Prasanna Bendre Wins Gold After 20-Day Weight Category Switch at KIBG 2026

Bendre, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu's star Pencak Silat athlete, was looking forward to defending his Tanding gold on home turf at the Khelo India Beach Games 2026 when a last-minute revision to the weight categories meant he had to compete in a much higher weight category this year or opt out.

With only 20 days left before the competition, Bendre had to move from the 40-45 kg to the 50-55 kg weight category, meaning he had to gain weight to compete against bigger and stronger opponents. But instead of giving up, the 23-year-old embraced the challenge and powered his way to a second successive gold medal in Tanding, this time beating Manipur's Rohit Meitei in the final at Ghoghla Beach in Diu.

"Before these Games, I was in Srinagar as part of a national camp, and on return, I found out that my normal weight category (40-45kg) won't be in KIBG 2026, and the Games were just 20 days away. I had no other choice but to take it in my stride and prepare for the next weight category. The only challenge was that my opponents were already stronger, since that could be their normal weight.

"I had to put on weight, and for that I mixed dates, bananas, figs, and many other ingredients to prepare my shake, which I started having twice daily. It isn't easy to put on so much weight in such a short span, but somehow I managed to get around 50-51kgs," Prasanna Bendre was quoted as saying by SAI Media on Saturday.

Having already secured a silver medal earlier in the men's senior Tunggal event, Prasanna credited his coaches - Alexander and Philia Thomas - for encouraging him to trust his technique as he stepped up in weight during his Tanding final.

For Prasanna, who has devoted over a decade to the sport, the journey into Pencak Silat began with a chance encounter with his coaches, an encounter that shaped his career.

"It's an interesting story. I used to go for tuition classes to their home when I was in Class 8, and then I got to know about their martial arts background. They had just shifted to Daman around that time, and were planning to set up the academy, and somewhere I found myself at the right place and at the right time. I was one of the first students to be enrolled at the Honour Academy, and I'm grateful to my coaches for trusting in me," said Prasanna, who finished inside the top eight at the 2024 World Championships, held in Abu Dhabi.

For Prasanna, the trip to Abu Dhabi was another tale of struggle, as his father, employed with a private company, had to take a loan of almost a lakh and raise the remaining amount from well-wishers to fund his tour.

"It was difficult to manage financially. My father had to take a loan from the local moneylenders in Daman, and he's still repaying the debt. The rest of the amount was raised through a fundraiser from the Marathi community in Daman," said the younger of the two siblings in his family.

"It was the same case when I went to Dubai for the Asian Championship in 2023, where I came back with a bronze in the Tanding 40-45kg. But thankfully, we somehow managed to repay that debt," added Prasanna, who had also won a silver in the 2022 Asian Championship held in Kashmir.

Prasanna, who holds a Master's in Psychology from Madhav University in Rajasthan, had to miss the 2025 National Championships in Lucknow due to his final examinations. With his academic commitments now behind him and another Khelo India gold secured, he is looking forward to focusing on the sport and finding a job to support his family.

"My father is retiring from his job next year, so I'll have to take up a job to support my family, so that's the focus for now," said Prasanna, who also serves as an assistant coach at the Honour Academy.

- IANS