Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur finishes creditable 6th in Olympics
Tokyo, Aug 2: Discus thrower Kamalpreet Kaur finished a creditable sixth in her first Olympics with a best throw of 63.70m in a rain-interrupted final here on Monday.
The 25-year-old Kaur, who has qualified for the final as second best on Saturday, was never in the running for a medal in the eight rounds of competition which was interrupted by rain for more than an hour.
She had a third round throw of 63.70m to end at sixth and equal 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Krishna Poonia's performance in the 2012 London Olympics.
Throughout the competition, Kaur, who was without her personal coach, looked nervous and short of confidence as she lacked international exposure. She has taken part in World University Games in 2017, her lone international competition.
A farmer's daughter at Punjab's Kabarwala village, Kaur had raised hopes of India's elusive athletics medal after finishing second in the qualification round on Saturday with a best throw of 64m.
American Valarie Allman took the gold with a first round throw of 68.98m while Kristin Pudenz (66.86m) of Germany and reigning world champion Yaime Perez (65.72m) of Cuba won the silver and bronze respectively.
Two-time defending champion Sandra Perkovic of Croatia was fourth with a best throw of 65.01m.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Fire breaks out in residential building in east Delhi, nine killed
New Delhi (PTI): At least nine people were killed after a fire broke out in a residential building in east Delhi's Vivek Vihar early Sunday, officials said.
The incident was reported around 3.48 am at a four-storey building in Vivek Vihar Phase-I, following which police, fire and disaster management teams rushed to the spot.
According to the police, the blaze engulfed flats on the second, third and fourth floors of the building, prompting a large-scale rescue operation.
The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
"Around 10 to 15 people were rescued from the premises during the firefighting operation. Two of them, who sustained minor injuries, were shifted to the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital," a senior police officer said.
A total of 12 fire tenders were pressed into service to douse the flames, while teams from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), traffic police and local police assisted in the rescue and evacuation efforts.
Police said the fire was brought under control after several hours.
The identities of the deceased are yet to be ascertained, and efforts are underway to determine the cause of the fire, police said.
Further investigation and proceedings are underway.
