Latest news with #FISUWorldUniversityGames
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First Post
a day ago
- Sport
- First Post
World University Games 2025: India secure 20th spot with 12-medal haul
India finished 20th in the FISU World University Games held in Germany. India ended the campaign with 12 medals- two gold, five silver, and five bronze. read more India finished the 2025 FISU World University Games in Germany in 20th place. India won a total of 12 medals -two gold, five silver, and five bronze- in the competition. Three of the 12 medals came on the final day, when a silver medal was added courtesy of Ankita Dhyani in the women's 3,000m steeplechase. Also, two bronze medals came in the men's 4x100 metre relay race and the women's race walk teams. Japan topped the standings with 34 medals, with the People's Republic of China coming in second with 30 golds. The USA came third with 28 gold medals. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also Read | 'This is just the start': Confident Divya Deshmukh sets sights on more success after FIDE Women's World Cup history Big winners for India at the World University Games In the men's 4x100m relay, India's team comprising Lalu Prasad Bhoi, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar, and Dondapati Mrutyum Jayaram clinched bronze with a time of 38.89 seconds. South Korea topped the podium with a time of 38.50 seconds, followed by South Africa's silver medal performance of 38.80 seconds. This medal added to India's overall tally of five athletics medals, which included silver medals won by Praveen Chitravel in men's triple jump and Seema in women's 5000m race. India excelled in compound archery, with Sahil Rajesh Jadhav and Parneet Kaur claiming gold and silver medals in their respective individual events. The country also secured a gold in the mixed team event, while the men's team took silver and the women's team won bronze. India's medal count began with a historic bronze in the mixed team badminton event, marking the country's second-ever badminton medal. In tennis, Vaishnavi Adkar won a singles bronze, securing India's first-ever tennis medal since Nandan Bal's silver in 1979. India's best-ever show in the World University Games came in 2023, when the tournament was held in Chengdu, China. India secured the 7th place with 26 medals, including 11 golds, back then. The next edition of the World University Games will take place 2027 at the Chungcheong Province, South Korea.
RTHK
a day ago
- Sport
- RTHK
Kaylin Hsieh says this is her best fencing season yet
Kaylin Hsieh says this is her best fencing season yet Kaylin Hsieh described this latest University Games win as the perfect conclusion, marking both her first and last appearance at the event with a gold medal. Photo: RTHK Fencer Kaylin Hsieh said on Monday that this is her strongest season yet, following her successful title defence at the 2025 FISU World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany. The 24-year-old claimed the women's individual epee gold, securing the first gold medal for Hong Kong, China, at this year's event. This victory mirrored her win at the previous Games in Chengdu back in 2021. Speaking upon her return, Hsieh, who is currently ranked fourth globally, described her rapid rise in the rankings as surreal. However, she emphasised there remains significant room for improvement and that she can continue pushing her limits. Reflecting on the past year, she mentioned numerous new challenges and changes requiring adaptation, highlighting her recent graduation from the University of Notre Dame, her return to Hong Kong as a full-time athlete and the start of work with a new coach. Despite these transitions, she said she felt she had handled them well. She described this latest University Games win as the perfect conclusion, marking both her first and last appearance at the event with a gold medal. "I think this is a really great confidence boost because I never really thought I could achieve the goals or the rankings I have now so quickly, and seeing it happen is just really surreal and it just makes me feel like anything is possible, not just for me, but for any one of us as Hong Kong athletes," she said. "Especially for fencing, I hope that gives confidence to the younger ones, the younger and up and coming, because this is just the beginning of a whole new chapter for Hong Kong's history." Looking ahead, Hsieh confirmed her focus is now set on the 2026 World Fencing Championships, which Hong Kong will host, and on pursuing a medal at next year's Asian Games in Japan. She also noted an evolution in her fencing style over the years, attributing it more to mental growth than physical changes. "Of course, the physical is always there. Like, I'm really strong, I'm really fast, but being able to think, and also to do what I think, that's the hard part, and I think that's more of the mental aspect, so the mindset," she said. "I feel like in the recent competitions, I've been more confident, even though sometimes it's normal for me to feel stressed, feel nervous before a competition. But I think I've handled these emotions a lot better than I was before. "Hence, I'm able to perform well this season, and this has been my best fencing season so far, and I'm really glad that the previous work that I've had has been paying off."
RTHK
a day ago
- Sport
- RTHK
Kaylin Hsieh says this is her best fencing season yet
Kaylin Hsieh says this is her best fencing season yet Kaylin Hsieh described this latest University Games win as the perfect conclusion, marking both her first and last appearance at the event with a gold medal. Photo: RTHK Fencer Kaylin Hsieh said on Monday that this is her strongest season yet, following her successful title defence at the 2025 FISU World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany. The 24-year-old claimed the women's individual epee gold, securing the first gold medal for Hong Kong, China, at this year's event. This victory mirrored her win at the previous Games in Chengdu back in 2021. Speaking upon her return, Hsieh, who is currently ranked fourth globally, described her rapid rise in the rankings as surreal. However, she emphasised there remains significant room for improvement and that she can continue pushing her limits. Reflecting on the past year, she mentioned numerous new challenges and changes requiring adaptation, highlighting her recent graduation from the University of Notre Dame, her return to Hong Kong as a full-time athlete and the start of work with a new coach. Despite these transitions, she said she felt she had handled them well. She described this latest University Games win as the perfect conclusion, marking both her first and last appearance at the event with a gold medal. "I think this is a really great confidence boost because I never really thought I could achieve the goals or the rankings I have now so quickly, and seeing it happen is just really surreal and it just makes me feel like anything is possible, not just for me, but for any one of us as Hong Kong athletes," she said. "Especially for fencing, I hope that gives confidence to the younger ones, the younger and up and coming, because this is just the beginning of a whole new chapter for Hong Kong's history." Looking ahead, Hsieh confirmed her focus is now set on the 2026 World Fencing Championships, which Hong Kong will host, and on pursuing a medal at next year's Asian Games in Japan. She also noted an evolution in her fencing style over the years, attributing it more to mental growth than physical changes. "Of course, the physical is always there. Like, I'm really strong, I'm really fast, but being able to think, and also to do what I think, that's the hard part, and I think that's more of the mental aspect, so the mindset," she said. "I feel like in the recent competitions, I've been more confident, even though sometimes it's normal for me to feel stressed, feel nervous before a competition. But I think I've handled these emotions a lot better than I was before. "Hence, I'm able to perform well this season, and this has been my best fencing season so far, and I'm really glad that the previous work that I've had has been paying off."
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
India wins 2 gold, 5 silver and 5 bronze at FISU World University Games
India concluded their campaign at the FISU World University Games with a total of 12 medals, including two bronze medals and a silver medal by Ankita Dhyani in women's 3,000 m steeplechase on the final day of the competition on Sunday. Fireworks during the opening ceremony of the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games in Duisburg, western Germany, on July 16, 2025. India finished the campaign with 12 medals(AFP) Also read: Education ministry seeks explanation from JNU VC for skipping key conference without approval The three medals on the final day took the Indian tally to two gold, five silver and five bronze medals, a total of 12 medals. The bronze medals were secured by the men's 4x100m relay and women's race walk teams on Sunday, as per Ankita, who took part in the 5,000 m event in the 2024 Paris Olympics, took the steeplechase late last year and, in April, clocked her previous best timings of 9:39.00 in Iowa Ilona Mononen of Finland bagged the gold after finishing in 9:31.86, and Germany's Adia Budde bagged bronze with a time of 9:33.34. Also read: DU UG Admission 2025: CSAS 2nd allotment list today at 5 pm on India kick-started the final day of the competition with a bronze medal in the women's 20 km race walk event as the trio of Sejal Singh, Munita Prajapati, and Mansi Negi secured a combined timing of 4:56:06 hours. Sejal was the fastest amongst all Indian walkers, finishing 15th individually with a 1:35:21 hour timing, while Munita Prajapati (1:39:33) finished in 18th spot, and Mansi Negi (1:41:12) finished 20th. China walked away with the gold medal in the event with a time of 4:28:51 hours, and Australia finished second with a time of 4:31:20 hours in the women's 20km race walk event. Coming to the men's 4x100m relay, the quartet of Lalu Prasad Bhoi, Animesh Kujur, Manikanta Hoblidhar and Dondapati Mrutyum Jayaram took home the bronze medal with a timing of 38.89, while South Korea took home the gold with 38.50 and South Africa got the silver with 38.80. India secured a total of five athletics medals at the competition, with Praveen Chitravel and Seema getting the silver medals in men's triple jump and the women's 5000m race, respectively, on Saturday. India also had a fine medal count in compound archery, as Sahil Rajesh Jadhav and Parneet Kaur walked away with gold and silver medals in the men's and women's compound events. India also landed a gold medal in the mixed team event, and the men's team got a silver. The women's team bronze was another highlight in the compound category. Also read: NIRF Rankings 2024: How are India's best universities ranked? Here's everything you need to know India's medal tally opened with its second-ever badminton medal at the event, a historic bronze medal in the mixed team event. In tennis as well, India secured their first-ever medal, with Vaishnavi Adkar claiming a singles bronze. The first-ever tennis medal was won by Nandan Bal in 1979 in Mexico, a silver. India's best-ever performance in the World University Games came back in 2023 at Chengdu, finishing seventh with 26 medals, including 11 gold medals.
IOL News
2 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
From shack to sprinting glory: Bayanda Walaza's rise as the world's fastest teenager
19-year-old Bayanda Walaza. Image: Supplied. For 19-year-old Bayanda Walaza, the road to global sprinting stardom did not begin on manicured tracks or in elite sports academies. It began in a modest backyard shack in Katlehong, Ekurhuleni, and almost ended before it truly began. 'I truly felt afraid of losing my future,' Walaza said, recalling a moment that nearly derailed his dreams. He had just overheard adults discussing the costs of attending a top-performing school, the kind that could nurture his world-class speed. 'It hit me that no matter how hard I worked, without support I might not make it,' he says. 'I had big dreams, but I didn't know how to reach them. The odds felt stacked against me.' Everything changed when Walaza received a scholarship from the Ruta Sechaba Foundation – an initiative dedicated to unlocking potential through access to quality education. The foundation sponsored his matric year at Curro Hazeldean in Pretoria in 2024. In return, Walaza is now the face of its new awareness drive: I Funded A Future. This campaign launched just as Walaza earned the title of world's fastest university student at the FISU World University Games in Germany on 22 July, clinching gold in the 100m with a dominant six-tenths-of-a-second lead over his nearest rival. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ His rise has been meteoric. Under the guidance of Curro coach Thabo Matebedi, Walaza slashed his 100m and 200m times, claiming gold at the SA Under-20 Championships. By August, he stood on the Olympic podium in Paris with a silver medal around his neck as part of South Africa's 4x100m relay team. And in May this year, he clocked a blistering 9.94 seconds in the 100m – just 0.12 seconds off Akani Simbine's national record. But his mind still often returns to the narrow streets of Katlehong and the life he might have lived had that scholarship not come. 'Emotionally, I was hopeful but also anxious. Academically, I tried hard, but it was tough without access to the right resources,' he says. 'A world-class education felt like something I would only see on TV. It felt like it belonged to a different world.' Walaza recalls the day he received the scholarship as one of the most powerful moments of his life. 'I was in total shock. I thought it might be a mistake. But when it sank in, I felt this wave of gratitude.' He immediately called his mother, Tholiwe, who broke down in tears. 'We hugged for a long time,' he said. 'I could see in her eyes that she knew life would be different now.' Since 2016, more than 3,000 young South Africans have received Ruta Sechaba scholarships to attend Curro schools. Candidates are selected based on academic or sporting excellence, leadership potential, and commitment to their communities. 'The scholarship gave me confidence,' Walaza added. 'It showed me that people believed in my potential, even when I didn't fully believe in it myself. It opened a door to a better future. I went from surviving to dreaming big.' His journey has become a symbol of hope. When he visited his former primary school, a young boy said to him, 'I want to run like you one day.' 'That moment hit me hard,' Walaza said. 'I realised I'm not just running for me – I'm running for everyone who's ever been told their dreams are too big.' For him, the message is clear: Talent lives everywhere – in every school, every street, every family. All it needs is a chance. Now studying supply chain management at Tshwane University of Technology, Walaza balances books and training, fuelled by the mission to inspire others. When asked what he would say to someone who doubts the power of giving, he replies without hesitation: 'I am the difference your contribution made. Even the smallest act of giving can change the direction of a young person's life.' 'I nearly didn't make it,' Walaza says with quiet resolve, 'but I was given a chance – and I ran with it. Literally and figuratively.' Named after the Sesotho phrase for 'educating the nation,' the foundation partners with Curro and other private institutions to provide scholarships to talented learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. The I Funded A Future campaign invites individuals and corporates to support these life-changing opportunities. BUSINESS REPORT
