Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir strike emotional gold each in Khelo India Youth Games 2025 

Khel Today Bureau

Patna: Bihar sports fraternity erupted in joy as it earned the first gold medal of the Khelo India Youth Games 2025 Bihar, thanks to the spirited effort of its Sepak Takraw Quad Team that beat fancied Manipur in the boys final in the BSAP 5 Indoor Stadium here on Thursday. Late in the day, Jammu and Kashmir also joined the list of State which have struck gold in the seventh edition.

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 put wide smiles on the faces of everyone cramming the indoor stadium and egging the side as it won on straight games 17-15, 15-11.

Rishav Sawarn completed a set of medals for Bihar by winning bronze in the boys +81kg competition at the Gyan Bhawan. The home State now has a tally of 1 gold, 5 silver and 6 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.

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, 5 silver and 4 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 top five, though its haul of 5 gold, 5 silver and 9 bronze has not been commensurate with the State’s reputation as a sporting giant.

Jammu and Kashmir’s boys volleyball team turned in a veritable demonstration of mindfulness, focusing on the task on hand, when delivering an emotional victory over Uttar Pradesh in the final. Jammu and Kashmir 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.

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 7 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 Brar’s effort helped Rajasthan hold on its second position on the medal table with 12 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze. Karnataka (11 gold, 15 silver and 4 bronze) could have claimed that slot if its girls’ 4×100 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.

For More on Khelo India Youth Games, click: https://youth.kheloindia.gov.in/

For Medal Tally of KIYG 2025, click: https://youth.kheloindia.gov.in/medal-tally

ABOUT KHELO INDIA YOUTH GAMES

Khelo India Youth Games are part of the Khelo India program that was launched on October 14, 2017. Khelo India aims to achieve the twin objective of mass participation and promotion of excellence in sports. The program has contributed immensely to India’s sporting success with several Khelo India athletes representing the nation at global events, including the Olympics and the Asian Games. Bihar is hosting the seventh edition of the Khelo India Youth Games from May 4-15 in five different cities of the state and Delhi. KIYG 2025 will feature 27 sports and for the first time, esports has been included as a demonstration sport.