Khelo India University Games 2022 commences in Bengaluru in style

The third iteration of the tournament saw Kaviyatri Bahinabai Chaudhuri North Maharashtra University top the medal table on Day 1.

The Khelo India University Games kicked off with a grand opening ceremony at the Kanteerva Stadium in Bengaluru today. The day saw plenty of sporting action with eight medals up for grabs across two disciplines. 

Six of those were available in the men and women weightlifting guaranteeing that there would be movement on the medal table. And Kaviyatri Bahinabai Chaudhuri North Maharashtra University seized their moment, the big winners of the day, striking gold and silver in men's event to soar to the top of the medal table. Mahajan Govinda Sunil won gold in the 61kg weight class, after Uday Anil Mahajan had won silver in the 55kg class. 

While their medals arrived later in the afternoon, Maharshi Dayanand University's Komal Kohar kickstarted the rush, outclassing her rivals with ease to win gold in the women's weightlifting 45kg class. 

Kohar, a gold medallist at the Khelo India Youth Games 2020 and a silver medallist at the first edition of the University Games, bettered not just her medal colour but also set a new KIUG record in the process. The 20-year-old from Sonepat lifted a combined 160kg (snatch 70kg, clean and jerk 90kg) in the event. 

Over at the shooting range, a tense qualification round saw Delhi University's Paarth Makhija, a Khelo India scholar, top the list, with 628.6 points. In the finals though, Makhija was outshot by KL University's Maddineni Mahesh 16-10. Savitribhai Phule University's Gajanan Khandagle  finished with a bronze.

In the aftermath, Mahesh cited the scholarship as just the motivation he needed to strike gold. "This is a really important achievement for me because my college really needed this win," he said. "I was entitled to a scholarship for winning the gold medal, so I worked hard towards this and I am happy to get it today."

Mahesh also credited the Khelo India platform for doing much for the athletes and encouraging more participation and boosting development. "The sponsorship under the Khelo India Scheme is a much needed requirement for the development of athletes, and it motivates us to do our best."

Makhija made amends in the team event to win gold as part of the Delhi University team. The trio of Shivansh Saini, Samarvir 628.4 and Makhija shot a total of 1875.3 points to beat Savitribai Phule University for gold.

It was also the first day for boxing with 48 bouts scheduled through the day across different weight categories. The highlight arrived early in the day, as Kurukshetra University's Vinka outclassed Desh Bhagat University's Shaheen Gill to win her opener in the 57-60kg class. 

Vinka, a Khelo India scholar and a TOPS athlete, won gold at the 2021 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships in the 60kg category.

Tthe first medals of the Khelo India University Games were awarded for the debuting Mallakhamb on Sunday. University of Mumbai won an exciting competition by a margin of 0.12 points, beating Savitribai Phule University into second place. Bundelkhand University won bronze. 

The swimming events start tomorrow and all eyes will be on the hosts star attraction Olympian Srihari Nataraj. Srihari will be in action in the 50m freestyle late in the day. Shivaji University's Rujuta Khade will also be in action in the 50m freestyle for women. 

Results

WEIGHTLIFTING at Khelo India University Games

Women 

45kg class: 1. Komal Kohar (Maharshi Dayanand University) Snatch 70kg, Clean and Jerk 90kg, 160kg; 2. Chandrika Tarafdar (Adamas University) 64kg, 85kg, 147kg ; 3. Pratiksha Balu Sathe (Shivaji University) 63 kg, 85kg, 143kg. 

49kg class: 1. Sneha Soren (KIIT) 69kg, 92kg, 161kg; 2. Sarita Sunil Savant (Shivaji University) 64, kg, 86kg, 150kg; 3. Shalu (Kurukshetra University) 67kg, 82kg, 149kg.

55kg class: Ranmale Sakshi Mahesh (Shivaji University) 73kg, 93kg, 166kg; 2. Pramila Krisani (Berhampur University) 71kg, 95kg, 166kg; 3. B Lakshmi (Mangalore University) 74kg, 87kg, 161kg. 

Men

55kg class: 1. Vijay Maheshwari (Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University) Snatch 100kg, Clean and Jerk 130kg, 230kg; 2. Uday Anil Mahajan (Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University) 99kg, 128kg, 227kg; 3. Komal Maheshwari (Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University) 98kg, 127kg, 225kg.

61kg class: 1. Mahajan Govinda Sunil (Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University) 112kg, 140kg, 252kg; 2. Sagar Madar (Lovely Professional University) 109kg, 135kg, 244kg; 3. Rajendra Muduli (KIIT) 108kg, 130kg, 238kg.

SHOOTING at the Khelo India University Games

Men 10m Air Rifle Individual (Final): Maddineni Mahesh (KL University) 16 bt Paarth Makhija (Delhi University) 10; Bronze medal: Gajanan Khandagle (Savitribhali Phule University, Pune).

Men 10m Air Rifle Team: 1. Delhi University (Shivansh Saini 618.3, Samarvir 628.4 and Paarth Makhija 628.6) 1875.3 points; 2. Savitribai Pule University, Pune, 1873.1; 3. Gujarat University 1869.1.

VOLLEYBALL at the Khelo India University Games

Men

Group A: MG University beat Mangalore University 3-1 (25-27, 25-16, 25-20, 26-24); University of Calicut bt Guru Nanak Dev University 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 31-29)

Group B: Kurukshetra University bt Punjabi University 3-1 (25-22, 37-35, 23-25, 25-18); SRM University bt Adamas University 3-0 (25-18, 25-17, 25-19) 

Women

Group A: Bharathiar University bt Punjabi University 3-1 (25-27, 25-18, 25-17, 25-16); SRM University bt University of Mysore 3-1 (16-25, 26-24, 25-11, 25-23)

Group B: Punjab University bt MG University 3-2 (25-15, 27-25, 23-25, 23-25, 15-5); Adamas University bt Himachal Pradesh University 3-1 (25-21, 25-16, 21-25, 26-24)

BASKETBALL at the Khelo India University Games

Men

Group A: Jain University bt University of Mumbai  77-48Group B: Jamia Islamia University bt L.N.I.P.E 80-69WomenGroup B: Kurukshetra  University bt Panjab  University 59-48.

FOOTBALL at the Khelo India University Games

Group A: Annamalai University 4 (M Saritha 47', 86', P Santhiya 38', R Miruthika 8' OG) bt Bharathidasan University 0; Vidyasagar University 0 drew with Madurai Kamaraj University 0Group B: Guru Nanak Dev University 2 (Anjali C 40', Mahima 45'+5') bt Utkal University 1 (Biswojita 56'); Chaudhary Bansi Lal University 1 (Rajni 9') bt Lovely Professional University 0

BADMINTON at the Khelo India University Games

Women's Team:

Jain University bt University of Calcutta 3-0 (Raghu Mariswamy bt Subhodeep Mondal 21-10, 21-13; M Rohith bt Aditya Mondal 21-13, 19-21, 23-21; Raghu Mariswamy and Sai Pratheek bt Aditya Mondal and Suraj Chakraborty 21-16, 21-12)

Punjabi University bt LN Mithila University 3-0 (Maisnam Meiraba Luwang bt Ashif Kamal 21-15, 21-13; Ayush Raj Gupta bt Shubham Kumar 21-12, 21-7; Kapil Chaudhary and Ayush Raj Gupta bt Ashif Kamal and Om Prakash Rana 21-12, 17-21, 21-19)

Dibrugarh University bt University of Rajasthan 3-1 (Angshuman Gogoi bt Sanjay Kumawat 17-21, 21-11, 23-21; Lucas Borah lost to Hariom Dulait 14-21, 11-21; Abhinab Gogoi and Angshuman Gogoi bt Ajay Choudhary and Sanjay Kumawat 19-21, 21-18, 21-13; Rajdeep Sarmah bt Devansh Saini 21-12, 21-19)

MDU Rohtak bt Shivaji University 3-0 (Ravi bt Aniruddha Mayekar 21-16, 21-19; Bharat Raghav bt Harshit Thakur 16-21, 21-16, 21-14; Pankaj and Ravi bt Akshay Kadam and Aniruddha Mayekar 15-21, 21-18, 21-18)

SRM Institute of Science & Technology bt Ch Charan Singh University 3-0 (Rithvik Satish Sanjeevani bt Saharsh Mohan 21-17, 21-12; H Arunesh bt Bhavuk Dabas 21-15, 21-14; Mauryan Kathiravan and Arjun Krishnan bt Vazid Ali and Vivek Gupta 21-7, 21-11)

Panjab University bt Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University 3-1 (Hardik Makkar bt Junaid Ansari 21-14, 21-16; Aditya Gupta lost to Rajan Yadav 19-21, 17-21; Hardik Makkar and Kevin Chaen Chha Wong bt Tushar Gagneja and Piyush Kumar 21-15, 21-10; Mohit Singh bt Prateek Srivastava 18-21, 21-13, 21-17)    

MALLAKHAMB at the Khelo India University Games Men’s team:

1. University of Mumbai 123.85 (Pole Mallakhamb 41.05; Rope Mallakhamb 41.60; Hanging Mallakhamb 41.20); 2. Savitri Phule University, Pune, 123.73; 3. Bundelkhand University 116.05.

Yesterday's results

VOLLEYBALL at the Khelo India University Games

Men: 

Group A: University of Calicut bt Mangalore University 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-13); MG University bt Guru Nanak Dev University 3-1 (26-24, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20)

Women: 

Group A: SRM University bt Bharathiar University 3-0 (25-19, 25-21, 25-11)

BASKETBALL at the Khelo India University Games

Men:

Group A: Punjab University bt Maharashi Dayanand University 113-73

MALLAKHAMB at the Khelo India University Games

Men's Team

University of Mumbai 123.85 (Pole 41.05, Rope 41.60, Hanging 41.20); Mangalore University 113.75 (38.85, 37.75, 37.15); Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University 109.90 (37.10, 36.30, 36.50); Gondwana University 109.68 (35.80, 35.83, 38.05)