Mohammad Hussamuddin enters quarterfinals at National Boxing Championships
Bellary (Karnataka), (PTI): Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mohammad Hussamuddin (57kg) stormed into the quarterfinals with a 5-0 win over Chhattisgarh's Sahil at the National Boxing Championships here on Saturday.
Defending champion Hussamuddin, who is representing Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), displayed smart and mature boxing and landed plenty of punches to secure a unanimous 5-0 win.
He will face Rushikesh Goud of Maharashtra on Sunday.
In the other round of 16 match in the 57kg category, Haryana's Sachin was up against Manipur's Jobison Yengkokpam.
World youth champion Sachin, who caused a huge upset on Friday by defeating world championship medallist Gaurav Bidhuri, made light work of his opponent and won 5-0 to book his spot in the quarters.
In 54kg, Goa's Roshan Zamir produced a dominant show in the last round to outwit Suraj Bhan Singh of Rajasthan 3-2 in one of the closest bouts of the day.
Rajasthan's Bhim Pratap Singh (51kg) and Delhi's Rohit Mor (57kg) too progressed into the quarterfinals with identical 5-0 victories on the fourth day of the championships.
In the 60kg match, Tripura's Parvinder Poonia beat Prabhu Murali of Tamil Nadu 5-0.
Chandigarh's Aman (67kg) and Sachin (71kg) impressed everyone with their attacking boxing as both of them won after forcing the referee to stop the contest (RSC) in the second round and sailed into the quarters.
Aman defeated Orissa's SR Sahoo and Sachin got the better of Uttarakhand's Devender Singh.
The gold-medallists from this event will make the Indian team for the world championships in Belgrade next month.
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India & Israel elevate ties to special strategic partnership, vow to soon conclude free trade deal
Jerusalem (PTI): India and Israel on Thursday elevated their "time-tested" relationship to a special strategic partnership and agreed to soon firm up a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly backed the Gaza peace initiative, asserting that humanity must never become a victim of conflict.
Following talks between Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, the two sides inked a plethora of agreements to expand cooperation in areas of trade, agriculture, energy, cyberspace and digital payment.
India and Israel also vowed to expand their already close defence partnership by working towards joint development and joint production of military hardware under the framework of the transfer of technologies.
In his media statement, Modi said India's security interest is linked to peace and stability in the Middle East, adding that New Delhi fully supports the Gaza Peace Initiative.
"India's stance is clear: humanity must never become a victim of conflict. A path to peace has been created through the Gaza Peace Plan. India has fully supported these efforts," he said.
"In the future as well, we will continue dialogue and cooperation with all countries," he said.
PM Modi landed in Israel on Wednesday on a two-day visit. It is his second visit to Israel in nine years.
In his remarks, the prime minister said India and Israel have a united view that there is no place for terrorism in the world and both sides stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering terrorism and its supporters.
"Our relationship is founded on the strong bedrock of deep trust, shared democratic values, and human sensitivities. Our bond has stood the test of every trial of time," he said.
"Today, we have taken the historic decision to elevate our time-tested partnership to the status of a 'Special Strategic Partnership'," he said.
The prime minister also announced the establishment of an India-Israel critical and emerging technologies partnership to impart a new momentum for cooperation in areas of artificial intelligence, quantum, and critical minerals. "I am pleased that an agreement has been reached for the use of UPI in Israel," he said.
The prime minister, referring to the threat of terrorism, said India and Israel will continue to confront the menace unitedly.
"India and Israel are completely clear that there is no place for terrorism in the world. In any form, in any expression, terrorism cannot be accepted," he said.
"We have stood shoulder-to-shoulder in opposing terrorism and its supporters, and we will continue to do so," he added.
India and Israel also discussed the implementation of the India-Middle East Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and cooperation under the framework of I2U2 (India-Israel-UAE-USA).
