Karnataka Crowned Champions of Khelo India Beach Games 2026; Tamil Nadu and Manipur Finish Close Behind

Karnataka emerged as the overall champions of the Khelo India Beach Games (KIBG) 2026 after a strong finish in the Open Water Swimming events at Gh...

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Karnataka emerged as the overall champions of the Khelo India Beach Games (KIBG) 2026 after a strong finish in the Open Water Swimming events at Ghoghla Beach. With three gold medals coming entirely from the discipline, along with two silver and six bronze, Karnataka topped the standings in the second edition of the tournament.

The event, hosted by the Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu and conducted under the guidance of the Sports Authority of India and various national federations, saw more than 1100 athletes competing across eight sports - volleyball, beach soccer, sepaktakraw, kabaddi, pencak silat, open water swimming, mallakhamb, and tug-of-war. Six sports carried medal status, with 32 gold medals decided across the week.

Ashmita & Dhrupad Shine in the Waters

Karnataka's dominance was driven by brilliant performances from Ashmita Chandra and Dhrupad Ramakrishna, who secured gold in the women's and men's 5km Open Water Swimming events respectively.

Ashmita completed her golden double, adding the 5km title to her 10km victory from Friday with a time of 1:35:11. Maharashtra's Diksha Yadav claimed silver, while Karnataka's Aasra Sudhir secured bronze.

In the men's 5km race, Dhrupad clocked 1:21:33, finishing just five seconds ahead of Uttar Pradesh's Anurag Singh. Karnataka added another bronze through Prashans HM, strengthening their medal count.

Medal Table Decided by Bronze Count

With Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Manipur each finishing with three gold and two silver medals, the overall rankings were determined by the number of bronze medals won. Karnataka's six bronze medals gave them the decisive edge.

Tamil Nadu claimed second place with three bronze, while last year's champions Manipur settled for third with two bronze medals.

Strong Performances Across States

Madhya Pradesh secured fourth place, powered entirely by their success in pencak silat, which offered the highest number of gold medals (16).

Hosts Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu finished sixth after earning two gold, two silver, and four bronze.

Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Odisha, Nagaland, and Rajasthan all finished within the top 10.

Drama in Beach Sepaktakraw

Manipur were in contention to retain their overall title entering the final day, with both their men's and women's sepaktakraw trio teams in medal rounds.

The Manipur women triumphed over West Bengal to win gold.

However, Tamil Nadu's victory in the men's Trio final helped them leapfrog Manipur into second place overall.