Youth Olympic Games: Tababi Devi Thangjam becomes India's first judo medallist
Buenos Aires, Oct 8 : Tababi Devi Thangjam became India's first judo medallist at the Olympic level, claiming a silver at the ongoing Youth Games after losing to Venezuela's Maria Giminez in the finals of the women's 44kg category here.
Tababi Devi, an Asian cadet champion hailing from Manipur, lost 0-11, also conceding a penalty point in the process, in the summit showdown that lasted a little over two minutes on Sunday night.
India have never won an Olympic medal in judo either at the senior or the youth level.
The 16-year-old defeated Ana Viktorija Puljiz of Crotia 10-0 in the semifinals. Prior to that, she defeated Bhutan's Yangchen Wangmo 10-0 in the round of 16 before getting the better of Erza Muminoviq of Kosovo in the quarterfinals.
Her silver was India's second medal at the ongoing Games after shooter Tushar Mane also clinched the second position in the men's 10m air rifle competition.
However, in swimming, national champion Srihari Natraj could not qualify for the men's 100m backstroke finals after finishing 9th in the semis. Only the top-eight make the finals.
Nataraj clocked 56.48sec, which was better than his Heats timing of 56.75sec. India won just two medals -- a silver and a bronze -- in the last Youth Olympics in 2014 in Nanjing in China.
India's best performance at the Games came in its inaugural edition in 2010 when the nation fetched six silver and two bronze medals. The country is being represented by 47 athletes at the ongoing Games, its biggest ever contingent.
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
