KIYG 2025: Maharashtra set to bag team title as athletes blaze track; Bihar wins more gold (Roundup)

IANS May 14, 2025 532 views

Maharashtra's athletes have secured a dominant position at the Khelo India Youth Games 2025, making them likely champions as the final day approaches. Bihar, though not in the top 10, made a significant impact with surprise gold medals in Thang-Ta, revealing the state's diverse athletic prowess. Haryana's grapplers and boxers also showed exceptional talent, seizing multiple golds and catching the eye of various talent scouts. As the games near their conclusion, Maharashtra’s lead seems unassailable, heralding them as the clear frontrunners.

"On another sweltering evening, Khushi Yadav ran a lonely race to win the 2000m steeplechase gold with consummate ease." - Article Content
Patna, May 14: With their athletes bagging 10 gold medals, Maharashtra maintained their position at the top of the tally and are all set to win the team championship title with a day left for the Khelo India Youth Games 2025 to end. Thanks to their athletes' dominance in the track and field competition, Maharashtra has a huge lead over Haryana and Rajasthan, at No. 2 and No. 3 on the medal tally on Wednesday.

Key Points

1

Maharashtra leads KIYG 2025 with track dominance

2

Bihar excels in Thang-Ta, winning surprise golds

3

Haryana grapplers and boxers impress talent spotters

Host Bihar may not be among the top 10 teams in this edition of Khelo India, but they continue to make an impression. Bihar’s tally of gold medals swelled to seven with victories from an unexpected quarter, Thang-Ta, a traditional martial art practiced in North-East India. Coached by a Manipuri, Bihar won two Thang-Ta gold medals in Gaya.

Every evening, on the tracks of the Patliputra Sports Complex, Bihar has come to the party. On another sweltering evening, Khushi Yadav ran a lonely race to win the 2000m steeplechase gold with consummate ease. It was Bihar’s second gold in track and field after Alka Singh’s shot put gold.

The weightlifting competition, which has produced 13 youth national records, came to an end in Rajgir on Wednesday. Bihar and Jammu & Kashmir won their first weightlifting medals of the Games in a sport where Maharashtra was dominant.

These Games have been all about rising talent who train at several Khelo India centres or National Centres of Excellence. The boxing competition, which also came to an end, threw up a few surprises with Mizoram’s Samuel Zadeng catching the eye with his gold in the 70 kg category.

As expected, Haryana boxers dominated the ring and have caught the attention of the talent spotters.

In the men’s football final in Begusarai, Jharkhand defeated Odisha for the boys’ title. Meghalaya and Mizoram finished in joint third. The final was well contested with Odisha and Jharkhand finishing 2-2 after regulation time. In the shootout that followed, Jharkhand won 5-4.

On the penultimate day of wrestling competition, Haryana grapplers dominated the podium, taking three of the seven gold medals on offer. In the girls’ 69kg weight division, Haryana’s Manisha emerged the champion after defeating Rajasthan’s Palak Yadav 4-0, while the bronze medals went to Anshika Yadav of Uttar Pradesh and Sukhdeep Kumari of Punjab.

In the boys’ Greco-Roman category, Haryana’s Vineet (71kg) took home the gold while in the boys’ U-17 freestyle category, Sahil enriched the state with the third gold in the 55kg category after beating Delhi’s Chirag Dahiya. The bronze medals went to the Maharashtra duo of Soham Sunil Kumbhar and Dhanraj Ganapati Jamnik.

Thursday will be the final day of the competition with seven wrestling gold medals up for grabs. Even if Haryana wins all seven, Maharashtra looks home and dry with a massive lead of 20-plus gold medals.

Reader Comments

R
Rajesh K.
Maharashtra's dominance is impressive but not surprising! Our state has always invested in sports infrastructure. Hope other states learn from this and develop their own training systems. Bihar's performance in Thang-Ta shows how traditional sports can shine if given proper support 👏
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Priya M.
So proud of our Jharkhand boys for winning football gold! 🎉 This proves talent exists everywhere in India, not just in metro cities. KIYG is doing great work in discovering hidden gems from smaller states. More such tournaments needed!
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Amit S.
While Maharashtra's performance is commendable, I wish media would focus more on underdog stories like Bihar's Thang-Ta wins or Mizoram's boxing gold. These are the real game-changers for Indian sports diversity!
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Sunita R.
Haryana's wrestling dominance continues! But I'm more impressed with how different states are excelling in different sports - Manipuri coach for Bihar, NE martial arts, Jharkhand football. This is the real "unity in diversity" of Indian sports 🇮🇳
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Vikram J.
Good performance overall but disappointed with South Indian states' representation. KIYG should ensure better participation from all regions. Also, why no coverage of para-athletes? Inclusive sports development should be the focus.

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Tags:
Khelo India Youth Games 2025 Maharashtra Bihar Haryana Wrestling Thang-Ta