Kharge, Tharoor, Tripathi in fray for Congress Presidential poll
New Delhi (PTI): Mallikarjun Kharge, Shashi Tharoor and K N Tripathi are the three men in the Congress presidential race for which nominations end on Friday with the veteran Kharge from Karnataka emerging a clear favourite.
The 80-year-old Kharge, flanked by top Congress leaders, filed several sets of nomination papers with the proposers also including members from the G-23 ginger group comprising Anand Sharma, Prithviraj Chavan, Manish Tewari and Bhupinder Hooda.
Tharoor, who was also part of the G-23 group, filed five sets of nomination papers, while former Jharkhand minister Tripathi filed a single set of poll papers with Madhusudan Mistry, the chairman of the Congress's Central Election Authority.
Kharge appeared to be a clear favourite for the Congress presidential election as a galaxy of leaders were present by his side when he filed his nomination papers at the AICC headquarters here.
"I was encouraged by all leaders, party workers and delegates from key states to contest the elections. I thank those who were present by my side at the time of filing the nomination papers," Kharge told reporters here.
No one from the Gandhi family was present at the AICC headquarters when the leaders filed their nominations for the election.
"I have always been fighting this battle and I am keen to fight more to uphold the ideals of the Congress party with which I have been associated since my childhood," Kharge said.
Tharoor, 66, described his electoral opponent Kharge as the 'Bhishma Pitamah' of the party.
"It is a privilege to serve the only party in India with an open democratic process to choose its leader," Tharoor said after filing his nomination papers.
"It is a friendly contest that is going to happen. We are not enemies or rivals. No disrespect to him but I will represent my ideas," the Lok Sabha member from Thiruvananthapuram told reporters.
Friday was the last day for filing nomination papers. Over 9,100 delegates are eligible to cast their votes in the October 17 election. The result will be announced on October 19.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Young Zuhair sets high targets after 'trapping' gold at National Senior Shooting
New Delhi (PTI): Young shotgun shooter Zuhair Khan had been waiting for the moment when he would win the senior national title ever since he decided to pick up a gun after watching his father compete.
That day finally arrived earlier this month at the Karni Singh Shooting Range, when the 20-year-old clinched the trap gold at the National Championships, outshooting seasoned stalwarts and Olympians.
A third-year B.Tech student at Aligarh Muslim University, Zuhair took up the sport at 12 and had been relentlessly pursuing a senior national medal, only to miss it each time despite reaching the final on three previous occasions.
"This is my first senior national medal. I have two bronze medals in the junior category. I had reached the senior finals earlier as well, but this time I managed to convert it into a win," says Zuhair, whose father Babar Khan is also a national-level shotgun shooter.
ALSO READ: ‘You will rise, Umar Khalid’: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra pens poem for student-activist
However, the youngster's professional journey has not been smooth. Zuhair suffered a collarbone fracture while playing football and missed his inaugural nationals at the age of 13. The COVID-19 pandemic break too hampered his progress.
"I started trap shooting at the age of 12 and have been competing ever since. I lost one year due to a collarbone injury and another because of COVID-19, but apart from that, I have trained consistently at the Karni Singh Ranges," he added.
With very few talented trap shooters coming through the ranks, Zuhair has emerged as an exciting new find. His journey began when he would tag along with his father to the shooting range.
"So, when I went to the range I was fascinated by the sport. I thought 'let's give it a try'."
Balancing academics with competitive sport is never easy, but the youngster has managed to carve out a workable middle path.
"I am pursuing a B.Tech degree at Aligarh Muslim University. There isn't a fixed schedule for shooting, but whenever I have exams, my focus is entirely on academics. And when there are shooting competitions, I am here in Delhi," he said.
The past couple of years have brought valuable experience for Zuhair, and he is pleased to be shooting consistently high scores now.
"I represented the country at the 2024 World Championship in Peru. This year, I competed twice internationally — first at the World Cup in Suhl, Germany, and then at the Asian Championships in Kazakhstan, where I participated in the junior category in both tournaments."
While he is yet to win an international medal, his success at the National Championships has significantly boosted his confidence.
"I shot 120 this time at the Nationals, and I had also shot 120 earlier in 2024 at the Khelo India Youth Games. On both occasions, I won the gold medal," said the youngster from Rampur in Uttar Pradesh.
He has already set his next target -- a strong showing at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo in April.
"The World Cup in Cairo is around April, and my long-term goal is, of course, the Olympics. I would love to get the opportunity to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Games," he says.
"My personal coach, Rehan Rizvi, has been instrumental in my progress," says Zuhair, who is based at the National Centre of Excellence (NCOE) with the junior national squad.
He believes in having a fallback option in case a sporting career does not work out, and for that reason plans to pursue either an MBA or an M.Tech degree.
“I have no clarity right now about what I'll end up pursuing. But yes, an MBA or an M.Tech -- those are the two possibilities," said Zuhair, who divides his time between Aligarh and Delhi.
"Mostly, I train on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. On the remaining days, I have to be in Aligarh for college, so it gets a bit hectic travelling back and forth."
In between, he also finds time to play football -- his childhood passion and the sport that once caused him a collarbone injury.
