Patna: Hosts Bihar opened their gold medal account in the Khelo India Youth Games 2024 with a spirited win over fancied Manipur in the boys Sepak Takraw team final here on Thursday.
Later in the day, Jammu and Kashmir also joined the gold medal winners’ list as their boys’ volleyball team edged out Uttar Pradesh in a thrilling summit clash.
Bihar had to endure a heartbreak when the girls’ quad team lost in straight games to Manipur but the boys’ combination of Harshit Kumar, Parthsarathi, Tanmay Raj, Ankit Kumar, Siddhant Kumar and Anshu Kumar put the smiles on the faces as it beat Manipur 17-15, 15-11.
Jammu and Kashmir’s boys’ volleyball team showcased resilience and focus to down Uttar Pradesh 35-33, 19-25, 25-17, 25-21 in a high-intensity final. Tamil Nadu rallied from the loss of the opening game to beat West Bengal 3-1 to claim the girls crown.
Rishav Sawarn added to Bihar’s medal tally with a bronze in the boys’ +81kg judo event. With one gold, five silver and six bronze medals, Bihar thus rose to the top half of the medal table.
Maharashtra consolidated its place at the top with 19 gold, 19 silver and 16 bronze medals.
The battle for second place intensified with Rajasthan, who have 12 gold, five silver and four bronze, staying marginally ahead of Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh, who also crossed the 10-gold mark on Thursday.
Karnataka swimmers staged a comeback, securing three gold to help the team open a slight lead over Madhya Pradesh.
With both Kabaddi gold medals, Haryana rose to top five, though its haul of five gold, five silver and nine bronze is underwhelming from a traditional sporting giant.
In New Delhi, Rajasthan’s cyclists, led by treble winner Harshita Jakhar, topped the competition with a seven-gold haul. Jharkhand and Maharashtra picked up a gold each through Sabina Kimari and Siddhesh Ghorphade respectively.
In Judo competitions, Rajasthan’s Babnoor Brar (boys’ +81kg) and Mani’s Biplia Yumnam (girls’ +63kg) claimed the last two gold medals.
Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Chandigarh finished with two golds 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 Range in New Delhi, Brar’s effort helped Rajasthan hold on its second position on the medal table.
Karnataka (11 gold, 15 silver and 4 bronze) could have claimed that slot if the girls’ 4×100 medley team had beaten Maharashtra at the BIPARD Swimming Pool in Gaya.
Madhya Pradesh’s Sidhi Gupta fell short of completing a sweep of the three Mallakhamb gold medals in the girls competition as she won the All-round and Pole events but finished outside the medal bracket in the Rope event where Maharashtra secured a 1-2 finish through Aarya Salunkhe and Tanushree Jadhav.
Meanwhile, Bihar led the charge with multiple top-three finishes across various events as e-sports made debut as a demonstration sport.
A total of eight states participated in the event, competing in disciplines such as BGMI, Chess, Street Fighter 6 and eFootball.
