Punjab crowned Champions of Hockey India Jr men national meet
Bhopal, May 6 : Punjab defeated Haryana 4-2 to lift the eighth Hockey India Junior Men National Championship (A Division), it was announced on Sunday.
Gangpur-Odisha secured the bronze medal as they defeated Odisha 6-1 in the match for the third place.
In the final match of the competition, Punjab came from two goals down to defeat Haryana 4-2. It was Haryana who took a 2-0 lead after 37 minutes and looked like winning the match.
However, Punjab scored four goals in the second half to secure the title, after having finished with the bronze medal last year.
It was Gursahibjit Singh who scored a hat-trick of goals for Hockey Punjab in the 42nd, 57th and 65th minutes while Karajwinder Singh (70th minute) also found the back of the winner for the Champions. Hockey Haryana's two goals were scored by Deepak (26th) and Mohit (37th).
In the bronze medal match, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha defeated Defending Champions Odisha 6-1 to secure a podium finish.
The match saw Hockey Odisha take the lead in the 16th minute through Dibesh Jojo's field goal. However, Hockey Gangpur-Odisha struck four goals before the half-time whistle to take a 4-1 lead into the break.
Gangpur-Odisha made sure that they followed in the footsteps of their women's team as they scored twice in the second half to secure an emphatic 6-1 win.
Goals for Gangpur-Odisha were scored by skipper Pratap Lakra (27th minute, 59th, 63rd), Sanjay Xalxo (24th, 35th) and Sudeep Chirmako (32nd).
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
