Neeraj Chopra claims gold at Paavo Nurmi Games
Turku (Finland), Jun 18: India's Olympic and world champion javelin throw star Neeraj Chopra snared his maiden gold medal at the Paavo Nurmi Games here on Tuesday, returning to action in style after being laid low for a month due to a niggle.
Chopra, who claimed the silver here in 2022, produced the winning effort of 85.97m in his third attempt to lead the field for a major part of the competition, which also featured 19-year-old German prodigy Max Dehning who is the youngest member of the 90m club.
Home favourite Toni Keranen claimed the silver medal with a best throw of 84.19m, while his compatriot and last edition's gold-medallist Oliver Helander took the third spot with 83.96m.
The 26-year-old Chopra came into this event following a second-place finish in the Doha Diamond League and a gold in the Federation Cup in Bubaneswar last month.
After these two events, Chopra took a break after feeling "something" in his adductor (a group of muscles located on inner thighs).
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By-election result not a mandate for the government: Basavaraja Bommai
Bengaluru: The results of the by-elections in three constituencies do not represent a mandate for the state government, said MP Basavaraja Bommai, adding that ruling party MLAs are dissatisfied with the lack of development in the state.
Speaking to the media at the BJP office on Tuesday, he stated that by-elections typically favor the ruling government. "When we were in power, we won 13 out of 17 by-elections. The Congress should not assume that this is a verdict in their favor," he remarked.
Bommai emphasized that these results are confined to the constituencies where the by-elections were held. He also accused the state government of poorly implementing its guarantee schemes without adequate financial preparation, claiming that the schemes are being halted due to financial strain.
He alleged that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's government has borrowed over ₹1 lakh crore, leading to difficulties in financial management. Bommai pointed out that the state government is yet to release over ₹2,000 crore to local bodies, including village panchayats, as recommended by the 15th Finance Commission.
"Anganwadi workers and contract workers are not receiving their salaries, and contractors are refusing to take up work due to non-release of funds, even after tenders have been floated," he added.
Responding to questions about internal dissent within the BJP, Bommai denied any significant issues, stating, "There is no dissent in the BJP. Everyone is committed to the party. There may be differing opinions on some matters, but I am confident that everything will be resolved within a month." He also noted that a motivated BJP team is actively working for the party.
