Mary Kom enters Olympic pre-quarters, outwits spirited Garcia from Dominica
Tokyo, Jul 25: Six-time world champion M C Mary Kom (51kg) powered into the Olympic Games' pre-quarterfinals after staving off a stiff challenge from Dominican Republic's Miguelina Hernandez Garcia in the opening round here on Sunday.
The 38-year-old, who is a 2012 Olympic bronze-medallist, prevailed 4-1 against a rival who is 15 years her junior and a Pan American Games bronze-medallist.
In a bout that was exciting from start to finish, Mary Kom displayed some brilliant tactics to overcome the spirted fight that Garcia put up.
If she held back in the opening round to get a good measure of her rival, the veteran was aggression personified in the final three minutes after Garcia bagged the second round with some fierce punching of her own.
Mary Kom's trusted right hook aided her well through the bout and she also displayed a sharp mind by forcing Garcia to lunge at her, opening up the space for the Indian to land clear punches.
The youngster from Dominica had the stomach for a fight but was undone by her inability to strike clearly.
Mary Kom, a mother of four, will next be up against third-seeded Colombian medallist Ingrit Valencia, who was a bronze-medallist at the 2016 Rio Games.
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.
Electoral trusts fill BJP coffers after scrapping of electoral bonds, shows ECI website
New Delhi: Contrary to expectations that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would be adversely affected by the Supreme Court’s scrapping of the electoral bonds scheme in February 2024, the party’s finances have seen a significant boost in 2024–25 through electoral trusts. It has emerged that electoral trusts alone donated ₹2,577 crore to the BJP during this period.
Following the abolition of electoral bonds, corporate donors seeking partial anonymity appear to have shifted to the electoral trust route, with the BJP continuing to be the largest beneficiary.
According to data available on the Election Commission of India’s website, a total of ₹4,276 crore was donated through electoral trusts, of which the ruling BJP received 83.6 per cent. Compared to 2023–24, corporate donations flowing to the BJP have increased nearly fourfold. The Congress received 7.3 per cent of the total donations, while the Trinamool Congress accounted for 3.6 per cent.
Donations received through electoral trusts constitute only a portion of the total funds collected by political parties. Parties also receive contributions directly from individuals, corporates, institutions and charitable organisations. Over the past several years, donations from sources other than electoral trusts have also shown a steady increase.
