Latest news with #UniversityGames
New Indian Express
16 hours ago
- Sport
- New Indian Express
Parents' sacrifice for son's golden shot: Archer Sahil's tale
CHENNAI: On a calm evening in Essen, Germany, 24-year-old compound archer from Satara, Maharashtra Sahil Jadhav took the Zeche Zollverein arena by storm. After missing out on qualification for previous Archery World Cups, the FISU World University Games was his last opportunity. He made most of it, as he put up a perfect performance to clinch gold on Saturday (July 26). Sahil's journey in the sport, saw his father lose his job, mother selling her jewellery to cover expenses for his equipment and him almost calling it quits. That gold medal is a full-circle moment for the family, as their sacrifices paid off. A display of marksmanship in the men's compound final got him gold as he edged Great Britain's Ajay Scott 149-148. Earlier that day, he edged his compatriot and favourite for the title Kushal Dalal in the semifinal. "My coach kept telling me to maintain my focus and discipline. That helped with my consistency there," he told this daily. What makes Sahil's medal winning performance significant is the stakes of losing. He failed to qualify for the Archery World Cups for the past two years. He felt that this stage was his last chance saloon, due to the age barrier in the University Games. "This tournament was a do-or-die for me, and I am happy to have clinched gold," he added.
RTHK
2 days 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
2 days 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."
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
O'Connor secures gold at World University Games
Kate O'Connor has won a gold medal in the women's heptathlon at the World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr in Germany. The Ireland athlete built up a total of 6487 points to break her own national record of 6297 which she set in 2021. The 24-year-old's new benchmark left her fourth in the world this year as she finished with a comfortable lead over Hungarian silver medallist Szabina Szucs (6081) and Australia's Emilia Surch, who clinched bronze at the University Games. The success continues an impressive year for the Dundalk-based athlete who collected bronze at the European Indoors at the Netherlands in March, then picked up a World Indoor silver in China. Newry-born O'Connor recorded a personal best time of 24.33 in the 200 metres on Wednesday to help take a healthy advantage into the final day of action on Thursday. The 2022 Commonwealth Games silver medallist followed that up with a mark of 6.15m in the long jump, a throw of 51.97 in the javelin and finally a PB of 2:10.46 as she finished second in the concluding event, the 800m.
India Today
22-07-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Your careers will end: Indian badminton players threatened at World University Games
Several Indian badminton players at the World University Games were threatened by team management after raising concerns about severe mismanagement behind the scenes. Multiple sources confirmed to India Today that the players were warned to remain silent or face consequences once they returned to erupted on Monday, July 21, just hours after India secured its first-ever medal in the mixed team event at the Games, being hosted in Germany. Under the leadership of World No. 47 Sathish Kumar Karunakaran, the team comprising Devika Sihag, Saneeth Dayanand, Tasnim Mir, Varshini Viswanath Sri, and Vaishnavi Khadkekar clinched the bronze should have been a historic moment quickly soured when one of the players, Alisha Khan, publicly alleged gross mismanagement by Indian officials. She claimed that only 6 out of 12 squad members were allowed to compete in the event because team managers BV Rao and Rashmi Ramachandra failed to submit the full list of players during the official managers' meeting with tournament authorities. Baljeet Singh, head of the Indian delegation, attempted to explain the incident in an interview with The Tribune, stating that coaches had selected the 'strongest' players in pursuit of a medal. However, players India Today spoke with strongly refuted this, accusing Singh and the managers of lying and incompetence.'We've been told that our careers will end once we return to India. That our BAI-IDs (Badminton Association of India IDs) will be revoked and we'll be barred from future competitions,' one player said under the condition of anonymity.'All the players, those who played and those who didn't, are united. We've all faced mismanagement throughout this tournament,' said MISMANAGEMENT BEHIND THE SCENESIndia Today has learnt that the Indian team had no practice court reserved before the tournament began because the managers allegedly forgot to book one. Players also had no shuttles for training, as no one from the Indian camp approached FISU (the University Games authority) to request to improvise, players initially used personal shuttles and later had to borrow used ones from other teams just to prepare for the 12 players selected to represent India, six — Rohan Kumar, Darshan Pujari, Aditi Bhatt, Abhinash Mohanty, Viraj Kuvale, and Alisha Khan — never got a chance to compete. Apparently the officials had forgotten their names during team said they only learnt of their omission when the team list for the first round was announced. Upon enquiry, they were reportedly told their names weren't included due to an players approached FISU officials to correct the error, they were told it was too late and that multiple reminders had been given to finalise the squad.'We only found out we weren't playing on the day of the first match. When we asked, the managers casually said they had forgotten to include our names,' a player a strongly worded Instagram post, Alisha Khan expressed the emotional and professional impact of the blunder.'The six who got to play gave their best and won bronze. But only they will now receive podium honours, merit certificates, government jobs, cash awards, and recognition. The rest of us return empty-handed, not due to lack of effort, but because of a careless blunder by the officials,' she MOUNT IN INDIAN CAMPWith only six players available throughout the mixed team event, physical strain has taken its toll. India Today can confirm that team leader Sathish Karunakaran has suffered a swollen ankle and is unlikely to participate in the upcoming individual also revealed that the team had no physiotherapist present, forcing them to manage injuries on their own. Several members of the mixed team squad are now nursing injuries, raising concerns about India's chances in the individual controversy at the World University Games not only exposed alarming lapses in team management but also raised serious questions about athlete welfare and accountability within Indian sports administration. As young players face threats to their careers for speaking out, the episode underscores the urgent need for systemic reform and independent oversight to ensure that such negligence and intimidation are not repeated.- EndsTrending Reel
