Bengaluru Bulls, U Mumba reach Pro Kabaddi League Playoffs
Panchkula, Oct 2: Defending champions Bengaluru Bulls and U Mumba sealed their places in the playoffs of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) with easy wins , here on Wednesday.
High-Flyer Pawan Sehrawat was once again the hero for the Bulls as they beat home team Haryana Steelers 56-39. Sehrawat scored a record-shattering 39 points, three more than what the entire Steelers managed.
He bettered Pardeep Narwal's 34 raid points score in a match.
U Mumba sealed their place in the playoffs with a 30-26 win over Patna Pirates.
Skipper Sultan Fazel Atrachali remained rock solid in defence yet again as the captain led from the front to neutralise Patna's Pardeep Narwal with a strong performance at the Tau Devilal Sports Complex.
U Mumba started the first half brightly with the defence taking an aggressive stance from the first minute.
Fazel Atrachali set the tone early with double thigh hold tackle on Narwal in the very first minute of the match.
Abhishek Singh, ably supported by Athul MS, provided the firepower for Mumba in the raids as Mumbai cruised to a lead. They clinched their first all-out of the match in the 9th minute to open up an 8-point lead.
Fazel reached the milestone of 300 overall points in the process. But Patna clawed their way back in the closing stages of the half thanks largely to improved performances by Pardeep Narwal and Jang Kun Lee.
The Dubki King' Narwal produced a two-point raid with under three minutes left for the half time to reduce Mumba's lead to 5 points. The half ended 17-13 with Mumbai on top.
U Mumba started the second half with a Super Tackle on Narwal but Patna composed themselves to stay in the match despite Pardeep being off the court for a long duration.
Mohammad EsmaeilMaghsoudlou impressed with his all-round efforts while Jang Kun Lee's improved raiding also helped Patna stay in touch. Fazel meanwhile was giving everyone a masterclass on captaincy, marshalling and motivating his troops to stick to the gameplan.
Patna got lucky with six minutes remaining when Jang Kun Lee ventured out-of-bound and took three U Mumba defenders with him.
With the point margin reduced to just a point and momentum heavily on Patna's side, the three-time champions sniffed an all-out but Rohit Baliyan's kick helped U Mumba revive another player to stay in the lead.
The Mumbai defence held firm in the final minutes to clinch a seat in the playoffs.
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Air India flights to North America, Europe to use alternative routes
New Delhi (PTI): Air India will operate its flights to North America and Europe using alternative routes over available airspaces in the Middle East and cancel six flights to various European cities on March 2.
The airline, which cancelled 50 international flights on Sunday, said it would extend suspension of all flights to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel and Qatar till 23:59 hours (IST) on March 2.
In a post on X on Sunday, the carrier said six flights, including Amritsar-Birmingham (AI117) and Birmingham-Delhi (AI114), would be cancelled on Monday.
Besides, AI151 and A152 flights between Delhi and Zurich, as well as AI157 and AI158 flights between Delhi and Copenhagen, would be cancelled on Monday.
“All other flights to North America and Europe will operate as per schedule using alternative routings over available airspaces in the Middle East, which is expected to add to the flying times.
"Additionally, flights to New York (JFK) and Newark (Liberty International) will operate with technical stops at Rome (Fiumicino Airport)," Air India said.
With stops in Rome, the flying time for Air India flights to North America would increase and also result in increased operating expenses.
Since the Iran and Iraq airspaces remain closed, officials said the airline would take the Egypt route to reach Europe, which would mean 30-40 minutes of additional flying time.
The flights would take the route through Oman, the southern part of Saudi Arabia and Egypt for European and North American destinations, the officials added.
The airline also said that it continues to closely monitor the situation and has carefully assessed the evolving circumstances across multiple parameters, including safety, security, airspace availability, and operational feasibility, before deciding on these operations for March 2.
In the wake of the escalating Middle East crisis, flight operations have been significantly disrupted, with the civil aviation ministry saying Indian carriers cancelled 350 international flights on Sunday.
