Bronze medal is a result of my 12 years of hard work: Sakshi

August 18, 2016

Rio De Janeiro, Aug 18: After ending India's agonising wait for an Olympic medal at the Rio Games with a bronze medal, Indian women wrestler Sakshi Malik said it was the result of her 12 years of persistent hard work.

sakhsiSakshi today scripted history by becoming the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal and only fourth female athlete from the country to climb to the podium at the biggest sporting event.

"Meri 12 saal ki tapasya rang layi (It's the result of my 12 years' fight for day and night). Geeta didi, my senior had qualified for the first time in London," Sakshi said, with tears of joy in her eyes.

"I never thought I would become the first woman wrestler from India to bag an Olympic medal in wrestling. I hope the remaining wrestlers will also do well," Sakshi said.

The 23-year-old from Haryana, a silver medallist at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games and bronze winner at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, earned a dramatic come-from-behind 8-5 win over Kyrgysztan's Aisuluu Tynybekova in the bronze medal play-off here.

"It's in the women's section, we have got the first medal for India," said an ecstatic WFI president Brij Bhushan even as he hugged her in joy.

Sakshi earned the dramatic win after falling behind 0-5 following the first period in the do-or-die bout. The Indian turned the tables on the Kyrgyzstan wrestler in the dying seconds of the bout as Tynybekova was in complete command in most part of the clash.

On her defensive approach that saw her trailing 0-5, Sakshi said: "I never gave up till last, I knew I would win if I lasted till six minutes. In last round, I had to give my maximum, I had the self belief."

Sakshi had lost 2-9 in the quarter-finals to Russia's Valeriia Koblova in the fifth bout of the day before getting a second chance in repechage when her conqueror reached the final.

"It was an agonising two-three hours wait for me. Congratulations to my country mates, I could live up to their reputation," she said.

Like in three of the four other bouts earlier in the day, Sakshi won the crucial bout after coming from behind. In fact, Sakshi's winning move that got her two points initially was challenged by her Kyrgyztan rival and it was reviewed and she was awarded an extra point by the judges much to her rival's chagrin.

Weightlifter Karnam Malleshwari (2000, Sydney), boxer MC Mary Kom (2012, London) and shuttler Saina Nehwal (2012, London) were the only other women players from India to have won a medal in Olympics.

This was India's fifth medal in wrestling where Sushil Kumar has the distinction of winning a silver in London 2012.

Sakshi, who qualfied through second Olympic Games World Qualifying Tournament in Istanbul, battled social biases and sexism to learn wrestling. She took up the sport when she was just nine years old.

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Agencies
February 13,2020

New Delhi, Feb 13: Sanjiv Chawla, a key accused in the match-fixing scandal involving former South African cricket team captain Hansie Cronje in 2000, was extradited from the UK on Thursday, Delhi Police said.

The 50-year-old British national, accompanied by a crime branch team from London, reached IGI Airport this morning, a senior officer said.

He is likely to be taken to the crime branch office for questioning, he added.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Srinagar, Jan 10: Real Kashmir FC made a strong comeback in the second half to play out a 1-1 draw against former champions Punjab FC in their home I-League match here on Friday.

The 'Snow Leopards' equalised in the 62nd minute through Gnohere Krizo in front of a partisan crowd of 8,500 spectators after Makan Chothe had given Punjab FC the lead in the 21st minute at the TRC ground.

After Thursday's draw, Punjab FC is placed third on the table with 10 points from seven games. Real Kashmir FC remained at eighth with six points from five matches. This was Real Kashmir's third home match on the trot.

The match was a story of two halves as the first belonged to the visitors who enjoyed a 62 per cent possession of the ball, whereas the second belonged to the home side.

Both the teams were looking to gain an early advantage and Punjab FC took the lead after 21 minutes.

Confusion inside the Real Kashmir box because of a long ball from Punjab opened up an opportunity for Chothe and he made no mistake as he smashed the ball at the back of the net.

As the fans cheered on, Real Kashmir created a flurry of chances, but none of the home side players could find the back of the net. Punjab was able to hold on to their slender lead heading into the tunnel.

The second half resumed with Real Kashmir pressing high up the field and pressurising Punjab.

In the 56th minute, Real Kashmir playmaker Kallum Higginbotham cut through two defenders on the left side of the box and the ball fell to Mason Robertson, whose shot was too weak to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper.

Soon after, it was Danish Farooq who tried a curler from a distance but his shot did not have enough bend to trouble the Punjab goalkeeper. The home team's effort finally paid off in the 62nd minute.

A miscalculated header by Danilo Augusto fell at the feet of Gnohere Krizo, who was one-on-one with the keeper. He made no mistake in striking the ball into the opponent's goal to score the equaliser.

Real Kashmir was in their groove now, and Kallum came in from the right with a beautiful low cross across the face of the goal but Mason could not get a touch as the chance went begging.

The duo of Kallum and Mason were proving difficult for Punjab to deal with. In the 82nd minute, a beautiful long ball by Kallum found the head of a towering Mason, but the effort went just over the crossbar.

Within a few moments, Punjab again had another nervous moment as Chesterpoul Lyngdoh's cross from the right side hit the arm of Thoiba Singh but the referee turned down an appeal for penalty.

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Agencies
February 5,2020

Hamilton, Feb 5: Talented Shreyas Iyer hit his maiden century while KL Rahul and skipper Virat Kohli carried on their fine form as India dished out a clinical batting effort to post 347 for four against New Zealand in the first ODI here on Wednesday.

Iyer showed why he is considered as the next big thing in Indian cricket, scoring 103 off 107 balls, his first ODI ton. Besides, Rahul continued his purple patch, smashing unbeaten 88 off 64 balls while Kohli made 51 off 63 deliveries.

Iyer's knock was laced with 11 fours and a six and together with Rahul shared 136 runs for the fourth wicket as India scored 96 runs in the last 10 overs after being sent into bat.

This was after Tom Blundell featured his maiden ODI for the Black Caps, while India gave debuts to two openers -- Prithvi Shaw and Mayank Agarwal.

It was the fourth such instance in Indian history with Rahul-Karun Nair being the last such pair in 2016 against Zimbabwe.

Shaw and Agarwal got the innings off to quick start, adding 50 off 48 balls for the opening stand.

But both Shaw and Agarwal fell in the space of five balls as India were reduced to 54 for 2.

Shaw was the first to go, nicking behind a Colin de Grandhomme (1/41) delivery, while Agarwal was caught at point by Blundell off Southee (2/85).

It brought Kohli and Iyer together, and they dominated the middle overs with a 102-run stand for the third wicket. They manoeuvred the field well and kept the scorecard ticking as India crossed 150 in the 28th over.

Kohli fell against the run of play as a wrong one from Ish Sodhi (1/27) got through his defence to clip the leg stump.

Rahul though didn't let the innings lose any momentum as he smacked six sixes along with three fours.

But the day belonged to Iyer, who, despite a scratchy start, had crossed 50 off 66 balls. Once he passed the 50-run mark, the stylish right-hander batted fluently to notch up his first century in 16 ODIs.

The centurion fell shortly afterwards, caught off Southee even as Rahul took control.

He reached his half-century off 41 balls as India eased past 300 in the 47th over.

Rahul's carnage meant that New Zealand conceded 191 runs in the last 20 overs. Kedar Jadhav remained unbeaten on 26 off 15 balls, stitching 55 off 27 balls with Rahul.

Brief Scores:

India: 347 for 4 in 50 overs (Shreyas Iyer 103, KL Rahul 88 not out, Virat Kohli 51; Tim Southee 2/85).

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