Suraj Panwar wins silver in men's 5000m race walk, boxing challenge ends at Youth Olympic Games
Buenos Aires, Oct 16: Suraj Panwar clinched a silver in men's 5000m race walk event to open India's medal account in athletics at the Youth Olympic Games but country's boxing challenge ended with quarter final defeat of Jyoti Gulia, here.
Panwar won the stage 2 competition by clocking 20 minutes and 35.87 seconds on Monday night but finished second overall.
In a new format, there are no finals in track and field (with the exception of 4km cross-country) in the Youth Olympics and each event is held twice, with results from both rounds counting towards the final standings.
The 17-year-old Panwar had finished second in the first stage in 20.23.30s, behind Patin Oscar of Ecuador.
Oscar, who finished second in Stage 2, won the gold with timings of 20:13.69s and 20:38.17s.
Panwar's total time of 40:59.17s was over seven minutes slower than Oscar's 40:51.86s. Puerto Rico's Jan Moreau finished third to claim the bronze.
This is India's first athletics medal in this edition and third overall. Arjun (men's discus throw) and Durgesh Kumar (men's 400m hurdles) had won a silver each in the inaugural edition in 2010.
"It's a great feeling. I am very happy to have won a medal. I had put in a lot of hard work for the Games. It is my first medal for India," Panwar said after winning the silver medal.
"My next target is to better my performance here and win a medal in the senior level also," he added.
India's boxing challenge though ended at the very first hurdle after former world champion Jyoti (51kg) lost her quarterfinal bout to Italy's Martina La Piana.
Gulia was the lone Indian boxer to qualify for the Games owing to her world title and lost in a unanimous 0-5 verdict to the Italian on Monday night.
The 17-year-old Indian from Haryana was expected to do well at the event given that she was coming off a gold medal winning performance at the Silesian Open in Gliwice, Poland last month.
India's maiden and only set of medals in the Youth Olympics' boxing competition came in the inaugural edition of 2010.
Shiva Thapa and Vikas Krishan delivered a silver and a bronze medal respectively, which remain India's best performance. While Shiva won his silver in the 54kg category, Vikas finished with a bronze in the 60kg division.
In 2014, the best that India managed in boxing was Gaurav Solanki's fourth-place finish. Solanki (52kg) won the gold medal in this year's Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile, archer Himani was eliminated from the women's individual recurve event after losing her 1/8 match 4-6 to American Catalina Noriega.
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Congress voices concern over safety of minorities in Bangladesh
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Wednesday expressed deep concern over the "atmosphere of insecurity" being faced by religious minorities in Bangladesh and the arrest of Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das.
In a statement, Chairman of the party's Media and Publicity Department Pawan Khera said, "The Indian National Congress expects the government of India to prevail upon the Bangladesh government to take necessary steps and ensure security of life and property of minorities in the country".
"The Indian National Congress expresses its deep concern at the atmosphere of insecurity being faced by religious minorities in Bangladesh. The arrest of the ISCKON monk is the latest example," he said.
A lawyer was killed on Tuesday during clashes between security personnel and followers of Das, who was denied bail and sent to jail by a court in the port city of Chattogram in Bangladesh in a sedition case.
Das, the spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested from the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka a day earlier.
India on Tuesday noted with "deep concern" the arrest and denial of bail to the Hindu leader, and urged authorities in the neighbouring country to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all other minority groups.
Bangladesh reacted sharply to the Ministry of External Affairs statement, saying it was unfounded and stood contrary to the spirit of friendship between the two countries.
In its statement, Dhaka said it does not interfere with the country's judiciary, which is fully independent
