Asian Games: Vithya equals PT Usha's national record in women's 400m hurdle
Hangzhou (PTI): India's Tejaswin Shankar produced a season best effort in shot put to be placed fifth in the overall standings with two events left in men's decathlon at the Asian Games here on Monday.
The 24-year-old, who had won a bronze at the Commonwealth Games in high jump last year, came up with an effort of 13.39m in shot put to be at the fifth place.
He also produced a personal best effort of 11.12m to register a fourth place finish in the 100m race, while topping the standings in long jump with an effort of 7.37m.
Tejaswin now has 2428 points in the overall standings. He amassed 903 points from long jump, 834 from 100m race and 691 in shot put.
He will participate in high jump and 400 race events later in the day.
India had a good outing with Vithya Ramraj equalling PT Usha's 400m hurdle national record, which was set in 1984, with a personal best effort of 55.42s to top her heat and directly qualify for the women's final.
Ravi Sinchal Kaveram Theetharamada, however, missed out after finishing fifth in her heat with an effort of 58.62s.
In men's 400m hurdles, Santhosh Kumar Tamilarasan and Yashas Palaksha qualified for the final after finishing in second position with a timing of 49.28s and 49.61s in their respective heats.
Sandesh Jesse and Sarvesh Anil Kushare produced identical scores of 2.10m to qualify for men's high jump final after finishing at the ninth place in the list of 12 best performers.
Sandesh and Sarvesh finished at sixth and fourth in group A and group B qualifiers respectively.
In men's 800m heat, Mohammed Afsal Pulikkalakath finished at the top of his heat with a timing of 1:46:79s, while Krishnan Kumar was second in his heat with a timing of 1:49:45s. Both qualified for the finals.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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