Archives for 2022

London: Olympic gold medal-winning javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra was on Wednesday nominated for the prestigious Laureus ‘World Breakthrough of the Year’ award, making him the first Indian to be featured in the short-list for this category.

He was clubbed alongside tennis stars Daniil Medvedev and Emma Raducanu among others.

The 23-year-old Chopra last year became only the second Indian to win an individual Olympic gold medal and first in track and field in Tokyo with a throw of 87.58 metres in his second attempt. The performance catapulted him to superstar status in India and also brought him worldwide acclaim.

“…it’s a great honour for me to be recognised in the wider sporting world for what I achieved in Tokyo. From being a kid in a small village in rural India who only took up sport to get fit, to standing on top of an Olympic podium, it’s been quite an eventful journey so far,” Chopra said in a statement issued by The Laureus Academy.

“I feel privileged to be able to represent my country and win India medals at the global stage, and now to have this recognition from Laureus and be considered alongside such exceptional athletes is a really special feeling.”

He is now only the third Indian to fetch a Laureus nomination after cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and wrestler Vinesh Phogat.

Phogat was nominated in the ‘Laureus World Sporting Comeback’ category for the year 2019, while Tendulkar won the ‘Laureus best sporting moment in the last 20 years’ in 2020.

The moment in consideration was Tendulkar’s teammates lifting him on their shoulders after India won the 2011 ODI World Cup at home.

A panel of more than 1,300 sports journalists and broadcasters of the world have selected the nominees in each of the seven categories for this year’s Laureus World Sports Awards.

The winners will be revealed in April, following a vote by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the world’s ultimate sports jury, made up of 71 of the greatest sporting legends of all time.

At the 2016 World Under-20 Championships, Chopra won the gold medal.

Also nominated with Chopra for the Breakthrough Award are FC Barcelona’s football prodigy Pedri, the 19-year-old who was voted best young player at the Ballon d’Or, Yulimar Rojas, who broke the 26-year-old triple jump world record, and swimmer Ariarne Titmus, who twice beat champion Katie Ledecky at 200 and 400m in Tokyo.

The battle for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Award will be one of the most competitive ever.

The short-list features NFL star Tom Brady, Bayern Munich’s prolific goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski, new Formula One world champion Max Verstappen, tennis world no.1 Novak Djokovic, and two of the greatest Olympians — swimmer Caeleb Dressel, who won five gold medals in Tokyo, and Eliud Kipchoge, who won back-to-back marathon gold medals.

Several top-notch Olympic performances dominate the Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year category.

Elaine Thompson-Herah matched fellow Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt with gold medals in the 100, 200 and 4×100 metres relay; Allyson Felix passed Carl Lewis as the most decorated track and field US Olympian; Australian swimmer Emma McKeon’s four gold and three bronze tied the record for the most medals ever won by a woman in a single Olympic Games; and American swimmer Katie Ledecky won two more gold and two silver medals.

Italy’s men’s football team is among the frontrunners for the Laureus World Team of the Year Award after their victory in Euro 2020. There are two other football nominees — the Argentina men’s football team, including Lionel Messi, who won the Copa America; and FC Barcelona women’s football side, who won their first Champions League.

They are joined by China’s Olympic diving team, who won gold medals in seven of the eight events, the Milwaukee Bucks, inspired by Giannis Antetokounmpo, who ended their 50-year wait for a second NBA championship, and the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team which won a record eighth consecutive Constructors’ World Championship.

Senior Punjab Congress leader Sunil Jakhar

Chandigarh: Senior Punjab Congress leader Sunil Jakhar has claimed that 42 MLAs wanted him to be the chief minister of the state after the unceremonious exit of Amarinder Singh last year.

Jakhar could be heard saying this in a video — that has surfaced online — while addressing a gathering in Abohar on Tuesday.

Jakhar’s nephew Sandeep Jakhar is contesting the Punjab assembly polls as a Congress candidate from the Abohar seat.

Sunil Jakhar was among the front runners for the chief ministerial post. But the party preferred Charanjit Singh Channi, who became the first chief minister of Punjab from the Scheduled Caste community.

Forty-two votes went for Sunil (Jakhar), 16 for Sukhjinder Randhawa, 12 votes for Maharani Preneet Kaur (Amarinder Singh’s wife and Patiala MP), six votes for Navjot Singh Sidhu and two votes for (Charanjit Singh) Channi, Jakhar said.

He also said he even declined the post of deputy chief minister offered by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to him.

Forty-two MLAs voted for me despite the fact that I was nothing at that time. I was not even PPCC president, Jakhar said, pointing out that the party had sought to know from the MLAs whom they wanted to be the chief minister after the exit of Amarinder Singh.

Seventy-nine MLAs were called up to know whom they wanted to be the CM. Sunil was not even an MLA, he added.

Amarinder Singh was made to resign as the chief minister by the Congress amid a bitter power tussle with Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu.

The chances of Jakhar becoming the chief minister were scuttled after the statement of senior Congress leader Ambika Soni who had said the party should go with a Sikh face.

Charanjit Singh Channi, who replaced Amarinder Singh last year, is the first chief minister of Punjab from the Scheduled Caste community.

On January 27, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had announced at a virtual rally that the party would go with a chief ministerial face in the Punjab elections.

Over the past several weeks, Channi and state Congress chief Sidhu have, directly or indirectly, made a case for themselves to be declared as the party’s chief ministerial candidate.

New Delhi: A total of 1,807 communal riot cases were registered in different parts of the country during 2018-2020 in which 8,565 people were arrested, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

Replying to a written question in the Upper House, Union Minister of State for Home Nityanand Rai said the highest number of communal riot cases were registered in Bihar, followed by Maharashtra and Haryana.

A total of 512 communal riot cases were registered across India in 2018, 438 in 2019 and 857 in 2020, Rai noted.

While 4,097 people were arrested for riots in 2018 in different parts of the country, 2,405 people were arrested in 2019 and 2,063 in 2020, he said.

A total of 4,169 people were charge-sheeted in 2018, 2,281 in 2019 and 1,908 in 2020, he added.

Altogether, 200 people were convicted for the riots in 2018, 332 in 2019 and 229 in 2020.

In Bihar, 419 riot cases were registered in the said three years, in which 2,777 people were arrested, 2,316 charge-sheeted and 62 were convicted.

In Maharashtra, 167 riot cases were registered in the three years, in which 1,332 people were arrested, 1,324 charge-sheeted and 10 were convicted.

In Haryana, 146 riot cases were registered in the three years, in which 294 people were arrested. All of them were charge-sheeted and just three convicted.

BJP MLA Nitesh Rane

Mumbai: BJP MLA Nitesh Rane on Wednesday surrendered before a court in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra in an alleged attempt to murder case and was remanded in police custody till February 4, his lawyers said.

Nitesh, son of Union minister Narayan Rane, had withdrawn his bail plea from the Bombay High Court earlier in the day. He subsequently surrendered before the Sindhudurg court, said special public prosecutor Pradip Gharat. The prosecution then sought his police remand.

District and additional sessions judge (Sindhudurg) R B Rote had on Tuesday rejected Rane’s bail application, saying it was “premature and not maintainable”.

The court had also held that custodial interrogation of Nitesh Rane was necessary as probe into the attempt to murder case was “incomplete.” The case pertains to an alleged attack on Shiv Sena activist Santosh Parab during the campaigning for the Sindhudurg District Co-operative Bank elections.

The BJP MLA had claimed that he was being targeted by the ruling Shiv Sena (which heads the MVA coalition government in Maharashtra) as it felt slighted by an incident of mocking outside the state legislature complex here last December.

It was political vendetta, he had alleged.

A Shiv Sena MLA had alleged that Nitesh Rane made ‘meow meow’ sound to mock minister and Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray on December 23 during the winter session.

Nitesh’s father Narayan Rane, a former Shiv Sena leader, is a bitter critic of his former party and its leader, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. Earlier on Wednesday, the BJP MLA’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde told Justice C V Bhadang of the high court that he would like to withdraw the application seeking bail.

“The applicant intends to surrender and wants to join the investigation. This is despite the fact that the applicant still has five more days of protection from arrest granted to him by the Supreme Court on January 27, Maneshinde said. Justice Bhadang then allowed the withdrawal.

Nitesh Rane’s pre-arrest bail pleas had been rejected by both the lower court and the HC earlier.

The MLA then approached the supreme court, which on January 27 asked Maharashtra Police not to arrest him for ten days, and directed him to appear before the court in Sindhudurg and seek regular bail.

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday said he has postponed his scheduled trip to New Delhi for February 7, on the request of Members of Parliament from the state.

The Chief Minister had earlier planned to leave for Delhi tomorrow morning.

“I had planned to go to Delhi tomorrow, for a meeting with Members of Parliament from the state there, but on the request of all our MPs I will go to Delhi on Monday,” Bommai told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, he had said that he is likely to travel to Delhi tomorrow morning for a meeting with MPs from the state during the ongoing Parliament’s budget session, and for a meeting with lawyers representing Karnataka regarding inter state water disputes.

Responding to a question on possible discussion with the BJP high command regarding expansion or reshuffle of his cabinet, during the Delhi visit, he said, “I don’t want to have any open discussion on this matter.”

There is pressure mounting on the CM to expand or rejig his cabinet soon, amid talks in party circles that the exercise is likely, only after the Assembly elections in five states.

Citing assembly polls in the state in 2023, several legislators including Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and M P Renukacharya have openly said that if cabinet exercise is delayed and carried out after election in five states, it will be too late for new ministers to make any mark, even in their own constituencies.

Recently some legislators have even been advocating Gujarat-like overhaul of the Karnataka Cabinet soon, to make way for new faces.

In September, the BJP completely overhauled the Gujarat’s Council of Ministers by selecting new faces for the Bhupendra Patel government, with no Minister from the previous Vijay Rupani-led Ministry being inducted.

Bommai had repeatedly stated that he is waiting for the BJP leadership’s consent on going ahead with the cabinet exercise.

There are currently 30 Ministers in the State Cabinet, including the Chief Minister, against the sanctioned strength of 34.

Noting that the union budget presented on Tuesday has separate documents that will have department and state wise allocation details, among others, the CM, in response to a query, said a detailed study will give a clear picture on allocations for old and new schemes, and about grant in aid for the state from the Centre and regarding loans.

“Based on all this we will decide on our (state) budget….after February 7, I will have pre budget consultative meetings with various departments. After gathering their opinion I will take budget related decisions,” he said.

Bommai, who also holds the finance portfolio, is likely to present the state budget, his first, in the first week of March.

Kundapur: Marking their protests against Muslim students wearing Hijab to the college, several students at Government Junior College Kundapur, turned up wearing saffron scarfs around on Wednesday, triggering controversy.

Taking note of the incident, Kundapur MLA Haladi Srinivas Shetty arrived at the college and held a meeting with the parents of Muslim students.

The parents reportedly told the MLA that it is their right to wear Hijab and it was not right to interfere in their religious matters. “Our students are not wearing Burkha but are only wearing Hijab. It is not good to bring religion among the students in the educational institution,” they said.

“If you don’t want our students to wear Hijab in the college, let the Principal give written instructions for the same, and then we will decide whether to send our students to the college or not,” they added.

The MLA stated that they will initiate action against those wearing Hijab and Saffron scarfs to the college, but the meeting ended without any conclusive decision being taken.

Mohammed Anas

Mangaluru: Miscreants on late Tuesday night assaulted a 29-year-old man in Katipalla. Injuring him critically. The victim was later shifted to a hospital in the city in critical condition.

The victim has been identified as Mohammed Anas (29).

According to the reports, the dispute between the victim and the assaulters was about the eviction of a rented house. Anas was reportedly with his friends, outside his house when the assaulters came with weapons and attacked Anas, critically injuring him.

A case in this regard has been registered against the assaulters identified as Ravoof, Mustafa at Surathkal Police Station.

Dubai: New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell is the recipient of the ICC ‘Spirit of Cricket’ award for 2021 due to his sportsmanlike gesture in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Abu Dhabi.

Mitchell won the award for refusing to take what was an easy single after coming in the way of bowler Adil Rashid in the high-pressure World Cup semi-final against England in Abu Dhabi on November 10 last year.

Mitchell is the fourth New Zealand player to win the award, following the footsteps of Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson.

“It’s an honour to receive the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award,” Mitchell said.

“To be part of that T20 World Cup in UAE was an amazing experience, and to receive an award like this is pretty cool.

“It’s something that we pride ourselves on as New Zealanders, the way we go about playing our cricket, and yes, the Spirit of Cricket side.

“Personally, I felt I got in the way and we wanted to win on our own terms, and didn’t want to be controversial in such a big game. It paid off in the long run that we won the game. Looking back, it all happened pretty quickly.”

The incident occurred on the first ball of the 18th over bowled by Adil Rashid, with the score at 133/4 and James Neesham on strike.

Neesham smashed the ball down the ground and it would have been an easy single. But Mitchell, at the non-striker’s end, refused to take the run, conceding that he had impeded Rashid in a high-pressure chase, with a place in the World Cup final at stake.

Nasser Hussain, who was live on commentary during the contest, was full of praise for Mitchell saying, “That is very good. That is so New Zealand, it really is. So easy to take a run there. But the non-strike said, ‘No, I’ve got in the way of Adil.’ Anything sums up New Zealand cricket it was that.”

Mitchell, explaining why he refused to take the single, added: “It was a pretty tight game against England in that semi-final, with only a few overs to go. Neesh (Jimmy Neesham) hit a single down to long-off I think it was, and I felt like I’d obstructed Rashid from getting to the ball.

“The game that we play, we play it because we love it. Yes, we want to win as much as we can, but we don’t want that to come about from doing things that go against the values of cricket. Spirit of Cricket is vitally important. It sets a platform for kids in the future, who will go about playing the game in the right way.

“At the end of the day, it is a game, it’s something that we love. So obviously we’re so lucky to do that.”

Mitchell who opened the batting proved to be the match-winner, playing a memorable knock of 72 not out in only 47 deliveries, while also hitting the winning runs.