Salalah (Oman)(PTI): India thrashed Malaysia 10-4 in the semifinals to set up a clash with arch-rivals Pakistan in the inaugural men's Hockey 5s Asia Cup hereon Saturday. Pakistan reached the final after defeating Oman 7-3 in the first semi-final. India's previous meeting against the opposition in the tournament in the elite pool stage match had ended with Pakistan winning 5-4.

Mohammed Raheel (9th, 16th, 24th, 28th minutes), Maninder Singh (2nd), Pawan Rajbhar (13th), Sukhvinder (21st), Dipsan Tirkey (22nd), Jugraj Singh (23rd), and Gurjot Singh (29th) scored for India, while captain Ismail Asia Abu (4th), Akhimullah Anuar (7th, 19th), Muhamad Din (19th) were on target for Malaysia.

With the win, India also confirmed a spot in the 2024 FIH Hockey 5s World Cup.

India will play against Pakistan in the final later in the day.

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.



New Delh (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has crossed the massive milestone of 100 million followers on Instagram, making him the first world leader and politician to achieve this feat on the platform, officials said on Thursday.

Prime Minister Modi joined Instagram in 2014, and over the past decade, his account has evolved into one of the most engaging digital spaces among global leaders, officials said.

Among major global leaders, Modi now has the highest number of Instagram followers. He has more than twice as many followers as US President Donald Trump on the social media platform.

The combined follower count of the next five major world leaders is still lower than Modi's individual total, officials said.

ALSO READ:  Modi ‘more than a friend’, says Netanyahu as he thanks Indian PM for standing by Israel’s side

US President Donald Trump holds the second spot with 43.2 million followers.

He is followed by Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto with 15 million followers, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva with 14.4 million followers, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with 11.6 million followers and Argentine President Javier Milei with 6.4 million followers.

This underlines Prime Minister Modi's unmatched global outreach and popularity among the youth across the world, officials noted.

In India, the gap in followers is significant, as Modi is far ahead of other Indian political leaders on Instagram.

The second spot is held by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with approximately 16.1 million followers, followed by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi with approximately 12.6 million followers.