Bengaluru, April 28: Swimmer Siva Sridhar claimed seven gold and two silver medals as Jain University continued to dominate the pool at the Khelo India 2021 University Games, here on Thursday.
The day also brought an end to boxing and swimming competitions, as the focus slowly shifts to athletics, which begins on Saturday.
Thursday marked the final day of swimming and Jain University continued to dominate the pool, winning 14 gold medals in the entire competition. Siva Sridhar from the host university was the undoubted star, having won seven gold and two silver in pool. Her haul is greater than that of the most successful athletes in the previous edition (Siddhant Sejwal and Sadhvi Dhuri, five gold each).
With Siva claiming a host of medals, Jain University continued to dominate the medal table with 24 medals, 16 gold, five silver and three bronze. Punjab University came second with 27 medals, nine of which were gold. The University of Mumbai with 16 medals: six gold, six silver and four bronze. In total, 40 different universities have already registered at least one gold medal and 89 have obtained at least one medal at the event.
An avalanche of surprises was served at the archery competition that kicked off at the Jain Global Campus on Thursday.
First to fall was Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya’s Muskan Kirar in the women’s individual compound. Kirar had topped the qualifying round but failed to get going in the duels, falling to last-placed Sneh Rani of Guru Nanak Dev University 135-139. Rani was eliminated in the next round by Sujata of Punjabi University.
Last year’s silver medalist Raginee Markoo steadily progressed through the competition only to fall in the semi-finals. Kirar’s teammate Markoo lost to Madhura Dhamangaonkar of Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University 140-146.
The surprises also continued in the men’s area. Kulwinder Singh and Sangampreet Bisla from Punjabi University finished first and second in the men’s composite qualification yesterday.
But just like in the women’s section, number one seed Kulwinder fell in the first knockout round, losing to Shivaji University’s Kunal Shinde 143-141. Bisla made it through the first round, but fell to Hritik Sharma of Guru Nanak Dev University on a tiebreak in the next round. Both archers had shot 144, and 9 in the tiebreaker. Hritik won on the basis that his arrow was closer to the center.
Hritik said he was using the Khelo India University Games experience as a launching pad for his season. “I’m going to the Jr. Nationals after this, so it was crucial that I put on a good show here,” he said.
“No matter the opponent, this sport is about your own mental strength, your performance. And you have to look within. Today was the same. I made some mistakes, which I need to work on.” Hritik was defeated in the semi-finals by Tanishdeep Singh of the University of Delhi.
25 boxing medals (12 women, 13 men) were decided on Thursday, concluding an exciting event.
In the women’s competition, 26 different universities won a medal, with eleven universities winning gold in all 12 weight classes; Ch Ranbir Singh University is the only one to win two gold medals, in the 48-50kg and 60-63kg weight categories.
Five of the eleven universities that won boxing medals were from Haryana. The men’s event was no different, with 11 universities splitting into 13 categories: Lovely Professional University took home three gold medals.
There will be ten medals up for grabs on day six in the games, six in judo and four in shooting.