The Evening Wrap: Indian squash, tennis teams win gold in Asian Games

Abhay Singh won the battle of attrition against Noor Zaman for the biggest prize of his career as top seeds India regained the Asian Games squash gold with an epic 2-1 win over Pakistan in Hangzhou on September 30. The win for India in the final against Pakistan came after a loss to them in the league stage. With the final locked at 1-1 after India’s Saurav Ghosal and Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal won their respective singles, the gold was going to be decided in the match between 25-year-old Abhay and teenager Zaman. Zaman led 9-7 in the fourth game and had two match balls at 10-8 in the deciding game but the Indian somehow managed to turn it around for a memorable win. The final scoreline read 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10. Meanwhile, in tennis, Rutuja Bhosale raised her game in nick of time while seasoned Rohan Bopanna stayed solid with his big serves as India came back from a set down to win the mixed doubles gold. The second-seeded Indian team rallied to win the title clash 2-6 6-3 10-4 against Chinese Taipei’s combo of Tsung-hao Huang and En-shuo Liang. Long-distance runners Kartik Kumar and Gulveer Singh bagged the silver and bronze medals respectively in the men’s 10000m race. Kartik won the silver with a timing of 28:15.38s while Gulveer clocked 28:17.21s to claim the bronze. Boxer Preeti Pawar secured a quota for the Paris Olympics and also assured herself of a medal along with Lovlina Borgohain as they moved into the semifinals. The 19-year-old Preeti put up a fearless display against Kazakhstan’s Zhaina Shekerbekova, a three-time World Championship medallist and reigning Asian champion, to eke out a 4-1 win in a fiercely fought 54kg quarterfinal bout. Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina, who received a first-round bye, used her long reach to expectedly defeat South Korea’s Seong Suyeon by a 5-0 unanimous decision in the women’s 75 kg category. Sutirtha Mukherjee and Aihika Mukherjee shocked world champion Chinese pair Chen Meng and Yidi Wang to enter the women’s doubles semifinals, assuring India a historic table tennis medal. In the quarterfinals, Sutirtha and Aihika won 11-5, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9 and the victory over World No. 2 Chinese duo is all the more significant because India have never won a medal in the women’s doubles event in the Asian Games. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu’s Asian Games campaign ended in heartbreak as she was carried off after falling flat on her back following a failed lift, success in which would have fetched her a bronze medal in the women’s 49kg event. Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS continued India’s unprecedented run in shooting, winning silver in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. The duo was beaten to the gold medal by world champion marksman Zhang Bowen and compatriot Jiang Ranxin, who emerged 16-14 victors in the shoot-off for the top podium finish. Murali Sreeshankar and Jeswin Aldrin qualified for the final of the men’s long jump event. Sreeshankar needed just a single jump of 7.97m to get the qualification mark against his name. Jeswin, however, had two foul jumps before registering 7.67m off his third effort, securing his place in the final. India urges U.K. to ensure security for diplomats after High Commissioner prevented from entering gurdwara in Glasgow India has taken up requirement of additional security for the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. The matter was raised with the authorities in London after High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami, who is touring Scotland, was stopped from entering the gurdwara on Albert Drive in Glasgow by two men. “The High Commissioner went to the gurdwara as he was invited by the gurdwara committee but there were two gentlemen who came and stopped him from stepping out. We have taken up the matter with the U.K. authorities and asked them that they should have arranged security for our envoy on the ground,” said a person with knowledge of the exchange between the two sides. Doraiswami is on tour of Scotland and has been holding several meetings with the Indian diaspora there. The Hindu was told that India does not want the shadow of the ongoing spat with Canada to fall on India’s relation with the U.K. and is willing to regard the latest incident as an aberration. The incident has added to the current tension that erupted after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accused Indian agents for being involved in the June 18 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the leader of Khalistan Tiger Force in Surrey, British Columbia. Kozhikode train arson case was a jihadi act, says NIA in its charge sheet The NIA has filed a charge sheet in the NIA Special Court in Kochi against the sole accused in the Kozhikode train arson case. The accused Sharukh Saifi, 27, has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Railways Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public property Act. Three passengers, including a child, were killed and nine others were injured after the accused allegedly poured some inflammable liquid on passengers on the D1 coach of the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express when the train crossed the Elathur station in Kozhikode and set the train on fire on the night of April 2, 2023. The investigation revealed that Saifi had chosen Kerala for the act involving terror and arson as he wanted to commit his jihadi act in a location where he would not be recognised. He had intended to return to normal life after the commission of the act, aimed at creating terror in the minds of the general public. The charge sheet stated that the accused was self-radicalised through various online propaganda material available on social media in favour of violent extremism and jihad as propagated by radical Islamic preachers of Indian and foreign nationalities. He followed radical and hard-line Islamic preachers, including those Pakistan-based, on social media platforms. A resident of Shaheen Bagh, New Delhi, Saifi had boarded the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express, committed the terror act and continued to travel in the same train till Kannur, before escaping to Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, from where he was eventually arrested. The accused had purchased petrol from a fuel outlet at Shoranur and a lighter from a store nearby the Shoranur railway station. The case was initially registered at the Kozhikode Railway police station and later investigated by a special investigation team of the Kerala Police. The NIA took over the probe on orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs on April 17, 2023. M.S. Swaminathan cremated with police honours Renowned agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan was cremated with police honours specially accorded by the State government as a mark of respect for his contribution. Dr. Swaminathan, known as the Father of India’s Green Revolution, passed away at his residence in Chennai on Thursday at the age of 98. His body was kept at M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation campus, Taramani for the public to pay respects, where people from all walks of people paid tribute. On Saturday, his body was taken in a special vehicle accompanied by the staff of MSSRF and several others. Before he was cremated at Besant Nagar, a police team from the Armed Reserve unit of Greater Chennai City Police observed a moment of silence and gave a gun salute as a mark of respect. Later he was cremated in the presence of his daughters, family members and others. Earlier in the morning, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi laid a wreath and paid tributes to Dr. Swaminathan. Leader of Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, General Secretary of Communist Party of India, D. Raja. Kerala’s Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty, Member of Parliament, Mavelikara Kodikunnil Suresh, PMK Leader G.K.Mani, CPI(M) State secretary G. Balakrishnan paid tributes. In Brief: Two infiltrators killed near LoC in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara Two infiltrators were killed along the Line of Control in north Kashmir’s Kupwara on September 30. A police spokesman said based on an intelligence input provided by the Kupwara police, a joint operation was carried out by the Army and police in Kumkadi area of Machal Sector. Two AK rifles, four magazines, 90 rounds, a pistol and a pouch and Pakistani currency were also recovered from the encounter site, the police said. ₹2,000 currency notes can be deposited in RBI Issue Offices after October 7 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the deadline for exchange and deposit of ₹2,000 bank notes until October 7, adding that the denomination will continue to be legal tender even after the date. From October 8, individuals and entities can exchange ₹2,000 notes at RBI issue offices. An RBI notification said that deposit or exchange of ₹2,000 notes at bank branches would be stopped from October 8 but can be exchanged at the 19 RBI Issue Offices up to a limit of ₹20,000 at a time. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 30 September 2023 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Hangzhou Asian Games | Squash, tennis teams win gold for India Abhay Singh won the battle of attrition against Noor Zaman for the biggest prize of his career as [top seeds India regained the Asian Games squash gold with an epic 2-1 win over Pakistan]( in Hangzhou on September 30. The win for India in the final against Pakistan came after a loss to them in the league stage. With the final locked at 1-1 after India’s Saurav Ghosal and Pakistan’s Nasir Iqbal won their respective singles, the gold was going to be decided in the match between 25-year-old Abhay and teenager Zaman. Zaman led 9-7 in the fourth game and had two match balls at 10-8 in the deciding game but the Indian somehow managed to turn it around for a memorable win. The final scoreline read 11-7, 9-11, 8-11, 11-9, 12-10. Meanwhile, in tennis, Rutuja Bhosale raised her game in nick of time while seasoned Rohan Bopanna stayed solid with his big serves as India came back from a set down to [win the mixed doubles gold](. The second-seeded Indian team rallied to win the title clash 2-6 6-3 10-4 against Chinese Taipei’s combo of Tsung-hao Huang and En-shuo Liang. Long-distance runners [Kartik Kumar and Gulveer Singh bagged the silver and bronze medals respectively]( in the men’s 10000m race. Kartik won the silver with a timing of 28:15.38s while Gulveer clocked 28:17.21s to claim the bronze. Boxer Preeti Pawar secured a quota for the Paris Olympics and also assured herself of a medal along with Lovlina Borgohain as they [moved into the semifinals](. The 19-year-old Preeti put up a fearless display against Kazakhstan’s Zhaina Shekerbekova, a three-time World Championship medallist and reigning Asian champion, to eke out a 4-1 win in a fiercely fought 54kg quarterfinal bout. Tokyo Olympics bronze medallist Lovlina, who received a first-round bye, used her long reach to expectedly defeat South Korea’s Seong Suyeon by a 5-0 unanimous decision in the women’s 75 kg category. [Sutirtha Mukherjee and Aihika Mukherjee shocked world champion Chinese pair Chen Meng and Yidi Wang to enter the women’s doubles semifinals]( assuring India a historic table tennis medal. In the quarterfinals, Sutirtha and Aihika won 11-5, 11-5, 5-11, 11-9 and the victory over World No. 2 Chinese duo is all the more significant because India have never won a medal in the women’s doubles event in the Asian Games. [Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu’s Asian Games campaign ended in heartbreak]( as she was carried off after falling flat on her back following a failed lift, success in which would have fetched her a bronze medal in the women’s 49kg event. [Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS continued India’s unprecedented run in shooting]( winning silver in the 10m air pistol mixed team event. The duo was beaten to the gold medal by world champion marksman Zhang Bowen and compatriot Jiang Ranxin, who emerged 16-14 victors in the shoot-off for the top podium finish. [Murali Sreeshankar and Jeswin Aldrin qualified for the final of the men’s long jump event](. Sreeshankar needed just a single jump of 7.97m to get the qualification mark against his name. Jeswin, however, had two foul jumps before registering 7.67m off his third effort, securing his place in the final. India urges U.K. to ensure security for diplomats after High Commissioner prevented from entering gurdwara in Glasgow [India has taken up requirement of additional security for the Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom](. The matter was raised with the authorities in London after High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami, who is touring Scotland, was stopped from entering the gurdwara on Albert Drive in Glasgow by two men. “The High Commissioner went to the gurdwara as he was invited by the gurdwara committee but there were two gentlemen who came and stopped him from stepping out. We have taken up the matter with the U.K. authorities and asked them that they should have arranged security for our envoy on the ground,” said a person with knowledge of the exchange between the two sides. Doraiswami is on tour of Scotland and has been holding several meetings with the Indian diaspora there. The Hindu was told that India does not want the shadow of the ongoing spat with Canada to fall on India’s relation with the U.K. and is willing to regard the latest incident as an aberration. The incident has added to the current tension that erupted after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau accused Indian agents for being involved in the June 18 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the leader of Khalistan Tiger Force in Surrey, British Columbia. Kozhikode train arson case was a jihadi act, says NIA in its charge sheet [The NIA has filed a charge sheet]( in the NIA Special Court in Kochi against the sole accused in the Kozhikode train arson case. The accused Sharukh Saifi, 27, has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Railways Act and the Prevention of Damage to Public property Act. Three passengers, including a child, were killed and nine others were injured after the accused allegedly poured some inflammable liquid on passengers on the D1 coach of the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express when the train crossed the Elathur station in Kozhikode and set the train on fire on the night of April 2, 2023. The investigation revealed that Saifi had chosen Kerala for the act involving terror and arson as he wanted to commit his jihadi act in a location where he would not be recognised. He had intended to return to normal life after the commission of the act, aimed at creating terror in the minds of the general public. The charge sheet stated that the accused was self-radicalised through various online propaganda material available on social media in favour of violent extremism and jihad as propagated by radical Islamic preachers of Indian and foreign nationalities. He followed radical and hard-line Islamic preachers, including those Pakistan-based, on social media platforms. A resident of Shaheen Bagh, New Delhi, Saifi had boarded the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express, committed the terror act and continued to travel in the same train till Kannur, before escaping to Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, from where he was eventually arrested. The accused had purchased petrol from a fuel outlet at Shoranur and a lighter from a store nearby the Shoranur railway station. The case was initially registered at the Kozhikode Railway police station and later investigated by a special investigation team of the Kerala Police. The NIA took over the probe on orders from the Ministry of Home Affairs on April 17, 2023. M.S. Swaminathan cremated with police honours [Renowned agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan was cremated with police honours]( specially accorded by the State government as a mark of respect for his contribution. Dr. Swaminathan, known as the Father of India’s Green Revolution, passed away at his residence in Chennai on Thursday at the age of 98. His body was kept at M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation campus, Taramani for the public to pay respects, where people from all walks of people paid tribute. On Saturday, his body was taken in a special vehicle accompanied by the staff of MSSRF and several others. Before he was cremated at Besant Nagar, a police team from the Armed Reserve unit of Greater Chennai City Police observed a moment of silence and gave a gun salute as a mark of respect. Later he was cremated in the presence of his daughters, family members and others. Earlier in the morning, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi laid a wreath and paid tributes to Dr. Swaminathan. Leader of Opposition and AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami, General Secretary of Communist Party of India, D. Raja. Kerala’s Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty, Member of Parliament, Mavelikara Kodikunnil Suresh, PMK Leader G.K.Mani, CPI(M) State secretary G. Balakrishnan paid tributes. In Brief: Two infiltrators killed near LoC in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara [Two infiltrators were killed along the Line of Control in north Kashmir’s Kupwara]( on September 30. A police spokesman said based on an intelligence input provided by the Kupwara police, a joint operation was carried out by the Army and police in Kumkadi area of Machal Sector. Two AK rifles, four magazines, 90 rounds, a pistol and a pouch and Pakistani currency were also recovered from the encounter site, the police said. ₹2,000 currency notes can be deposited in RBI Issue Offices after October 7 The [Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the deadline for exchange and deposit of ₹2,000 bank notes until October 7]( adding that the denomination will continue to be legal tender even after the date. From October 8, individuals and entities can exchange ₹2,000 notes at RBI issue offices. An RBI notification said that deposit or exchange of ₹2,000 notes at bank branches would be stopped from October 8 but can be exchanged at the 19 RBI Issue Offices up to a limit of ₹20,000 at a time. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [Sign up for free]( Today’s Top Picks [[Chennai top node in tortoise trafficking network, says study] Chennai top node in tortoise trafficking network, says study]( [[Regulating media briefings by the police | Explained] Regulating media briefings by the police | Explained]( [[Congress likely to field more women candidates in upcoming Chhattisgarh Assembly election] Congress likely to field more women candidates in upcoming Chhattisgarh Assembly election]( [[What are the Lagrange points and why is Aditya-L1 headed to one? | Explained] What are the Lagrange points and why is Aditya-L1 headed to one? | Explained]( Copyright @ 2023, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. If you are facing any trouble in viewing this newsletter, please [try here]( Manage your newsletter subscription preferences [here]( If you do not wish to receive such emails [go here](