Wrestler Abhimanyu upsets higher-ranked Ukrainian in opening round of World Championships
Belgrade (PTI): All four Indian free-style wrestlers on show on the day one of the UWW World Championships won their opening-round bouts with 70kg grappler Abhimanyu upsetting world number 7 Ukraine's Ihor Nykyforuk here on Saturday.
Abhimanyu, the bronze-medal winner at the U23 World Championships in June and ranked 26th in the world, defeated the Ukrainian 19-9, effecting a victory by fall (VFA).
The referee stopped the contest 2.41 minutes into the second three-minute session, after Abhimanyu had also dominated the first three-minute session, taking a 5-0 lead.
The Indian Indian will take on Nicolai Grahmez of Moldova in the in the pre-quarterfinal.
Akash Dahiya too began on a winning note defeating his Moldovan opponent Leomid Colesnic, scoring an overwhelming 10-5 verdict from the referees.
The world ranked No.21 grappler will take on Uzbekistan's Jahongirmirza Turobov, who is seeded sixth here and a gold medallist a the 2021 Asian Championships.
In other opening-round bouts, 86kg grappler Sandeep Mann got the better of Dejan Mitrov of North Macedonia with a win by technical superiority (10-0), and will take on Lin Zushen of China in the second qualification round.
India's 125kg grappler Sumit too had an easy outing against Japanese Taiki Yamamoto, ranked 30th in the world to the Indian's 29th, winning the contest 3-1, to set up a pre-quarterfinal clash with Poland's Robert Baran. The seventh seed Baran is a European Championships silver medallist besides being a quarterfinalist at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
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Youth Congress protests suspension of Kuldeep Sengar's life term in Unnao rape case; slams BJP
Mumbai (PTI): Mumbai Youth Congress on Sunday staged a protest against the relief granted to Unnao rape case convict and expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Sengar.
On December 23, the Delhi High Court suspended the jail term of Sengar, who is serving life imprisonment in the Unnao rape case, saying he has already served seven years and five months in prison. His sentence has been suspended till the pendency of his appeal challenging his conviction and sentence in the rape case.
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Protesters alleged the decision exposed the hypocrisy of the BJP's 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' slogan.
Led by Mumbai Youth Congress president Zeenat Shabreen, party workers travelled on a local train from Santacruz to Churchgate, interacting directly with commuters to raise awareness about the case and the alleged protection being extended to the convicted leader.
The protesters criticised the BJP-led government for what they described as shielding those convicted of serious crimes against women and said such actions undermined women's safety and justice.
"The Congress would continue its struggle against any decision that compromised the safety and dignity of women. Protests and public outreach would be intensified to ensure accountability and justice in cases of crimes against women," Shabreen said.
The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday a plea by the CBI challenging the Delhi High Court order suspending the life sentence of expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar in the Unnao rape case.
According to the cause list, a three-judge vacation bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices JK Maheshwari and Augustine George Masih is likely to hear the matter.
