Vijender and I mistook drugs for food supplement: Boxer Ram Singh tells police

March 10, 2013

Vijender_and_Boxer_Ram_SinghNew Delhi, Mar 10: Hours after confessing to have met drug dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon and purchasing heroin from him, boxer Ram Singh has now admitted that he and star boxer Vijender Singh took drugs thinking it was food supplement.

According to sources, during questioning, Ram Singh told Punjab police officials that he and Vijender mistook drugs for food supplement.

The police is yet to question Olympic medallist Vijender Singh in the case.

Ram Singh told the police that he and Vijender Singh bought heroin from drug dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon. Ram Singh said he and Vijender Singh are not habitual users.

Ram Singh said he and Vijender had met drug dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon 3-4 times since December.

Olympic medallist Vijender Singh got a nasty punch on Friday after being linked to a Rs 130 crore heroin haul and cops said the suspects included his friend and sparring partner, national level boxer Ram Singh, who was detained and interrogated by Punjab police.

The Beijing bronze medal-winning boxer immediately denied any links with suspected druglord Anoop Singh Kahlon, accused of stashing 26kg of heroin in an apartment in Zirakpur, on the outskirts of Chandigarh. Cops raided the apartment after getting information from Kahlon, who was arrested on March 3. He told cops that he knew the champion and Ram Singh.

Singh was detained and questioned by the police on Friday after it was found he drove Vijender's Ford Endeavour to Kahlon's Zirakpur apartment, where the keys to the boxer's SUV were found. The Endeavour is registered in Vijender's wife's name.

In all, 26kg of heroin was recovered in two consignments, including 16 kg in the flat belonging to the Canadian NRI and drug kingpin Kahlon late on Thursday. Another 10kg of drugs was found in a Hyundai Accent, belonging to Kahlon, parked outside the flat. Kahlon and his accomplice Rocky were arrested by the police from neighbouring Fatehgarh Sahib district on March 3 on drug trafficking charges.

"We've not yet established the role of either Vijender or Ram Singh," said senior superintendent of police Hardyal Singh in Fatehgarh. "But we can confirm that both Vijender and Ram knew Kahlon and his accomplice, Rocky. We have evidence of this, but we cannot disclose this now," he added.

Ludhiana DIG MH Farooqui told reporters, "Many sportspersons have figured in drug rackets in the past. In this racket, too, some sportspersons are involved. Even Kahlon is a former shot putter."

Vijender, a DSP rank officer with Haryana police, denied links with Kahlon. "I do not know the person in question and I am not involved with him in anyway. I may have met him but don't know him personally or directly."

The 27-year-old middleweight boxer said he had lent his SUV to Ram Singh, who shares his room at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala. Ram Singh is a Punjab police head constable.

"My name is unnecessarily being dragged in this drug smuggling scandal," Vijender said. "TV channels are talking about the car link but nothing was recovered from it. I was in Mumbai for two days when the raid took place and my wife Archana had dropped me at the Chandigarh airport on Tuesday. The car is registered in her name and sometimes my friends in boxing circles use it when I am away," Vijender told TOI on Friday.

Asked why his SUV was parked outside the flat in Zirakpur, Vijender said, "Ram Singh is a good friend and helps me in training. He took the keys in my absence. I tried calling him after learning about all this but his phone was switched off. I meet a lot of people who can claim to know me. I have never done anything wrong. I am ready for an investigation. I am sure the truth will come out," he said.

Four people including Kahlon have been arrested so far. SSP Hardyal did not confirm if there was recovery of drug from Vijender's SUV.

However, in separate recoveries, SSP Hardyal said cash worth Rs 1 crore, Rs 8.7 lakh, and drugs used in rave parties were recovered. "These are separate recoveries. The fresh drugs are those used by celebrities in parties," he said.

When Vijender, who gave India its first Olympic medal in boxing in 2008, was asked if all this would affect his training, he said, "There will be slight distraction but then such is life, there are ups and downs."

Late on Friday, fresh drug recoveries and two more arrests took place: Two Mohali-based men, Manpreet Singh and Gabbar Singh, were arrested with Rs 1 crore cash and 20 kg of chemicals and 2 kg heroin on them. These raids follow Kahlon's questioning.

The police said Jagdish Bhola, a former Punjab Police cop and a wrestler, is the kingpin of the entire racket. There is a Delhi connection as well, as many of the drugs in fresh recoveries were meant for rave parties.

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News Network
January 9,2020

Kuala Lampur, Jan 9: Saina Nehwal and reigning world champion P V Sindhu produced dominating performances to progress to the women's singles quarterfinals of the Malaysia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament here on Thursday.

Sixth seed Sindhu notched up a commanding 21-10 21-15 victory over Japan's Aya Ohori in a pre-quarterfinal match lasting just 34 minutes. It was Sindhu's ninth successive win over Ohori.

The 24-year-old Indian, who won the World Championships in Basel last year, will take on world number 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the quarterfinals after the Chinese Taipei shuttler got the better of South Korea's Sung Ji Hyun 21-18 16-21 21-10.

Saina, who had won the Indonesia Masters last year before going through a rough patch, dispatched eight seed An Se Young of South Korea 25-23 21-12 after a thrilling 39-minute contest to make the last eight.

This is Saina's first win over the South Korean, who got the better of the Indian in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year.

The two-time Commonwealth Games champion will next take on Olympic champion Carolina Marin.

Saina had defeated Lianne Tan of Belgium 21-15 21-17 in the opening round on Wednesday.

In the men's singles, India's challenge ended after both Sameer Verma and HS Prannoy crashed out in the second round.

While Verma lost to Malaysia's Lee Zii Jia 19-21 20-22, Prannoy was shown the door by top seed Kento Momota of Japan 14-21 16-21.

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News Network
June 6,2020

Mumbai, Jun 6: Reminiscing about his 'special knock' of 208 runs from 153 balls, Indian cricketer Rohit Sharma revealed why his wife Ritika had got emotional after he smashed his third double century in ODIs.

Rohit narrated the incident during his appearance in Episode 2 of the 'Open nets with Mayank'.

The batsman, who was accompanied by Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank on the show, said his wife thought that he had twisted his hand while diving for the 196th run during the innings.

"As you can see my wife got emotional there, this day was special as it was my anniversary. Probably the best gift I could give it to her while I am on the field, it was quite emotional though," said Rohit during the candid chat.

"When I came from the ground, I just asked her why did you (Ritika) cry? So she told me that she thought I (Rohit) twisted my hand when I dived for my 196th run and that was a little worrying factor for her, she got little emotional of because of that I guess," Rohit added.

In the match, the 32-year-old scored 208 runs with 13 fours and 12 sixes against Sri Lanka at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.

This enabled India to post a score of 392/4 in the allotted fifty overs.

India then went on to win the match by 141 runs.

"To be honest I was going pretty slow, I never thought I will get to a double hundred but once you cross 125, I feel it gets easier for you because bowlers are under pressure. Unless you make a mistake I don't think you can get out," said Rohit.

Rohit has scored two double hundreds against Sri Lanka and one against Australia in ODIs. The right-handed batsman is the only cricketer to make three double hundreds in ODI history.

Rohit, Shikhar, and Mayank would have been in action for Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, and Kings XI Punjab respectively, had the Indian Premier League (IPL) commenced from March 29. However, the tournament was suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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February 24,2020

Feb 24: India captain Virat Kohli had no qualms in admitting that his team was outplayed by New Zealand in the opening Test but said they "can't help" if a few want to make a "big deal" out of the 10-wicket defeat. Hosts New Zealand thrashed India by 10 wickets at the Basin Reverse on Monday to go 1-0 ahead in the two-match series. This was India's first defeat in the World Test Championship, coming after two inept batting efforts. "We know we haven't played well but if people want to make a big deal out of it, make a mountain out of it, we can't help it as we don't think like that," the skipper said at the post-match media interaction.

Kohli said he fails to comprehend why one Test match defeat should be made to look like the end of the world for his team.

"For some people, it might be the end of the world but it's not. For us, it's a game of cricket that we lost and we move on and keep our heads high," Kohli said.

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said.

"We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

It is the acceptance of defeat that defines the character of a side, the world's premier batsman said. "We understand that we need to play well to win, also at home. There's no cakewalk at international level as teams will come and beat you. You accept it and that defines our character as a side."

If he had given credence to the "outside chatter", he said the team wouldn't have been where it is now.

"That's why we have been able to play this kind of cricket. If we would have paid attention to the outside chatter, we would again be at No. 7 or 8 in the rankings. We don't really bother about what people are saying on the outside," the skipper said.

One defeat can't make a team, which has been winning games of Test cricket, "bad overnight".

"If we have lost then we have no shame in accepting that. It means we didn't play this game well. It doesn't mean that we have become a bad team overnight. People might want to change our thoughts, but it doesn't work like that."

The self-belief is intact and Kohli was confident the team would come back stronger in the second Test, to be held in Christchurch in four days time.

"We will work hard, and after four days play just like we have played all these years. Just because we have lost one match in between all wins, doesn't mean that the belief is gone. The dressing room thinks differently and team atmosphere is different."

Kohli felt that there is a very thin line between being ultra-defensive and over-attacking, something that his team didn't get it right in this Test match.

"New Zealand got into the mind of the batsmen and make the batsmen do something that they don't want to. think that's a very thin line and a very delicate balance of when to attack and when to put bowlers under pressure which we failed to do in this match and there is no harm in accepting that."

According to Kohli, it was a combination of both good bowling from the Kiwis and Indian batsmen not putting the pressure back on bowlers, which led to the drubbing.

"That has got to do with partly good bowling from New Zealand and partly us not pressing that momentum on to them when required. "It was perfect for them because they bowled well and we allowed them to bowl well for longer periods rather than doing something about it in a partnership."

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