Asiad 2018: Sushil Kumar crashes out in first round
Jakarta, Aug 19 : India's veteran Sushil Kumar suffered a shock defeat in the opening round of the men's 74 kg freestyle category in the wrestling competition at the 18th Asian Games here on Sunday.
Sushil seemed sluggish and off-colour right from the start during a rather lacklustre 3-5 defeat to Adam Batirov of Bahrain. Sushil will now hope that Batirov reaches the final in order to compete in the repechage round for a shot at the bronze medal.
Batirov later defeated Abdul Ghafar Qaderi of Afghanistan 15-5 in the pre-quarterfinals.
There was better news for India in the men's 65 kg freestyle division as Bajrang Punia crushed Sirojiddin Khasanov of Uzbekistan on technical superiority in his campaign opener.
Bajrang struggled in the early stages as Khasanov opened up a comfortable 3-0 lead. But the Indian staged a strong comeback by notching up six consecutive points to lead 6-3 at he break.
Bajrang completely dominated the second and final round, scoring seven points within two minutes to take a 13-3 lead which saw him being adjudged the winner due to technical superiority.
A wrestler is considered winner by technical superiority when he leads by 10 or more points. Bajrang will take on Fayziev Abdul Qosim of Tajikistan in the quarter-finals.
Fayziev had thrashed Jindapan Somsak of Thailand by technical superiority (12-2) in the pre-quarterfinals. In the 57kg freestyle category, Sandeep Tomar registered a 12-8 win over Rustem Nazarov of Turkmenistan to enter the second round.
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It's frequent flier time, people of Manipur continue to wait for visit: Cong's dig at PM Modi
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress on Tuesday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his Mauritius trip, saying it is "frequent flier time" even as the people of Manipur continue to wait for a visit by him.
The opposition party claimed that the prime minister's "refusal" to visit Manipur for almost two years is really an insult to the people of the state.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "It is Frequent Flier time and the PM is off to Mauritius now. But even after President's Rule has been imposed in Manipur the situation remains tense."
The people of Manipur continue to wait for a visit by the PM, he said.
"His refusal to do so for almost two years is really an insult to them," Ramesh added.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi received a ceremonial welcome upon his arrival in Mauritius where he will attend the island nation's national day celebrations as the chief guest and hold meetings with the country's top leadership.
During the visit, the two countries will sign several pacts providing for cooperation in the areas of capacity building, trade and tackling cross-border financial crimes.
The Congress has been attacking the prime minister for not visiting Manipur besides slamming the Centre for its handling of the situation in the ethnic strife-torn northeastern state.
More than 220 people have been killed and thousands rendered homeless in ethnic violence between Imphal Valley-based Meiteis and adjoining hills-based Kuki-Zo groups since May 2023.
