Perfect ending for Nisha Dahiya at Nationals, emerges 65kg champion after 'murder story'
Gonda (Uttar Pradesh), Nov 11: It was a "perfect and happy ending" for Nisha Dahiya as she emerged national champion in the women's 65kg category, a day after her dramatic "murder story" turned out to be a case of mistaken identity.
The title clash ended in just 30 seconds with Nisha, the U23 world championship bronze medallist, pinning her rival Jaspreet Kaur from Punjab.
Except for her semifinal against Haryana's Priyanka, it turned out to be an easy day in the office for the 23-year-old Nisha, who represents Railways.
"It indeed is a happy and perfect end to my campaign. I was so stressed yesterday. I could not even sleep. I was already low on energy due to weight cut and this incident just proved too much to handle," Nisha told PTI after winning her third gold medal at the Nationals.
It was reported that Nisha had been shot dead in Sonepat but later it came to light that the deceased was her name sake and an upcoming wrestler.
Nisha's agility and attacking moves were too hot to handle for her opponents. She stood out with her leg attacks.
"Of course, an athlete wants to be discussed and talked about but I am sure not in this way. I want people to know for my performance and not for such freak incidents," she said.
"I got so many calls that I had to switch off my phone. It was becoming tense and I wanted to stay focussed on my competition. Eventually, it did not affect my performance," said Nisha, who is coached by Arjuna awardee Satyawart Kadian.
Shafali and Priyanka, expectedly, won bronze medals by winning their respective play-offs. If groomed well, both the youngsters are expected to be good prospects for India in future.
Before the final, both the 65kg semifinals were fast-paced and furiously fought. Jaspreet edged out Haryana's Shafali 6-4 while Nisha prevailed 7-6 against Priyanka.
In the women's 76kg event, 37-year-old Gursharanpreet Kaur won the gold medal after her rival Pooja Sihag left the mat in tears after twisting her right arm when the Punjab wrestler made a move on counter-attack. The match ended in the first period itself.
It was the seventh gold medal for Gursharanpreet at the Nationals.
The 76kg category seemed headed for a title clash between familiar names -- veteran Kiran and Gursharanpreet, but Pooja prevented that with her 3-1 win over the Railways player.
Gursharanpreet, on the other hand, had an easy win by fall against Bipasha, a talented Delhi youngster, who had won a silver medal at the junior world championship recently. Bipasha and Kiran won bronze medals.
Competition for women was held only in two categories on Thursday while the Greco Style event concluded on the opening day of the championship.
Services' Sandeep claimed title in the 55kg ahead of Chandigarh's Sarvan while Gyanendra, also from SSCB, became champion in 60kg with a win over Haryana's Vikas.
Sagar gave Services their third gold in 63kg while Haryana's Ashu won the 67kg title. Vikas from Haryana won the 72kg gold by beating Punjab's Lovepreet.
Expectedly, Services' Sajan won the 77kg title and Hardeep Singh emerged winner in the 82kg.
Services team won the team championship with 195 points while Railways (175) was runner-up. Haryana finished third with 139 points.
The two finalists in each category will represent India at the Commonwealth Championship, scheduled to be held in Pretoria, South Africa from December 3-5.
While the gold medal winner will travel at the government's expense, the runner-up will have to go on his own.
The WFI may ask for trials in men's freestyle 92kg since Deepak Punia, who skipped the Nationals due to an injury, has expressed interest in competing.
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Karnataka govt ready to assist stranded students amid Iran–Israel conflict: Minister Parameshwara
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara on Sunday said the state government was closely monitoring the situation arising out of the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and Iran and was prepared to extend all necessary assistance to stranded people, especially students from Karnataka.
He said reports had been received that several students from different districts had travelled to the region and were unable to return due to the escalating hostilities.
“From Chikkaballapura district, around 150 people — all of them schoolchildren and college students — have gone there. We have received news that they are stranded there. We will try to reach them. Whatever help is required, the state government is ready to provide. We will get in touch with the concerned authorities,” he said.
Asked how he viewed the recurring conflicts between countries, the Home Minister said, “These are matters related to international relationships between countries. Some of these countries have been raising issues against each other’s policies. Now it has come to a stage where Iran is involved, the United States is involved, and Israel is involved. We will see whether this gets resolved or escalates.”
Expressing concern over civilian casualties, he said it is "unfortunate" that children, particularly the younger generation — about 85 people — have lost their lives.
On reports of schools being hit in the conflict, Parameshwara said this was not what people would expect from countries. "Hopefully, it gets resolved as early as possible."
Responding to a question that global conflicts appear to be expanding from Russia–Ukraine to now the US, Iran and Israel, he said, “It is not a good message. We have not seen this kind of situation after the Second World War. Now it is picking up — one country after another. It should not be escalated in the interest of humanity.”
