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Making a strong comeback to international arena after leading a prolonged protest against former WFI chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, celebrated Indian wrestler Vinesh Phogat locked Paris Olympics quota in women's 50kg category with a strong show at the Asian Olympic Qualifier, here Saturday.Also punching their tickets to the Paris Olympics were Anshu Malik (57kg) and U23 world champion Reetika (76kg), who also reached the final of the tournament with solid performances.India now have secured four quota places for the Paris Games as Antim Panghal had earned a quota in the 53kg category with her bronze medal winning show at the World Championships last year.It will be interesting to see if WFI lets the quota winners represent India or hold a final selection trial to pick the national wrestling team.In the Tokyo Games, India had fielded a strong seven-wrestler team that had four women -- Seema Bisla (50kg), Vinesh (53kg), Anshu (57kg) and Sonam Malik (62kg).No male wrestler has yet earned a quota. The last chance to win the Paris Games quota will be at the World Qualifiers in Turkey from May 9.The 29-year-old Vinesh has now secured her third straight Olympic quota, having featured in Rio Games (2016) and in Tokyo (2020) earlier.Vinesh dished out a strong performance, demolishing her opponents one by one.After losing several months of training due to the prolonged protest against Brij Bhushan and the ongoing legal battle, it was a challenge for Vinesh to secure a quota and she did that, making full use of an easy draw.As is her wont, Vinesh looked for that one opportunity to subdue Miran Cheon in her opening bout and grabbed it after measuring her Korean rival for about 30 seconds.Once she grabbed Cheon and pushed her down for a take down, the bout ended in a jiffy, in one minute and 39 seconds.It was difficult to wriggle out of Vinesh's strong hold. The Indian employed gut wrench move thrice and mixed that with one 'expose' to finish the bout.The next bout lasted a mere 67 seconds. Cambodia's Smanang Dit was an easy prey. Vinesh pinned her in no time to move to the women's 50kg semifinal.The celebrated Indian faced some resistance from 19-year-old Kazakh wrestler Laura Ganikyzy in the semifinals but she used all her experience to foil the attacks employed by her younger rival.Twice Laura went for left-leg attacks but Vinesh scored on counter and led 4-0 by the end of the first period. This was the first time Vinesh was pushed to the second period in this tournament.Once Vinesh got hold of Laura, she had no problem in employing consecutive gut wrench moves to finish the bout.Vinesh was competing in the 50kg category after winning the selection trials.The finalists at this competition are being awarded quota places for the 2024 Summer Olympics.The 2021 World Championship silver medallist Anshu had no problem while putting it across Kyrgyzstan's Kalmira Bilimbekova in the quarterfinal, winning by technical superiority.Anshu, who also featured in Tokyo Games, continued her impressive show, winning the semifinal against Uzbekistan's Laylokhov Soboirova by technical superiority. It was a pacy bout dictated by the Indian.The U23 world champion Reetika did not have to break much sweat in outclassing Eunju Hwang. She won the first round by technical superiority as the Korean had no answer to Reetika's class and got a similar win under her belt against Mongolia's Davaanasan Enkh Amar.In the final group bout against China's Juang Wang, Reetika raced to an 8-0 lead but the Chinese fought back and logged six straight points.She effected another move at the dying moments but much to the relief of the Indian camp, that point was not awarded because it came at the end of the stipulated time.In her semifinal, Reetikja recorded a comfortable 7-0 win against Chinese Taipei's Hui Tsz Chang.Mansi Ahlawat (62kg) also made it to last-four as she needed to win just one bout.Up against Kazakhstan's Irina Kuznetsova, she emerged a 6-4 winner but was outgunned by North Korea's Hyon Gyong Mun, who was excellent in her defence, not giving any opportunity to attack to the Indian.The only Indian wrestler who could not reach semifinals was Nisha Dahiya (68kg).

A huge blast at a military base in Iraq early on Saturday killed a member of an Iraqi security force that includes Iran-backed groups. The force commander said it was an attack while the army said it was investigating and there were no warplanes in the sky at the time. Two security sources had said earlier that an airstrike caused the blast, which killed a member of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) and wounded eight others at Kalso military base about 50 km (30 miles) south of Baghdad. In a statement, the PMF said its chief of staff Abdul Aziz al-Mohammedawi had visited the location and "reviewed the details of the investigative committees present in the place that was attacked". The Iraqi military said a technical committee was looking into the cause of an explosion and fire at the base, which it said happened at 1 a.m. on Saturday (2200 GMT Friday). "The air defence command report confirmed, through technical efforts and radar detection, that there was no drone or fighter jet in the air space of Babil before and during the explosion," the military said in a statement. The incident in Iraq's Babil province occurred with tensions running even higher than usual across the Middle East, following what sources said was an Israeli attack in the Iranian city of Isfahan on Friday. Tehran has played it down and indicated it had no plans for retaliation. That incident came six days after Iran fired a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel in response to a presumed Israeli airstrike that destroyed part of Iran's embassy in Damascus, killing seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards officers on April 1. The PMF includes Iran-backed groups which, operating under the banner of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, have attacked U.S. troops in the region and targeted Israel since the eruption of the Gaza war, declaring support for the Palestinians. Their attacks on U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq stopped in early February after a drone strike killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan, prompting heavy U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria. But they claimed responsibility for an attack on the Israeli city of Eilat on April 1. The U.S. military's Central Command, in a post on X early on Saturday, denied what it said were reports that the United States had carried out airstrikes in Iraq. "The United States has not conducted air strikes in Iraq today," it said. The PMF started out as a grouping of armed factions, many close to Iran, that was later recognized as a formal security force by Iraqi authorities.

Spotting a multi-year growth opportunity for affordable housing finance companies, domestic brokerage firm Nirmal Bang has initiated coverage on Home First Finance Company (HFFC) and Aavas Financiers.HFFC gets a ‘buy’ recommendation with a target price of Rs 1,150 while Aavas has a ‘buy’ recommendation with a target price of Rs 1,775.The firm foresees an upside potential of 30.5% for HFFC from its closing price of Rs 881.10 on Friday, while it expects an upside potential of 14% from its current price of Rs 1,545 for Aavas.Aavas Financiers, which is also due to report its quarterly results later this week, has reported a 13% gain in the past one month. However, it has reported a 12% decline for the last one year. HFFC, on the other hand, has gained 23% in the last year, while increasing 4% in the last month.Despite the backdrop of India's housing market grappling with a significant shortage of affordable housing options, the outlook for affordable housing finance companies (AHFC) remains positive, according to a report by Nirmal Bang.AHFCs with a geographically diversified portfolio, a deep distribution focus, a niche customer segment, and a granular underwriting model are considered best-positioned to capitalize on this opportunity, the brokerage said.“Factors such as rising urbanization, increasing per capita income, government initiatives and low mortgage penetration, adds the broking firm, a substantial opportunity for growth can be seen,” the report suggests.However, the report states concerns that the sector faces its share of challenges, including rising competitive intensity, near-term compression of spreads, and elevated operational expenses. Additionally, AHFCs have experienced a de-rating due to supply overhang, particularly stemming from stake sales by private equity funds.The housing shortage and low mortgage penetration in India underscore the pressing need for affordable housing solutions, presenting AHFCs with a compelling growth opportunity. As these companies navigate challenges and capitalize on favorable market dynamics, investors may find potential in the promising future of India's affordable housing finance sector.Also read: IPO Calendar: JNK India, 3 other IPOs to keep primary market busy next week(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

The US Consulate Team in Hyderabad opened its doors this weekend, dubbed Super Saturday, to accommodate the surging demand for visitor visas with 1500 applicants undergoing visa interviews on Saturday. This initiative aligns with the broader goal of fostering robust people-to-people connections between the US and India."It’s #SuperSaturday at the Consulate! Hyderabad’s Consulate Team opened its doors on the weekend to help meet demand for visitor visas. 1500 applicants had their visa interviews today and will travel to the U.S. for business, tourism, or to visit family members! #USIndiaFWD," US Consulate General Hyderabad announced in a post on X.— USAndHyderabad (@USAndHyderabad) Last month, the US Embassy in New Delhi and the Mumbai Consulate conducted similar exercises and processed over 1,000 and 1500 visitor visa applicants resepctively during the 'Super Saturday' drive. US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti actively participated in the Delhi event, extending support to the embassy team by assisting in the fingerprint verification process.The 'Super Saturday' drives, which commenced sporadically in 2022, have become a quarterly occurrence, reflecting the commitment to streamline the visa application process and accommodate the escalating demand.Ambassador Garcetti underscored the significance of fostering relationships between individuals through work, travel, and study in the United States, emphasizing the mission's efforts to facilitate visa processing amid unprecedented demand. Leveraging increased staffing and technological advancements, the US mission in India aims to surpass previous visa processing records, building on the foundation of the robust US-India partnership.Statistics reveal a 60 per cent surge in applications compared to the previous year, with Indians constituting a significant portion of all visa applicants to the US globally.