Latest news with #Khera
USA Today
12 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Mansher Khera happy UFC finally gave him a look – and now awaits the real call-up
Mansher Khera happy UFC finally gave him a look – and now awaits the real call-up Mansher Khera waited and waited... and waited some more. When a call from his manager Jason House finally came, the timing and circumstances weren't ideal – but Khera (9-0) found a way to emphatically make things work. "I got the contract two weeks before the fight," Khera recently told MMA Junkie. "I think my opponent was supposed to fight somebody else. I don't know what happened. But then, two weeks before the fight, I got the opportunity, and of course, I was not going to turn it down. These opportunities come once in a lifetime, so I was like, 'Hell yeah, man.'" While it wasn't the direct UFC call he'd hoped for, Khera was happy to accept a Road to UFC bout on short notice. On May 22, he dominated experienced Chinese fighter Aziz Khaydarov en route to a unanimous decision. Khera sees room for improvement, despite sweeping the scorecards. He has already identified specific factors that suppressed his potential. "It was a pretty sh*tty performance, to be honest with you," Khera said. "Not getting the finish. If I had gotten the finish, I'd have been really, really happy. I was happy with my composure. I was happy with my composure and the things that I could control. I just know that there is so much more to my performance than I showed last night. I just felt like that was maybe me at 40 percent. I found out two weeks before. I literally got my visa last-minute. I was in Canada. "... So everything that went into it was hectic and my time in Shanghai, I didn't really have time to adapt to the time zone. It's 12-hour difference. I was not getting any sleep. I had to cut weight and like I said, I didn't have a big fight camp. So I had a lot of weight to lose. Everything was just hectic. If I'm being honest, I didn't feel like my best self. But that's the fight game. Everybody has something going into the fight. That helped me power through it because I knew my opponent had his own struggles as well." Khera, 33, is an accomplished BJJ black-belt, who transitioned fully into MMA in 2021. His record is unblemished and he won Fury FC lightweight gold in November. While he's a little on the older side for a fighter the UFC would typically onboard, Khera is an atypical talent. Complementing his abilities, Khera is a proud Indian-American, a group underrepresented in MMA. Despite his self-criticism, the win certainly didn't harm Khera's chances of a real UFC call. Even though he's a bigger lightweight, he'll stay by the phone ready to accept whatever offer comes through. "I haven't heard anything from the UFC yet," Khera said. "I'm just going off of what my manager is telling me. He told me that this is a really good opportunity and whatever happens after is going to lead me toward the path of being in the UFC. But what exactly? I'm not sure. I should fight out soon. He did tell me that this gets in the system. Now, I'm in the UFC system. I have my bloodwork done. I have my brain scan, everything, done. I just stay ready because who knows? It could be another short-notice fight pretty soon. I'm just trying to stay prepared so I'm in the gym today."
The Print
21 hours ago
- Politics
- The Print
‘Zealots, trolls': Tharoor fires back at critics of his surgical strikes remark, day after Congress meltdown
Tharoor, who is leading one of the seven multi-party delegations constituted by the Centre to visit various countries to convey India's stand on cross-border terrorism, is currently in Panama City. Tharoor did not name anyone in his post on X, but left little to the imagination as to who he was targeting. After all, it was top Congress leaders close to the party high command, such as Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera, who sniped at Tharoor Wednesday. New Delhi: The ongoing feud between Congress leader Shashi Tharoor and the party leadership took another acrimonious turn Thursday, with the four-time Lok Sabha MP dismissing as 'zealots' and 'trolls' the critics of his remarks on the 2016 surgical strikes. He came under attack from Ramesh and Khera, among others, over his remarks at a gathering of the Indian community in Panama City that India crossed the Line of Control to carry out surgical strikes on a terror base 'for the first time' under the Narendra Modi government in 2016. After a long and successful day in Panama, i have to wind up at midnightvhere with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this — but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: in tge… — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 29, 2025 Congress leader Udit Raj even suggested that Tharoor become a spokesperson for the BJP. Raj's statement was endorsed by both Khera and Ramesh, who had earlier this month flayed Tharoor for accepting the Centre's invitation to lead the multi-party delegation without the concurrence of the party leadership. 'After a long and successful day in Panama, I have to wind up at midnight here with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this — but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: in the past 1. I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars. '2. My remarks were preceded by a reference to the several attacks that have taken place in recent years alone, during which previous Indian responses were both restrained and constrained by our responsible respect for the LoC and the IB. But as usual, critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views and words as they see fit. I genuinely have better things to do. Goodnight,' Tharoor posted on X. Tharoor was essentially responding to Khera's posts pointing out that the Congress has always maintained that cross-border surgical strikes were carried out even during the time of the UPA government when the late Manmohan Singh was the prime minister. Khera also cited a news report that claimed that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, in his previous capacity as the foreign secretary, had in 2016 told a Parliamentary panel that 'professionally done, target-specific, limited-calibre counter-terrorist operations have been carried out across the LoC in the past too, but this is for the first time that the government has made it public.' Minutes after Tharoor's X post, Khera posted a screenshot of an excerpt from 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister' authored by the Thiruvananthapuram MP. In the book, Tharoor pointed out that the Congress, while in the government, had authorised many surgical strikes but desisted from exploiting them politically. Khera posted it with the caption 'I agree with that Dr Shashi Tharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018.' I agree with that Dr @ShashiTharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018 – 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister'. #ReadingNow — Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) May 29, 2025 'The shameless exploitation of the 2016 'surgical strikes' along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and of a military raid in hot pursuit of rebels in Myanmar, as a party election tool —something the Congress had never done despite having authorized several such strikes earlier—marked a particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship,' Tharoor wrote in the book. Addressing the Panama City gathering, Tharoor had said that in 2016 'for the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base.' 'Even during the Kargil war we had not crossed the LoC, in Uri we did. Then came the attack in Pulwama…this time we crossed not only the LoC but the international border and we struck terrorist headquarters in Balakot. 'This time we have gone not only beyond the LoC and the International Border, we have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, terror headquarters in nine places in both Punjab and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. And let me say to you that this is going to be the new normal. The PM has made it very clear that Operation Sindoor was necessary because these terrorists came and wiped the sindoor off the foreheads of 26 women,' he said. (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also Read: Tharoor faces Congress leadership's ire for breaking from party line on Op Sindoor, Trump's claims
New Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
‘I agree with that Tharoor': Pawan Khera digs up old quote to counter MP's praise for surgical strikes
In a sharp counter to Shashi Tharoor's defence of his recent praise for India's cross-border strikes, Congress leader Pawan Khera on Thursday posted a highlighted excerpt from Tharoor's own 2018 book, The Paradoxical Prime Minister, in which the MP had slammed the BJP for the 'shameless exploitation' of military operations. Khera's move came shortly after Tharoor, in from Panama, hit out at 'critics and trolls' questioning his remarks lauding India's counter-terror response under the Modi government. 'I agree with that Dr @ShashiTharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018 — The Paradoxical Prime Minister,' Khera posted on X, alongside a photo of a marked passage from the book. The excerpt sharply criticises the BJP for politicising military operations, especially the 2016 surgical strikes. In the highlighted lines, Tharoor had written in the book: 'The shameless exploitation of the 2016 surgical strikes along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and a military raid in hot pursuit of rebels in Myanmar, as party election tool — something the Congress had never done despite having authorized several such strikes earlier — marked a particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship.'
NDTV
a day ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Agree With Shashi Tharoor...": Pawan Khera's Veiled Attack On Colleague
New Delhi: In a clear sign that Shashi Tharoor's ties with the Congress may be at a crossroads, senior party leader Pawan Khera has responded to the Thiruvananthapuram MP's "critics and trolls" post with a passage from his book 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister: Narendra Modi and His India'. Mr Khera has posted a photograph of a highlighted passage. Here, Mr Tharoor has accused the Narendra Modi government of "repeatedly using the army in its political propaganda". "The shameless exploitation of the 2016 surgical strikes' along the Line of Control with Pakistan, and of a military raid in hot pursuit of rebels in Myanmar, as party election tool-something the Congress had never done despite having authorized several such strikes earlier-marked particularly disgraceful dilution of the principle that national Security issues require both discretion and non-partisanship," he has written. I agree with that Dr @ShashiTharoor who wrote about surgical strikes in his book in 2018 - 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister'. #ReadingNow — Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) May 29, 2025 In the accompanying post, Mr Khera said, "I agree with what Dr Shashi Tharoor writes about surgical strikes in his book 'The Paradoxical Prime Minister'." Following Mr Tharoor's remarks in Panama, in which he praised the Narendra Modi government's response to terrorism, Mr Khera has been posting on X about how surgical strikes were carried out during the UPA era too and tagging Mr Tharoor on these posts. Mr Khera is among the key figures in the Congress high command. So, the message to Mr Tharoor is clear: the party is not happy with him. Making this clear, Congress's communications chief Jairam Ramesh responded to one of the posts by Mr Khera with a poetic swipe at Mr Tharoor. "Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive..., he said. Mr Tharoor has led an Indian delegation to the US and four other countries as part of the Centre's global outreach in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. After events in the US and Panama, the delegation is now headed to Bogota. Taking note of his party colleagues' jibes, the four-time MP put out a post on X. "After a long and successful day in Panama, I have to wind up at midnightvhere with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this - but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: in tge past (sic). "I was clearly and explicitly speaking only about reprisals for terrorist attacks and not about previous wars; & my remarks were preceded by a reference to the several attacks that have taken place in recent years alone, during which previous Indian responses were both restrained and constrained by our responsible respect for the LoC and the IB. But as usual, critics and trolls are welcome to distort my views and words as they see fit. I genuinely have better things to do. Goodnight," he said. After a long and successful day in Panama, i have to wind up at midnightvhere with departure for Bogota, Colombia in six hours, so I don't really have time for this — but anyway: For those zealots fulminating about my supposed ignorance of Indian valour across the LoC: in tge… — Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) May 29, 2025 Yesterday, while addressing a gathering in Panama City, Mr Tharoor said terrorists targeting India have realised in recent years that they will have to pay. "What has changed in recent years is that the terrorists have also realised they will have a price to pay. On that, let there be no doubt. When, for the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base, a launchpad - the Uri strike in September 2015. That was already something we had not done before." "Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the Line of Control; in Uri, we did, and then came the attack in Pulwama in January 2019. This time, we crossed not only the Line of Control but also the international border, and we struck the terrorist headquarters in Balakot. This time, we have gone beyond both of those. We have not only gone beyond the Line of Control and the international border. We have struck at the Punjabi heartland of Pakistan by hitting terror bases, training centres, terror headquarters in nine places," he said. The remarks drew a jibe from Congress leader Udit Raj. "Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is the super spokesperson of the BJP. He doing Modi ji's chamchagiri (flattery) more than BJP leaders. Does he (Shashi Tharoor) even know what the earlier governments used to do? ... They (the Central government) are taking credit for the Indian Armed Forces. Shashi Tharoor has become the spokesperson for the publicity stunts of the BJP," Mr Raj said. Shortly after, senior Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh joined the offensive against Mr Tharoor, making it clear that the Congress high command has taken note. Shashi Tharoor has had a chequered journey in the Congress, with several run-ins with the leadership. A former Union minister, he was removed as the party's spokesperson in 2014 after he praised Prime Minister Modi in an article. In 2022, he was part of a rebellion by 23 senior party leaders that called for key organisational changes. Many of these leaders have since left Congress. Later that year, Mr Tharoor contested against Mallikarjun Kharge for the party president's post. While Mr Kharge, who had the tacit support of the Gandhi family, won comfortably, Mr Tharoor got over 1,000 votes, an impressive feat for anyone taking on a "Gandhi-approved" candidate. Following the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, he spoke to several national and international platforms. While his remarks made headlines and even his critics praised him for his articulation of the Indian position, the Congress leadership is not happy. The Congress, which assured full support to the Centre in its action against those behind the Pahalgam terror attack, has now changed tack and asked the government to come clean on what led to the ceasefire and questioned what role the US played in it. Earlier, the high command sent a message to Mr Tharoor at a meeting of top leaders. "We are a democratic party and people keep expressing their opinion, but this time, Tharoor has crossed the Lakshman Rekha," a party source said. The sources said the leadership sent a "clear message" that leaders must focus on amplifying the party's stand instead of expressing individual opinions. Mr Tharoor has said he has made the remarks in a personal capacity and that he is not a party spokesperson. Against this backdrop, the government selected Mr Tharoor to lead one of the seven Indian delegations travelling abroad as part of the outreach. The Congress said it had not suggested Mr Tharoor's name. The former diplomat said the party is entitled to have an opinion of his abilities and that he will fulfill the responsibility assigned to him.
Mint
a day ago
- Politics
- Mint
Shashi Tharoor hails Modi govt abroad for Pak strikes, Congress reminds him of UPA-era cross-border Ops
As Congress leader Shashi Tharoor takes India case post Operation Tharoor in foreign countries, his remarks have seemingly riled the Congress for showing support for the Narendra Modi government over recent military actions across the border in Pakistan and Pakistan-ccupied-Kashmir (PoK) Many Congress leaders have reminded Tharoor about surgical strikes under the UPA government with Udit Raj even dubbing him 'super spokesperson' of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Tharoor, who is leading a multi-party delegation in a global outreach programme, said in Panama that India has changed its approach in recent years. Speaking to Indian diaspora in Panama earlier this week, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said what has changed in recent years is that the terrorists have also realised they will have a price to pay. "For the first time, India breached the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to conduct a surgical strike on a terror base, a launch pad… (after) the Uri strike in September 2016. That was something we had not done before. Even during the Kargil War, we had not crossed the LoC,' Tharoor said. This remark perhaps did not go well with the Congress party which has always countered this 'first' claim by the Narendra Modi government. The party has maintaed that Indian security forces conducted surgical strikes under the UPA government as well, but without the party or the government publicising it. Congress Media and Publicity Department chairman Pawan Khera responded by tagging Tharoor in several posts regarding UPA-time cross border strikes. Khera shared a 2016 PTI report in which the party had latched on S Jaishankar, then Foreign Secretary, over his remarks that the Army had carried out "target specific, limited-calibre, counter- terrorist operations" across LoC in the past too. The party had said that Jaishanjar's remarks "exposed" the BJP and Modi government's "lie" on the recent surgical strikes. 'Professionally done, target-specific, limited-calibre counter-terrorist operations have been carried out across the LoC in the past too, but this is for the first time that the government has made it public," Jaishankar said this to the Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs in October 2016, Khera wrote on X with 'CC' to Tharoor. In an earlier post, Khera posted a picture of 'officers of 4 Sikh Regiment posing outside a captured Pakistani police station in Burki, Lahore District'. Tagging Tharoor in this post too, Khera said, 'this image is from the Battle of Burki (also known as the Battle of Lahore, 1965), a significant engagement during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965…' In another post – tagging Tharoor again – Thera shared the remarks by former prime minister Manmohan Singh in an interview to The Hindustan Times, saying 'multiple surgical strikes took place during our tenure too. For us, military operations were meant for strategic deterrence and giving a befitting reply to anti-India forces than to be used for vote garnering exercises'. These posts on X were reposted by Congress communications head Jairam Ramesh. The Congress-vs-Tharoor row comes days after the party expressed displeasure at the government picking the name of Tharoor, among others, for its seven multi-party delegations for its global outreach post-Operation Sindoor. Even before he was picked to lead one of the delegations, Tharoor's public pronouncements in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor had also drawn the ire of the Congress. A CWC member Tharoor and an MP from Kerala, Tharoor has of late y been taking a separate line from the party, mostly on foreign policy issues. Before Khera, another Congress leader Udit Raj reacted to Tharoor'sremarks and even called him the 'super spokesperson" of the BJP. 'Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is the super spokesperson of the BJP, and what the BJP leaders are not saying, speaking in favour of PM Modi and the government, Shashi Tharoor is doing... Does he (Shashi Tharoor) even know what the earlier governments used to do? ... They (the Central government) are taking credit for the Indian Armed Forces. Shashi Tharoor has become the spokesperson for the publicity stunts of the BJP,' saidUdit Raj, who is a former BJP MP. Raj also posted his comments on X.
