UP farmer's daughter Rupal becomes first Indian to win twin medals at World U-20 Athletics
Cali (Colombia) (PTI): Rupal Chaudhary created history by becoming the first Indian athlete to win two medals at the World U20 Athletics Championship as she followed up her 4x400m relay silver with a bronze medal in the women's 400m here.
Hailing from a family with modest means, her father being a small time farmer in Shahpur Jainpur village in UP's Meerut district, the 17-year-old has been in incredible form having run as many as four 400m races in just three days.
Rupal clocked 51.85 seconds to finish third behind Yemi Mary John (51.50) of Great Britain and Damaris Mutunga (51.71) of Kenya on Thursday night.
On Tuesday, she had won a silver as part of the 4x400m relay quartet that finished second behind USA with an Asian junior record time of 3:17.76s.
On the same day, she ran her individual 400m first round heat before featuring in the semi-finals on Wednesday and final on Thursday. She ran her personal best time twice in the championships, first a 52.27s in semi-finals before bettering it in the final.
Earlier this year, Rupal stunned pre-race favourite Priya Mohan of Karnataka to clinch the gold medal in the women's 400m at the National U-20 Federation Cup Athletics Championships here on Friday.
Rupal is the second Indian to have won a medal in the women's 400m after Hima Das clinched a historic gold in the 2018 edition of the championships in Finland with a time of 51.46s.
Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was the first Indian to win a gold in the championships in 2016 in Poland.
Rupal's bronze is India's ninth medal overall from the championships, which was earlier known as World Junior Championships. In the last edition in Nairobi in 2021, India had won three medals -- 2 silver, 1 bronze.
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.
UP: Azam Khan released from jail after almost two years, supporters gather outside Sitapur jail
Sitapur (PTI): Senior Samajwadi Party leader and former Uttar Pradesh Cabinet minister Azam Khan was on Tuesday released on bail from the Sitapur jail here after nearly two years of incarceration.
Dressed in his trademark white kurta-pyjama paired with a black waistcoat, Khan drove past the jail premises in a private vehicle, not interacting with a host of reporters who tried to get his comment.
Khan's elder son, Adeeb, accompanied by hundreds of party workers, gathered outside the Sitapur district jail since morning to receive him. Several SP leaders, including national secretary and former MLA Anup Gupta, Moradabad MP Ruchi Vira and district president Chatrapati Yadav, were also present outside the jail to welcome Khan.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Adeeb said, "Azam Khan is the hero of the day. I am here with all his supporters to welcome him. I have nothing more to say. Whatever has to be said, my father will say after coming out of jail."
SP leader Ruchi Vira said the party would celebrate this day as "the day of victory of justice".
"We had faith in the judiciary and will continue to have it. No other politician has been harassed as much as he (Azam Khan) has been," she told PTI Videos, ahead of Khan's release.
Meanwhile, the district administration imposed prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) in Sitapur to "prevent any untoward incident", officials said, even as a large number of supporters managed to reach near the jail with their vehicles, causing traffic congestion.
Sitapur traffic police issued challans to several vehicles that had gathered in violation of restrictions.
"There was chaos and rush despite Section 163 being in force. Vehicles were not allowed to come close to the jail, but they somehow managed to reach there. Action had to be taken to avoid further complications," City Circle Officer Vinayak Bhosle said earlier in the day.
