Gaurav Saini in final, 3 others in semis of Asian junior boxing
New Delhi (PTI): Gaurav Saini (70kg) advanced to the final while three other Indian boxers entered the last-four stage after contrasting victories in the Asian Junior Championships in Dubai.
Saini defeated Kyrgyzstan's Zakirov Mukhammadaziz 4-1 to enter the summit clash on Sunday night. The tournament is being held simultaneously for the youth and junior boxers (both men and women) for the first time.
Entering the semifinals were Ashis (54kg), Anshul (57kg) and Bharat Joon (+81kg).
Ashis outpunched Tajikistan's Rahmanov Jafar 5-0, while Anshul pummelled UAE's Mansoor Khaled in his quarterfinal bout which was stopped in the first round itself due to the Indian's dominance.
Joon eked out a 3-2 triumph over Uzbekistan's Kenesbaev Aynazar.
However, it was curtains for Krish Pal (46kg) and Preet Malik (63kg).
Pal was no match for Uzbekistan's Bakhtiyor Yakhshiboev, who outclassed him by the second round forcing the referee to stop the contest.
Malik went down 2-3 to Kyrgyzstan's Eldar Esembaev.
More than 20 medals were assured for India on the day of draws itself as COVID-19 travel restrictions kept several counties away leading to small size of the draws.
The gold medallists in the youth category will receive prize money of USD 6,000 while silver and bronze medallists will claim USD 3,000 and USD 1,500 respectively.
The junior champions will be awarded with USD 4,000 for gold and USD 2,000 and 1,000 for silver and bronze medallists respectively.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
