2nd International : India women hold Spain to 1-1 draw
Murcia (Spain), Jan 28 : Indian women earned a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Spain in the second international hockey match after having lost the opening encounter by a close margin.
Gurjit Kaur's 43rd minute strike was nullified by home team's Maria Tost in the 49th minute during an encounter on Sunday evening.
Having lost 2-3 to Spain in their opening match on Saturday, the Indian team put up a spirited performance in a high-voltage second encounter here.
While the first quarter ended in a stalemate, the second quarter saw India make a breakthrough with their first PC of the match. The PC was re-taken but well-saved by the Spanish goalkeeper.
It was goalless at half-time but Spain created a penalty corner opportunity soon into the third quarter. The Indian goalkeeper made an impressive save to deny the hosts. In the following minutes, India increased their tempo that resulted in yet another short corner, which was brilliantly struck by dragflicker Gurjit Kaur.
The joy of 1-0 lead against the 2018 Women's World Cup Bronze Medal winners was shortlived as a defensive lapse by India gave way to Spain scoring a beautiful field goal through Tost in the 49th minute which levelled the scores 1-1.
The final quarter remained intense until the hooter with both teams taking their game a notch above and pushing for a winning goal but neither succeeded with the match ending in a draw.
India will play their third match of the tour on Tuesday.
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41 lakh illicit liquor seized, 1.84 lakh arrested in major drive: K'taka Minister tells Assembly
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI): The Karnataka Excise Department has conducted a statewide crackdown on illegal liquor trade over the last two years, resulting in arrests and seizures of alcohol, Karnataka Excise Minister R B Timmapur said on Tuesday.
As many as 1,09,017 people were arrested, and seizures included 13.66 lakh litres of liquor and 27.19 lakh litres of beer, he said in a written reply to a starred question by Harihar BJP MLA B P Harish in the Karnataka Assembly.
The Minister said the enforcement drive covered the financial year 2023–24, 2024–25 up to June, and 2025–26 from July to October, targeting unauthorised liquor manufacture, storage, sale and transportation across the State.
"During this period, statewide enforcement drives resulted in a total of 1,84,570 raids against illegal liquor sales,” Timmapur said.
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He noted that 9,179 non-bailable cases and 91,968 bailable and compoundable cases under Section 15(A) of the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, were registered during the same period.
According to him, there have been no reports indicating that students have become addicted to alcohol due to illegal liquor sales.
The sale of alcohol to minors is strictly prohibited under the Karnataka Excise Act, 1965, and the department has issued periodic instructions to initiate legal action against violators, with strict enforcement and investigation measures in place, the Minister said.
Excise officials are carrying out regular road and night patrols, collecting intelligence, monitoring habitual offenders and conducting raids to identify illicit distillation units, unauthorised liquor outlets and spurious liquor manufacturing centres, he said, adding the department is also enforcing the law to prevent the production, storage, sale and transport of spurious, non-duty-paid and unauthorised liquor.
Regular patrols are being conducted on national and state highways, with suspicious vehicles being subjected to checks.
At the district level, standing committee meetings are held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioners, and joint operations are carried out with the police and forest departments to curb excise-related offences.
The department is also conducting awareness programmes through Gram Sabhas and in schools and colleges to educate the public and students about the physical, mental and social health hazards associated with alcohol addiction and substance abuse, Timmapur added.
