India outclass Pakistan in Kabaddi Masters opener
Dubai, June 22 : India stood up to their reputation, thrashing Pakistan 36-20 in the opening match of the Kabaddi Masters Dubai at the Al Wasl sports club here on Friday.
The Ajay Thakur-led side started off sensibly, gauging the weakness and strength of Pakistan in the initial minutes before thrashing their arch-rivals to notch up a tsunami of points.
Reeling under pressure, Pakistan gifted away some easy points as they lacked any co-ordination and confidence on the mat.
India will now take on Kenya in their second match on Saturday
Both teams started on a positive note but after few minutes, Pakistan sent back India's star raider Rahul Chaudhary to take an one point lead. But Indian skipper Thakur equalised handsomely through a gentle touch on the opponent's side.
At one point, India got a chance to reduce the opponents to three players but Sandeep failed to dog so.
With both teams registering points one after the other, Chaudhary led India's defence to take a four-point lead with just seven minutes to go in the first half.
He stood up to his reputation and pressurised the Pakistanis to that extent that one player stepped out from the playing area to hand India one point.
A comfortably placed India then had the excellent opportunity to get Pakistan all out and they did that in style. Rohit, who was the substitute for Surjeet, came for the raid and inflicted an all-out to make it 14-8 with only four minutes remaining.
In the 18th minute, Rohit got a brilliant opportunity to make his opponents reel on the floor and he made it with an excellent raid to force Pakistan to play with one player.
By the time, the first half ended India deservingly made a lop-sided affair with a whopping 22-8 lead.
The change of sides saw Thakur making it worse for Pakistan as he inflicted another all out in the opening second of the second half.
It was clearly visible that the Pakistan players were feeling the heat as they gifted some easy points, helping India swell their lead to 27-8.
But Pakistan did not give up easily, threatening India by getting four players out but Chaudhury splashed water on their plans and took some crucial points to maintain the lead.
Towards the end, Pakistan managed to sneak in a few points but that was not enough to overhaul India's lead as the Thakur-led side kicked off their campaign in style.
Despite having a good side, Pakistan lost the issue, Asked about on which front Pakistan lacked, India coach Srinivas Reddy said: "Our raiders are better than Pakistan and that is the only difference between both the teams."
He also said that this Indian side has a strong bench strength which also helped in Friday's match and will help in the upcoming matches.
In other match, Iran produced a clinical all-round performance to beat South Korea 35-20. Iran's raiders and defenders combined well whereas South Korea's over reliance on their star man Jang Kun Lee was exposed.
Lee scored 10 raid points whereas his teammates could muster just three raid points combined.
For Iran, Mohammed Malak scored six tackle points and marshaled the defence superbly. Mohammed Nabibbaksh and Mohammad Magshoudlou were the key raiders for Iran.
Earlier, India's Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore unveiled the trophy in presence of Bollywood actor and Jaipur Pink Panthers Kabaddi club owner Abhishek Bachchan.
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Amit Shah to hold key meeting on Manipur
New Delhi (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah will on Monday hold a key meeting to review the security situation in Manipur and is expected to chalk out a strategy to handle the "volatile" situation in the northeastern state, sources said.
National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan and Intelligence Bureau Director Tapan Deka, among other top officials, are expected to attend the meeting, they said.
Shah also took stock of the security situation in Manipur on Sunday after cancelling his election rallies in Maharashtra.
The situation in Manipur, which has been reeling from ethnic strife since May last year, has been volatile following protests and violence after the recovery of bodies of women and children.
Shah will hold a key meeting and review the situation in Manipur on Monday. He is likely to give directions for handling the current "volatile" situation in the state, the sources said.
Irate mobs set fire to the residences of three more BJP legislators, one of whom is a senior minister, and a Congress MLA in various districts of Imphal Valley on Saturday night even as security forces foiled an attempt by agitators to storm the ancestral residence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh.
These incidents took place even as an indefinite curfew was clamped after people, agitated by the killing of three women and three children by militants in Jiribam district, attacked the residences of three state ministers and six MLAs earlier on Saturday.
Enraged people torched the houses of PWD Minister Govindas Konthoujam at Ningthoukhong, Hiyanglam's BJP MLA Y Radheshyam at Langmeidong Bazar, Wangjing Tentha's BJP MLA Paonam Brojen in Thoubal district and Khundrakpam's Congress MLA Th Lokeshwar in Imphal East district.
The legislators and their family members were not at home when the mobs stormed their residential compounds, vandalised properties and set the houses on fire, police said, adding the houses were partially burnt in the incidents.
On November 11, Manipur Police said 10 suspected militants were killed in a fierce gunfight with security forces after insurgents in camouflage uniforms and armed with sophisticated weapons fired indiscriminately at Borobekra police station and an adjacent CRPF camp at Jakuradhor in Jiribam.
Hours later, suspected militants allegedly abducted six civilians, including women and children from the same district, police said.
On Saturday, the Union home ministry said all security forces deployed in Manipur have been directed to take necessary steps to restore order and peace in the state.
It said armed miscreants from both communities in conflict have been indulging in violence leading to unfortunate loss of lives and disruption in public order.
The home ministry said strict action would be initiated against anyone trying to indulge in violent and disruptive activities. Seeing the fragile situation, the Centre on Thursday reimposed the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act in Manipur's six police station areas, including the violence-hit Jiribam.
More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May last year.
It started after a 'Tribal Solidarity March' was organised in the hill districts to protest against the Meitei community's demand for Scheduled Tribe (ST) status.
The ethnically diverse Jiribam, which was largely untouched by the clashes, witnessed violence after the mutilated body of a farmer was found in a field in June this year.
