Kabaddi Masters: India thrash lackluster Pakistan to enter semis
Dubai, June 25: India sealed the semi-final spot, thrashing arch-rivals Pakistan 41-17 in Group A match of the Kabaddi Masters at the Al Wasl Sports Club here on Monday.
This was India's third consecutive win in this six-nation tournament and second win against Pakistan. Men-in-Blue will now face Kenya in a dead rubber on Tuesday.
It seemed like Pakistan had not learnt from their last defeat against India as they were making same mistakes on the mat. India, on the other hand, had a clear strategy of defending rather than to attack on their opponents half.
Rishank, Girish, Mohit and skipper Ajay Thakur continued to impress as they outplayed Pakistan easily.
Commenting on the crucial tie, Indian coach Srinivas Reddy said: "I knew the margin will be bigger this time. This time is was completed effort. Rohit's raid completely changed the match. I just asked by players to enjoy the match and that provided us the result.
"Our strength is raid. We have best raiders in the world. I asked my boys that every raid is a do-or-die and that paid off," he added.
Coming back to the match, Both teams started off on a good note but India slowly took two points lead through Ajay.
Some good defence from Mohit and Girish in the corners took few points and forced Pakistan to play with one man.
Rohit took the task to inflict the first all out of the match and got rid of lone-man Nadeem to make it 12-3 in just 10 minutes of play.
With just three minutes left in the first half, Pakistan got another jolt when their skipper Nasir got injured and was replaced.
India kept on swelling their lead through some brilliant defending while Pakistan struggled to hold India.
At the end of the first half, it was 18-9 in favour of India. The change of ends saw some more brilliant and composed game by the Indian players.
Ajay, once again proved why is one of the best raiders in the country, when he inflicted an all-out in just five minutes of the second half play to make scoreboard read 25-11.
There was no match of India in rest of the second half. Even the comeback of Nasir, who got injured, could not do anything impressive as India kept on taking points along with one more all-out towards the end to seal the issue comfortably.
In the other match, Iran also sealed their place in the semi finals, defeating South Korea 31-27 in a
closely contested match.
Korea squandered an early lead only to fight back in the second half but it was in vain. Mohammed Maghsoudlou scored 12 points and Mohammed Nabibaksh also contributed in attack and defence to lead Iran to victory.
Jang Kun Lee scored seven points and Dong Ju Hong scored five points for Korea.
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Crowd management efforts ramped up at Maha Kumbh after stampede
Mahakumbh Nagar (PTI): A day after a stampede at the Maha Kumbh left 30 dead, the Uttar Pradesh government ramped up efforts to ensure crowd management and safety of devotees who continued to flock here in large numbers for the religious gathering.
The devotees braved the pre-dawn chill and dense fog to take a dip in the Sangam and at other ghats here on Thursday.
More than 55.11 lakh devotees had taken the holy dip till 8:00 am, according to the Uttar Pradesh government.
Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Anshuman Mishra told PTI that the area would remain a no-vehicle zone until the crowd disperses completely.
"Vehicle passes will not be valid until all devotees have safely left for their destinations. No outside vehicles would be allowed to enter the city until the crowd exits the Mela area," he said.
However, senior officials may grant permission for vehicle entry based on the situation, he said.
Mishra clarified that essential services such as police administration vehicles, ambulances and suction machines would be allowed entry as they are crucial for the smooth management of the Maha Kumbh.
Pilgrims, including women and children, were seen walking to and fro the various ghats amid reduced visibility. Many had thin blankets covering their bodies while some stopped by bonfires along the routes to keep themselves warm.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and Director General of Police Prashant Kumar are scheduled to reach here later in the day for a detailed probe into the stampede.
The top officers would also conduct a thorough review of the arrangements in the Mela area, Chief Minister Adityanath said on Wednesday night.
"Every aspect related to security and public convenience must be carefully examined to ensure seamless arrangements for Basant Panchami (Feb 3 - Amrit Snan)," he said.
In a bid to further strengthen the arrangements, the Uttar Pradesh government will also be deploying two former senior officers on Mela duty -- Ashish Goyal, who served as divisional commissioner of Prayagraj for the 2019 Kumbh, and Bhanu Goswami, former vice chairman of the Agra Development Authority.
Additionally, five special secretary-level officers are being assigned to oversee operations. All of them will remain in Prayagraj till February 12 to assist in streamlining the arrangements, Adityanath said.
Besides 30 deaths, 60 people were injured in the pre-dawn stampede on Wednesday in the Sangam area of the Maha Kumbh as millions of pilgrims jostled for space to take a holy dip on the occasion of Mauni Amavasya, one of the most auspicious days of the Hindu calendar.
Maha Kumbh DIG Vaibhav Krishna said the incident took place due to crowd pressure. The crowd broke barricades and jumped to the other side, crushing those waiting there, he said.
On Wednesday, more than 7.64 crore devotees had a 'snan' at the Maha Kumbh, the highest in a single day so far. The footfall since the beginning of the mega event had crossed 27.58 crore by the end of Wednesday, according to the Uttar Pradesh government.
The Maha Kumbh kicked off on January 13 and will continue till February 26.
