching at home, I will give you a lead role in a heartbeat. But that’s honestly where I see your future and I feel like your career’s just taking off. And with that in mind, I’m going to have to let you go.”
Halimah thanked Rita for her coaching and said she learnt so much from The Voice about who she wanted to be as an artist.
“There’s always the MT [musical theatre] girl, right? But who am I? so that’s something I’m still striving to,” she concluded.
