Das-Ankita fight back to oust Malaysia; Indian archers make quarters in four events
Hangzhou (PTI): The Indian recurve mixed pair archery duo of Atanu Das and Ankita Bhakat showed tenacity to defeat Malayasia in a three-setter and sail into quarterfinals at the Asian Games here on Monday.
Indian archers stormed into last-eight in three team events -- recurve mixed, compound mixed, compound men's team -- when the elimination round got underway at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre here.
As of now, India are in medal contention in four events with the top-seeded women's team compound archers getting a bye into the quarters.
Fifth seeded Indian duo of Das and Ankita rallied to beat Malaysian team of Syaqiera Binti Mashayikh, Muhamad Zarif Syahir Bin Zolkepeli 6-2 (39-38, 37-36, 39-33).
The Malaysia duo enjoyed a 2-0 lead with three 10s including one X in the first set.
But the experienced Indian duo bounced back with two 10s and went on to level as the Malaysians crumbled under pressure.
The Malaysians hit the red-ring (8) once and went on to lose the second by a slender one-point margin.
There was more misery in store for the Malaysians who shot into the red ring thrice (8-8-8), while Das-Ankita drilled in three perfect 10s en route to a six-point win in the third set.
The Indian pair sealed the issue with three more 10s in the fourth set and set up a last-eight clash against fourth-seeded Indonesians.
Should they overcome the Indonesian challenge, the Indians may run into the top-seeded Koreans in potential semifinal clash in Olympic-qualifying event.
There are six quota spots available from the Asian Games -- to the recurve mixed team winner, as well as another two archers ranked highly in the individual events.
In the compound mixed team, top-seeded Indian duo of Ojas Deotale and Jyothi Surekha Vennam dropped just one point from 16 arrows to eliminate UAE's Amna Alawadhi and Mohammed Binamro 159-151.
The duo will take on formidable Malaysia (No 8 seed) in the quarters and thereafter they have an easy draw till the final.
In compound men's team event, second-seeded Indians trio of Ojas, Abhishek Verma and Prathamesh Jawkar thrashed 15th seed Singapore (Woon Teng NG, Lee Chung Hee Alan, Jun Hui Goh) 235-219.
The Indian triumvirate had a cautious start and had four 10s to take 58-55 lead.
But the Indians came on their own from second end onwards and dropped just three points to rout their rivals by a 16-point margin.
The compound men's team is now pitted against lower-ranked Bhutan in the quarters and will have a potential semifinal clash against third seeded Chinese Taipei.
The top-seeded Indian women's compound team of Jyothi, Aditi Swami and Parneet Kaur, who got a bye into the quarters, will open its campaign against ninth-seeded Hong Kong who ousted Bangladesh 225-218.
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CM Siddaramaiah calls chargesheet against Sonia, Rahul vindictive politics of Modi-Shah
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday termed the ED's filing of a charge sheet against Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in an alleged money laundering case as vindictive politics by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
He said the Centre's act showed that it will not tolerate dissent by those who believe in democracy.
"Enforcement Directorate (ED) filing a chargesheet against senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi — who have always posed a formidable challenge to the Union Government — is yet another chapter in the vindictive politics of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah," Siddaramaiah alleged in a statement.
This is not merely an act of retribution against two leaders of the Congress party but a clear warning by the Modi Government to opposition parties and all citizens who believe in democracy that dissent will not be tolerated, he alleged.
Siddaramaiah said the Congress party, which has consistently faced such politics of hatred, will once again respond with the strength of truth and justice.
"The Modi-led Government has long been misusing the ED — a supposedly autonomous investigative agency — as a political weapon to target opposition leaders. In the latest instance, it has invoked baseless allegations of financial irregularities in the National Herald case to continue its campaign of political vendetta," the Chief Minister alleged.
It is evident that this action is being carried out under the direct instructions of Modi and Shah, he charged.
"The ED, which repeatedly harassed and mentally pressured senior Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi under the guise of investigation, has now resorted to filing a chargesheet based entirely on fabricated narratives, after failing to find any evidence," Siddaramaiah said.
Accordng to him, every Congress worker will take to the streets to protest this authoritarianism.
Stating that harassment by the investigation agency was not only a party's issue Siddaramaiah called upon every citizen who believes in democratic values to stand with the Congress.
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