Puneri Paltan win maiden PKL title
Hyderabad, Mar 1: Puneri Paltan overcame a young and resilient Haryana Steelers to lift their maiden Pro Kabaddi League trophy here on Friday.
In a contest which could have gone either way, Puneri Paltan won 28-25 at the GMC Balayogi Stadium.
Puneri Paltan took the early lead with their defenders giving a good account of themselves. Ankit opened the account for the Steelers with Rahul Sethpal leading the charge to keep the clash interesting.
The first half saw Puneri Paltan unleash their raids, and a moment of magic from Pankaj Mohite saw him complete a 'super raid' worth four points as the winners took a decisive lead.
Ashish's successful raid for the Steelers in the last few seconds of the half meant the score read 10-13 heading into the final 20 minutes.
The only 'all out' of the final came off Mohit Goyat's raid, giving the Puneri Paltan a substantial lead at the start of the second half.
However, this did not deter the young Haryana Steelers, as their raiders entered the action and grabbed as many bonus points as they could to make the contest entertaining.
Pankaj Mohite was the game-changer for the Puneri Paltan, living up to his form to seal victory for his team.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Iran foreign minister Araghchi meets Pakistan Army chief Munir
Islamabad (PTI): Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Saturday met Pakistan Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir here, as Islamabad continued its efforts to facilitate engagement between the US and Iran.
The meeting, according to a short video posted by the Iranian embassy on social media, was also attended by Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, and Iran's ambassador Reza Amiri Moghadam.
Araghchi calls on Munir, the embassy said in the video caption.
It did not provide further details about the discussions.
Araghchi arrived here late Friday for engagements with the Pakistani leadership. He was received by senior officials, including Munir, foreign minister Ishaq Dar and interior minister Mohsin Naqvi.
ALSO READ: Fire engulfs over 100 jhuggies in Delhi's Shakur Basti; no casualties
However, there is no clarity on whether direct talks between Washington and Tehran will take place during the visit.
"No meeting is planned to take place between Iran and the US. Iran's observations would be conveyed to Pakistan," Baqaei said in a social media post on Saturday.
Araghchi, before leaving for Islamabad, said that he was embarking on a timely tour of Islamabad, Muscat, and Moscow, and the purpose of his visits is to "closely coordinate with our partners on bilateral matters and consult on regional developments".
"Our neighbours are our priority," he said.
As the Iranian team landed in Islamabad, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that US Special Envoy on the Middle East Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump's adviser Jared Kushner would be leaving for Pakistan on Saturday "to engage in direct talks" with representatives of the Iranian delegation.
However, the US team has not yet arrived.
Meanwhile, Pakistan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Dar, in a social media post, expressed hope for "meaningful engagements" between the two warring parties to promote regional peace and stability.
The first round of US-Iran talks held on April 11 and 12 failed to produce a breakthrough, prompting a flurry of diplomatic efforts by host Pakistan to cool tensions and revive hopes for another round of dialogue.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The Iran war began on February 28 with US-Israeli strikes.
_vb_19.jpeg)
