Shooting Worlds: Hriday wins junior 10m air rifle gold; Medals for Elavenil, Shreya
Changwon (South Korea), Sep 7: India's Hriday Hazarika clinched the gold medal in the men's junior 10m air rifle, while Elavenil Valarivan and Shreya Agrawal claimed silver and bronze medals respectively in the women's junior 10m air rifle event at the 52nd ISSF World Championships here on Friday.
The 16-year-old Hriday prevailed in a shoot-off, scoring a decisive 10.3 against Iran's Amir Mohammad Nekounam, who came up with a 10.2.
Junior World Cup gold medallist Hriday and Amir finished tied at 250.1 points after nine series, comprising 24 shots.
The podium was completed by Russian Grigorii Shamakov, who scored 228.6 points. The fourth place was taken by Marco Suppini of Italy with 207.2 points.
India, however, failed to win a medal in the team competition in this category. By setting a new record, China took the team gold medal with 1876.2 points. Iran followed in 2nd place with 1874.3 points, while the Russian side won bronze with 1873.7.
In the women's junior 10m air rifle event, Elavenil (249.8 points) and Shreya (228.4) finished behind Chinese Shi Mengyao (250.5).
However, the performances of Elavenil and Shreya powered India to a gold medal in the team event. They won gold along with their teammate Manini Kaushik with a total tally of 1880.7 points.
The score turned out to be a new junior world record, an excellent result that proved once again the strength of the Indian team, currently ranked 2nd in the intermediate medal standings of the ISSF World Championship, second only to the host country.
China, led by the new world champion Shi, collected the silver medal with 1874.6 points (scored by Shi, Wang Suhyi and Qiaoying Zhang). Bronze went to the host country, South Korea, thanks to Kim Jiyeon, Ga Eul Han and Minjung Oh, who scored 1871.9 points.
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11k litres of milk poured into Narmada river after religious event; environmentalists see red
Sehore (PTI): Around 11,000 litres of milk were poured into Narmada river, often called the lifeline of Madhya Pradesh, in Sehore district on the culmination of a 21-day religious event as part of a sanctification ritual, prompting environmentalists to flag its negative impact on the ecosystem.
The event concluded at Satdev village in Bherunda area, located about 90 km from the district headquarters, with a 'mahayagna' on Wednesday.
The milk was offered to the river as part of rituals and prayers for the purity of the waters, the well-being of pilgrims and prosperity, organisers said.
The milk was brought in tankers to the riverbank and later poured into the flowing water amid chanting of mantras in the presence of a crowd of devotees.
However, environmentalists raised concerns over the practice, warning of its potential ecological impact.
"Such large quantities of organic matter can deplete dissolved oxygen in water, adversely affecting the river ecosystem. These impact local communities dependent on the river for drinking water and threaten aquatic life as well as domestic animals," noted environmentalist and wildlife activist Ajay Dube said.
Religious offerings should be symbolic and mindful, he asserted.
Renowned environmentalist Subhash Pandey said 11,000 litres of milk acts as a significant organic pollutant.
"It is highly oxygen-demanding and can lead to oxygen depletion, aquatic mortality, eutrophication (process of plants growing on river surface) and loss of potability. These effects are predictable from dairy-effluent chemistry and have been documented in similar incidents worldwide," Pandey pointed out.
Narmada originates at Amarkantak in the state and traverses 1,312 km westward to Maharashtra and Gujarat, emptying into the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Cambay.
It is the largest west-flowing river in the peninsula, passing through a rift valley, and acts as a crucial water source for irrigation in MP, Gujarat and Maharashtra.
