KIYG 2025: Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir strike emotional gold (round-up)

Patna, May 8 (IANS) Host Bihar made a mark when their Sepak Takraw Quad Team won their first gold medal in the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) 2025 with a spirited performance in the final on Thursday. Late in the day, Jammu and Kashmir also joined the list of states which have struck gold in the seventh edition.

The Bihar sports fraternity erupted in joy as the Sepak Takraw Quad Team beat fancied Manipur in the boys' final in the BSAP 5 Indoor Stadium here.

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 in 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 medals 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 at 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 the 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 medals. Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Chandigarh finished with two gold medals 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 to 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’ 4x100 medley team had beaten Maharashtra in the last race of the day at 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.

--IANS

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