Indian women's hockey team secures place in Olympics qualifiers final round
Hiroshima: The Indian women's hockey team Saturday secured a place in the final round of Tokyo Olympic qualifiers after beating lower-ranked Chile 4-2 in the semifinals of FIH Series Finals here.
Chile took a surprise lead in the 18th minute through Carolina Garcia but India restored parity in the 22nd minute through Gurjit Kaur as the two sides went into the half-time at 1-1.
India then took a two-goal lead with Navneet Kaur scoring in the 31st minute and Gurjit Kaur finding the target for the second time (37th) in the match.
Manuela Urroz scored Chile's second goal in the 43rd minute to reduce the gap to 3-2 before Indian captain Rani Rampal took the game beyond the reach of the South Americans with a 57th minute strike.
In the final on Sunday, India will play against the winner of Saturday's other semifinal match between Russia and Japan. The top two teams from this tournament qualify for the final round of 2020 Olympics qualifiers to be held later this year.
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Fathima Thahiliya becomes first Muslim woman to win Perambra seat, defeats CPI(M) veteran Ramakrishn
Thiruvananthapuram: Fathima Thahiliya, a 34-year-old advocate, has won the Perambra Assembly constituency, defeating CPI(M) leader T.P. Ramakrishnan by 5,087 votes. She secured 81,429 votes in a closely contested election.
Thahiliya is a postgraduate in law from the University of Calicut. She began her journey in student politics and rose through the ranks of the Muslim Students Federation before entering mainstream politics. She later served as a councillor in the Kozhikode Corporation and is currently practising at the Calicut District Court.
She completed her B.A. LL.B from Government Law College, Kozhikode, and LL.M from Government Law College, Thrissur. She also serves as State Secretary of the Muslim Youth League.
Her candidature was among the few women candidates backed by the party and drew attention in a constituency considered a Left stronghold.
Soon after her candidacy was publicized, she faced intense cyber harassment, with her social media flooded with sexually explicit and derogatory remarks. She was abused and targeted for her identity as a young Muslim woman wearing a hijab, questioning her ability to contest elections.
Another controversy erupted during the campaign over the “Kauminte Kutti” remark, after allegations that campaign messages linked to the Left Democratic Front portrayed her as a “community candidate,” triggering political backlash and complaints to the Election Commission.
