Neeraj Chopra wins silver, scripts history again
Eugene(PTI): Olympic champion Neeraj Chopra scripted yet another history as he became only the second Indian and first male track and field athlete to win a medal in the World Championships by clinching silver in the javelin throw final here.
The 24-year-old Chopra, who had come into the showpiece as a hot medal favourite, produced a best throw of 88.13m to finish second.
The legendary long jumper Anju Booby George was the first Indian to win a medal -- bronze -- in the World Championships in the 2003 edition in Paris.
Chopra began with a foul throw and had 82.39m and 86.37m to be at fourth after three rounds. He got his rhythm back with a big fourth round throw of 88.13m, his fourth career-best effort, to jump to second place, which he held on to till the end. His fifth and sixth throws were fouls.
Defending champion Anderson Peters of Grenada won gold with a best throw of 90.54m while Olympic silver winner Jakub Vadlejch of Czech Republic took the bronze with 88.09m.
Chopra had topped the Group A qualification round and qualified for the final at second place behind Peters by sending his spear to 88.39m for his third career-best throw. Peters had topped Group B with an effort of 89.91m.
The other Indian in the fray, Rohit Yadav finished at 10th with a best throw of 78.72m. Rohit had finished 11th overall in the qualification round with a best throw of 80.42m.
The 21-year-old Indian had recorded a season's and personal best of 82.54m while winning a silver at the National Inter-State Championships last month.
Chopra had won Indian athletics' maiden gold in the Tokyo Olympics last year. He is only the second Indian to have won an individual gold in the Olympics, after shooter Abhinav Bindra, who clinched the yellow metal in 2008 Beijing Games.
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Sexual Abuse: No sign of Prajwal’s return as deadline set by him ended on Tuesday
Bengaluru (PTI): The seven days’ time sought by Hassan’s NDA Lok Sabha candidate Prajwal Revanna to appear before the Special Investigation Team probing sexual abuse allegations against him ended on Tuesday but there was no sign of his return from abroad.
The 33-year-old JD(S) MP and grandson of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda flew to Germany as soon as news spread that the Karnataka State Commission for Women Nagalakshmi Chowdhary had written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah seeking a probe into the explicit videos of Prajwal allegedly sexually abusing several women.
A lookout notice for Prajwal has been issued at all airports in India, along with a Blue Corner notice.
A Blue Corner notice issued by Interpol helps countries collect and share information regarding a person's location and their activities as part of a criminal investigation.
Former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy claimed on Tuesday that he was not in touch with his nephew Prajwal.
Addressing a press conference, the JD(S) second-in-command said action against those who commit offences should be taken as per law.
Sources in the Special Investigation Team said they received calls on a helpline number on Monday as well as on Tuesday but they declined to share details.
However, Kumaraswamy claimed that no one had called the helpline number till now.
Meanwhile, JD(S) MLA H D Revanna and Prajwal’s father, who is in the custody of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on charges of kidnapping a woman who was allegedly sexually abused by Prajwal, failed to get relief on Tuesday from the Special Court for Elected Representatives here.
The court adjourned the hearing on his bail plea to Wednesday.
The SIT took him to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital and Victoria Hospital for a medical check-up on Tuesday evening.
Revanna, son of JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, and his confidant Sathish Babanna were booked on Thursday night for allegedly abducting a woman on April 29.
The case was registered on a complaint filed by the woman's son. In his complaint, he accused Revanna's son and JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna of having sexually abused his mother.
The SIT has also secured the custody of Babanna.
The woman was allegedly abducted to prevent her from testifying against Prajwal, police sources said.
