Asian Games boxing: Vijender wins gold, India finish with nine medals

Vijender Singh clinched the gold in the men’s 75kg category Friday to cap a stupendous performance by the Indian boxers at the Asian Games.

Vijender, who was left bitter after finishing with the bronze in the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, blanked World champion Abbos Atoev of Uzbekistan 7-0 in a lopsided bout. It was sweet revenge for the World No.1 Indian, who had lost to the Uzbek in the quarterfinals of the World Championship earlier this year.

However, the other two Indian boxers — Santhosh Kumar Virothu and Manpreet Singh — who took the ring for gold medals bouts had to content with silvers.

Santhosh was pummelled 1-16 in the 64kg final by Daniyar Yeleussinov of Kazakhstan while Manpreet was thrashed 1-8 by Mohammad Ghossoun of Syria in the 91kg category.

The performance of the Indian boxers was their best in the Asian Games and they will return home with nine medals, including two golds, three silver and four bronze. In the previous edition at Doha, the Indian could win merely two bronze through Vijender and Verghese Johnson.

However, in this edition, India had as many as five boxers — Vikas Krishan, Vijender, Dinesh Kumar, Santhosh and Manpreet — entering the final in the various weight categories.

Krishan gave India its first gold in boxing Thursday after winning the final of the 60kg bout while Dinesh finished with a silver in the 81 kg.

Suranjoy Singh (52kg) and Paramjeet Samota (+91kg) lost their semifinal bouts to end up with bronze medals.

Five-time world champion M.C. Mary Kom (51kg) and Kavita Goyat (69-75kg) also ended up with bronze in the women’s boxing, which made its debut in Asian Games.

In three men’s finals scheduled for Friday, Vijender lit up the day for India with his dominating performance.

Coming for his bout minutes after Santhosh bit the dust in his final match, Vijender was quick to open his account and led 2-0 in the first round. Showing solid attacking and defensive technique, the Indian stretched his lead to 5-0 in the second round. He held his grip in the third and the deciding round and fell to his knees in elation when the final bell rang.

Read more

Asian Games medals tally, Day 14

Medals tally on the 14th day of the Asian Games:

Country G S B T
1 China 197 117 98 412
2 South Korea 75 63 91 229
3 Japan 47 73 94 214
4 Iran 20 13 25 58
5 Kazakhstan 18 23 37 78
6 India 14 17 33 64
7 Chinese Taipei 13 16 38 67
8 Uzbekistan 11 22 23 56
9 Thailand 11 9 32 52
10 Malaysia 9 18 14 41
11 Hong Kong 8 15 17 40
12 North Korea 6 10 19 35
13 Saudi Arabia 5 3 5 13
14 Bahrain 5 0 4 9
15 Indonesia 4 9 13 26
16 Singapore 4 7 6 17
17 IOC Kuwait 4 6 1 11
18 Qatar 4 5 6 15
19 Philippines 3 4 9 16
20 Pakistan 3 2 3 8
21 Mongolia 2 5 9 16
22 Jordan 2 2 2 6
23 Vietnam 1 17 15 33
24 Kyrgyzstan 1 2 2 5
25 Macao 1 1 4 6
26 Bangladesh 1 1 1 3
27 Tajikistan 1 0 3 4
28 Syria 1 0 1 2
29 Myanmar 0 5 3 8
30 UAE 0 4 1 5
31 Afghanistan 0 2 1 3
32 Iraq 0 1 2 3
32 Lebanon 0 1 2 3
34 Lao 0 0 2 2
35 Nepal 0 0 1 1
35 Oman 0 0 1 1

Read more

Obama elbowed, gets 12 stitches after basketball game

US President Barack Obama received 12 stitches in his upper lip after being socked in the mouth by an errant elbow during a holiday basketball game with friends and family, the White House said in a statement.

Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the surgery was done Friday at the White House. Doctors hoped to leave a lesser scar by using smaller stitches than usual.

Obama was playing a five-on-five game in the morning at the local military base Fort McNair with Reggie Love, an adviser and former university basketball player, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and members of the president’s family, which flew into Washington for Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.

Obama was struck in the mouth during the last of five games while playing defence against another player trying to take a shot.

The White House initially shielded the man who caused the injury but later named him as Rey Decerega, director of programmes for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.

In a statement issued by the White House, Decerega did not actually apologise.

“I learned today the president is both a tough competitor and a good sport,” he said. “I enjoyed playing basketball with him this morning. I’m sure he’ll be back out on the court again soon.”

An avid basketball player and fan, Obama still plays regularly and had a court installed at the White House after he took office in January 2009.

Read more

South Korea picks new defence minister amid North’s threats

The former chairman of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff was appointed defence minister Friday, the government said, a day after his predecessor resigned amid criticism for a weak response to an artillery attack this week by North Korea.

Kim Kwan Jin, 61, was nominated for his “expertise and insight in policy and strategy” after four decades in the military, the presidential office said.

He was set to replace Kim Tae Young, who resigned Thursday night to take responsibility for what has been criticized as South Korea’s too ineffectual and too slow response to Tuesday’s artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island near North and South Korea’s disputed maritime border. It killed two South Korean soldiers and two civilians.

Media and observers had earlier speculated that Lee might appoint his security adviser Lee Hee Won.

Tensions have flared between the two Koreas in the days after the clash, which Pyongyang blamed on provocation by the South as it threatened further retaliation.

North Korea warned Friday that joint US-South Korean military exercises planned for this weekend would bring the two Koreas closer to war.

“The situation on the Korean Peninsula is inching closer to the brink of war due to the reckless plan of those trigger-happy elements” to stage “war exercises” targeted against North Korea, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.

The US is sending an aircraft carrier, the USS George
Washington, to participate in the four-day drills in the Yellow Sea, starting Sunday.

Most residents have left Yeonpyeong ahead of the joint drills, fearing renewed clashes. Only 47 of the original 1,400 residents remained on the island.

According to South Korea, its neighbour fired more than 170 artillery rounds Tuesday, 80 of which hit Yeonpyeong, which lies 12 km from North Korea. The South answered with 80 rounds of its own, aiming for artillery positions on North Korea’s coast. The exchange of fire lasted about an hour.

On Friday, the North’s Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said the country’s army and people “are now greatly enraged at the provocation of the puppet group”, referring to South Korea’s government, which they accuse of being controlled by Western interests.

North Korea was “getting fully ready to give a shower of dreadful fire and blow up the bulwark of the enemies”, said the statement released by the committee and carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

Further shots were heard on Yeonpyeong Friday, but the sounds were from a training exercise in North Korea, South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency quoted the country’s Joint Chiefs of Staff as saying. No munitions were reported hitting the water near the disputed maritime border, the sources said.

Seoul is considering setting up a new military command organization for the islands in the Yellow Sea to strengthen its defence against North Korea, Yonhap said. The command would increase the number of soldiers on the five islands from 5,000 to 12,000, the report said.

Defence spending is likely to be ramped up after the attack and the March sinking of a South Korean warship, also near the Yellow Sea border, which cost the lives of 46 sailors, government officials in Seoul said. South Korea blamed the North for the sinking, but Pyongyang has denied involvement.

According to Yonhap, the government has earmarked 1.4 trillion won ($1.23 billion) for weapons purchases next year.

Read more

Sonakshi’s ultra glamourous avatar

Read more

Bipasha Becomes Diet Conscious

Bipasha Basu is on a diet and only consuming more of fruits to keep her figure in tact

Read more

‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’ – On Location

Watch the on location moments of the film ‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’ directed by Samir Karnik, starring Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol

Read more

HTC 7 Trophy Review

HTC 7 Trophy-The word trophy conjures images of acclaimed success and triumph, of being the best of the best, the winner if you will. As it happens, HTC have given this accolade to their lowest specced Windows Phone 7 handset, the HTC 7 Trophy. With a 1GHz processor, a 5MP camera and 8GB of on board memory, the spec sheet is standard, but nevertheless, far from shabby. So can the HTC 7 Trophy, win the race or will it be shown up by the flashier competition?…

Read more

FinMin cautions financial institutions

Shook up by the high-profile bribe-for-loan scam, the finance ministry has asked all state-led financial institutions to look at their loan books and re-look at the documents of firms involved in the scam, if they have dealt with them.

Read more

Sony Ericsson Cedar Review

Sony Ericsson Cedar- Continuing on from past success, today we’ll be taking a look at the Sony Ericsson Cedar. With a sufficiently organic name, the Cedar takes its position as an entry level phone with a few very nice elements such as a 3.5mm headphone jack, 3G and expandable memory to make it more than just a simple candybar phone with a bit of green on the side…

Read more

Haitians Line Up for Voter ID Cards

Haiti is set to hold elections on Sunday to choose a president, 99 deputies and 10 senators. There have been some calls, including from four of the 19 presidential candidates, for the poll to be delayed so authorities can focus on tackling the cholera …

Read more

Loan scam: Impact on banks

Hemindra Hazari, head of research at Karvy Stock Broking, said that he does not expect a serious impact unless the loans were extended without any security or there was some fraud.

Read more

No impact on asset quality: Central Bank

S Sridhar, CMD of Central Bank of India, said that there has not been any impact on the asset quality of the bank and the person arrested is not an employee of the bank. “He is a chartered accountant and a member on the board. “

Read more

I did nothing wrong: Lalit Modi

Putting up a stout defence, sacked BCCI administrator Lalit Modi on Thursday denied any wrongdoing during his role as IPL commissioner and called the charges against him as witch-hunt.

Read more

Pakistan has not kept promises on 26/11: Chidambaram

Pakistan has failed to live up to its promises to bring to book the masterminds of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, Home Minister P. Chidambaram said Friday on the second anniversary of the mayhem.

Pakistan had made many promises, including arresting the seven accused in the 26/11 attack, Chidambaram said at a function in Borivali here.

“They have not done so. I must caution the people of this country that we have a neighbour who has not yet kept its promises to us,” Chidambaram declared.

He recalled the sacrifice made by Mumbai police assistant-sub-inspector Tukaram Ombale whose courage and sacrifice ensured that one of the 10 terrorists – Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab – was nabbed alive.

“If Kasab had died, there would have been no conclusive link to Pakistan in the terror attack,” Chidambaram pointed out.

Chidambaram saluted Ombale’s bravery and sacrifice for the people of the city and the country. “We shall never forget it,” he assured Ombale’s family members.

Read more

Parliament adjourned again after 26/11 tributes

Sticking to pattern, both houses of parliament were adjourned for the 11th successive day Friday with noisy opposition demanding a parliamentary probe into the 2G spectrum allotment scam. The uproar began immediately after a remembrance for the victims of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack.

As opposition protests erupted in the Lok Sabha, Speaker Meira Kumar adjourned the house first till 12 noon and when the house reassembled, Deputy Speaker Karia Munda adjourned it for the day as the uproar continued.

In the Rajya Sabha too, Chairman Hamid Ansari adjourned the house till noon following similar protests. The chaos continued when it reassembled, and Deputy Chairman Rehman Khan adjourned the house till 2.30 p.m.

Hardly any legislative business has been conducted in parliament since its winter session began Nov 9.

Friday was no different from the previous uproarious days in both houses as they were adjourned within minutes after the members assembled at 11 a.m.

The proceedings in the Lok Sabha began with the swearing-in of Putul Kumari, the newly-elected MP from Banka in Bihar. She succeeds her husband and former Union minister Digvijay Singh, who died recently.

Speaker Miera Kumar then read out a message paying tribute to the 166 people – civilians and security personnel – killed in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks two years ago.

“Today is the second anniversary of the Mumbai terror attacks…We reiterate our resolve to fight terror,” she said in her message.

The house observed a minute’s silence as homage to the 26/11 victims.

As soon as the remembrance ended, opposition MPs cutting across political affiliations moved towards the speaker’s podium, demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the 2G spectrum scam.

Some members stood at their positions holding placards that read “We want JPC”.

The proceedings in the Rajya Sabha too began with tributes to those killed in the 26/11 Mumbai mayhem unleashed by 10 Pakistani terrorists.

But soon opposition members rose to protest against the 2G spectrum scandal and Ansari adjourned the house till 12 noon.

They are demanding a joint parliamentary committee (JPC) to probe alleged irregularities in the 2008 allocation of second-generation mobile telephony spectrum that is said to have caused huge losses to the national exchequer.

Outside parliament, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P.K. Bansal denied speculation that the two houses may be adjourned sine die in the coming days.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is also Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha, had held two luncheon meetings with the leaders of political parties, but failed in his efforts to break the deadlock.

Read more

PM vows to bring to justice 26/11 perpetrators

Saluting the “courage, unity and resolve” of Mumbaikars, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged on the second anniversary of the 26/11 attacks Friday to redouble efforts to “bring the perpetrators of this crime against humanity to justice”.

“Two years ago this day, Mumbai was subjected to a brutal terrorist attack that claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people. The nation joins the bereaved families in remembering and mourning those who perished in this barbaric attack,” Manmohan Singh said in statement.

“We salute the courage, unity and resolve of ordinary Mumbaikars and the brave and selfless actions of our men in uniform during the attack. It is this spirit and strength of character of the Indian people that will defeat such forces that seek to threaten our social fabric and way of life,” he added.

Stating that India would never succumb to the designs of its enemies, he said: “We pledge to redouble our efforts to bring the perpetrators of this crime against humanity to justice.”

Read more

Mumbai pays tribute to 26/11 victims

Two years after 10 Pakistani terrorists killed 166 people in an audacious attack here, India’s financial capital Friday paid homage to the victims of the 26/11 carnage that stunned the world.

Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, state Home Minister R.R. Patil, other ministers, top police and civil officials laid wreaths at the martyrs memorial near the police headquarters in south Mumbai.

Mumbai Police, along with the elite Force One and Quick Response Team also took out a parade at the Marine Drive seafront, showcasing their power and might.

Unlike the daily boisterousness and camaraderie witnessed in the early peak hour travel, the mood was solemn and quite subdued Friday morning as millions of commuters took local trains and buses to go to south Mumbai.

According to a regular commuter, Avanti Rahate, the people silently remembered the victims of the carnage.

Later in the day, union Home Minister P. Chidambaram will pay homage, along with union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and Chavan, at a function at the Magathane CNG Station in Borivli east, northwest Mumbai.

Chidambaram is likely to make an announcement allotting the filling station to one of the 17 martyrs of the terror attacks.

Several commemorative functions and campaigns have been planned in different parts of the city to mark the day when Mumbai suffered its worst terror attack till date.

Brief prayers services are being held at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, Hotel Trident-Oberoi — the sites of the attacks.

Nijaat, a social organisation, will carry out a signature campaign at CST demanding immediate hanging of Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving Pakistani terrorist, for killing innocents and wreaking havoc in the city, the organisation’s co-convenor Hyder Azam said.

‘Ek Kadam’ – March For Solidarity has been organised from Hotel Trident-Oberoi to Hotel Taj Mahal this afternoon by Congress leader Charan Singh Sapra to remember the terror victims.

Commoners and celebrities, including stars like Ajay Devgn, Raveena Tandon and Mahima Chaudhary, will join the march, besides office-goers from Nariman Point and Colaba areas, he said.

A special 26/11 eve memorial service was held Thursday at the Chabad House in Colaba, which was also one of the sites targeted by the Pakistani terrorists.

The prayer service was conducted by Jewish Rabbi Nachman Holtzberg and his wife Frieda, who arrived in the city this week.

The Holtzbergs lost their children, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, while their then two-year old grandson Baby Moshe and his Indian nanny Sandra managed to escape by hoodwinking the terrorists who created mayhem in Chabad House.

Former police officer Kiran Bedi and large number of civilians took part in a midnight candle-light vigil Thursday in the lane near Cama Hospital, near CST, where three top police officials — Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar — were gunned down during the attacks.

Meanwhile, tight security arrangements are in place in the city on the second anniversary of the 26/11 attacks.

Read more

India asks Pakistan for speedy 26/11 justice

Underlining its commitment to resolving all bilateral issues through dialogue, India Friday asked Pakistan to dismantle the terror machinery and bring the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks to speedy justice.

“On the second anniversary of the barbaric terrorist attack in Mumbai, the nation pays respectful homage to its sons, daughters and foreign guests, whose innocent lives were cruelly snuffed out,” External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, who is on a four-day visit to Sri Lanka, said here.

“The day is a stark reminder that no cause can ever justify terror, either by state or non-state actors,” he said.

“Once again I call upon Pakistan to dismantle the terror machinery operating with impunity in territories under its control and to bring all the perpetrators of the Mumbai terror attack to speedy justice,” the minister said.

Alluding to his talks with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmmod Qureshi July 15 in Islamabad, Krishna said India is seeking “peaceful, stable and cooperative relations with Pakistan”.

“India is committed to resolving all outstanding issues with Pakistan through dialogue,” he said.

Krishna said he has invited Qureshi to New Delhi for further discussions. Qureshi is expected to visit India early next year.

Read more

India to play ‘bridge’ role at Cancun: Jairam Ramesh

With climate change talks at Cancun next week expected to get stuck on some contentious issues between developing and developed countries, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh Thursday said that India will act as a “bridge” between the two sides.

“India’s approach at Cancun is to find the middle ground on contentious issues between the developed and developing countries as the time of posturing is over but time to look for solution. India is positioning itself as a bridge player between developing and developed countries. We need to be practical and cannot remain frozen and should engage with all countries as part of our foreign policy,” said Ramesh during a workshop on climate change here.

Against the background of failed promises made at Copenhagen by the US and other developed countries, India is going to Cancun handicapped with key bargain element completely missing, he said.

“The bargain between BASIC (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) countries and US at Copenhagen was availability of fast track finance to the amount of $30 billion during 2010-2012 and in return, developing countries will internationalise their domestic mitigation measures,” he said.

“At the end of one year we have some $7 billion and the US contribution, which is the richest and historically the highest emitter, is only $ 1.8 billion. It is a laughable number,” Ramesh said.

The minister said that there is no hope to get more funds following growing financial crisis in PIGS (Poland, Ireland, Greece and Spain).

Asked what can be expected at the climate change talks scheduled in Cancun from Nov 29-Dec 10, Ramesh said: “There is not much hope and no legally binding treaty is expected from Cancun.”

“Realistic outcome at Cancun won’t be an agreement… not even a framework of agreement but a set of decision endorsed by 190 UN countries which will provide the road map for finalising a final agreement or set of agreements at climate change talks at Durban in 2011″.

The building blocks of Cancun will be issues related to forestry, finance, technology transfer, adaptation and MRV/ICA (measurement, reporting and verification/international consultations and analysis).

Ramesh said things on which a agreement is expected are establishment of a green fund, agreement on meeting adaptation needs, endorsement of Redd (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), on transparency issue of MRV/ICA.

“India is looking forward to two issues – establishment of technology transfer mechanism in area of adaptation to climate change and MRV/ICA for internationalising domestic mitigation measure.”

He said the US proposal of 17 percent reduction of emission by 2020 with base year of 2005 is “homeopathic” as actually the level will only be down 3 percent from 1990 level.

“We should not be defensive and negotiate with open mind. We will take debate to a point and if it hurts our national interest we won’t agree to it,” he said.

On the second commitment period for Kyoto Protocol, Ramesh said it is non-negotiable but US is saying it won’t accept until China takes some emission cuts and China says it won’t until Europe takes it “so we are revolving in a circle.

Kyoto Protocol is the only legal document which talks about emission cuts by developed countries. Its time frame ends by 2012.

Read more

Andhra chief minister braces for Telangana storm

With the Telangana movement likely to intensify next month, Andhra Pradesh’s new chief minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy Thursday said his government would be firm in maintaining law and order.

Hours after taking oath Thursday, Reddy told a news conference that his priority would be to maintain peace, especially in Hyderabad.

“The government will be firm if the constitutional rights of citizens are violated,” he said.

Reddy, who hails from Rayalaseema, said his priority would be to ensure that Hyderabad becomes one of the country’s top investment destinations.

The state was rocked by violent protests late last year, when activists took to the streets, demanding a separate Telangana state.

Reddy said he would abide by central government directives on the matter.

The Srikrishna committee, which is looking into the Telangana issue, will submit its report to the central government by Dec 31.

Facing a volley of questions on Jaganmohan Reddy, son of late chief minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy or YSR, he said he would try to take everyone along with him.

Reddy also vowed to fulfill YSR’s dream of winning 41 of Andhra Pradesh’s 42 Lok Sabha seats in 2014 and help Rahul Gandhi become prime minister.

“He spoke about his dream only four to five days before his death. I will try my best to fulfill his last dream,” he said.

Reddy, who resigned as the state assembly speaker Wednesday, is the state’s 16th chief minister. He was earlier the government chief whip but was never a minister.

Read more

Nitish Kumar invited to form government, swearing-in Friday

After sweeping the Bihar polls, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was Thursday formally invited to form the government again. He will be sworn-in Friday.

Soon after Nitish Kumar was unanimously elected leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) legislature party – comprising legislators of his Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he, along with other NDA leaders, met Governor Debananda Konwar and handed over letters of support from the newly-elected legislators of the twin-party alliance.

The governor invited Nitish Kumar to form the government and the time for swearing-in was fixed.

Top BJP leaders include party president Nitin Gadkari, L.K. Advani, Rajnath Singh, and Sushma Swaraj would be among the distinguished guests present at the swearing-in ceremony at the Gandhi Maidan here 2.30 p.m. Friday.

According to sources close to Nitish Kumar, a 35-member ministry with 20 from the JD-U and 15 from the BJP would also be sworn in Friday.

Earlier, Nitish Kumar was elected leader of the JD-U legislature party and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi was elected leader of the BJP legislature party, before the legislators met to elect their leader.

“Nitish Kumar was elected at a meeting of the newly elected party legislators of JD-U and BJP in the presence of JD-U president Sharad Yadav and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley,” a JD-U leader said.

The NDA combine swept the Bihar assembly polls with the JD-U winning 115 seats and the BJP 91 seats in the 243-member house.

Read more

Chidambaram to pay homage to Mumbai terror attack victims

Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram will Friday lead the city in paying homage to the martyrs and victims of the Nov 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attack here, officials said.

Chidambaram, along with Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora and Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, will take part in a function at the Magathane CNG Station in Borivli east Friday morning.

An announcement on allotting the filling station to one of the 17 martyrs of the terror attack is expected.

Several functions have been planned in the city to pay homage to the victims of the terror attack that left at least 166 people dead. Prayers have been planned at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Hotel Taj Mahal Palace & Tower and Hotel Trident-Oberoi.

A social organization, Nijaat, has organized a signature campaign at CST demanding the immediate hanging of Pakistani terrorist Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab involved in the carnage, said the organisation’s co-convenor Hyder Azam.

“Ek Kadam” – a march for solidarity has been organized from Hotel Trident-Oberoi to Hotel Taj Mahal Friday afternoon by Mumbai Congress leader Charan Singh Sapra.

Actresses Raveena Tandon and Mahima Chaudhary will join the march, besides office-goers from Nariman Point and Colaba areas, Sapra said.

On Thursday afternoon, a special memorial service was held at the Chabad House in Colaba, which was also one of the targets of the 10-member Pakistani group of terrorists.

The prayer service was conducted by Jewish Rabbi Nachman Holtzberg and his wife Frieda, who arrived in the city this week.

The Holtzbergs lost their children, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, while their grandson Baby Moshe, who was two years old then, and his Indian nanny Sandra managed to escape alive by hoodwinking the terrorists who created mayhem in Chabad House.

Meanwhile, tight security arrangements were being made as the city readied to observe the second anniversary of the Mumbai attack.

Ten gunmen sneaked into Mumbai from Pakistan Nov 26, 2008 and let loose a reign of terror. Nine of the heavily-armed gunmen were killed by security forces while the tenth, Ajmal Amir Kasab, was arrested.

Read more

Nitish Kumar elected head of JD-U legislature party

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was Thursday unanimously elected leader of the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) legislature party and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi was elected leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party here.

Nitish Kumar was elected at a meeting of the newly elected party legislators while Modi was elected by his party’s newly elected legislators in the presence of senior party leader Arun Jaitley.

JD-U leaders said Nitish Kumar is likely to be elected leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) legislature party by Thursday night in the 15th Bihar assembly.

Later, the NDA leaders would hand over letters of support of the legislators of two parties to the governor and stake claim to form the government in the state.

Nitish Kumar will take oath as chief minister of Bihar for the second time Friday.

Sources close to him said that a ministry of 35 members with 20 from JD-U quota and 15 from BJP quota would also be sworn in Friday.

The NDA combine swept the Bihar assembly polls with JD-U winning 115 seats and the BJP winning 91 seats in 243-member house.

Read more

Deputy chief minister will be from Telangana

After a gap of more than two decades, Andhra Pradesh will have a deputy chief minister and he will be from the Telangana region, says the ruling Congress party.

With the movement for statehood to Telangana likely to intensify next month, when the Srikrishna Committee on teh Telangana issue is to submit its report, the Congress party has decided to have someone from the region as deputy to N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, who was sworn in as the new chief minister Thursday.

M. Veerappa Moily, Congress general secretary in charge of party affairs in the state, told reporters there would be a deputy chief minister from Telangana.

The party leadership is keen to have a leader from the backward community as the deputy chief minister. The names of two senior ministers J. Geeta Reddy and Ponnala Lakshmaiah are doing the rounds.

Moily and another central leader, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Thursday elicited the views of a cross section of party leaders on choosing the deputy chief minister. They also met Lakshmaiah and state Congress chief D. Srinivas at Lakeview Guest House.

Moily and Azad, who attended the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meet here Wednesday night as central observers along with Pranab Mukherjee and A.K. Antony, stayed back here for consultations.

Though born in Hyderabad, Kiran Kumar comes from Rayalaseema region. Telangana leaders of the party have reluctantly accepted the central leadership’s choice.

Leaders from the backward region have long been demanding the deputy chief minister’s post. The demand picked up momentum in recent months due to the movement for a separate Telangana state.

The leaders point out that under the Gentlemen’s Agreement at the time of formation of Andhra Pradesh in 1956, Telangana should get a deputy chief minister if the chief minister is from the other regions.

K.V. Ranga Reddy became the first deputy chief minister of Andhra Pradesh in 1960. J.V. Narasing Rao, B.V. Subba Reddy and C. Jagnnadha Rao were the other former deputy chief ministers.

However, this practice was discontinued in the 1970s. Telangana leaders say this violation of the Gentlemen’s Agreement was one of the key reasons for the demand for separate Telangana state.

Though K. Ranga Rao served as deputy chief minister during the 1980s, the arrangement was not made under Gentleman’s Agreement. Rao was from the Andhra region while then chief minister K. Vijayabhaskar Reddy was from Rayalaseema.

Read more

India sucessfully tests nuclear-capable Agni-I missile

India Thursday successfully fired its nuclear capable surface-to-surface Agni-I missile from a test range in Orissa, a defence official said.

The missile, which can strike targets 700 km away, was tested as part of user-trials from a facility on Wheeler Island in Bhadrak district, about 200 km from here, test range director S.P. Dash said.

“It was a text book….successful launch. It was tested by the army,” he said.

Agni-I is an intermediate range ballistic missile. It uses a solid propulsion booster and a liquid propulsion upper stage and is derived from the Prithvi surface-to-surface battlefield missile.

Developed under India’s Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, the missile was first tested in May 1989.

The last test of the missile was successfully conducted March 28 from the same defence base.

Agni-I has already been inducted into the armed forces. It is 15 metres tall and weighs 12 tonnes. It can carry a one tonne nuclear payload.

Read more

Sensex pares intra-day losses, realty stocks hammered

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Friday pared its intra-day losses, though real estate stocks continued to see heavy selling over the bribery scam involving senior officials of financial institutions and some real estate developers.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,391.96 points, was ruling at 19,304.14 points, down 7.85 points or 0.04 percent from its previous close at 19,318.16 points.

It had fallen to 18,954.82 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was trading at 5,803.75 points, up 0.07 percent.

Broader markets indices suffered more losses, with the BSE midcap index ruling 2.56 percent down and the BSE smallcap index trading 3.79 percent lower.

The CBI Wednesday arrested senior officials from LIC Housing Finance, LIC, Bank of India, Central Bank of India and Punjab National Bank for allegedly accepting bribes to extend loans to realty companies.

As a result, realty stocks continued to be hammered and were among the biggest losers.

The market breadth was negative, with only 385 stocks advancing, compared to 2,529 scrips on the decline, while 58 stocks were unchanged.

Other Asian markets were trading lower after North Korea warned South Korea that any “escalated confrontation” will lead to war.

Also, People’s Bank of China’s nudge to commercial banks to curtail lending for rest of the year, added to fears that Beijing may take more steps to curb inflation.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was trading 0.77 percent lower at 22,876.23 points, while the Shanghai Composite index was ruling 0.92 percent down at 2,871.7 points.

The Japanese Nikkei closed 0.4 percent lower at 10,039.56 points.

Read more

Sensex gives up opening highs

A benchmark index of Indian equities Friday slipped from its opening highs to rule about 202 points lower after about 90 minutes of beginning of trade.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,391.96 points, was ruling at 19,115.28 points, down 202.88 points or 1.05 percent from its previous close at 19,318.16 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was trading at 5,736.1 points, down 1.1 percent.

Broader markets indices suffered more losses, with the BSE midcap index ruling 4.29 percent down and the BSE smallcap index trading 4.77 perecent lower.

Read more

You can change your mobile operator but retain number

Communications Minister Kapil Sibal launched the eagerly-awaited mobile number portability scheme in Haryana Thursday to allow cellphone users to change their operators while retaining existing numbers.

“On Jan 20 next year, mobile number portability will be available nationwide,” Sibal said at a function to launch this scheme from this town that is a part of the Haryana telecom circle.

To demonstrate the launch, the minister made the first call from a “ported” mobile phone to Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The operator, according to officials here, was changed from a state-run company to Idea Cellular.

“The maximum time for porting would become seven working days except in Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and North East service areas, wherein it would be 15 working days,” the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said in a statement.

Haryana has a total of eight operators including Airtel, Idea Cellular, state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam, Aircel, Loop, Vodafone, Etisalat and Videocon.

The customers will have to pay a maximum of Rs.19 to the new operator for porting his number. However the minimum stay period for a customer to retain the new operator will be three months.

They will have to send an SMS from their phone to 1900. Based on this, they will get a unique porting code from the existing provider. The customer has to fill an application mentioning the code to the selected new service provider for transferring the number.

According to the Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India, the maximum waiting period for porting would be seven working days. However the numbers of the customers will remain out of service just for two hours.

Telecom Secretary R. Chandrasekar said the scheme will result in a major benefit to the customer. “MNP will ensure vibrant competition, lower tariff and improved services to maintain healthy competition.”

The scheme has been delayed several times. Initially, it was to be implemented by Dec 31, 2009 in all the metros along with the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The deadline was changed to March 31, 2010 and then to June 30. But the June 30 deadline was again deferred as operators were not ready with the infrastructure to provide the service, officials said.

Read more

Government reviews export sops, industrial output

The government has set up a high-level panel to review issues related to export incentives and slowdown in industrial output growth, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said Thursday.

“I have set up a seven-member working group. It will do a comprehensive review of all the issues related to exports. It includes policy as well as institutional changes,” Sharma told reporters after the second meeting of the reconstituted Board of Trade here.

The commerce minister said India’s exports were likely to exceed the $200 billion target for the year.

“Our export in the first six months of this fiscal was $103 billion. We have set a modest target of $200 billion for the year. I am confident we will cross it,” he said.

The government has announced a Rs.2,400 crore incentive package to boost exports after it was negatively affected by the global economic slowdown.

On the continuation of the special incentive packages, Sharma said: “We will take a decision based on recommendations of the working group.”

The working group comprises senior government officials and industrialists. They are: Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman and managing director of Biocon; Venu Srinivasan, head of TVS Group; Pawan Munjal, managing director of Hero Honda; R. Seshasayee, managing director of Ashok Leyland; O.P. Bhatt, chairman of State Bank of India; and Chanda Kochhar, CEO and managing director of ICICI Bank.

Director General of Foreign Trade Anup K. Pujari is the convenor of the panel which will submit its report in three months.

On the slowdown in industrial output growth, the commerce minister said the government was “constantly monitoring” the situation.

“Our industrial growth remained in double digit for most part of the year. We are constantly monitoring any variation in it,” he added.

Industrial output growth slumped to 4.4 percent in September from 8.2 percent in August and double-digit growth in the previous months of the fiscal 2010-11.

Read more

Nissan to unveil diesel variant of Micra in India

Japanese automobile joint venture Nissan Motor India Limited will unveil the diesel variant of its Micra compact hatchback car in December second week, a top company official said here Thursday.

“India will be the first country to have the 1.5-litre K9K diesel version of Micra hatchback with intelligent key, immobilizer, a push-button engine start-stop system and electric foldable mirror,” Nissan Motor India chief executive Kiminobu Tokuyama told reporters here.

Nissan Indian rolled out the petrol variant of Micra in July and sold about 5,000 units during the last four-five months.

“The success of the petrol powered Micra in the Indian market has given us confidence to introduce the diesel variant within six months of its launch in response to popular demand,” Tokuyama said at a pre-launch briefing.

Nissan formed the 50:50 joint venture with French automaker Renault to set up a manufacturing plant at Oragadam near Chennai with an upfront investment of Rs.2,300 crore (about $500 million).

“We signed an agreement with the Tamil Nadu government in February 2008 to invest a total of Rs.4,500 crore (about $980 million) over the next seven years for ramping up the annual production capacity to 400,000 units from the present 100,000 units and introduce a range of models for domestic and export markets,” Tokuyama said.

Though the company has achieved around 85 percent of localisation, engine and the five-speed gearbox are imported from its plants across Asia, including Japan and China.

To be positioned in the B+ segment and priced at Rs.560,000-620,000, the Micra diesel will be powered with the 1.5 litre common rail direct injection, mounted on Nissan’s V platform.

“The wide gear coverage enables the engine to achieve quick acceleration in city driving conditions. The eight-valve four-cylinder engine generates 47kw power at 4,000 revolutions per minute (rpm),” said Nissan R&D centre assistant chief vehicle engineer Gary Kirby.

The company has also started to export, in small numbers, the petrol variant to Europe, Middle East and Africa since October.

“We will ramp-up exports to about 100 countries, including South Africa by October 2011 after meeting the domestic demand by scaling up the production to 200,000 units per annum,” said an official.

The company has already introduced a range of products, including the sports utility vehicle (SUV) X-Trail, luxury sedan Teana and sports car 370Z, which are imported from Japan as completely built units.

Read more

Mukherjee calls for review of graft-hit financial system

A day after India’s premier investigative agency arrested eight officials of banks and financial institutions for allegedly taking bribes to give loans, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Thursday directed a thorough review of the financial system and remedial action.

The directions were issued to all public sector banks, financial institutions, as also insurance companies to particularly look into their exposures to various firms mentioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

“He directed that they should carry out an independent evaluation on the asset quality, documentation and compliance of other prudential requirements in the firms mentioned in the CBI application to court,” a finance ministry statement said.

“He also directed that they should ensure all procedures and due diligences, consistent with board-approved guidelines, have been adhered to while approving these loans by the competent authority.”

The missive followed a review at his North Block here with officers of the Department of Financial Services of the situation arising out of the arrests Wednesday that involves a few banks and LIC Housing Finance.

At least eight senior officers of some state-run banks and financial institutions were arrested by the probe agency Wednesday for allegedly accepting bribes to extend loans to corporate houses, in what the probe agency said was a housing finance scam.

The agency said officials arrested included the chief executive of LIC Housing Finance, a general manager of the Central Bank of India and senior officials of Punjab National Bank and Bank of India.

Search and seizure operations were conducted in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Jaipur, Kolkata and Jalandhar based on secret information received by the bureau. The scam has been going on for some time, a spokesperson for the agency said.

The agency also dispatched letters seeking explanation from at least 15 firms against which it claimed to have unearthed incriminating evidence.

Read more

Sensex closes 141 points lower

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets Thursday closed 141 points lower as trader continued to be jittery over a bribery scam in leading realty financing companies and banking institutions.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,560.25 points, closed at 19,318.16 points, down 141.69 points or 0.73 percent from its previous close at 19,459.85 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the 50-share S&P CNX Nifty ended at 5,822.85 points – down 0.73 percent.

Broader markets indices were also in the red, with the BSE midcap index ending 1.89 percent down and the BSE smallcap index trading 1.87 percent lower.

Read more

Food inflation declines further to 10.15 percent

India’s annual food inflation eased further to 10.15 percent for the week ended Nov 13, having fallen sharply by two percentage points to 10.30 percent the week earlier, showing a downward trend for the sixth consecutive week.

The annual inflation rate for the primary articles group rose marginally to 13.38 percent during the week under review compared to 13.30 percent in the week ended Nov 6, according to data released by the commerce and industry ministry Thursday.

Food inflation as well as the inflation based on wholesale prices have moderated in the past few weeks due to aggressive monetary tightening policy adopted by the country’s central bank and robust supply of food grain.

The overall inflation based on wholesale prices fell to 8.58 percent in October from 8.62 in the month before.

Fuels and power inflation was unchanged at 10.57 percent.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) earlier this month hiked both its short-term borrowing and lending rates by 25 basis points, tweaking its policy rates for the sixth time since the start of this calendar year to curb inflationary expectations.

The continued fall in food inflation will now shift the focus of the central bank and the government on declining industrial output, which fell to 4.4 percent in September.

The following are the rise and fall in prices of some of the main commodities that form the sub-index for food articles over the past 52 weeks:

Cereals: 1.5 percent

Rice: 2.09 percent

Wheat: (-) 0.74 percent

Pulses: (-) 7.58 percent

Vegetables: (-) 3.76 percent

Fruits: 21.85 percent

Milk: 16.9 percent

Potatoes: (-) 48.7 percent

Onions: 17.03 percent

Read more

Being fat by age 9 ups heart disease risk

Children who are overweight by the age of nine have greater chances of developing heart disease.

By the time they are 15, they have higher blood pressure, cholesterol levels and blood insulin levels than normal, which raise the chance of a premature death from heart disease.

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum said the study provided more evidence that childhood obesity should be tackled earlier, the British Medical Journal reports.

“We have left things too late for far too long. If you start early enough, you might be able to nip it in the bud. We should be assessing our children on a routine basis,” said Fry, according to the Telegraph.

The Bristol University study, led by Professor Debbie Lawlor of its School of Social and Community Medicine, surveyed more than 5,000 children aged nine to 12 whose body mass index (BMI) and other indicators of fatness were measured.

They were measured again at 15, when their blood pressure was also taken and blood samples analysed.

At the younger age, almost a quarter were either overweight or obese (18.5 percent and 4.5 percent respectively). Those who remained so at 15 had significantly higher blood pressure, cholesterol and insulin levels than thinner children.

However, those who thinned down tended to reduce their risk factors, with girls appearing to recover better than boys.

Read more

Acer unveils dual-screen laptop

 

Acer has launched the Iconia, a laptop-cum-tablet computer with two touch screens. The new dual-screen laptop has two 14 inch displays, including one in place of a traditional keyboard.

The Iconia, which was unveiled at a press conference in New York, features two touch-screens protected by ultra-tough Gorilla Glass.

The device can be used like a traditional laptop, with the second screen doubling up as a virtual keyboard, or can serve as a tablet-style computer, reports the Telegraph.

A tablet computer is a portable computer equipped with a touchscreen as a primary input device.

Users can spread the desktop across both screens, or use one to watch a video or surf the web, and the other to write an email or edit photos.

The device features palm sensors to detect the position of the user’s hands, and automatically launch the virtual keyboard when needed.

Acer said the Iconia, which runs Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating system, would introduce “a brand new tablet experience”.

“This level of commitment to touch technology is something no other PC vendor can compete with,” said Jim Wong, president of Acer.

The Iconia, which goes on sale in Britain Jan 8, will cost 1,499 pounds. The device uses Intel Core i5 processors, and a minimum of 4GB memory and up to 750GB hard drive.

The success of Apple’s iPad has prompted scores of consumer electronics manufacturers to launch their own rival devices.

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab, which runs Google’s Android operating system, is considered one of the closest competitors to the iPad.

Read more

Binge drinking doubles heart attack risk

Binge drinkers are at twice the risk of a heart attack than those who consume the same amount but spread it over a week.

Researchers, led by Jean-Bernard Ruidavets from the Toulouse University in France, examined almost 10,000 healthy men aged between 50 and 59 and tracked them for 10 years.

It was found that the men who “binge” drink had nearly twice the risk of heart attack or dying from heart disease compared to regular drinkers over the 10 years of follow up, the British Medical Journal reports.

A binge was defined as consuming over 50g of alcohol in one day, around six units or just over two pints of strong lager or less than three standard 175 ml glasses of average strength red wine, according to the Telegraph.

Ruidavets wrote: “In Belfast (Ireland), most men’s alcohol intake was concentrated on one day of the weekend, Saturday, whereas in the three French centres studied, alcohol consumption was spread more evenly throughout the entire week.”

“The prevalence of binge drinking, which doubled the risk of ischemic heart disease compared with regular drinking, was almost 20 times higher in Belfast than in the French centres.”

The findings support the view that drinking small amounts of alcohol may protect the heart while large amounts cancel out this effect and cause damage.

The French also drink more wine than men in Belfast, which is thought to have a greater protective effect.

Read more

Chocolate may ease symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome

Dark chocolate may ease the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, says a new research.

It is characterised by extreme, persistent fatigue for six months or more with other problems as muscle pain, headaches and poor memory.

Dark chocolate is rich in chemicals known to increase signals carried around the brain but this is thought to be the first time the confection has been found to help symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome, reports the Telegraph.

Researchers from the University of Hull and the Hull York Medical School in Britain tested a group of patients with a severe form of the disease, according to Nutrition Journal.

They ate dark chocolate for eight weeks, followed by a break and then another variety with little cocoa but which tasted the same.

They were asked to eat 15 grams three times a day and not make any other changes to their diet. They reported significant improvement in their wellbeing.

Prof Steve Atkin who led the study says: “This is potentially very encouraging news for those who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome.”

Read more

Asian Games kabaddi: Indian women’s beat Thailand to clinch gold

The Indian women’s kabaddi team won its maiden Asian Games gold medal defeating Thailand in the final here Friday.

India comfortably won 28-14 at the Nansha Gymnasium. Women’s kabaddi is making its debut at the Asian Games.

The gold medal was the India’s 11th from the continental Games.

The men’s team, which has won five gold medals since kabaddi was introduced in 1990, are also eyeing their sixth as they face Iran in the final.

Read more

Asian Games medals tally, Day 13

Medals tally on thirteenth day of the Asian Games here Thursday:

Country G S B T
1 China 180 103 91 374
2 South Korea 72 60 85 217
3 Japan 39 68 86 193
4 Iran 19 11 23 53
5 Kazakhstan 14 18 32 64
6 Chinese Taipei 12 12 33 57
7 Uzbekistan 10 17 20 47
8 India 10 14 29 53
9 Malaysia 9 17 13 39
10 Thailand 9 7 31 47
11 Hong Kong 8 15 15 38
12 North Korea 6 10 18 34
13 Indonesia 4 9 12 25
14 Singapore 4 7 6 17
15 Qatar 4 4 6 14
16 IOC Kuwait 3 6 1 10
17 Philippines 3 3 9 15
18 Saudi Arabia 3 3 5 11
19 Pakistan 3 2 2 7
20 Bahrain 3 0 3 6
21 Jordan 2 2 1 5
22 Vietnam 1 17 14 32
23 Mongolia 1 3 9 13
24 Kyrgyzstan 1 2 2 5
25 Macao 1 1 3 5
26 Tajikistan 1 0 3 4
27 Mayanmar 0 5 3 8
28 UAE 0 4 1 5
29 Iraq 0 1 2 3
Lebanon 0 1 2 3
31 Afghanistan 0 1 1 2
Bangladesh 0 1 1 2
33 Lao 0 0 2 2
34 Nepal 0 0 1 1
Oman 0 0 1 1
Syria 0 0 1 1

Total: 422 424 567 1413

Read more

Asian Games athletics: Ashwini, Abraham make it a golden double

Ashwini Chidananda and Joseph Abraham made it a golden double for India by winning the women’s and men’s 400 metres hurdles at the Asian Games here Thursday.

The lone bronze medal of the day in athletics came from Tintu Luka in the women’s 800 metres at the Aoti Main Stadium

In the women’s 400m hurdles, Ashwini clinched the gold medal with a personal best timing of 56.15 seconds. It was also the best timing by an Indian in 25 years.

Ashwini’s compatriot Juana Murmu missed the bronze by a whisker as she finished fourth in 56.88 secs. Both the Indians had topped their heats.

The silver went to China’s Wang Xing with a timing of 56.76 secs and Japan’s Satomi Kubokokura got the bronze with a timing of 56.83 secs.

For Ashwini the gold was special as it was only in 2010 that she took to hurdles and the final was her sixth competitive race. Ashwini, who hails from Karnataka, started with 800m and then shifted to 400m. Before Ashwini, M.D.Valsamma (1982) and P.T.Usha (1986) had won the Asian Games gold medal in 400m hurdles.

In the men’s event, Abraham won the gold with his season’s best timing of 49.96 secs. It was also India’s maiden gold in the men’s 400m hurdles. Teja Singh had won a silver at the inaugural games in 1951 while Lehan Singh got a bronze in 1974.

Bandar Yahya Sharahili (50.29 secs) of Saudi Arabia took silver and Japan’s Naohiro Kawakita bronze (50.37 secs).

The two gold medals took India’s gold count from the track and field to four and ninth overall at the Guangzhou Games.

Tintu Luka also won the bronze medal in the women’s 800 metres event. Tintu, who had a disappointing finish in the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, led the pack right from the start, but couldn’t keep pace in the last 50 metres and finished third with a timing of 2:01.36 seconds.

The gold went to Kazhakstan’s Margarita Matsko with her personal best timing of 2:00.29 secs while Chinese Truong Thanh Hang with a timing of 2:00.91 secs grabbed the silver. Tintu’s compatriot Sinimole Paulose finished seventh in 2:06.95 secs.

Read more

Asian Games boxing: Krishan wins gold, Dinesh silver

On a mixed day for India, Vikas Krishan won the gold in the men’s 60 kg boxing but compatriot Dinesh Kumar settled for silver after losing his bout in the 81 kg weight category in the Asian Games here Thursday.

Krishan beat China’s Qing Hu 5-4 in a keenly fought bout while Dinesh lost 4-10 to a far superior Elshod Rasulov of Kazakhstan.

Krishan was tied 1-1 with the Chinese after the first round but nosed ahead 3-2 in the second. The Indian showed superb defensive skills to restrict Qing, who made furious attempts to level the scores with the Chinese crowd staunchly behind him.

The third round also ended on 1-1 but Krishan succeeded in sustaining the lead.

It was India’s first gold in boxing here.

However, Dinesh failed to make it two in a row for India. The Indian was off to a poor start, trailing 0-1 in the first round before Rasulov stepped up the ante to stretch the lead to 2-5 in the second.

The Kazakh continued to dominate in the third round (4-2) to put it beyond the Indian.

Five Indian boxers Wednesday put themselves in contention for gold medals.

Apart from Krishan and Dinesh, Santosh Kumar Virothu (64kg), Vijender Singh (75kg) and Manpreet Singh (91kg) booked their place in the title clash after winning their semi-final bouts.

The trio will take to the ring Friday.

Besides the gold and silver, India have also won four bronze medals in boxing.

Suranjoy Singh (52kg) and Paramjeet Samota (+91kg) lost their semi-final bouts to end up third. In the women’s category, five-time world champion M.C. Mary Kom (51kg) and Kavita Goyat (69-75kg) ended up with similar results.

Read more

Asian Games athletics: India’s Ashwini wins 400m hurdles gold

India’s Ashwini Chidananda won a surprise gold in the women’s 400 metres hurdles while her compatriot Juana Murmu missed the bronze by a whisker at the Asian Games here Thursday.

With a personal best timing of 56.15 seconds, Ashwini clinched the third gold medal for India from the track and field event of the Asian Games at the Aoti Main Stadium.

The silver went to China’s Wang Xing with a timing of 56.76 secs and Japan’s Satomi Kubokokura got the bronze with a timing of 56.83 secs.

Jauna was fourth in 56.88 secs.

Read more

Asian Games wrestling: Mausam Khatri wins bronze in freestyle

Indian wrestler Mausam Khatri won a bronze in the men’s freestyle 96 kg category while Rajiv Tomar and Nirmala Devi crashed out in their categories in the Asian Games here Thursday.

Mausam got the better of Jaegang Kim of South Korea 3-1 in the bronze medal play-off to get India its third bronze in the sport.

Mausam defeated Syrian Alkarrad Raja 3-1 in the repechage round.

Earlier, the Indian lost 1-3 to Taimuraz Tigiyev of Kazakhstan in the pre-quarterfinals and was moved to the repechage round.

The other Indian wrestlers in the fray bowed out in the earlier rounds.

Rajeev lost 1-3 to Aiaal Lazarev of Kyrgystan in the 120kg freestyle pre-quarterfinals.

Nirmala, a silver medallist at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, lost 1-3 to Zhuldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan in the 48kg women’s pre-quarterfinals.

The other two Indian bronze medal winners are Ravinder Singh (60 kg) and Sunil Kumar (66 kg) in greco-roman category.

Read more

Asian Games athletics: Tintu Luka wins bronze in women’s 800 metres

India’s Tintu Luka won the bronze medal in the women’s 800 metres event of the track and field competitions at the Asian Games here Thursday.

Tintu, who had a disappointing finish in the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, led the pack right from the start, but couldn’t keep pace in the last 50 metres and finished third with a timing of 2:01.36 seconds.

The gold went to Kazhakstan’s Margarita Matsko with her personal best timing of 2:00.29 secs while Chinese Truong Thanh Hang with a timing of 2:00.91 secs grabbed the silver.

Tintu’s compatriot Sinimole Paulose finished seventh in 2:06.95 secs.

Read more

India claim Asiad hockey bronze

After losing to Malaysia in a match that was virtually in their pocket, India redeemed themselves somewhat by claiming the men’s hockey bronze at the Asian Games here Thursday, defeating South Korea 1-0.

Tushar Khandekar scored a field gold in the 39th minute at the Aoti Hockey Field to give India its second Asian Games hockey bronze after 1986.

India were leading 3-2 in the semifinals Tuesday before Malaysia got the equaliser three minutes from time and went on to win via a golden goal.

Grapplers Rajiv Tomar and Nirmala Devi crashed out of the wrestling competition Thursday, but Mausam Khatri still has a chance of winning the bronze medal as he made it to the repechage round.

Mausam Khatri lost 1-3 to Taimuraz Tigiyev of Kazakhstan in the men’s 96 kg freestyle prequarterfinals at the Huagong Gymnasium.

The Indian, however, made it to the repachage round as Tigiyev lost 0-5 to Reza Yazdani of Iran in the quarterfinals.

Later Thursday, Khatri will face Syrian Alkarrad Raja in the repechage round and if he wins, will get a place in the bronze medal match against South Korean Jaegang Kim.

Meanwhile, Rajeev lost 1-3 to Aiaal Lazarev of Kyrgystan in the 120kg freestyle pre-quarterfinals.

Nirmala, a silver medallist at the Delhi Commonwealth Games, lost 1-3 to Zhuldyz Eshimova of Kazakhstan in the women’s 48kg pre-quarterfinals.

The Indian women beat Maldives 3-0 to finish ninth in the volleyball competition.

The Indians did not face much resistance from the Maldives and won 25-4, 25-5, 25-7 in 46 minutes at the Guangwai Gymnasium.

The women’s only win the in the preliminary rounds also came against Maldives. India had lost to Chinese Taipei, North Korea, Japan and Kazakhstan.

The men’s team will play China for the fifth and sixth positions Friday.

Read more