Tokyo Olympics: Indian women's hockey team goes down in bronze medal match
Tokyo: The history-making Indian women's hockey team's dream of securing its maiden Olympic medal remained unfulfilled as it lost 3-4 to Great Britain in a hard-fought bronze play-off match at the ongoing Games here on Friday.
The Indian women had already created history and surpassed all expectations by entering the semifinals of the Games for the first time.
But the maiden Olympic medal remained out of bounds as world no.4 Great Britain, who were gold-winners in the 2016 Rio Games, came out on top in the pulsating encounter.
The heartbreak came a day after the Indian men's team ended a 41-year-old medal drought by clinching bronze with a 5-4 win over Germany.
The Indians played their hearts out and overcame a two-goal deficit to lead 3-2 at half time.
But a desperate Great Britain gave their everything in the second half and scored two goals to snatch the match from India's hands.
India scored three goals in a span of five minutes through Gurjit Kaur (25th, 26th minutes) and Vandana Katariya (29th) to stun Great Britain.
But the Britishers found the net four times through Elena Rayer (16th), Sarah Riobertson (24th), skipper Hollie Pearne-Webb (35th) and Grace Baldson (48th) to emerge winners.
India's best performance in the Olympics was a fourth place finish in the 1980 Moscow Games. In that edition, there were no semifinals as only six teams competed in a round-robin format with the top two featuring in the final.
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Justice Nagarathna dissents on SC collegium’s recommendation of Justice Pancholi
Dissent cites seniority concerns, Gujarat High Court’s over-representation
New Delhi: Supreme Court judge B.V. Nagarathna has recorded a dissent note against the collegium’s recommendation to elevate Patna High Court Chief Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi to the apex court, The Indian Express reported.
The five-member collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justices Surya Kant, Vikram Nath, J.K. Maheshwari, and Nagarathna, reached the decision with a 4–1 split. Justice Nagarathna, the lone woman on the bench, opposed Pancholi’s elevation, citing concerns over seniority and regional representation.
Justice Pancholi ranks 57th on the all-India seniority list of high court judges. Justice Nagarathna reportedly objected to the move, noting that it came less than three months after another judge from the Gujarat High Court, Justice N.V. Anjaria, was elevated to the Supreme Court. She argued that advancing Pancholi would bypass several senior judges and further increase Gujarat’s representation at the top court, while other high courts remain underrepresented.
Her dissenting note, according to reports, emphasized that such decisions could undermine the credibility of the collegium system and have long-term consequences for the administration of justice.
Justice Pancholi, who served nearly two decades in the Gujarat High Court, was transferred to Patna High Court in July 2023 and appointed its Chief Justice in July 2025. His elevation, along with that of Justice Anjaria, was intended to maintain Gujarat’s representation in the Supreme Court following the retirements of Justices M.R. Shah and Bela Trivedi earlier this year.
With a sanctioned strength of 34 judges, the Supreme Court follows criteria of seniority, merit, integrity, and regional balance in appointments. Justice Nagarathna’s dissent highlights ongoing debates about diversity and fairness in judicial elevations.
