Khelo India University Games 2025 Opens With Impressive Performances; Cycling-Weightlifting Stars Shine On Opening Day

Jaipur, Nov 25: Meenakshi Rohilla from Guru Nanak Dev University the first gold medal in the Khelo India University Games 2025. She won the women's individual time trial in cycling, marking a strong start

for the event in Rajasthan. Meanwhile, Jain University showed dominance in swimming, thanks to Olympian Srihari Nataraj, who helped them take the lead in the medal tally on the first day.

The KIUG 2025, held across seven cities in Rajasthan, involves 4,448 athletes from 222 universities competing in 23 disciplines. Organised by the Sports Authority of India, in partnership with the Rajasthan Government and Poornima University, the Games promise intense competition and showcase diverse sporting talents.

Impressive Performances in Swimming

Jain University claimed the top spot on the medals table by winning eight out of 11 swimming gold medals on offer. The university also grabbed two silver and four bronze medals, establishing a significant lead over Lovely Professional University, which bagged four golds across shooting and weightlifting.

Olympian Srihari Nataraj was instrumental in Jain University's swimming success. He clinched gold in the men's 100m backstroke and 50m freestyle. Additionally, he led the team to victory in the men's 4x200m freestyle relay, contributing significantly to Jain's medal haul.

Outstanding Performances in Cycling and Weightlifting

In cycling, Meenakshi Rohilla, a bronze medallist at the 2022 Asian Championships, demonstrated her prowess in road racing. She strategically paced herself to finish the 30km individual time trial in 45:31.907, averaging a speed of 39.5 km/hr, beating her competitors.

In Bikaner, Kajol Sargar from Shivaji University lifted a total of 158 kgs to win gold in the women's 48kg weightlifting category. Kajol, overcoming a hip injury, successfully defended her title against competitors from Berhampur and Chandigarh universities.

Medal Tally Updates

Guru Nanak Dev University also made a strong start, bagging three gold medals. Mitvaben Chaudhari won in women's Epee, while Aakhri triumphed in women's Saber, adding to Meenakshi's cycling gold. These victories positioned the university well in the overall standings.

In the men's 40km individual time trial, Manav Sarda clinched the first gold for Maharaja Ganga Singh University with a time of 52:12.947. Meanwhile, Lovely Professional University's Sakshi Padekar secured the women's 10m air rifle gold with an impressive score of 253.2 at the Jagatpura Shooting Range.

Additional Highlights from the Games

The weightlifting events saw impressive performances as well. Bornali Borah from Lovely Professional University lifted a total of 168kgs to win in the women's 53kg category. In men's 60kg, Golom Tinku's effort of 256kg secured another gold for LPU.

Elsewhere, the badminton men's round of 16 saw Panjab University defeating Jadavpur University 3-0. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University and Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University also advanced with similar scores against their opponents.

On the football field, Annamalai University from Tamil Nadu beat Goa University 1-0 in the women's group stage. In hockey, MD University, Haryana, overcame Lovely Professional University 2-1, while Guru Nanak Dev University triumphed 6-0 over The Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Sports University, Punjab.

Khelo India University Games 2025: November 25 Results

Sport	Category / Event	Result Details
Badminton	Round of 16 - Men	Panjab University bt Jadavpur University (WB) 3-0; Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University bt Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya 3-0; Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University bt Andhra University 3-0; Chitkara University Punjab bt University of Delhi 3-0
Cycling	Women - Individual Time Trial	Gold - Meenakshi (GNDU) 00:45:31.907; Silver - Pooja Bishnoi (MGSU) 00:46:52.003; Bronze - Apurva Gore (SPPU) 00:47:24.933
Cycling	Men - Individual Time Trial	Gold - Manav Sarda (MGSU) 00:52:12.947; Silver - Jai Dogra (PU) 00:53:14.315; Bronze - Gaurang Singh Gaur (LPU) 00:54:32.813
Fencing	Women - Epee	Gold - Mitvaben Chaudhari (GNDU); Silver - Tanuja (GNDU); Bronze - Yashkeerat Hayer (Panjab Uni), Dnyaneshwari Shinde (SRTM Uni)
Fencing	Women - Saber	Gold - Aakhri (GNDU); Silver - Shreya Gupta (GNDU); Bronze - Beni Quebha MR (Punjabi Uni), Laishram Abi Devi (LPU)
Fencing	Men - Foil	Gold - K Abhinash (Guru Kashi Uni); Silver - Harshil Sharma (GNDU); Bronze - Shaker Sayyad (BAMU), Shubham (GNDU)
Judo	Women - 48kg	Gold - Jaanvi Yadav (GNDU); Silver - Ganga Thapa (MSU); Bronze - Saniya NB (CUK)
Judo	Women - 52kg	Gold - Mehek Singh (PU); Silver - Anumol A (CUK); Bronze - Manvi (CCS)
Judo	Men - 60kg	Gold - Anurag Sagar (DAVU); Silver - Om Sameer Hingmire (SRTM); Bronze - Rahul Verma (MSUS)
Judo	Men - 66kg	Gold - Vinay Kumar (CLDU); Silver - Ayush Mawri (RTU); Bronze - Choudhary Prashant Raj Singh (HMNG)
Football	Women - Group Stage	Annamalai University bt Goa University 1-0; University of Calicut bt Adamas University 5-0
Hockey	Women	MD University Haryana bt LPU 2-1; GNDU bt Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Sports University (Punjab) 6-0
Swimming	Women - 400m Freestyle	Gold - Bhavya Sachdeva (Jain Uni) 4:38.93; Silver - Ashmitha Chandra (Jain Uni) 4:42.16; Bronze - Pratyasa Ray (Utkal Uni) 4:52.47
Swimming	Women - 200m Breaststroke	Gold - Yashvi Kharat (HSNC Uni) 2:49.75; Silver - Vasupalli Naga Greeshmini (Jain Uni) 2:50.01; Bronze - Divyanka Pradhan (KIIT) 2:50.23
Swimming	Women - 100m Backstroke	Gold - Pratyasa Ray (Utkal Uni) 1:08.14; Silver - Naisha Shetty (Bengaluru City Uni) 1:08.90; Bronze - Shrungi Bandekar (Jain Uni) 1:09.54
Swimming	Women - 50m Freestyle	Gold - Nina Venkatesh (Jain Uni) 27.69; Silver - Yogya Singh (LPU) 28.20; Bronze - Nilbjaa Ghosh (KIIT) 28.27
Swimming	Women - 4x200m Freestyle Relay	Gold - Jain University 9:33.23; Silver - Chandigarh University 9:39.12; Bronze - KIIT 9:51.32
Swimming	Men - 400m Freestyle	Gold - Aneesh S Gowda (Christ Uni) 4:10.27; Silver - Shivank Vishwanath (VTU) 4:15.09; Bronze - Dhyan Balakrishna (Jain Uni) 4:20.79
Swimming	Men - 200m IM	Gold - Shoan Ganguly (Jain Uni) 2:12.19; Silver - Shivank Vishwanath (VTU) 2:14.92; Bronze - Vraj Patel (Gujarat Uni) 2:15.83
Swimming	Men - 200m Breaststroke	Gold - Manikanta L (Jain Uni) 2:24.87; Silver - Deepak Patil (Mumbai Uni) 2:28.86; Bronze - Keshav Kaushik (Panjab Uni) 2:29.55
Swimming	Men - 100m Backstroke	Gold - Srihari Natraj (Jain Uni) 58.25; Silver - Dhyaan M (Reva Uni) 59.70; Bronze - Xavier D'Souza (Jain Uni) 1:00.87
Swimming	Men - 50m Freestyle	Gold - Srihari Natraj (Jain Uni) 23.79; Silver - Sahil Pawar (SPPU) 24.35; Bronze - Xavier D'Souza (Jain Uni) 24.71
Swimming	Men - 4x200m Freestyle Relay	Gold - Jain University 8:08.49; Silver - University of Madras 8:12.94; Bronze - Panjab University 8:21.95
Shooting	Women - 10m Air Rifle	Gold - Sakshi Padekar (LPU) 253.2; Silver - Disha Dhankhar (PUC) 252; Bronze - R Narmada Nithin (UM) 230.5
Shooting	Women - 10m Air Rifle Team	Gold - Lovely Professional University 1884; Silver - Panjab University 1878; Bronze - Solapur University 1876.2
Weightlifting	Women - 48kg	Gold - Kajol Sargar (SHU) 158kg; Silver - Rinki Nayak (BRU) 149kg; Bronze - Rani Nayak (CHU) 148kg
Weightlifting	Women - 53kg	Gold - Bornali Borah (LPU) 168kg; Silver - Kiuchangliu Gangmei (MNU) 167kg; Bronze - Anu N (UCK) 150kg
Weightlifting	Men - 60kg	Gold - Golom Tinku (LPU) 256kg; Silver - Kumbheswar Mallik (CHU) 223kg; Bronze - Sachin (CTU) 214kg

Overall, the opening day of KIUG 2025 showcased remarkable talents and competitive spirit, setting a thrilling tone for the rest of the Games. Participants from various universities exhibited exceptional skills and determination, contributing to a vibrant sports event.