Indian men's hockey team qualifies for Olympics after mauling Russia 7-1 in second game
Bhubaneswar, Nov 2: Eight-time winners India qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after thrashing Russia 7-1 (11-3 on aggregate) in the second game of the two-legged FIH Qualifiers for men here on Saturday.
The men's team booked their tickets after the women defeated USA 6-5 on aggregate to qualify for the sporting extravaganza.
The Indian men, ranked fifth in the world, had earlier defeated world number 22 Russia 4-2 in the first-leg on Friday.
On Saturday, Akashdeep Singh (23rd and 29th minutes) and Rupinder Pal Singh (48th, 59th) scored a brace each, while Lalit Upadhyay (17th), Nilkanta Sharma (47th) and Amit Rohidas (60th) struck after Russia took an early lead in the opening minute through Alexey Sobolevskiy.
The Russians stunned India 25 seconds into the game when Sobolevskiy opened the scoring to reduce the goal difference to just one.
The Indians were slow to get off the blocks and it took seven minutes for the hosts to get their first scoring opportunity in the form of a penalty corner, but it was wasted.
After a sedate start, the Indians intensified the pressure on Russia's goal but were unable to create clear chances. Russia, on the other hand, looked dangerous on counter-attacks as the hosts trailed by a goal in the opening quarter.
India equalised in the 21st minute through a field strike by Lalit Upadhyay, who deflected in a Hardik Singh shot.
The Indians upped their ante and took the lead in the 23rd minute when Akashdeep scored following a penalty corner.
There was no stopping India after that as they kept up the pressure on the Russian defence and mounted quite a few attacks.
Graham Reid's men extended their lead just a minute from half time when Akashdeep scored his second goal of the game through individual brilliance.
India went into the halfway break with a comfortable 7-3 lead over Russia on aggregate, courtesy three strikes in the second quarter.
Five minutes after the change of ends, Alexander Skiperskiy narrowly missed the target after a beautiful team work by the Russians.
In the 44th minute, Ramandeep Singh missed a big opportunity to increase India's lead as his attempt went wide.
There was no stopping the Indians after the initial hiccup as they added four more goals in the final quarter to add to Russia's agony.
Nilakanta scored with a powerful shot into the top left angle of the goal in the 47th minute before Rupinder converted a penalty corner in the very next minute.
The berth more or less secured, India pumped in two more goals in the final two minutes of the game through penalty corner conversions by Rupinder and Rohidas.
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Bomb threat emails received by multiple district collectorates in UP, turn out to be hoax
Lucknow, Apr 15 (PTI): Emails claiming that bombs were planted in four district collectorate offices in Uttar Pradesh triggered a security alert on Tuesday, but nothing suspicious was found after the buildings were evacuated and extensively searched.
Soon after the emails were received by authorities in Firozabad, Aligarh, Barabanki and Chandauli, bomb disposal units, anti-sabotage checking teams, dog squads and local police were swiftly mobilised to the respective collectorate premises. All buildings were evacuated and thoroughly searched, officials said.
Authorities in all four districts said that no explosives or suspicious items were found.
Investigations are on to identify those responsible for sending the hoax emails, they added.
In Aligarh, a senior police officer told reporters, "Soon after the email was received, security forces reached the District Magistrate's office and evacuated the premises. A thorough inspection of the entire complex was conducted. While no suspicious items were found, the inspection is still ongoing as a precaution."
The official added that the threatening email was received on the official email ID of the Aligarh District Magistrate.
In Barabanki, District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi said, "Today, we received a threatening email on the official ID, claiming that explosives like RDX were planted in the collectorate campus.
"Though the information did not initially seem credible, we immediately alerted the Superintendent of Police and called in the bomb disposal squad, which carried out a thorough search. No suspicious object has been found so far. Efforts are underway to trace the source of the email."
Barabanki City Circle Officer Sumit Tripathi said the origin and authenticity of the email remain unclear.
"Investigations are ongoing to determine whether this was a mischief attempt or part of a larger conspiracy," he said.
In Chandauli, District Magistrate Nikhil Tikaram Funde said a person identifying himself as Gopal Swami had sent an email warning of a possible bomb blast at the collectorate, allegedly linked to political issues in Tamil Nadu.
"The sender even listed a Tamil Nadu address. We immediately alerted the Superintendent of Police and launched a complete search of the collectorate premises. Nothing suspicious was found. The email content appeared frivolous and lacked credibility, but we still acted with full caution," the DM said.
In Firozabad, a similar threat was received via email around Tuesday afternoon, stating that explosive material had been placed in the District Magistrate's office.
Superintendent of Police (City) Ravi Shankar Prasad said, "Upon receiving the email, a bomb disposal team, dog squad, local police from Matsena police station, and the SOG team carried out an intensive search of the premises. No explosives were found."
A case has been registered at the cyber police station based on a complaint by the Matsena SHO, and authorities are working to trace the sender of the email.
