Winter Olympics: Arif Khan fails to finish men's slalom event
Beijing, Feb 16: India's campaign at the Winter Olympics came to disappointing end on Wednesday after the country's lone participant, alpine skier Arif Khan, logged a 'Did Not Finish' in the men's slalom event here.
The 31-year-old from Baramulla district in Jammu and Kashmir, who had finished 45th in the giant slalom event on Sunday, was unable to complete Run 1 at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre here.
Since Khan, who was making his Winter Olympics debut, was unable to finish Run 1, he won't be competing in the second run of men's slalom event.
Only 52 of the 88 starters finished the first run and will compete again in Run 2.
Wearing bib no 79, Khan made a decent start, finishing the first intermediate in 14.40s and the second in 34.24s. However, he failed to complete the final section.
Austria's Johannes Strolz was the fastest skier in Run 1 with a time of 53.92s. The Norwegian duo of Henrik Kristoffersen (53.94s) and Sebastian Foss-Silevaag (53.98s) were second and third respectively.
Khan, the first Indian to qualify for two events in a Winter Olympics, had clocked combined time of 2 minute 47.24 seconds in the giant slalom event.
He finished 45th, which is now India's best-ever performance in men's giant slalom event at Winter Olympics.
Polish-born Jeremy Bujakowski, India's first-ever Winter Olympian, had finished 65th at Grenoble 1968.
In giant slalom -- an Alpine skiing event -- athletes ski down a slope as they pass between sets of 'gates' which consist of two plastic poles.
A skier runs two races and the competitor with the lowest combined time across the two courses is deemed the winner.
In slalom, the course and distance between two successive gates are much smaller than in giant slalom, making it a much faster and more precise sport.
Failure to pass between any one gate in Run 1 deems a run as DNF (Did Not Finish) and such an athlete can't participate in the second run.
In Beijing Games, the giant slalom event took place on the 424m 'Ice River' course with a start altitude of 1925m and finish altitude of 1501m.
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Goa nightclub fire: Luthra brothers deported from Thailand, taken into police custody
New Delhi (PTI): Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra, co-owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa where a massive fire killed 25 people, were deported from Thailand on Tuesday and taken into custody by Delhi and Goa police as soon as they landed in Delhi.
The brothers arrived in the Indian capital in an Indigo flight and were immediately handed over to authorities for further legal proceedings, 10 days after a blaze tore through the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora in North Goa.
Gaurav, 44 and Saurabh, 40, will be produced before a Delhi court where the Goa police will seek their transit remand.
A TV reporter tracking the brothers from Bangkok attempted to shoot inside the aircraft, prompting the airlines and accompanying security officials to summon additional force to whisk away the two men.
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The Luthra brothers are facing a case of culpable homicide and negligence following the December 6 tragedy, which investigators allege was compounded by the nightclub operating in violation of mandatory fire safety norms. The incident raised serious questions over alleged fire safety violations and lapses by the management.
Gaurav and Saurabh fled to Phuket in the early hours of December 7, hours after the fire at their nightclub, prompting the authorities to issue an Interpol Blue Corner Notice and cancel their passports.
The duo was detained by Thai authorities at Phuket on December 11 following a request from the Indian government which later coordinated with officials in Thailand to deport them under legal treaties between the two nations.
On December 11, a Delhi court rejected the transit anticipatory bail pleas. Additional Sessions Judge Vandana termed the allegations against the brothers "prima facie grave and serious" and severely criticised their "conduct."
The court took note of the police investigation that the brothers had booked tickets to Phuket one hour after the fire, a fact their counsel had initially "concealed" while seeking protection from immediate arrest.
The judge said that leaving immediately after the tragedy was a clear attempt to "evade the legal process".
Observing that "someone has to be held accountable" for the tragedy, the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court on Monday converted a civil suit against the nightclub into a public interest litigation (PIL).
