Pokhara (Nepal): India opened its medal account in the 13th South Asian Games (SAG) with one gold, two silver and a bronze in the triathlon event on the opening day of competitions here on Monday.
Adarsha M N Sinimol gave India the first gold by winning the men's individual triathlon event while compatriot Bishworjit Srikhom took the silver in a 1-2 finish for the country.
Thoudam Sorojini Devi and Mohan Pragnya added a silver and a bronze in the women's individual event.
The individual triathlon event consists of continuous three legs of 750m swim, 20km bike race and a 5km run. The first athlete to complete the course is declared the winner.
Sinimol clocked 01:02.51 secs to win the gold in men's event while Bishworjit was second with a time of 01:02:59. Basanta Tharu of Nepal took the bronze in 01:03:06.
In the women's individual event, Sorojini clocked 01:14:00 to finish second behind Sony Gurung of Nepal who took the gold in 01:13:45. Another Indian, Pragnya clocked 01:14:57 to win the bronze.
India is being represented by 487 athletes in more than 15 disciplines.
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Punjab CM condemns attack on Sukhbir Badal, lauds cops for prompt action
Chandigarh (PTI): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann strongly condemned the attack on Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was fired at while performing 'sewa' outside the Golden Temple on Wednesday morning, and directed police to investigate the incident.
The chief minister also lauded the promptness of the Punjab Police in nabbing the attacker.
The man missed Badal as he was overpowered by police. The audacious attack was captured on cameras of media persons who had gathered outside the Sikh shrine to cover the second day of Badal's penance for "mistakes" committed by the SAD government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.
"Punjab Police prevented a major incident from happening today. It is the result of the promptness of the Punjab Police that the conspiracy to defame Punjab and Punjabis has failed," Mann said in a post on X.
"The police achieved great success by arresting the assailant on the spot with their promptness... I strongly condemn the attack on Sukhbir Badal ji. I have issued strict instructions to the police to immediately investigate the incident and submit a report," he added.
Police identified the shooter as Narain Singh Chaura, a resident of Dera Baba Nanak. After the attack, he was whisked away by security officials.
Television footage showed the shooter slowly walking towards Badal, who was sitting in a wheelchair due to a fractured leg, and pulling out a gun from his pocket. A police official in plainclothes standing near Badal quickly intervened and grabbed the attacker's hands. In the melee, a bullet hit the wall behind Badal, who escaped unhurt.
