The fifth day of the Khelo India University Games, 2021 saw 17 medals awarded across five sports. On Wednesday, Jain University extended its grip on first place in the medal table by breaking five KIUG records and one national record; in the end, 63 universities had left their mark on medal table.
The most impressive performance of the day came from the weightlifting arena, where a new national record in the +87kg women’s division was set. MT Ann Mariya of Mangalore University annihilated the competition to earn gold. The 24-year-old lifted 129kg to break Manpreet Kaur’s (128kg) clean and jerk record set earlier this year at the National Championships.
The SAI National Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru is where Ann Mariya gets her training. Despite losing out on equaling her own national record in the combination (231kg) set at the National Championships, Mariya was thrilled to have surpassed her personal best in the clean and jerk in Bengaluru.
The action began in the pool early in the day, as Anna University set a new KIUG record en route to gold in the Men’s 4x100m Medley. Danush Suresh had promised that the medley result will be different after Anna University had lost the 4x100m freestyle to hosts Jain University. The battle did not disappoint me.
Jain University, which boasts Srihari Nataraj and Siva Sridhar among its ranks, comfortably dominated the race until the anchor leg. Adhithya Dinesh of Anna University claimed the lead with a strong swim and a stunning flip turn.
Adhithya got a hairline fracture in his back in January of this year and had to remain bedridden for three weeks. KIUG 2021 has been a great comeback for him; he also won gold in the 50m butterfly yesterday.
Jain University also won their first gold medals outside of the pool today, taking gold in both the men’s and women’s badminton team events. UV Shankar, the University’s Director of Sports, was overjoyed with the outcome and emphasized its significance for the hosts.
“The girls had won bronze and the boys had finished fourth at the All India Inter-University, so we knew they had quality but there was added pressure,” he said. “They reacted to the pressure in the perfect way. They’ve made the University very proud.”
At the shooting range, two medals were offered in mixed team events. Savitribai Phule (Savitribai Phule) Rasika Kulve and Gajanan Khandagale of Pune University won gold in the mixed 10m air rifle event, outshooting Manipal University’s Manini Kaushik and Yash Vardhan. Gajanan also won a bronze medal in the 10m individual air rifle competition.
In women’s basketball, University of Madras won gold for the fourth time at KIUG 2021, defeating SRM University 65-48.
Archery began today on the Jain Global campus, with four qualification events planned. Khelo India Scholars include 22 recurve archers (10 women) competing at KIUG 2021.
Aditya Choudhary (Lovely Professional University) won the men’s recurve with a score of 661. The men’s compound team event was won by Punjabi University, led by Sangampreet Bisla. The women from Punjabi University also won the women’s recurve team.
Muskan Kirar of Rani Durgavati Vishwavidhyalaya won the women’s compound with a score of 692. Kirar is the competition’s top-ranked woman, and she was eliminated in the quarterfinals last time. Raginee Markoo, who won silver in Bhubaneshwar, finished sixth in the qualifying (678).
On day six of the games, a total of 37 medals will be awarded. They will compete in men’s and women’s boxing, swimming, and judo.