Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday lauded the Indian hockey team for winning the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy.

Calling the victory a phenomenal accomplishment, PM Modi said their success will motivate many upcoming athletes.

“Congratulations to our hockey team on winning the Women’s Asian Champions Trophy. They played exceptionally well through the tournament. Their success will motivate many upcoming athletes,” PM Modi said in a post on X.

With this victory, India now shares the title of the most decorated team in the tournament’s history, matching South Korea with three titles each.

Deepika scored the only goal of the match as India defeated China 1-0 in the Asian Champions Trophy hockey final, securing their record-equalling third title. Although Deepika missed a penalty stroke earlier, she found the back of the net just minutes into the third quarter, giving India a 1-0 lead that they held onto despite a late push from China in the final quarter.

In contrast to previous matches, India started cautiously, fully aware of China’s aggressive approach and their tendency to create early chances. The initial minutes saw India on the back foot as they withstood a strong Chinese attack before gradually regaining composure and improving their ball control.

Later in the match, China earned a penalty corner, but Lalremsiami, named player of the match, swiftly intervened, allowing Bichhu Devi to stretch out and clear the rebound.

India’s persistent efforts resulted in four quick penalty corners within the 20th minute, yet their struggles with penalty corner execution continued, marked by off-target shots, ineffective variations, and solid saves from the Chinese goalkeeper. China was awarded another penalty corner three minutes later, but they could not convert either.

However, India began to find their rhythm, and just moments after the third quarter started, they earned their fifth penalty corner. Despite a messy injection, the ball remained in play; it was skillfully dragged in, allowing Deepika to execute a precise reverse hit that left the Chinese defense and goalkeeper helpless.

After Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP said the states that allegedly received bribes from the Adani Group for solar power deals, as mentioned in the US indictment, were ruled by the Opposition. 

While addressing a press conference on Thursday, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra slammed Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi for attempting to tarnish the Prime Minister’s image. The Congress MP alleged that Narendra Modi was hand in glove with Gautam Adani in corrupt activities.

Sambit Patra underlined that none of the four states mentioned in US charges against Adani Group had a BJP CM. He added that Congress and its allies were in power in Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.

The US prosecutors recently said the Adani Group paid $265 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure contracts with state electricity distribution companies between 2021-2023. However, the Adani Group has called the allegations baseless.

The states named in the US indictment are Odisha (then ruled by Naveen Patnaik’s BJD), Tamil Nadu (under DMK), Chhattisgarh (under Congress), and Jammu and Kashmir (under Central rule). Andhra Pradesh was then helmed by Jagan Reddy’s YSR Congress.

Criticizing Rahul Gandhi, Sambit Patra said that it was the Leader of the Opposition’s usual tactic to attack India and structures that defend the country.

The Puri MP further added that Rahul Gandhi had raked up the Rafale issue in 2019 in a similar fashion, mentioning that the Congress leader had claimed that a big revelation would be made. During the Covid pandemic, Rahul Gandhi used to do press conferences in a similar fashion over vaccines, Sambit Patra continued. 

Speaking on Rahul Gandhi’s claim that the Congress was doing the work of the judiciary, the BJP spokesperson stressed that both the Congress MP and Sonia Gandhi were out on bail in the National Herald case.

The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday announced its first list of 11 candidates for the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, which is due in February next year.

Addressing a press conference, Delhi Minister Gopal Rai said the party has released the first list of 11 candidates for the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. He said the names were finalised in the political affairs committee meeting chaired by AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal.  

Rai noted that most of these 11 seats were not held by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at present.

The 11-candidate list includes Brahm Singh Tanwar fielded from Chhatarpur; Anil Jha from Kirari; Deepak Singhla from Vishwas Nagar; Sarita Singh from Rohtas Nagar; BB Tyagi from Laxmi Nagar; Ram Singh Netaji from Badarpur; Chaudhary Zubair Ahmad from Seelampur; Veer Singh Dhingan from Seemapuri; Gaurav Sharma from Ghonda; Manoj Tyagi from Karawal Nagar and Sumesh Shokeen from Matiala.

The list of candidates includes six defectors: former BJP leaders Brahm Singh Tanwar, Anil Jha, and BB Tyagi, along with former Congress members Chaudhry Zubair Ahmad, Veer Dhingan, and Sumesh Shokeen, who have recently joined the AAP.

This announcement from the party led by Kejriwal comes shortly after a significant loss, as key member Kailash Gahlot resigned to join the BJP. Gahlot, who served as a minister in the AAP cabinet, departure is seen as a major blow ahead of the February 2025 Delhi elections.

Kejriwal on Sunday called the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections a “dharmayudh” (righteous war), encouraging his party workers to focus not on individual candidates but to act as if he is contesting all 70 seats in Delhi himself.

The former Delhi chief minister criticised the BJP, claiming that despite its vast resources, the party has failed to serve the people of the national capital due to a lack of will.

“We may be a small party with limited resources, while the BJP has enormous funds and power, but they have done nothing for the people of Delhi because they lack the will to serve. Don’t focus on the individual candidates. Work as if I am contesting all 70 seats in Delhi,” Kejriwal urged his supporters.