Indian wrestler Ravi Dahiya wins 57kg gold at CWG
Birmingham, Aug 6: Putting aside the mental and physical struggles that pegged her back, an intimidating Vinesh Phogat pounced on her rivals to complete a hat-trick of CWG gold medals while Ravi Dahiya too went unchallenged in his gold-winning show, here on Saturday.
Vinesh became the first Indian woman wrestler to win three consecutive Commonwealth Games gold medal.
In what was expected to be a tough opener against world championship bronze medallist Samantha Leigh Stewart, Vinesh reduced it to a no contest and finished it in mere 36 seconds.
Vinesh had the Canadian in a head lock from where she pushed her on the mat and in no time pinned her rival.
Even before people could warm up to the contest, it was all over.
Next up for the 27-year-old Vinesh was Nigeria's Mercy Bolafunoluwa Adekuoroye, who tried to resist a bit but soon the Indian had her in an iron grip. Vinesh kept her in that position for more than a minute in a magnificent show of power, winning 6-0.
With only four wrestlers in the women's 53kg draw, Vinesh now needed to beat Sri Lanka's Chamodya Keshani Maduravlage Don and she did it in style, winning 'by fall' to clinch her third successive gold.
Vinesh has been struggling for form and fitness ever since her defeat at the Tokyo Games, where she made a shock first-round exit after entering the field as the hot favourite for the gold medal.
Tokyo Games silver medallist Ravi was also too good for the 57kg field. He won both his bouts -- against Suraj Singh of New Zealand and Pakistan's Asad Ali -- by technical superiority en route the final.
In the final, Nigeria's Ebikewenimo Welson showed the intent to fight but the level at which Ravi wrestles, it was a tough task.
Ravi foiled a right leg attack and on next try of the Nigerian, he scored on counter-attack, effecting a take-down move with ease.
Soon he had trapped Welson in leg-lace and rolled him thrice for a 8-0 lead. Ravi completed the formality with another take-down.
Also fighting for gold is Naveen (74kg), who began with TSU wins over Nigeria's Ogbonna Emmanuel John, Singapore's Hong Yeow Lou and England's Charlie James Bowling.
He will next fight it out with Pakistan's Tahir Muhammad Sharif.
In women's 50kg, Pooja Gehlot made a confident start with a TSU win over Scotland's Christelle Lemofack Letchidjio and then got a walk over from Cameron's Rebecca Ndolo Muambo to make the semifinal stage with ease.
However, she lost the last-four clash 6-9 to Canada's Madison Bianca Parks and will now fight for bronze against the Scottish player. Since only six wrestlers featured in this category, it was competed in Nordic style where all wrestlers, divided into two groups, competed once against each other.
Pooja Sihag (76kg) is also in contention to win bronze. She is set to clash with Australia's Naomi de Bruine.
In men's freestyle 97kg, Deepak Nehra will fight for bronze. He will clash with Pakistan's Tayab Raza.
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Mamata visits Bhabanipur EVM strong room, warns against counting irregularities
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee early Friday warned against any attempt to tamper with the counting process, hours after she visited an EVM strong room in Bhabanipur, alleging possible malpractice.
Banerjee, who emerged around 12:07 am after spending nearly four hours at the counting centre for her Bhabanipur constituency housed in Sakhawat Memorial School in south Kolkata, said only one person would be allowed inside the designated counting area.
"Either the candidate or one agent can stay upstairs. I have also suggested installation of a CCTV camera for the media," she told reporters.
Stressing the need for transparency, she said, "It is essential to maintain transparency. People’s votes must be protected. I rushed here after receiving complaints. The central forces initially did not allow me to enter."
Sounding a stern note ahead of the May 4 counting, she added, "If there is any plan to tamper with the counting process, it will not be tolerated."
On Thursday evening, Banerjee had reached the Bhabanipur Assembly segment counting centre, which houses the strong room for EVMs used in the April 29 polling, citing suspicion of tampering with the machines.
She entered the premises along with her election agent and remained inside for hours, even as Kolkata Mayor and TMC candidate from the Kolkata Port segment Firhad Hakim reached the spot but could not meet her.
"I reached here upon learning that the chief minister has arrived. But I couldn’t meet her since she was already inside the premises, exercising her right as a candidate to visit strong rooms. I wasn’t allowed there. I will not be able to confirm what exactly is transpiring inside," Hakim said.
The development coincided with protests by TMC candidates Kunal Ghosh and Shashi Panja outside the Khudiram Anushilan Kendra in north Kolkata, where they staged a sit-in alleging irregularities and possible tampering of EVMs stored in strong rooms, leading to face-offs between TMC and BJP supporters.
Earlier in a video message, Banerjee had urged party leaders, workers and polling agents to maintain a 24-hour vigil on EVM strong rooms, alleging that the BJP could attempt to tamper with the machines before counting begins.
Her remarks come amid heightened political tension in the state following a fiercely contested Assembly election, with parties closely monitoring arrangements and raising concerns over transparency.
