Chennai (PTI): Copparam Shreyas Hareesh, a 13-year-old prodigy from Bengaluru, succumbed to injuries that he had suffered following a crash in the third round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship at the Madras International Circuit, here on Saturday.

Following the tragic incident, promoter of the event, Madras Motor Sports Club, cancelled the remaining races scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Born on July 26, 2010, Shreyas, a student of Kensri School in Bengaluru, was being hailed as a rising star, as he had won several races at the National level, including four in a row, competing in the rookie category of the Petronas TVS One-Make Championship this season.

The incident occurred soon after the start of the rookie race for which he had qualified for pole position this morning. Exiting Turn-1, Shreyas fell following a crash and suffered grievous head injury.

The race was red-flagged immediately and he was rushed to a nearby hospital in a trauma care ambulance stationed at the track.

He was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. His father, Copparam Hareesh was at his bedside.

"It is tragic to have lost a rider so young and talented. Shreyas, who was making waves with his prodigious racing talent, was provided medical assistance on the spot immediately after the incident and taken to the hospital," MMSC president Ajit Thomas said.

"Under the circumstances, we have decided to cancel rest of this weekend's programme. The MMSC offers heart-felt condolences and our thoughts are with his family."

In May this year, Shreyas, having won the MiniGP India title, had participated in the MiniGP races in Spain, finishing both races in fifth and fourth positions respectively.

He was scheduled to compete in the MSBK Championship 2023 at Sepang Circuit, Malaysia, in August, representing team CRA Motorsports in the 250cc category (Group B).

It is the second fatality in Indian motorsport this year. In January, KE Kumar, 59, a noted and respected racer, died in hospital following a crash in the second round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2022 at the Madras International Circuit.

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Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.

Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”

He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.

His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.

Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.

He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.

“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.