Indian women's hockey team eases past Thailand with 13-0 win in Asian meet
Donghae (South Korea) (PTI): Dragflicker Gurjit Kaur scored five goals as the Indian women's hockey team thrashed Thailand 13-0 in its first game at the Asian Champions Trophy here on Sunday.
Gurjit gave India the lead in the second minute of the match after an infringement from Thailand in their defensive third awarded them a penalty stroke.
Gurjit, who scored four goals at the Tokyo Olympics, kept a cool head and put the ball in the back of the net.
Conceding an early goal put Thailand on the back foot straight away, and Vandana Katariya, the only Indian women's player to score a hat-trick at the Olympics, found the second goal five minutes later.
By the time the first quarter ended, Lilima Minz added another field goal in the 14th minute, while Gurjit and Jyoti scored two more from penalty corners in the 14th and 15th minute, giving India a 5-0 lead.
The second quarter started much the same way as India kept most of the possession giving no room to Thailand to cause any danger.
Within the first minute of Q2, Rajwinder Kaur, who made her international debut on Sunday, scored a field goal in the 16th minute, and in the 24th minute, Gurjit scored her third goal and Lilima scored another from a penalty corner also in the 24th minute.
The Indian team demolished the Thai defence as they struck another in the 25th minute through Gurjit, giving them a massive 9-0 lead at the end of the second quarter.
Returning from the 10-minute half-time break, India dominated by continuing to make threatening circle penetrations from the left flank. But Thailand dug in deep and defended well for the first six minutes in the third quarter.
Jyoti broke the threshold, scoring another field goal in the 36th minute to exceed India's lead by 10 goals.
A defensive error four minutes later from Thailand gave India another penalty corner, but this time Gurjit's powerful flick was deflected by the opposition. A well-constructed move from the middle late in the 43rd minute caught Thailand's defence napping as Sonika struck in her first goal in the match.
The fourth quarter saw Navneet Kaur threatening Thailand's defence with penetrating runs from the right flank. But Thailand's defensive troops managed to keep the danger at bay, preventing any further damage to the scoreline.
In the 55th minute, Monika managed to get her stick on a long pass inside the circle, as she deflected the ball into the back of the nets to exceed India's lead by another goal.
Three minutes later, Gurjit scored her fifth goal of the match from a late penalty corner, adding in the 13th goal for India.
This was the Indian team's first match since the historic fourth-place finish at the Tokyo Olympics.
In the absence of Captain Rani, who has been rested from the tournament, India were led by veteran goalkeeper Savita.
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Vinay Somaiah Suicide: BJP stages road blockade protest in Madikeri
Madikeri: The Kodagu district unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a road blockade protest in Madikeri on Thursday, demanding the immediate arrest of those allegedly responsible for the suicide of party worker Vinay Somaiah.
BJP leaders and workers assembled at General Thimmaiah Circle in the heart of the city, raising slogans against the Congress party and the state government. The protestors specifically demanded action against a Congress spokesperson mentioned in a note Vinay reportedly left before his death.
Addressing the gathering, former Assembly Speaker K.G. Bopaiah expressed strong dissatisfaction with the government and the police. He said the FIR against Vinay originally stayed by the court was later revived under a different section by the police. “Vinay had merely posted about the unhygienic condition of the Napoklu public toilet. Instead of addressing the issue, an FIR was filed against him. This is unacceptable. The police seem to be functioning under the directions of Congress MLAs, disregarding even court orders,” he stated.
District BJP President Napanda Ravi Kalappa also criticized the police, saying Vinay had no direct connection to the original post and was wrongly targeted. “An innocent man has lost his life. Two MLAs in Kodagu district are misusing police power to suppress dissent. The FIR was registered under political pressure,” he alleged, further demanding that the two MLAs resign and cooperate with the investigation into Vinay's death.
The protest led to a road blockade that lasted for over an hour, significantly affecting traffic. Despite requests from police officers to clear the area, BJP workers insisted on the arrival of the District Superintendent of Police (SP) to address their concerns.
SP K. Ramarajan later arrived at the protest site and informed the protesters that since the incident occurred in Bengaluru, the investigation was being conducted by the police there.
He assured full cooperation from the Kodagu police in the ongoing probe. Following his assurance, the BJP workers dispersed peacefully.
District BJP General Secretary Mahesh Jaini, SC Morcha District President P.M. Ravi, Women’s Wing President Anita Poovaiah, and other key party functionaries including Suvin Ganapathy, Jagadish, Arun Shetty, municipal council members, and BJP office-bearers from across the district were present on the occasion.
