Six Indians in finals of Asian Youth boxing in Dubai
New Delhi, (PTI): Six Indian boxers advanced to the finals of the Asian Youth Championships in Dubai with two of them getting walkovers after their Kazakh opponents were quarantined following a COVID-19 case in the contingent.
Of the six Indians who made the summit clashes, two were men and four women.
In the women's draw, Simran Verma (52kg) and Sneha (66kg) progressed after getting walkovers from Kazakh rivals Khava Bolkoyeva and Anar Turynbek respectively.
"One of these girls tested positive for COVID-19 and the other had to be also quarantined as she was the infected girl's room partner. That's why we got walkovers in these two categories," India coach Bhaskar Bhatt told PTI.
Joining them in the finals were Preeti (57kg) and Preeti Dahiya (60kg).
Preeti outclassed Narika Rai of Nepal RSC in the third round to book her final berth. Preeti Dahiya, on the other hand, defeated Uzbekistan's Rukhshona Uktamova 3-2.
Among the men, Vanshaj (64kg) defeated Iran's Faridi Abolfazl 5-0, while Vishal (80kg) outpunched Kazakhstan's Dauren Mamyr by a similar margin to move ahead.
However, Daksh (67kg) lost to Uzbekistan's Solijonoz Samandar 4-1.
Also ending with bronze medals were Abhimanyu (92kg) and Aman Singh Bisht (+92kg).
While Abhimanyu lost to Uzbekistan's Tokhirov Nusratbek 5-0, Bisht also went down to an Uzbek in Zokirov Jakhongir.
India's assured medal tally stood at over 20 on the day of the draws itself as many countries either skipped or fielded smaller squads due to the COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The tournament, which is being held simultaneously for junior and youth boxers (both men and women) offers the gold medallists in the youth category a prize money of USD 6,000 while silver and bronze medallists will claim USD 3,000 and USD 1,500 respectively.
The junior champions will be awarded with USD 4,000 for gold and USD 2,000 and 1,000 for silver and bronze medallists respectively.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
