India win four medals in athletics, hold on to fifth spot at Asian Youth Games
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Riffa (PTI): India's athletics contingent ensured a steady flow of medals, grabbing four podium finishes including two silver through Edwina Jason and Oshin, to maintain the country's fifth position at the ongoing Asian Youth Games, here on Friday.
With two silver and two bronze from the track and field events, India's overall tally rose to two gold, five silver and eight bronze medals (2-5-8) at the continental event.
In the girls' 400m final, Edwina Jason clocked 55.43 seconds to clinch the silver medal, finishing 1.17 seconds behind Aisha Tariq of the UAE, who took gold. Wu Chia-Ying of Chinese Taipei claimed the bronze in 56.60 seconds.
In the girls' discus throw, Oshin added another silver for India with a best effort of 43.38m. Xinyi Wang of China dominated the event with a throw of 55.38m to win gold, while Shih Yuh-Jhen of Chinese Taipei settled for bronze with 43.00m.
Palash Mandal secured a bronze medal in the 5000m walk to open India's account in athletics on the day. He clocked 24:48.92s.
The event was dominated by China, with Haoze Zhang (21:43.82s) and Yujie Lu (22:28.64s) taking the gold and silver medals respectively.
Zubin Gohain added another bronze medal for India in the boys' high jump, clearing 2.03m on his second attempt after a smooth progression through 1.85m, 1.89m, 1.93m, 1.97m, 1.99m and 2.01m.
The 15-year-old Assam jumper showed fine consistency before faltering at 2.05m, which he failed to clear in all three attempts.
Kai-Lun Huang of Chinese Taipei went on to win the gold after scaling 2.05m, while Bi Zaoxin of China took the silver, having cleared 2.03m on his very first attempt.
Gohain, who needed two tries to get over the same height, had to settle for bronze on countback.
Himanshu Kumar Singh, who also cleared 2.03m, missed out on a medal as he needed three attempts to achieve the height.
In the boys' javelin throw, India's Prince narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth with a throw of 61.92m.
Jayathissa Chathura Dulnjana of Sri Lanka took the bronze with 62.51m, while Wu Huaichu of China (68.38m) and Qiu Bang-Xuan of Chinese Taipei (64.91m) won the gold and silver respectively.
China continued to dominate the medals table with 31 medals -- 13 gold, 13 silver and five bronze (13-13-5), followed by Thailand (7-2-3), Uzbekistan (6-3-4) and Iran (3-5-7).
Kazakhstan are a fair distance behind India with 11 medals, including two gold and two silver.
Athletes from 45 national federations are competing for 1,677 medals -- including 505 gold, 503 silver and 669 bronze -- across 21 sports at the ongoing Games, which conclude on October 27.
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LoP Ashoka targets CM govt over corruption, says being 'shameless' in public life not forgivable
Bengaluru (PTI): Targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Congress government in Karnataka on corruption, BJP leader R Ashoka on Friday said, being foolish was forgivable, but being "shameless" in public life was not.
The Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly claimed that in just 30 months of its tenure, the Congress administration has broken every previous record on corruption-related controversies.
He was responding to Siddaramaiah's post on 'X' on Thursday hitting back at the BJP, stating that Upa Lokayukta Justice Veerappa's claims of "63 per cent corruption" were based on his report in November 2019, when BJP's B S Yediyurappa was the CM.
"But Ashoka, without understanding the Upa Lokayukta's statement properly, has ended up tying the BJP's own bells of sins onto our heads and has effectively shot himself in the foot," the CM had said, as he accused Ashoka of foolishness for trying to twist Veerappa's statement to target the current government.
Responding, Ashoka said, "it is one thing to be called foolish in politics, that can be forgiven."
"But in public life, especially in the Chief Minister's chair, one must never become shameless," Ashoka posted on 'X' on Friday addressing Siddaramaiah.
Noting that the CM himself had admitted on the floor of the Assembly that a Rs 87 crore scam took place in the Valmiki Development Corporation, he said that when a CM acknowledges such a massive irregularity inside the floor of the House, the natural expectation is immediate action and accountability.
"But instead of taking responsibility, you continue in office as if nothing has happened. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
Pointing out that the CM's Economic Advisor and senior Congress MLA Basavaraja Rayareddy had publicly stated that under Congress rule, Karnataka has become No.1 in corruption, Ashoka said, "Yet, you still cling to the Chief Minister's chair without a moment of introspection. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness."
Senior Congress MLA C R Patil had exposed the "money for House" racket in the Housing Department and even warned that the government would collapse if the details he has were made public, Ashoka said.
"Despite such serious allegations from within your own party (Congress), you neither initiated an inquiry nor acted against the concerned minister. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," Ashoka asked the CM.
Highlighting the "40 percent commission" allegation Congress made against the previous BJP government, the opposition leader said, the commission that the Siddaramaiah government appointed concluded that the accusation was baseless.
"After your own panel demolished your own claim, what moral right do you have to continue repeating that allegation. What should the people of Karnataka call this, if not sheer shamelessness," he asked.
For the last two and a half years, Karnataka has been 'drowning' in corruption, scandals, irregularities and allegations across departments. Ashoka said, "If I begin listing every case that emerged under your government, even 24 hours would not be enough."
"And the most tragic aspect of your administration is this: the unbearable pressure, corruption demands and administrative harassment under your government pushed several officers and contractors into extreme distress - including the suicide of Chandrasekharan which exposed the Valmiki Development Corporation scam - a sign of how deeply broken the system has become under your watch," he said.
Instead of fixing this hopeless environment, the government has tried to bury every complaint and silence every voice, he charged.
"Being foolish is forgivable, but being shameless in public life is definitely not."
"When your own ministers admit scams, when your own advisors certify Karnataka as No.1 in corruption, and when your own MLAs expose rackets inside your departments - clinging to power without accountability is not leadership. It is shamelessness in its purest form." PTI KSU
Earlier on Thursday Ashoka had demanded that the corruption case and allegations in the state against the Congress government be handed over to a CBI investigation, citing a reported statement by Upalokaykta Justice Veerappa alleging "63 per cent corruption", following which Siddaramaiah hit back at the BJP leader.
