Hockey: India U-23 play out 1-1 draw vs Belgium
Antwerp (Belgium), July 18 : India's U-23 men's team were held to a 1-1 draw by Belgium in their third round robin match of the Five Nations Tournament here.
India had a mixed bag of results in their first two matches of the tournament as they beat Ireland 5-0 in their first match, but lost 1-3 to Great Britain in the second match.
However, a strong performance against the hosts was needed and the Indian forwards did not disappoint as they produced an attacking display in the first two quarters on Tuesday.
The junior team were rewarded for their constant pressure on Belgium when striker Mohammad Umar found space in the striking circle and put the ball into the back of the net at the stroke of half-time.
The third quarter, however, saw the hosts produce a quick reply to India taking the lead, as Syril Frying cancelled out the lead in the 34th minute to level the scores.
Both the teams had their chances in the final quarter of the match, but neither could capitalise the chances and the match ended in a draw, which means that India will need to win their last round robin match against the Netherlands on Friday to have a chance of qualifying for the Final match of the U-23 Five Nations Tournament.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
