Paralympics: Canoe sprinter Pooja misses final; India sign off with record 29 medals
Paris (PTI): Pooja Ojha failed to finish inside the top-three to miss the final berth of the women's kayak single 200m KL1 sprint canoeing event, bringing an end to India's record-breaking campaign at the Paralympics here on Sunday.
India thus concluded the Paris Paralympics with a record haul of seven gold, nine silver, and 13 bronze medals, set to finish 18th in the overall medals tally.
The final addition to India's unmatched medal count came from the athletics arena late on Saturday, where Navdeep Singh’s silver medal in the men’s javelin F41 category was upgraded to gold, capping a spectacular finish to the Games.
At the last edition in Tokyo, India were ranked 24th with five gold, eight silver and six bronze medals.
On the concluding day of the Paralympics at the Vaires-sur-Marne Stadium, Pooja was the last Indian in fray and she finished her semifinal 1 with a timing of 1:17.03, which was 7.03 seconds behind the third-placed Eleonora de Paolis of Italy.
The top-three make the final. Brianna Hennessy of Canada (57.00) and Maosan of China (57.26) claimed the top-two spots of semifinal 1.
During the Heats, Pooja had finished in the fifth place. As a result of this contemporary result, India's para-canoeing stint in the event has ended.
Besides her, Prachi Yadav was another canoe sprinter who, on Saturday, had finished eighth in the women's VL2 200m.
India's only male canoe sprinter, Yash Kumar, had settled for the fifth spot in the KL1 200m semi-final on Saturday.
The KL1 category is primarily for canoe sprinters who propel with their arms only, with very limited or no trunk function and no leg function.
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Allu Arjun didn't leave theatre despite being told about woman's death: Hyderabad police
Hyderabad, Dec 22: Top Telugu actor Allu Arjun did not leave the theatre during the screening of 'Pushpa-2' on December 4 despite being told to do so in view of a stampede in which a woman died, police officials claimed on on Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference on the annual round-up of 2024, city police commissioner C V Anand showed a video, made by police, on the situation that prevailed when the stampede occurred.
The video was made by collating footage, including from news channels and cell phone clips. It suggests the actor remained in the theatre till the midnight.
Anand did not make any comment on the video, but said the media can draw its own conclusions.
A police official talked about the sequence of events on the fateful night of December 4.
He said that he and other police officials informed a manager of Allu Arjun about the death of the woman and told him that the situation was out of control. He indicated that they were not allowed to meet the actor.
Allu Arjun's staff members told them that they would convey the matter to the actor but did not do so, he said.
The official said he later managed to reach the actor, told him about the woman's death and asked him to leave the theatre so that the fans don't harm each other while trying to catch a glimpse of him.
The official also told the actor that security arrangements would be made for his exit.
However, the actor said he would go only after watching the film, the police official said.
Later, accompanied by a senior officer, the official went inside and brought the actor out, he said.
Amid allegations that bouncers hired by Allu Arjun pushed crowds as well as policemen when the stampede occurred at the cinema hall, the police commissioner warned that stringent action as per law would be taken if THE bouncers indeed misbehaved with the police on duty.
The VIPs would be made responsible for the behaviour of the bouncers hired by them, he said.
Asked if the police would appeal against the interim bail granted to Allu Arjun, the commissioner refused to give a direct response, just saying it is part of the investigation.
What course of action is taken would be known in the days to come, he said.
He also declined to comment when asked if the family of the deceased told him about Allu Arjun's team or film production team allegedly threatening them not to speak on the issue.
Meanwhile, state Cinematography Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy found fault with Allu Arjun responding on Saturday to the debate in the Legislative Assembly.
The minister, who observed that the actor should have respect for the government and the chief minister, demanded an apology from Allu Arjun to the government and the CM.
"This government is never vindictive. As Cinematography Minister, we allowed benefit shows and hiking ticket prices to promote the film industry," he said.
However, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar found fault with CM Revanth Reddy for his comments on Allu Arjun in the Assembly on Saturday.
The comments of the CM sounded like character assassination of Allu Arjun and hurting the Telugu film industry, he alleged in a statement.
Later in the day, Sanjay Kumar visited a boy who is undergoing treatment in a hospital after being injured in the stampede.
"Consoled his father over the heartbreaking loss of his wife, Revathi. I pray to god that Sritej recovers at the earliest. Assured support to the family in this difficult time," Kumar said on X.
Earlier in the day, state DGP Jitender told reporters in Karimnagar district that film personalities and all others should understand that safety and security of citizens is utmost important, and also conduct themselves accordingly.
