Shiva Thapa, Pooja Rani enter finals of Olympic Test event
Tokyo: Former world bronze-winner Shiva Thapa (63kg) advanced to the final with a hard-fought triumph along with Pooja Rani (75kg) but two other Indians ended with bronze medals after losing their opening bouts at the Olympic Test event for boxing here on Wednesday.
In the morning session of the semifinals, Thapa, a four-time Asian medallist who claimed his third national title earlier this month, defeated Japan's Daisuke Narimatsu in a split verdict.
Rani, a former Asian Games bronze-medallist, got the better of Brazil's Beatriz Soares in a unanimous decision. Rani had won a silver medal at the Asian Championships earlier this year.
However, former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg) and Vahlimpuia (75kg), in the men's draw, lost their respective semifinal bouts to end with bronze medals. Both the pugilists had made the last-four stage without any preliminary contest owing to the small size of their respective draws.
Zareen lost in a split decision to Japan's Sana Kawano, while Vahlimpuia was also beaten by a local favourite in Yuito Moriwaki but in a unanimous call by the judges. The remaining three Indian boxers in fray -- Asian silver-medallist Sumit Sangwan (91kg), Ashish (69kg), and Simranjeet Kaur (60kg) -- will fight their semifinal bouts in the evening session.
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BJP stages protest against Cong govt, condemns its 'anti-farmer' policies in Karnataka
Belagavi (Karnataka) (PTI) The BJP on Tuesday staged a protest along with a large number of farmers here, condemning the alleged anti-farmer policies of the Congress government in Karnataka.
A huge crowd of protesters gathered at the Malini City Grounds, led by Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka, and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Chalavadhi Narayanaswamy, besides several MLAs, MLCs and other senior party leaders.
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The party leaders said the protest was organised to highlight various issues concerning the state and the "failures" of the Congress government.
They further alleged that the Siddaramaiah-led government has ignored the plight of the farmers in the state.
The BJP leaders said they, along with farmers, would lay siege to the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi during the ongoing winter session of the legislature.
The BJP accused the state government of failing to address the concerns of maize and sugarcane growers, claiming that maize farmers have been demanding the opening of procurement centres, which the government has yet to do. They alleged that farmers were being forced to sell their produce to middlemen at distress prices.
