CWG: Judoka Shushila wins silver in women' 48kg, Vijay gets bronze
Coventry, Aug 1: Indian judokas L Shushila Devi and Vijay Kumar Yadav signed off with a silver and a bronze medal in women's 48kg and men's 60kg respectively at the Commonwealth Games here on Monday.
The 27-year-old Shushila fought hard before losing the final via 'Waza-Ari' in the 4.25-minute final against South Africa's Michaela Whitebooi, while Yadav dished out a dominating show to take down Petros Christodoulides of Cyprus with a 'Ippon' in the bronze medal match.
For Shushila, it was her second silver medal at the showpiece event. She had finished runners-up at the 2014 Glasgow games as well.
A sub-inspector with Manipur Police, Shushila had progressed to the final, beating Priscilla Morand of Mauritius. she had beaten Harriet Bonface of Malawi on way to her quarterfinals earlier in the day.
The 26-year-old Yadav, on the other hand, produced a superlative performance as he pounced on the mistake of his opponent and pinned him down for 10 seconds to end the contest in just 58 seconds.
Ippon is a move in which a contestant throws his opponent to the mat with considerable force and speed so that the opponent lands on his back. An ippon is also awarded when a contestant immobilizes his opponent with a grappling hold-down for 20 seconds, or when an opponent gives up.
Yadav, who has won the Commonwealth Championships in 2018 and 2019, had lost to Joshua Katz of Australia in the quarterfinal, but he produced a superb performance in 60kg repechage to advance to the bronze medal match with a win by 'Waza Ari' over Dylon Munro of Scotland.
A 'waza-ari' is awarded after a player throws his opponent with control and accuracy, but not to the extent of an ippon.
Jasleen Singh Saini will also fight for a bronze medal after losing the men's 66kg semifinal to Scotland's Finlay Allan.
Saini, who sailed into the semifinals earlier in the day, lost after the Scot performed an 'Ippon' in a match that lasted a little less than two and half minutes.
The 24-year-old Saini, however, has a chance to earn a podium finish as he will compete in the bronze medal play-off against Australian Nathan Katz later tonight.
Suchika Tariyal has already reached the bronze medal round after defeating Donne Breytenbach of South Africa in the women's 57kg repechage.
India had won two silver and two bronze at the Glasgow 2014, their best ever show in judo.
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No stubble burning now, why air pollution crisis in Delhi: Mann takes dig at BJP
Chandigarh (PTI): Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday slammed the BJP saying its leaders used to "defame" Punjab farmers over stubble burning and blame them for Delhi's poor air quality and questioned why is there pollution crisis in national capital despite no farm fires now.
Mann said that as soon as paddy harvest takes place, BJP leaders blame Punjab and its farmers for Delhi's poor air quality.
He said they used to claim that stubble burning by Punjab farmers causes Delhi's pollution.
Mann said at present, the Air Quality Index in major Punjab cities is between 70 and 130.
"At present, Delhi's AQI is between 450 and 500 and no smoke is coming from Punjab. But the situation in Delhi is worse. At least now they should agree that there is no role of Punjab for Delhi's poor air quality," Mann said in a video message.
Mann's remarks came on a day Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa apologised for the air pollution crisis in the national capital and acknowledged its impact on children's health.
Sirsa, however, asserted that it was the result of the policies pursued by the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi.
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Last month, the BJP had trashed the Punjab CM's previous claim that stubble burning in the state has no role in the high levels of air pollution in Delhi as "ridiculous".
Dismissing Mann's claim, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva had last month said it is certain that stubble burning is a "major" factor (for the air pollution in Delhi).
Meanwhile, Mann in his video message said, due to severe floods which Punjab witnessed this year, paddy harvesting got delayed, "despite this, many Delhi ministers had already started blaming Punjab".
"I want to praise Punjab farmers, NGOs and efforts of the Punjab government have also paid off in controlling stubble burning this time. The cases of stubble burning in Punjab have reduced by 70-80 per cent and this has been acknowledged by the Central Government and the Union Agriculture Minister," Mann said.
The CM further said that after paddy harvest even the wheat crop has been sown and now, there is no incident of stubble burning.
He said BJP leaders used to claim that Punjab's smoke from stubble travels to Delhi.
"Now, there is no stubble burning, but Delhi is facing very poor air quality. This proves that earlier too Punjab's smoke had no role for Delhi's poor air quality. Only accusations were made by the BJP to defame Punjab. At least now the Centre should praise the farmers of Punjab," he said.
"Meanwhile, Delhi's AQI is between 450 and 500, flights are being cancelled, and breathing has become difficult," said Mann.
He asked both the BJP government in Delhi and the BJP led Centre to address Delhi's air pollution, saying citizens cannot even venture out for a walk due to air pollution.
He also asked the BJP that Punjab should not be dragged into this political battle, instead, Punjab's farmers should be appreciated, and the Delhi and Central governments should focus on addressing Delhi's air pollution.
Mann further said that farmers of Punjab are 'anndatas' (food providers) and they meet the country's food needs, they should not be defamed.
