Gyaneshwari clinches silver, Rithika wins bronze in Junior World Championships
New Delhi (PTI): Gyaneshwari Yadav clinched the silver medal while compatriot V Rithika finished third to give India a double podium finish in the women's 49kg category at the IWF Junior World Weightlifting Championships in Heraklion, Greece.
Chattisgarh lifter Gyaneshwari produced a total effort of 156kg (73kg+83kg) to take home the silver metal on Monday night.
The 18-year-old Rithika, on the other hand, heaved 6 kgs less than her compatriot -- 150kg (69kg+81kg) to bag the bronze medal in a depleted 10-lifter field.
Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist and strong favourite Windy Cantika Aisah of Indonesia was crowned the champion in the category thanks to her total effort of 185kg (83kg+102kg).
The gulf between the Indonesian lifter, who won the Asian and world junior titles last year, and the 19-year-old Gyaneshwari was a whopping 29kg with Aisah even declined to take her final attempt.
The field was missing lifters from powerhouses China, North Korea and Thailand.
The junior world record for the category sits at 206kg (92kg+114kg) in China's Jiang Huihua's name.
It is the same weight division in which Mirabai Chanu won a silver at the Tokyo Olympics, with an effort off 202kg (87kg+115kg).
Chanu holds the senior clean and jerk world record in the category. She had lifted 119 kg at the Asian Championships last year to achieve the feat.
The snatch (96kg) and total weight lifted (213kg) records are in Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Hou Zhihui's name.
The podium finishes take India's medal haul to three in the ongoing event.
Earlier on Monday, Harshada Sharad Garud became the country's first weightlifter to win a gold medal at the world event.
Athletes from Russia and Belarus are banned from competing in IWF events.
Russia had won the most medals (9) in the last edition.
Countries like China, Romania and Bulgaria among others are giving the tournament a miss for a variety of reasons.
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It's govt's responsibility to support youth who dare to dream: Omar Abdullah
Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the government may not be able to provide jobs to everyone, but it can create an ecosystem for youngsters to become entrepreneurs and innovators.
It is the responsibility of the government to support youth who dare to dream, he said.
After inaugurating the 11th National Conference and Exhibition on Emerging and Innovative Trends in Engineering Technology (NCEEITET) at the Government College of Engineering and Technology (GCET) in Jammu, Abdullah said, “We may not be able to provide jobs to everyone, but we can certainly create an environment where our youngsters become entrepreneurs and innovators.”
The two-day conference is being organised by the GCET in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur and the World University Consortium (WUC).
Addressing the gathering, Abdullah assured that all necessary steps would be taken to strengthen infrastructure and support systems at the GCET, ensuring that it continues to evolve as a premier institution.
The chief minister also inaugurated a new building for the School of Architecture in the college, built at Rs 19.71 crore.
Stressing the need to balance modernity with the region’s cultural and historical identity, Abdullah said, “Not every building needs to be made of glass and steel. Our structures must reflect our heritage and preserve our cultural ethos.”
Highlighting the role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, Abdullah said they could significantly improve tourism management, visitor experience and service delivery in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, he cautioned that technological advancement should complement human effort rather than replace jobs, especially in a region where unemployment remains a concern.
The chief minister said that attracting tourists to Jammu and Kashmir was not difficult, but ensuring repeat visits required consistently enriching experiences and better infrastructure across tourism segments, including pilgrimage, border and leisure tourism.
To address the infrastructure gaps in the college, Abdullah announced that funds would be provided this year for the construction of an auditorium.
He also assured support for setting up an incubation centre in GCET.
During the event, Abdullah also released the e-proceedings of the conference, comprising 28 shortlisted research papers.
