Gold medallist shooter Avani Lekhara to be India's flag-bearer at closing ceremony of Paralympics
Tokyo, Sep 4: Shooter Avani Lekhara will be the flag bearer of country's contingent during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics, here on Sunday.
The 19-year-old trailblazer Lekhara had won a gold in R-2 women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 event on Monday before claiming the 50m Rifle 3 Position SH1 bronze on Friday.
"Avani will be the flag bearer and there will be 11 participants from the Indian contingent during the closing ceremony," an official of the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) said.
Lekhara, who was paralysed below the waist after a car accident in 2012, is only the Indian to win multiple medals in a single edition of the Games.
Before Lekhara, Joginder Singh Sodhi whad won a silver and two bronze medals in the 1984 Paralympics.
Another shooter Singhraj Adana joined the exclusive club on Saturday when he added a silver in P4 Mixed 50m Pistol SH1 event to the bronze in the P1 men's 10m air pistol SH1 event he won on Tuesday.
Shot-putter Tek Chand was India's flag-bearer for the Paralympics opening ceremony on August 24 after he replaced high jumper Mariyappan Thangavelu in the last minute.
Mariyappan, who won a silver here, was quarantined along with five other Indians after coming in close contact with a COVID positive person.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Stampedes in Nigeria leave at least 32 dead in rush to get Christmas gifts
Abuja, Dec 22: The death toll from stampedes during two Christmas charity events in Nigeria has increased from 13 to 32, police said Sunday. The victims, including at least four children, collapsed during crowd surges as people grew desperate for food items while the country grapples with the worst cost-of-living crisis in a generation.
The dead included 22 people in southeastern Anambra state's Okija town, where a philanthropist on Saturday organised a food distribution, local police spokesman Tochukwu Ikenga said. Ten others died in the capital, Abuja, during a church-organised similar charity event.
Police said they were investigating the two incidents, only days after another stampede in which several children were killed.
Africa's most populous country is seeing a growing trend by local organisations, churches and individuals to organise charity events ahead of Christmas to ease economic hardship caused by a cost-of-living crisis.
Witnesses of the Abuja stampede told The Associated Press there was a crowd surge at one of the church gates, as dozens tried to enter the premises at around 4 am, hours before gift items were to be shared.
Some of them, including older people, waited overnight to get food, said Loveth Inyang, who rescued one baby from the crush.
The stampedes prompted growing calls for authorities to enforce safety measures at such events. Nigerian police also mandated that organisers obtain prior permission.
