CWG: India beat Malaysia, enter men's hockey semis
Gold Coast (Australia), April 10: India qualified for the semi-finals of the men's hockey tournament after defeating Malaysia 2-1 in a Pool B match at the 21st Commonwealth Games on Tuesday.
Harmanpreet Singh (3rd, 44th minutes) converted a couple of penalty corner while the experienced Faizal Saari (16th) reduced the deficit for Malaysia immediately after the start of the second quarter.
This is India's second consecutive win of their current campaign. India now top the pool table with seven points from three matches.
They will play their last pool match against second placed England on Wednesday. With the top two teams advancing to the last four stage, India are assured of a place in the semi-finals as they will finish second in the pool in case of a loss.
However, England face a must win contest as a defeat will put their chances in jeopardy.
India had squandered a 2-0 lead to be held to a last gasp 2-2 draw by arch-rivals Pakistan in their opening match. The former Olympic champions then defeated Wales 4-3 in a high scoring encounter.
"We are happy to be on the winning side. I think the team has improved since our first match against Pakistan. Though there are still certain areas we must get better with, this win will give the team a good momentum for the next match," India's chief coach Sjoerd Marijne said after the match.
"It's not about the opponents but our own game. I am yet to see this team come up with a 7/10 performance in this tournament. If each of them manage to play their role to perfection, I am confident of a good show against England," he added.
India got off to an ideal start with forward Mandeep Singh winning the first penalty corner of the match in the second minute.
Harmanpreet came up with a perfect dragflick, improvising on the injection and keeping the ball low to his right to find the gap and fetch India an early lead.
Though Malaysia too won a penalty in the fifth minute, Razie Rahim's flick was off the mark.
Buoyed by the lead, the Indians dominated possession and kept the Malaysian defenders on their toes with a constant stream of attacks.
Forced to defend in numbers Malaysia focussed on keeping out the Indian attacks and hitting back with the occasional counter-attack.
Malaysia found the equaliser immediately after the start of the second quarter as a fast move down the right saw Faisal beat the Indian defence with an excellent run before receiving a defence splitting pass which found him in a one to one situation with India goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh.
Faisal did well to control the ball before beating Sreejesh with a superb finish from a tight angle.
Although the Indians continued to dominate ball possession, they found it tough to penetrate the well-organised Malaysian defence.
The Indians did create a few chances with Mandeep and Gurjant missing the target in the 21st and 28th minutes respectively.
The Indians also did poorly with the penalty corners as they squandered seven of the nine set pieces they earned over the course of the match.
India upped their attack in the third quarter, pushing for the elusive lead. Dilpreet Singh had a shot on goal but was saved by the Malaysian defence.
Harmanpreet found the decisive goal in the closing stages of the third quarter when he converted a penalty corner with an excellent placing into the top left corner that beat the Malaysian custodian with its power and precision.
The fourth period saw the Indian continue to dominate their opponents although the Malaysians attacked desperately in the final few minutes to ensure a tense finish.
S.V. Sunil earned India a penalty corner in the 57th minute. But an alert Malaysian goalkeeper came up with a brilliant save to keep Harmanpreet Singh from completing his hat-trick.
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Gujarat HC orders man to deposit Rs 1 lakh for attending virtual proceedings from toilet
Ahmedabad, July 14 (PTI): The Gujarat High Court on Monday directed a man, facing contempt of court for attending a virtual court hearing while relieving himself on a toilet seat, to deposit Rs 1 lakh with the court's registry after observing that he was ready to tender an unconditional apology.
The incident occurred on June 20 when Justice Nirzar S Desai was hearing a case. A video of the man soon went viral, prompting the high court to initiate suo motu contempt proceedings.
On Monday, the division bench of Justices AS Supehia and RT Vachhani directed the man, identified as Samad Abdul Rehman Shah, to deposit Rs 1 lakh in the court registry by July 22, the next date of the hearing.
"The contemnor has admitted to his conduct during the live-streaming proceedings and submitted that he was ready to tender an unconditional apology. Thus, at this stage, we direct the contemnor to deposit the amount of Rs 1 lakh before the registry of this court by the next date of hearing," the court ordered.
According to the report submitted to the court, Shah attended the hearing on June 20 for a total of 74 minutes, during which he was seen sitting on a toilet and relieving himself.
Shah's lawyer told the court that his client would tender an unconditional apology for his behaviour.
When questioned, the lawyer confirmed he had advised Shah to present himself appropriately for the hearing.
The now-infamous video showed Shah using a toilet during the proceedings, sparking outrage and leading the court to order the video’s immediate removal and ban, citing damage to the judiciary’s image.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Gujarat High Court has permitted lawyers and litigants to join hearings virtually. Proceedings are live-streamed via the court's YouTube channel.
After finishing his business, Shah was seen picking up his phone and leaving. Justice Desai appeared unaware of his surroundings at the time.
Wearing wireless earphones, he can be seen logging in again later in the livestream, sitting in a room and waiting for his turn.
After nearly 10 minutes, he identified himself as Abdul Samad Shah, a resident of Kim village in Surat and the complainant in an assault case.
His lawyers told the court that Shah had lodged a complaint against two individuals but that a compromise had been reached between both parties.
While hearing the petition filed by the accused seeking to quash the FIR, Justice Desai asked Shah if he consented to the plea. Upon hearing Shah’s no-objection, the judge approved the petition.
