India 'very responsible' player in global fora, can galvanise action as UNSC member: UN official
United Nations: India has been a "very responsible" player in international fora, and as it sits on the UN Security Council, it can galvanise action in various areas and also bring focus on the Sustainable Development Goals, a top UN official has said.
India overwhelmingly won its election to the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member last month for a two-year term that will begin in January 2021. It garnered 184 votes out of the 192 ballots cast in the UN General Assembly. Previously, India had been elected as a non-permanent member of the powerful Security Council for the years 1950 1951, 1967 1968, 1972 1973, 1977 1978, 1984 1985, 1991 1992, and most recently in 2011 2012.
"India is a very important country in the world in terms of technology, in terms of people, in terms of ideas and it also has been a very strong member of many other international organisations and can bring sensitivities of those organisations to bear in discussions (at the UN and as a Security Council member)," UN General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande told PTI in an interview.
Responding to a question on expectations from India as it prepares to sit in the Security Council next year, he said India has given a great deal of support to other countries not only in its own region but also elsewhere.
"So, we expect that it will bring some focus to Development Goals (SDG) issues as it will bring some focus to discussions around respect for other countries. "I think its own relationship within the Commonwealth and other fora (like the) Non-Aligned Movement, the G77, you name it. It has been a very responsible player in those fora, so we expect that it will galvanise action in those areas of importance to those organisations as well, Muhammad-Bande said last week.
On a question about what role India can play, together with the UN, to promote access to affordable medicines and vaccines, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, India can be helpful because it has a very strong relationship with its neighbours.
It operates within the Commonwealth, it operates within its region. It also operates at the UN and they are a platform to give further support to the efforts of the global community, he said.
The UN official also said there was a resolution of the General Assembly agreed to by all Member States to give support to the idea of the availability of vaccines.
"Countries that are able to produce quickly the needed vaccines when developed of course have a responsibility and those who are able to provide some funding to guarantee that this happens. "And then we'll have a mechanism to allow those who really need access. Even before the crisis, many countries were struggling and the situation has become extremely more difficult for many countries," he said.
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Vinesh Phogat secures women's 50kg Paris Olympics quota for India
Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan), Apr 20: Looking as dominant as ever, Vinesh Phogat on Saturday locked Paris Olympics quota in women's 50kg category, reaching the final at the Asian Olympic Qualifier without conceding a single point, here Saturday.
It is India's second quota place for the Paris Games as Antim Panghal had earned a quota in the 53kg category with her bronze medal winning show at the World Championships last year.
The 29-year-old Vinesh has now secured her third straight Olympic quota, having featured in Rio Games (2016) and in Tokyo (2020) earlier.
Vinesh, who was a prominent face of protest against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, dished out a strong performance, demolishing her opponents one by one.
As is her wont, Vinesh looked for that one opportunity to subdue Miran Cheon in her opening bout and grabbed it after measuring her Korean rival for about 30 seconds.
Once she grabbed Cheon and pushed her down for a take down, the bout ended in a jiffy, in one minute and 39 seconds.
It was difficult to wriggle out of Vinesh's strong hold. The Indian employed gut wrench move thrice and mixed that with one 'expose' to finish the bout.
The next bout lasted a mere 67 seconds. Cambodia's Smanang Dit was an easy prey. Vinesh pinned her in no time to move to the women's 50kg semifinal.
The celebrated Indian faced some resistance from 19-year-old Kazakh wrestler Laura Ganikyzy in the semifinals but she used all her experience to foil the attacks employed by her younger rival.
Twice Laura went for left-leg attacks but Vinesh scored on counter and led 4-0 by the end of the first period. This was the first time Vinesh was pushed to the second period in this tournament.
Once Vinesh got hold of Laura, she had no problem in employing consecutive gut wrench moves to finish the bout.
Vinesh was competing in the 50kg category after winning the selection trials.
The finalists at this competition are being awarded quota places for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
India can secure three more quotas through Anshu Malik (57kg), Mansi Ahlawat (62kg) and Reetika (76kg) as they have also reached the semifinals in their respective categories.
The 2021 World Championship silver medallist Anshu had no problem while putting it across Kyrgyzstan's Kalmira Bilimbekova in the quarterfinal, winning by technical superiority.
The U23 world champion Reetika did not have to break much sweat in outclassing Eunju Hwang.
She won the first round by technical superiority as the Korean had no answer to Reetika's class and got a similar win under her belt against Mongolia's Davaanasan Enkh Amar.
In the final group bout against China's Juang Wang, Reetika raced to a 8-0 lead but the Chinese fought back and logged six straight points.
She effected another move at the dying moments but much to the relief of the Indian camp, that point was not awarded because it came at the end of the stipulated time.
Mansi also made it to last-four as she needed to win just one bout. Up against Kazakhstan's Irina Kuznetsova, she emerged a 6-4 winner.
The only Indian wrestler who could not reach semifinals was Nisha Dahiya (68kg).
Nisha had to work hard for her opening win against Sol Gum Pak from North Korea. The Indian had raced to a 5-0 lead and maintained that till the first period, but the Korean put the pressure back on her rival with a strong resistance.
Immediately at the start of the second period, Pak successfully got a take-down move to get on to the scoreboard. However, Nisha kept pushing Pak out to extend her lead and eventually won 8-3.
Already exhausted, Nisha was outclassed by local favourite Meerim Zhumanazarova in round 2, in which she suffered a heavy defeat.
After falling behind 1-9, she was pinned by Meerim. Nisha could hardly employ any attacking move, and was mostly involved in standing wrestling.
In the must-win round 3, Nisha overpowered Kazakhstan's Yelena Shalygina but with Meerim losing her final group bout, Nisha did not have enough points to stay in top-four.
The last chance to win the Paris Games quota will be at the World Qualifiers in Turkey from May 9.
