Shiva Thapa, six others enter semifinals of Olympic Test event for boxing
Tokyo: Four-time Asian medallist Shiva Thapa (63kg) secured himself a medal at the Olympic Test event for boxing by winning his quarterfinal bout on Tuesday while six other Indians made the last-four stage without even stepping inside the ring here.
Thapa overpowered local favourite Yuki Hirakawa in a 5-0 verdict to fight his way into the medal rounds. The seasoned boxer from Assam claimed his third national title earlier this month.
He will be up against another Japanese, Daisuke Narimatsu, in the semifinals on Wednesday. Narimatsu got a bye in the opening round.
However, for his six other compatriots, including former junior world champion Nikhat Zareen (51kg), a medal was guaranteed without a fight as they either got byes or were helped by the small size of their respective draws.
Apart from Zareen, Asian silver-medallist Sumit Sangwan (91kg), Ashish (69kg), Vanhlimpuia (75kg), Simranjeet Kaur (60kg) and Pooja Rani (75kg) have made the semifinals.
Sangwan, who was crowned national champion earlier this month, will square off against Kazakhstan's Aibek Oralbay.
Zareen, who hit the headlines recently for a bitter row over selection for next year's Olympic qualifiers where six-time world champion M C Mary Kom has been preferred over her without a trial, will face Japan's Sana Kawano on Wednesday.
Former Asian Games bronze-medallist Rani will be up against Brazil's Beatriz Soares. Rani had won a silver medal at the Asina Championships earlier this year.
Opponents for the other Indian boxers will be known later after the quarterfinal bouts conclude on Tuesday evening.
The only disappointment for the country's contingent was the quarterfinal exit of Anant Choapde, who went down 2-3 in a hard-fought contest against local hope Tosho Kashiwasaki.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
