Paralympics champion Sumit Antil wins javelin throw gold, breaks own world record
Hangzhou (PTI): Reigning Paralympics champion Sumit Antil on Wednesday clinched a gold medal at the Hangzhou Asian Para Games javelin throw F64 event with a world record effort of 73.29m on the third day of competitions.
The 25-year-old broke his own previous world record of 70.83m which he had thrown while winning gold at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris earlier this year. Another Indian, Pushpendra Singh won the bronze medal with a throw of 62.06m.
Antil had won gold in the men's javelin F64 event at the Tokyo Paralympic Games with a then world record throw of 68.55m.
It was the most productive day for India, picking up a whopping 24 medals, with 17 of them and all the six gold coming from athletics.
India's total medals stood at 58 (15 gold, 20 silver and 23
bronze).
Ankur Dhama became the first Indian to win two gold medals in a single edition of the Asian Para Games as he clinched the top spot in men's T11 1500m race with a time of 4:27.70. He had also won a gold in men's men's T11 5000m race on Tuesday.
Another Indian Sundar Singh Gurjar also set a new world record in the men's F46 javelin throw as he sent his spear to a distance of 68.60m en route to winning the gold. The earlier world record of 67.79m was in the name of Dinesh Mudiyanselage Herath of Sri Lanka.
In fact, Indians swept all the three medals in the men's F46 javelin throw event with Rinku (67.08m) and Ajeet Singh (63.52m) winning silver and bronze respectively.
It was 1-2 for the Indians in the women's T11 1500m event with Rakshitha Raju (5:21.45) and Killaka Lalitha (5:48.85) taking gold and silver respectively. Rakshitha had won a gold in the same event in the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta.
Haney and Nimisha Suresh Chakkungalparambil added gold medals in men's F37/38 javelin throw and women's T47 long jump events.
Haney produced a Games record of 55.97m while Nimisha cleared 5.15m to take India's gold medal tally to 15.
Pooja won a silver in women's F54/55 discus throw of 18.17m while Narayan Thakur and Shreyansh Trivedi picked up a bronze each in men's T35 200m and T37 200m with times of 29.83 and 25.26 respectively.
Indians finished second and third in both the men's T13 1500m race and men's F47 shot put events.
Sharath Shankarappa Makanahalli (4:13.60) and Balwant Singh Rawat (4:20.58) clinched silver and bronze while Rana Soman (14.42) and Hokato Hotozhe Sema (13.94) finished second and third respectively.
In para table tennis, Tokyo Paralympics medallist Bhavina Patel won a bronze in women's singles Class 4 after she lost to Gu Xiaodan of China 1-3 (7-11 11-6 6-11 7-11) in the semifinal.
India won three medals in para archery -- two silver and a bronze. Armless archers Sheetal Devi and Sarita won a silver medal after losing 150-152 to the Chinese pair of Lin Yueshan and Zhang Lu.
The other silver was won by men's doubles compound pair of Rakesh Kumar and Suraj Singh after losing 150-155 to the Chinese duo of Ai Xinliang and He Zihao.
Harvinder Singh and Sahil won a bronze in men's doubles recurve event after beating the Thai pair of Hanreuchai Netsiri and Pornchai Phimthong 6-0. Harvinder had won a bronze medal in the Tokyo Paralympics and a gold in the 2018 Asian Para Games.
In para badminton, Pramod Bhagat and Manisha Ramdass settled for a bronze in mixed doubles SL3-SU5 after losing their semifinal match to the Indonesian pair of Leani Ratri Oktila and Hikmat Ramdani 19-21 14-21.
In para powerlifting, Zainab Khatun and Rajkumari won a siver and a bronze respectively in the women's 61kg category. Khatun lifted 85kg while Rajkumari had a successful effort of 84kg.
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UP Cong holds statewide protest seeking probe into FIR against Swami Avimukteshwaranand
Lucknow (PTI): The Uttar Pradesh Congress on Wednesday staged a statewide protest demanding a fair and transparent inquiry into the FIR lodged against Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati and those who filed the complaint against him.
In a statement issued here, the party said memorandums addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were submitted through district magistrates in all districts of the state.
Uttar Pradesh Congress spokesperson Manish Hindvi told PTI that the memorandums were handed over through the district administration in all 75 districts.
In the memorandum, the party alleged that Saraswati and his disciples were "unnecessarily harassed and humiliated" by police on the occasion of Amavasya and were prevented from taking a ritual bath (at the Magh Mela). It further alleged that some disciples were manhandled and taken to a police station.
The memorandum also claimed that an FIR was later registered against Saraswati, his disciple Swami Mukundanand Brahmachari and several unidentified persons in a sexual harassment case. It termed the case a "conspiracy" aimed at tarnishing the seer's reputation.
Citing Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution, the memorandum stated that these provisions guarantee religious freedom and the right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs.
It described the position of shankaracharya held by Saraswati as "one of the highest spiritual posts in Sanatan tradition" and alleged that the entire episode appeared to have been "orchestrated in a planned manner".
"We request that the background of the persons who got the FIR registered be investigated in a transparent manner by a retired high court judge and strict action be taken against them," the memorandum said.
It also sought a "fair and transparent probe" into the allegations levelled against Saraswati so that the truth could be established.
Earlier, Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai had told reporters in Varanasi after meeting Saraswati that the party stood firmly with him.
The Congress said it would continue to press for an impartial inquiry into the entire episode.
On February 21, an FIR was lodged in Prayagraj against Saraswati and his disciple Mukundanand Brahmachari on charges of sexually abusing two persons, including a minor, over the past year at a gurukul and religious congregations, including the recently concluded Magh Mela.
Days after he was booked, Saraswati had said on Monday that he would not oppose his arrest and asserted that the "fabricated story" would be exposed sooner or later.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Saraswati alleged that criminals rule in Uttar Pradesh, level allegations and influence investigations, as he denied having any contact with the two persons for whose alleged sexual abuse he has been booked.
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