Khelo India Youth Games Day 5: Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir clinch their first gold medals of edition

The Hindu

08-05-2025

Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir clinched their first gold medal of the Khelo India Youth Games 2025 Bihar on the fifth day of the competition at the BSAP 5 Indoor Stadium on Thursday.
While the host State triumphed over fancied Manipur in the Sepak Takraw Quad Team boys final, the Jammu and Kashmir won the boy's volleyball title.
Bihar had to endure a heartbreak when the girls quad team lost in straight games to Manipur but it did not take long for the boys combination of Harshit Kumar, Parthsarathi, Tanmay Raj, Ankit Kumar, Siddhant Kumar and Anshu Kumar to win on straight games 17-15, 15-11.
Jammu and Kashmir's boys volleyball team won 35-33, 19-25, 25-17, 25-21 in an extended battle. Tamil Nadu rallied from the loss of the opening game to beat West Bengal 3-1 to claim the girls crown.
Rishav Sawarn completed a set of medals for Bihar by winning bronze in the boys +81kg competition at the Gyan Bhawan.
Khelo India Youth Games 2025 medals table
The home State now has a tally of one gold, five silver and six bronze medals, rising to the top half of the medal table. Maharashtra consolidated its place at the top with 19 gold, 19 silver and 16 bronze medals till the time of writing.
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While Maharashtra has opened up a considerable lead over the rest of the States, the battle for the second position on the table is intensifying. With 12 gold, five silver and four bronze, Rajasthan has its nose just ahead of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh whose athletes lifted their States' gold medal haul to the double figure mark on Thursday.
Karnataka staged a comeback of sorts through its swimmers who won three gold and helped the team open a slight lead over Madhya Pradesh. With both Kabaddi gold medals expectedly coming it way on Thursday, Haryana rose to top five, though its haul of five gold, five silver and nine bronze has not been commensurate with the State's reputation as a sporting giant.
In faraway New Delhi, the track cycling competitions concluded at the Yamuna Velodrome in the Indira Gandhi Indoor Complex. Though its Keirin riders did not make it to either podium on Thursday, Rajasthan's cyclists led by treble winner Harshita Jakhar topped the competition with a seven gold haul. Jharkhand and Maharashtra picked up a gold each through Sabina Kimari and Siddhesh Ghorphade respectively.
The Judo competitions drew to a close in Patna on Thursday with Rajasthan's Babnoor Brar (boys +81kg) and Mani's Biplia Yumnam (girls +63kg) claiming the last two gold. Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Chandigarh finished with two gold each, but Haryana finished with nine medals, including a silver and six bronze.
Coming in the wake of Abhinav Choudhary's 25m Rapid Fire Pistol gold at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Ranges in New Delhi, Babnoor's effort helped Rajasthan hold on its second position on the medal table with 12 gold, five silver and three bronze. Karnataka (11 gold, 15 silver and 4 bronze) could have claimed that slot if its girls' 4x100 medley team had beaten Maharashtra in the last race of the day the BIPARD Swimming Pool in Gaya.
Madhya Pradesh will be a bit disappointed that Sidhi Gupta fell short of completing a sweep of the three Mallakhamb gold medals in the girls competition. Though she won the All-round and Pole events, she finished outside the medal bracket in the Rope event where Maharashtra had a 1-2 through Aarya Salunkhe and Tanushree Jadhav.
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Khelo India Youth Games