Australian field hockey player suspended over attempted cocaine purchase at Paris Olympics
Sydney, Sep 11: Field hockey player Tom Craig has been suspended for 12 months by the sport's Australian governing body for attempting to purchase cocaine at the Paris Olympics.
Craig was arrested but released without charge after trying to purchase the drug in Paris on Aug.7 during a night out after his Olympic campaign ended.
He faced Australian media in Paris after French prosecutors issued a statement confirming the now 29-year-old Olympian — a silver medalist at Tokyo three years ago — was given a criminal warning and released after spending a night in custody.
“Following an investigation into the arrest involving national men's hockey team athlete Tom Craig at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Hockey Australia's Integrity Unit has imposed a 12-month suspension,” the Hockey Australia statement said Wednesday.
"Six months of this suspension will be served fully, with the remaining six months fully suspended, contingent upon meeting conduct and behavioral requirements.”
Hockey Australia said Craig would remain eligible for selection to the 2025 national men's squad which is expected to be announced at the end of this year.
The Australian men's team placed sixth in Paris.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
