Senegal advances to last 16 at World Cup, beats Ecuador 2-1
AL RAYYAN, Qatar: Senegal can now put the disappointment of 2018 to rest.
Kalidou Koulibaly led his team into the last 16 of the World Cup on Tuesday by volleying home the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Ecuador, four years after the African champions were eliminated from the group stage because of the amount of yellow cards they received.
The Senegal captain’s right-footed shot flashed past Ecuador goalkeeper Hernan Galindez in the 70th minute. Koulibaly sprinted toward the corner flag and slid on his knees to celebrate.
The result erased lingering memories from four years ago, when Senegal could only draw its last group game in Russia and missed the knockout stage because it had collected more yellow cards than Japan, which advanced instead.
In another must-win match in Qatar, Senegal took the lead after a first-half penalty from Ismaila Sarr. Moises Caicedo then scored for Ecuador to make it 1-1 in the 67th.
Ecuador would have advanced from Group A with a draw and Senegal would have been eliminated.
The Netherlands beat Qatar 2-0 in the other match to win the group. Senegal finished second while Ecuador and Qatar were eliminated.
Senegal last advanced from the group stage at the 2002 World Cup, when the team reached the quarterfinals in its tournament debut and its only other appearance at the event.
Sarr was knocked over by a clumsy challenge from Ecuador defender Piero Hincapie for the penalty just before halftime. He side-footed his shot into the bottom right corner in the 44th minute and almost the entire Senegal bench and coaching staff ran to celebrate with him near the corner flag.
Senegal now has a chance to match, or even better, its scintillating run to the quarterfinals in 2002, when current coach Aliou Cisse was the captain and the team matched Africa’s best performance at a World Cup.
The game against Ecuador at Khalifa International Stadium fell on the second anniversary of the death of Papa Bouba Diop, the popular player who scored the goal in Senegal’s 1-0 victory over defending champion France in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup.
To mark it, Koulibaly had the number 19 written on his captain’s armband — Diop’s shirt number when he played for Senegal.
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Abduction case: JD(S) leader H D Revanna remanded to special probe team custody till May 8
Bengaluru, May 5: Senior JD(S) leader and party MLA H D Revanna was remanded to police custody till May 8 by a city court on Sunday in connection with a case of alleged kidnapping and illegal confining of a woman.
Revanna, who is the son of former Prime Minister and JD(S) patriarch H D Deve Gowda, was arrested on Saturday by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) after his bail plea was rejected in a case related to kidnapping and illegally confining a woman who is the mother of three children.
The FIR was registered against 66-year-old Revanna based on a complaint by the woman's son on Thursday.
After his medical examination at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital here, the former minister was produced before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, who remanded him to the custody of the SIT.
ALSO READ: SIT launches helpline for victims of Prajwal Revanna sex scandal, encourages filing complaint
The SIT was formed by the Karnataka government on the recommendation of the Karnataka State Commission for Women chief Nagalakshmi Chowdhary after a huge cache of explicit videos of Revanna's son, JD(S) MP from Hassan Prajwal Revanna became public.
Prajwal Revanna (33), who is the BJP-JD(S) Hassan Lok Sabha candidate, faces rape and molestation charges.
In the complaint of abduction against H D Revanna to the K R Nagar police, the 20-year-old son of the victim had alleged that the MLA's close aide Sathish Babanna had taken his mother away on a motorcycle on April 29, stating that JD(S) leader wanted to see her.
The complainant stated that Babanna told him that if his mother "opened her mouth before the police", she and her family members would be arrested.
Later, the 20-year-old complainant got to know from a friend and relative that his mother was among the women in the cache of videos that has gone public, and that it showed her being tied up and raped allegedly by Prajwal.
As he expressed fear that his mother was in danger, police arrested Sathish Babanna and secured the victim from a farmhouse.
There are three FIRs registered in connection the sexual abuse allegations, involving the father and son, in total.
In the first case in Holenarasipura, the cook and relative of the Revannas complained that H D Revanna and his son Prajwal had molested her.
In the second complaint at CID Bengaluru, a JD(S) leader accused Prajwal of raping her at gunpoint, videographing the incident and then blackmailing her.
The third complaint is against HD Revanna pertaining to the abduction and illegal detention of a woman.
Before being produced before the magistrate, Revanna claimed there is no evidence of his involvement in the case based on the complaint against him registered on May 2.
"There are no evidences pertaining to the May 2 complaint. It's a big political conspiracy... A conspiracy was hatched against me," Revanna told reporters at the Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital, where he was taken for a medical checkup.
He also said that there is no stain in his 40 years of political career.
Prajwal is abroad and a blue corner notice has been issued against him, according to the Karnataka Home Minister Dr G Parameshwara.
A Blue Corner notice has been issued and Interpol's help is being taken to bring Prajwal back to India, the minister said.
A Blue Corner Notice is issued by the international police cooperation body to collect additional information from its member countries about a person's identity, location or activities in relation to a crime.
