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Death for two, life term for another in Jigisha murder case

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Jigisha murder case

New Delhi: A Delhi court today awarded death penalty to two convicts and life term to another for robbing and killing IT executive Jigisha Ghosh here in 2009, observing that it was a “brutal” and “cold blooded murder”.

“To be hanged by neck till death,” Additional Sessions Judge Sandeep Yadav said, while awarding death to convicts Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla.

The judge also observed that gruesome crimes against women were on the rise and any leniency to the criminals would send a wrong message to society.

“The offence was committed in a brutal, cold blooded and cruel manner. The victim was helpless and remained in captivity for hours and the convicts brutally mauled her to death. It was an uncivilised act done in a barbaric manner.

“The magnitude and brutality of the crime makes it fall in the category of rarest of rare,” the judge said.

Besides Ravi and Amit, the court sentenced Baljeet to life imprisonment.

28-year-old Jigisha, working as an operations manager in a management consultancy firm, was abducted and killed on March 18, 2009 after she was dropped by her office cab around 4 AM near her home in Vasant Vihar area of South Delhi.

Her body was recovered three days later from a place near Surajkund in Haryana, police had said.

While awarding death penalty, the court said according to the pre-sentencing report (PSR), there was “no scope for Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla to reform”.

As per the report, Baljeet’s conduct was normal and there was no complaint against him and he was not a threat to society.

The court also imposed a total fine of Rs nine lakh on the three convicts, who were present at the hearing, out of which Rs six lakh is to be given to the victim’s family as compensation.

It also said this amount was not adequate and asked the legal aid authority to decide appropriate compensation for the victim’s family.

“The pain, agony and trauma of victim’s parents cannot be compensated,” the court observed.

The court had on July 14 convicted the three men, saying it was “abundantly clear” that they had committed the crime.

The court had said it was proved that the three convicts had abducted Jigisha, robbed her of her gold chain, two mobile phones, two rings, debit and credit cards and killed her.

The court had on August 20 reserved the order on sentence after the arguments concluded and a PSR was submitted by probationary officer.

While seeking death sentence for the convicts, Special Public Prosecutor Rajiv Mohan had argued that they abducted Jigisha, robbed her, killed her and used her debit card for shopping, and a CCTV footage of their shopping showed they had no remorse for their act.

Advocate Amit Kumar, appearing for convicts Baljeet and Amit Shukla, had argued that his clients have already spent over seven years in jail and maintained good conduct.

The counsel for convict Ravi Kapoor sought leniency for his client, saying he was suffered from a life-threatening disease and belonged to a poor family.

The police had filed the charge sheet in the case in June 2009 and trial began on April 15, 2010.

Recovery of the weapon allegedly used in Jigisha’s murder had led to the cracking of the murder case of Soumya Vishwanathan, who was a journalist with a news channel.

Soumya was shot dead on September 30, 2008 while she was returning home in her car from office in the wee hours.

Police had claimed robbery as the motive behind the killing of both Jigisha and Soumya.

The accused had used Jigisha’s ATM card to buy expensive goggles, wrist watches and shoes from Sarojini Nagar market in South Delhi, police had said.

(PTI)

Sindhu gets rousing welcome, Telangana govt felicitates her

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P.V. Sindhu

Hyderabad: Amidst scenes of jubilation and a sense of pride, Olympics silver medallist P V Sindhu was today accorded a rousing welcome on her arrival to home town and felicitated by Telangana government for her stupendous performance at Rio Games.

The 21-year-old, who landed with her coach Pullela Gopichand, was received at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport by her parents P V Ramana and P Vijaya, some Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Ministers, amidst cheers from crowds.

A beaming Sindhu, displaying her silver medal and waving to the crowds, was then taken in a open-top-motorcade along with Gopichand to Gachibowli Stadium, where the government felicitated her along with her coach in the presence of a capacity crowd.

Sports-lovers and fans, particularly school children, some with national flags in their hands waved to Sindhu at several road junctions along the route to the stadium where excitement was in the air.

School children held banners hailing the badminton star, who caught the imagination of the country with her superb run at Rio. They raised slogans such as ‘P V Sindhu Pride of India’, and many of them also showered flower petals on the motorcade.

A celebratory mood prevailed at the stadium, where an enthusiastic crowd, mostly school and college students, welcomed her amid beating of drums by traditional ‘Dappu’ dance artistes.

“I never expected such a huge turn-out; it made my day,” said a smiling Sindhu, overwhelmed by the huge reception.

“Thanks for the support and blessings. I thank my Guru (P Gopichand)…my parents, who supported and motivated me. I would like to thank everyone,” she said at the felicitation event, attended by her parents, Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mohd Mahmood Ali and IT Minister K T Rama Rao, among others.

Gopichand thanked the Telangana government for its support and for announcing rewards.

Praising the two Indian medal winners at Rio, he said, “Hats off to the women (Sindhu and grappler Sakshi Malik) for actually saving the respect of India in front of the whole world.”

“It’s huge support from the government and also for financial rewards. It is unprecedented. I am sure this will inspire and help in preparing lot of champions and lot more sportspersons,” Gopichand said.

Rama Rao told Sindhu’s parents that they should be proud of her as she has now become “daughter of India”, and announced that the government would come out with a new sports policy after holding consultations with Gopichand and other Arjun awardees.

There is a need to prepare a comprehensive plan for future Olympics, the minister said.

Speakers at the event praised the efforts and sacrifices made by Sindhu’s coach and her parents for her success at the international level.

The Telangana government had earlier announced Rs five crore cash reward for the 21-year-old, a 1,000 square yard housing site near the Pullela Gopichand Badminton Academy in Gachibowli and suitable government job, if she is willing, and a cash prize of Rs one crore for Gopichand.

(PTI)

Syria’s civil war: ‘Last hospital in Daraya bombed’

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Only remaining civilian hospital in besieged Damascus suburb hit with incendiary weapons, activists say.

Incendiary weapons have been used at least 18 times in six weeks, HRW says [Al Jazeera]

Incendiary weapons have been used at least 18 times in six weeks, HRW says [Al Jazeera]

by Al Jazeera

Syrian government forces have bombed the last remaining civilian hospital in the besieged Damascus suburb of Daraya, according to activists, who say an incendiary weapon similar to napalm was used.

Government forces dropped the bombs on the hospital shortly after midnight on Friday morning, according to activists and the Britain-based Syrian Network for Human Rights.

“The hospital … which was providing a humanitarian service to the civilians in the city is being targeted by internationally banned weapons. Everyone is standing by silently and watching,” said one doctor from Daraya in a video purported to have been shot outside the hospital shortly after it was hit.

This video, published on the local Daraya council’s YouTube page, is said to show the immediate aftermath of the attack on the hospital. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the footage.

The hospital was the only medical facility available to 8,000 civilians in the besieged suburb, which was hit with incendiary bombs for three straight days earlier this week, according to the local council.

Incendiary weapons start fires and cause horrific burns much like those inflicted by the napalm dropped from US planes during the Vietnam War.

Incendiary weapons are not entirely banned. While there is an international agreement forbidding their use in areas with a heavy civilian presence, it has only been signed by 113 countries. Russia has signed up to the agreement, known as Protocol III of the Convention of Conventional Weapons, but Syria has not.

Daraya, a rebel-held suburb of the capital, has witnessed some of the heaviest bombings of the war, and has been under siege since 2012.

Incendiary uptick

Earlier this week, the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused Syrian government forces and their Russian allies of repeatedly using incendiary weapons against civilians in rebel-held parts of northern Syria.

“Incendiary weapons have been used at least 18 times over the past six weeks, including attacks on the opposition-held areas in the cities of Aleppo and Idlib on August 7, 2016,” the rights group said in a report published on Tuesday.

Photographs and videos recorded by the group at the time of the attacks indicated that there were incendiary weapon attacks on opposition-held areas in the Aleppo and Idlib provinces between June 5 and August 10.

“Countries meeting at the Convention on Conventional Weapons in Geneva on August 29 should condemn the use of air-dropped incendiary weapons … and press Syria and Russia to immediately stop using incendiary weapons in civilian areas,” HRW said.

Shortly after Russian militarily intervened in Syria’s civil war on behalf of embattled President Bashar al-Assad last autumn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wrote a letter to HRW, saying that incendiary weapons were being used in Syria and that their “improper use” had caused “significant humanitarian damage”.

The letter did not specify which side had used them.

Bangalore blast: Prime accused Mohammed Ali Khan of Al-Umma arrested

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malleswaram-blast

Bengaluru: Mohammed Ali Khan, the founding member of Al-Umma, a banned terrorist organisation, and prime accused in a 2013 bomb blast near BJP office in Bengaluru, has been arrested.

Khan (45) was arrested from Sathyamangalam in Erode district of Tamil Nadu on August 15 where he was in hiding, police said.

They said Khan was allegedly involved in planning the Malleswaram bomb blast on April 17, 2013 and had also supplied explosive materials for it. At least 16 people, including 11 policemen, were injured in the blast near the bustling Karnataka BJP office in a crowded residential area ahead of the state assembly election.

The bomb was strapped to a motorbike parked between a van and a car.

Khan was earlier convicted in the 1998 serial blasts at a Coimbatore rally of veteran BJP leader LK Advani in which about 50 people had died. Accused of supplying materials in this case, he was sentenced to life imprisonment but was released in 2010 after serving 12 years sentence. Involved in several terror acts carried out by Al-Umma, Khan had gone into hiding after the Malleshwaram blast, police said.

Stressing that there are 20 accused in the Malleswaram blast case and 17 have been arrested so far, officials said Khan has been taken to police custody and an investigation is underway.

(Agencies)

Rio Olympics: Tarlochan Singh defends son’s appointment as CMO

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Pawandeep Singh

Ludhiana: Indian Olympic Association (IOA) vice-president Tarlochan Singh on Wednesday defended his son Pawandeep Singh’s appointment as the Chief Medical Officer of the Indian contingent at the ongoing Olympics Games, which is being held in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro.

Tarlochan’s comments came in wake of reports suggesting that Pawandeep, a radiologist by profession, is not proving to be of much help to the Indian athletes in the prestigious quadrennial games and is instead having a leisure junket in Rio.

Tarlochan, who is also the acting president of the Archery Association of India, said that only Chef de Mission has the right to judge his son’s performance.

“Dr Pawandeep Singh has gone there as an official doctor of an Indian team because he is the chairman of the medical commission of the IOA. This post of medical commission is registering for last 31 years. He was earlier head of the medical team in the SAF Games in Guwahati and Shillong and a member of the Commonwealth Games Medical Commission,” Tarlochan told ANI.

“He has gone there as an official doctor and every performance of the doctor is to be judged by Chef de Mission. He is attending 120 athletes there. We will see when report comes,” he added.

According to the reports, the Chief Medical Officer has been giving only Combiflam to the India athletes, who complain of pain, during the ongoing games. Pawandeep Singh’s appointment was made by IOA president Narayana Ramachandran.

(ANI)

An Interview With Co-Producer T Nillay Pande of Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya

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T Nillay Pande had started his career a decade ago as a line producer & executive producer for many film projects. And now he has also turned a co – producer with director Anwer Khan’s soon to be released film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya.

Nillay Pande

Kindly give us a brief introduction of your film making career.

I had started my film making career that too a decade ago, 1st as a line producer then as an executive producer and finally as a co – producer. And as a line producer & executive producer I have been associated with projects like scores of music videos & TV commercials featuring the likes of actresses like Hema Malini, Madhuri Dixit and many others and even a film like Department. Then as a co – producer with director Anwer Khan’s debut film Four Two Ka One, not to be confused with Shah Rukh Khan’s film One Two Ka Four. That was 3 years ago. And now I am associated again as a co – producer with Anwer Khan’s 2nd film namely Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya.

What made you to co – produce another film with director Anwer Khan?

Actually speaking Anwer Khan is a dear friend of mine. I really enjoyed working with him as a co – producer in his debut directorial film Four Two Ka One. So once again when he came up with his latest project Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya I instantly gave him a go ahead signal as a co – producer once again.

So what is the film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya all about?

Frankly speaking Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya is a complete family entertainer. And I am sure Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya will definitely prove to be an out & out commercially oriented masala film with Anwer Khan at the helm of affairs inspired by his Manmohan Desai style of film making. In fact I believe that Anwer Khan is the only actively involved independent director hailing from the Manmohan Desai camp. The film is all about identical twin brothers with one settled in Mumbai and the other one settled in Bangkok and then the switch over takes place and the fun oriented laughriot begins.

So what according to you are the highlights of the film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya?

Of course there are many highlights of the film but I will give you the hint of a few of them. First & foremost highlight of the movie is Arbaaz Khan in the role of a Don in a foriegn land, the beautiful & soothing albeit never before seen locales of Thailand & Pataya in Bangkok, the 1st ever double role of Marathi comedian Vijay Patkar and above all the 1st ever double role of Jimmy Shergill and so on & so forth.

Ok so what are your expectations from the film?

First of all we wish that our film Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya should garner a decent collections at the Box Office turnstiles all over, so that we can start the production of our next project smoothly. Money wise the film should end up doing a decent business. The film’s digital promo launch has already created ripples of successful wave and I wish the film also does well. Besides I wish that each & every family member all over should go to see Yea Toh Two Much Ho Gaya.

As a parting shot give us a little information about the cast & crew of the film.

Ok! Badshah Khan presents a film by Anwer Khan, produced by Ali Unwala, co – produced by T Nillay Pande, music by Avishek Majmudar & Badri Lacewala, lyrics by Badri Lacewala, Vishal V. Patil, Jairaj Selwan & Anwer Khan, cinematography by Rajeev Srivastava, action by Mahendra Verma, choreography by Rajeev Surti, P&A partner Ayub Khan & media coordination by Himanshu Jhunjhunwala. The film stars Arbaaz Khan, Jimmy Shergill, Pooja Chopra, Bruna Abdullah, Vijay Patkar et al.

Consumer Goods – Q1FY17 result review – Demand catalysts to improve; Innovation funnel needs to go up

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edelweiss

The Edelweiss consumer pack’s (excluding Nestle and United Spirits) revenue growth, as per IND-AS, tapered to 6.4% YoY (7.8% YoY in Q4FY16 as per I-GAAP). Price cuts by Dabur, Marico, Pidilite and impact of seasonality on Godrej Consumer’s household insecticides (HI) dented growth. Gross margins tapered QoQ, but YoY expansion sustained for 17 of 21 companies (expanded for 16 of 21 in Q4FY16). EBITDA grew 11% YoY (15% in Q4FY16) despite HUL, Dabur and GCPL pruning ad spends on absolute basis. We anticipate price growth to return in H2FY17 following increase in raw material prices (milk, wheat, copra, palm oil etc., prices are up; food inflation at 11% plus a near-term concern for lower end of urban). Good monsoon, 7th Pay Commission payout and GST are key positives.

Monsoon to ease rural distress ; urban growth perking up
Rural growth tapered further in Q1FY17, however, likely to improve in H2FY17 led by strong monsoon. Urban growth, especially in general trade, remains soft, but modern trade is growing at a faster clip—a green shoot. While paint companies—Asian Paints, Berger Paints—sustained double digit volume growth at ~11% YoY each, Pidilite’s volumes jumped 9% YoY. ITC’s cigarette business clocked 3% YoY volume growth (positive after 12 quarters). In staples, while Marico and Emami posted strong domestic volume growth of 8% and 6.4% YoY, respectively, the same was soft for HUL and Dabur at ~4% YoY each. With demand likely to improve gradually, step up in innovations will be the key differentiator (Nestle stands out with ~25 innovations in past few quarters).

Softer ad spends boost margins; price hikes anticipated
Though gross margin growth tapered QoQ, it expanded YoY. However, rise in prices of palm oil, crude & crude-linked raw materials, sugar, flour etc., and likely bottoming out of copra led to some price hikes. While Britannia hiked prices ~5% YoY in the later part of Q1FY17, Marico raised prices of Parachute 5% in July 2016. PFAD prices have risen , which will trigger reversal of promotion/price cuts in soaps. Ad spends as a percentage of sales for HUL, Dabur, GCPL and Jyothy Labs dipped and hence aided some margin expansion—ad spends of Marico, Emami and Colgate remain robust which was validated by better volumes. Intense competition from Patanjali is prompting players like Dabur to step-up promotions, Anniversarisation of phasing off of excise benefit impact for most players will lead to pricing-led growth in FY17. GST rates will be a key monitorable for most consumer companies especially ITC.

CAS ends Narsingh’s Olympic dreams, bans him for four years

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narsingh

Rio de Janeiro: Narsingh Yadav’s dream of competing at the ongoing Rio Olympics has come to an end with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upholding the World Anti Doping Agency’s (WADA) appeal against the clean chit given to him in a doping violation case.

The ad hoc division of the CAS, which met here on Thursday to hear the WADA’s appeal against the clearance to Narsingh by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA), also slapped a four-year ban on the Mumbai wrestler.

“WADA filed an urgent application before the CAS ad hoc division to challenge the decision of NADA India to exonerate Narsingh Yadav following two positive anti-doping tests with methandienone on June 25 and July 5. The athlete asserted that he was the victim of sabotage (food/drink tampering) by another person. WADA requested that a four-year period of ineligibility be imposed on the athlete,” the CAS said in a statement.

“The CAS panel did not accept the argument of the athlete that he was the victim of sabotage and noted that there was no evidence that he bore no fault, nor that the anti-doping rule violation was not intentional. Therefore the standard four-year period of ineligibility was imposed by the panel,” the statement added.

“It is very sad and unfortunate. We were hopeful until the last proceeding of the CAS that he will get through which unfortunately did not happen,” Indian Chef de Mission Rakesh Gupta told IANS after the hearing.

“It is really very sad because he had a real potential to clinch a medal.”

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh called for a probe by the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) into the whole affair.

“This should not happen to any sportsperson in the future. I demand a CBI probe into the entire issue so that this episode is not repeated in the future,” Brijbhushan told a television news channel.

“We feel sorry for Narsingh, this should not hapen to any athlete.”

Narsingh was embroiled in a doping controversy in the run up to the Olympics, but was cleared by the NADA ahead of the Games.

But the WADA decided to appeal to the CAS against the NADA’s clearance to Narsingh just two days before the star grappler was scheduled to compete at the Games.

“The CAS panel in charge of this matter heard the parties and their representatives today. The parties were informed that the application was upheld, that Narsingh Yadav was sanctioned with a four-year ineligibility period starting today and that any period of provisional suspension or ineligibility effectively served by the athlete before the entry into force of this award shall be credited against the total period of ineligibility to be served,” the CAS stated.

“Furthermore, all competitive results obtained by Narsingh Yadav from and including 25 June 2016 shall be disqualified, with all resulting consequences (including forfeiture of medals, points and prizes).”

With the CAS announcing its verdict, Narsingh’s campaign at the ongoing Rio Olympics has ended before it could start.

According to the official website of the Rio Games, the Mumbai grappler was scheduled to start his Olympic campaign against Zelimkhan Khadjiev of France in the qualification round of the men’s 74 kg Freestyle category on Friday.

The 26-year-old grappler also underwent his weigh-in on Thursday.

The CAS decision is a continuation of a long ordeal for Narsingh, who was preferred over double Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar to take part in the Olympics by the WFI that led to a major legal battle between the two wrestlers.

Narsingh, who bagged the quota with a bronze medal finish in last year’s World Championships, won the legal battle, but then ran into trouble over alleged doping offences.

He first returned positive for a banned steroid following a dope test on June 25 by NADA, before being cleared on August 1.

The WFI also communicated to the world’s apex wrestling body, the United World Wrestling (UWW) that NADA has cleared Narsingh of all the doping-related charges and the 26-year-old would be re-included in the team for the 74kg competition.

The UWW gave the green light to Narsingh for participation on August 3. However, Narsingh’s route had to clear the final WADA hurdle to compete, which reviewed the NADA panel verdict and challenged it at CAS for further deliberation.

Narsingh had claimed of a conspiracy to frame him and had filed a police report in this regard, although he refrained from naming anyone.

The WFI chief had backed Narsingh’s claims and had asserted that a conspiracy was hatched to stop the wrestler from participating in the Olympics and this needs to be exposed in order to secure future generations of sportspersons.

(IANS)

Sindhu assures second medal for India as Narsingh’s Olympic dream ends

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P.V. Sindhu

Rio de Janeiro: Star shuttler P.V. Sindhu entered the women’s singles final to assure India of a second medal at the Rio Olympics while the Indian contingent suffered a blow with wrestler Narsingh Yadav being banned for four years over a doping offence.

Sindhu assured the country of at least a silver medal after thrashing Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara in straight games in the women’s singles badminton semi-final at the Rio Olympics here on Thursday.

World No. 10 Sindhu continued with her giant-killing spree as she made light work of the Japanese to register a 21-19, 21-10 triumph in the semi-finals and become the first Indian shuttler to enter the final of the Olympics.

However, the euphoria in the Indian camp turned into dismay later in the day when Narsingh’s dream of competing at the Rio Olympics came to an end with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upholding the World Anti Doping Agency’s (WADA) appeal against the clean chit given to him by the National Anti Doping Agency (NADA) in a doping violation case.

The ad hoc division of the CAS, which met here on Thursday to hear the WADA’s appeal against the clearance to Narsingh by the NADA, also slapped a four-year ban on the Mumbai wrestler.

“WADA filed an urgent application before the CAS ad hoc division to challenge the decision of NADA India to exonerate Narsingh Yadav following two positive anti-doping tests with methandienone on June 25 and July 5. The athlete asserted that he was the victim of sabotage (food/drink tampering) by another person. WADA requested that a four-year period of ineligibility be imposed on the athlete,” the CAS said in a statement.

“The CAS panel did not accept the argument of the athlete that he was the victim of sabotage and noted that there was no evidence that he bore no fault, nor that the anti-doping rule violation was not intentional. Therefore the standard four-year period of ineligibility was imposed by the panel,” the statement added.

With the CAS announcing its verdict, Narsingh’s campaign at the ongoing Rio Olympics has ended before it could start.

According to the official website of the Rio Games, the Mumbai grappler was scheduled to start his Olympic campaign against Zelimkhan Khadjiev of France in the qualification round of the men’s 74 kilogram Freestyle category on Friday.

The 26-year-old grappler also underwent his weigh-in on Thursday.

“It is very sad and unfortunate. We were hopeful until the last proceeding of the CAS that he will get through which unfortunately did not happen,” Indian Chef de Mission Rakesh Gupta told IANS after the hearing.

“It is really very sad because he had a real potential to clinch a medal.”

Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh called for a probe by the Central Bureau Of Investigation (CBI) into the whole affair.

“This should not happen to any sportsperson in the future. I demand a CBI probe into the entire issue so that this episode is not repeated in the future,” Brijbhushan told a television news channel.

“We feel sorry for Narsingh, this should not hapen to any athlete.”

But in the sports arena, India’s fortunes took a sudden turn for the better as Sindhu defeated World No.2 Wang Yihan on Wednesday, set up her semi-final clash with world No.6 Okuhara.

World No.10 Sindhu made light work of the Japanese to become the first Indian shuttler to enter the final of the Olympics.

With this win, the double World Championship bronze medallist improved her head-to-head record against reigning All England Open champion Okuhara to 2-3.

In the final, she will face two-time reigning world champion Carolina Marin of Spain, who beat defending champion Li Xuerui of China 21-14, 21-16 in the other semi-final.

Irrespective of the colour of the medal in the final on Friday, it will be India’s second medal in the Rio Games after wrestler Sakshi bagged a bronze medal in the women’s 58kg category.

Sindhu’s height and long reach gave her a lot of advantage against the pint-sized Okuhara, who also had her right thigh strapped.

Especially, Sindhu’s sharp cross-court game and half smash helped her get off to a fine start as she took the first game 21-19.

In the second game, Sindhu turned more aggressive and played a fearless game to stun the Japanese who looked short of ideas.

The 21-year-old Hyderabadi kept earning points, hitting one smash after another to enjoy a comfortable ride. As many as 10 points on the trot catapulted her to the final with a 21-10 win in the second game.

Afterwards, what followed was a screaming celebration from Sindhu and her camp.

“It’s historic day. I feel so proud. It’s a show of women power. Sindhu, Sakshi and even Saina all have shown great women power. I am keeping my fingers crossed for gold tomorrow,” International Olympic Committee (IOC) committee member Nita Ambani said.

“I am very happy and as Indians we are all feeling proud, especially Indian girls. I think, for us it’s a big, big occasion to celebrate the power of our young Indian girls.

“We need to make India a multisport nation. All children should play all games and experience them. We have to, specially encourage Indian girls to play more and different games in India,” she added.

“I am humbled and privileged to be working in the International Olympic Committee.”

The only disappointment of the day was wrestler Babita Kumari losing 1-5 to Greece’s Maria Prevolaraki in the women’s Freestyle 53 kg 1/8 Final.

Babita struggled to find her feet in the first period after being pushed out of the safety zone and then the Greek wrestler took another two points to extend the lead further to 3-0.

The 26-year-old Indian managed to bag a point in the second period as Maria failed to make the most of the 30-second advantage.

Babita once again went for aggressive play but Maria turned it around to add two more to her score. From then on, things started slipping from the Indian’s hands as Maria displayed great defensive skills to hold on and beat the Indian.

Meanwhile, at the golf course, India’s Aditi Ashok continued to impress as she carded a second straight three-under 68 to be tied eighth after the second round of the women’s golf event.

The 18-year-old got off to a flying start on Thursday after getting a birdie on the par-five first hole before getting two more birdies on the par-three fourth and par-four ninth holes till the halfway mark.

In the back nine, she bogeyed the par-five 10th hole before picking her again with consecutive birdies on the 15th and 16th hole.

However, a bogey on the par-five 18th hole again gave her a 68 that took her total to six-under 136. She shared the eighth position with four other golfers.

The Bengaluru golfer was four strokes behind leader South Korean Inbee Park, who carded a second straight 66 to sit at the top.

Lewis Stacy of the US carded a stunning eight-under 63 to be one stroke behind Inbee.

Britain’s Charley Hull (66) and Brooke Hendersen of Canada (64) shared the third spot with identical totals of eight-under 134.

(IANS)

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