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Here are the key updates from January 8, Monday:
Tomar seals India’s 14th Olympic shooting quota with 10m air pistol gold at Asian Qualifiers
Varun Tomar secured India’s 14th Olympic quota spot with a gold medal in the men’s 10m Air Pistol event of the Asian Qualifiers in Jakarta. India opened their account with three medals, including a team gold, at the continental event’s opening day.
The 20-year-old Tomar shot 239.6 in the final to claim the top position, while Arjun Cheema won the silver medal with a score of 237.3. Mongolia’s Davaakhuu Enkhtaivan (217.2) won the bronze medal. Earlier, Tomar (586), Arjun (579) and Ujjawal Malik (575) shot a total of 1740 to win the 10m air pistol team gold, while Iran and Korea claimed the silver and bronze medals respectively.
Tomar, a former junior world champion, is the cousin of Tokyo Olympian Saurabh Chaudhary, who won a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games.
Squash: Anahat Singh finishes runner-up at British Junior Open
Anahat Singh finished runner-up in the girls’ under-17 category at the British Junior Open squash tournament on Sunday. The teenager, who was the top seed, lost 2-3 to second-seeded Egyptian Nadien Elhammamy in the final.
Anahat had a spectacular 2023 on the senior circuit as she won the Nationals, then bagged bronze medals in the mixed doubles and team event at the Asian Games. She also won bronze partnering Abhay Singh at the Asian Mixed Doubles Championships. In the junior circuit, she won the U19 crown at the Scottish Junior Open as well as the U19 National championship.
Sports Ministry warns suspended WFI of attempt at organising wrestling nationals
The Sports Ministry have stated that the suspended Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) has no authority to conduct the Senior National Championships and any event staged by the body will be considered “unsanctioned” and “unrecognised”.
“It has come to the notice of the Ministry that you have issued a Circular bearing No. WFI/Senior National/Maharashtra/2024 dated 06.01.2024 on the letterhead of the Wrestling Federation of India regarding conduct of Senior National Wrestling Championship 2023 at Pune (Maharashtra) from 29-31 January 2024,” stated the Ministry in a letter.
“As per this Ministry’s order dated 24.12.2023, you have no authority to issue such a Circular or to use the letterhead of the Wrestling Federation of India wherein you claim affiliation of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.
“You must immediately cease and desist using the letterhead of the Wrestling Federation of India for such prohibited purposes and using the name, logos and insignia of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India in violation of the provisions of the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011(Sports Code) and the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.”
In the strongly-worded letter to Sanjay Singh, the Ministry further said that “any championships or competitions organized by you – the suspended Executive Committee members of the WFI – will be treated as unsanctioned and unrecognized competitions.
“Certificates of participation and medals won in championships conducted by the WFI will be of no consequence and will not be considered for eligibility under any scheme of the government or appointment to government jobs/to get admission in school and colleges under sports quota, sports awards, etc…
“Until further orders, only National Wrestling Championships for various age categories organized under the supervision of the IOA-appointed Ad hoc Committee for Wrestling will be treated as sanctioned and recognized championships for wrestling under the Sports Code and all government benefits will only accrue to the sportspersons participating in such National championships organized by the Ad hoc Committee.”
The ad-hoc panel had announced that it will host the senior national championships in Jaipur from February 2-5.
What to look forward to today?
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Action continues in the Mumbai leg of the Pro Kabaddi League, with the Bengaluru Bulls taking on Patna Pirates at 8pm, followed by home side U Mumba taking on Dabang Delhi.
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The playoff round of the Kalinga Super Cup takes place, with I-League sides Inter Kashi and Rajasthan United facing off against each other at 2pm today to decide who will be the last of the 16 teams taking part in the Super Cup.
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Indian rifle and pistol shooters renew their quest for Paris Olympic quota places as the Asian Olympic Qualification begins.
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India’s best table tennis stars begin their 2024 season at the WTT Star Contender in Doha, with the qualification rounds starting today.
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Updates and developments in Indian wrestling as Sanjay Singh’s WFI defies the Sports Ministry.
What happened yesterday?
You can check all the details of yesterday’s news events here