Jaipur, Nov 25 – The Khelo India University Games Rajasthan 2025 opened on a hot Tuesday at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium complex, with cycling taking centre stage. Guru Nanak Dev University’s Meenakshi Rohilla made history by claiming the very first gold medal of the event, winning the women’s individual time‑trial. At the same time, the defending champions – Jain University – surged ahead in the medal table thanks to a dominant swimming contingent headed by Olympic‑qualifier Srihari Natraj, who secured two individual golds and a relay win.
The fifth edition of KIUG 2025 is being spread over seven Rajasthani cities, drawing 4,448 athletes from 222 universities to compete across 23 medal events. The Sports Authority of India, together with the Rajasthan Government and State Sports Council, is running the games, while Poornima University plays host.
A total of 25 gold medals were up for grabs on opening day. Jain University captured eight of the nine swimming golds, added two silvers and four bronzes, and built a comfortable lead over Lovely Professional University, which netted two shooting golds and two weightlifting titles. In fencing, Guru Nanak Dev University took three golds – Mitvaben Chaudhari (women’s epee), Aakhri (women’s saber), and Meenakshi (women’s individual time‑trial). Srihari Natraj began the day with a 100‑m backstroke win (58.25 s), followed by a 50‑m freestyle triumph (23.79 s), before helping Jain win the men’s 4×200 m relay.
Other KIUG 2025 golds for Jain included Bhavya Sachdeva in the 400‑m freestyle, Shoan Ganguly in the 200‑m individual medley, Manikanta L in the 200‑m breaststroke, Nina Venkatesh in the 50‑m freestyle, and the women’s 4×200‑m relay team.
Cycling made its debut at these games, with Meenakshi, a bronze medallist at the 2022 Asian Championships (team pursuit), demonstrating her road‑racing prowess by winning the inaugural gold through a well‑timed, patient strategy. She trains at the National Centre of Excellence of the Sports Authority of India in Patiala. 23‑year‑old Meenakshi slipped behind local favourite Pooja Bishnoi through the first 10‑km lap of the 30‑km time‑trial, then surged ahead to finish in 45 min 31.907 s, averaging 39.5 km/h. Bishnoi took silver in 46 min 52.003 s, while Apurva Gore of Savitribai Phule Pune University hauled bronze in 47 min 24.933 s.
In the men’s 40‑km time‑trial, Manav Sarda of Maharaja Ganga Singh University captured the first gold for his team, clocking 52 min 12.947 s.
At the Jagatpura Shooting Range, Sakshi Padekar of Lovely Professional University registered the women’s 10‑m air rifle gold with 253.2 points. Disha Dhankhar (Panjab Univ.) earned silver (252 points), and R Narmada Nithin (University of Madras) secured bronze (230.5 points). Sakshi also topped the qualifiers with 633.5 points and, together with Priyanka Das and Sanjeeta Das, led her team to the gold with a cumulative score of 1884.
In weightlifting, held in Bikaner’s indoor hall, Kajol Mahadev Sargar (Shivaji Univ., 48 kg), Golom Tinku (Lovely Professional Univ., 61 kg) and Bornali Borah (53 kg) each claimed a gold. Kajol, battling a hip injury for two years, lifted 73 kg in the snatch and 85 kg in the clean‑and‑jerk for a 158‑kg total, surpassing Rinki Nayak (149 kg, Berhampur Univ.) and Rani Nayak (148 kg, Chandigarh Univ.). In the men’s 61‑kg class, Golom’s 256‑kg total (112 kg snatch, 144 kg clean‑and‑jerk) outpaced Khumbheswar Mallik (223 kg, Chandigarh Univ.) and Sachin (214 kg, CT Univ.) who earned silver and bronze. Bornali later totaled 168 kg (73 kg snatch, 95 kg clean‑and‑jerk), securing gold, with Kiuchangliu Gangmei (167 kg, Manipur Univ.) taking silver and Anu N (150 kg, Calicut Univ.) bronze.
Key medal performances across sports included:
- Badminton (Round of 16 men): Panjab Univ. beat Jadavpur Univ., Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada beat Devi Ahilya Vishvavidyalaya, Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal beat Andhra Univ., and Chitkara beat Delhi.
- Cycling: Meenakshi (GKDU) won women’s time‑trial gold; Manav Sarda (MGSU) took men’s gold, with Jai Dogra (PU) silver and Gaurang Singh Gaur (LPU) bronze.
- Fencing: Women’s epee golds went to Mitvaben Chaudhari (GKDU) and Tanuja (GKDU); women’s saber gold to Aakhri (GKDU) with Shreya Gupta (GKDU) silver; men’s foil gold to K Abhinash (Guru Kashi Uni.), silver to Harshil Sharma (GKDU), bronze to Shaker Sayyad (Dr. Babasaheb) and Shubham (GKDU).
- Judo: Women’s 48 kg gold to Jaanvi Yadav (GKDU), silver to Ganga Thapa (MSU), bronze to Saniya NB (CUK). Men’s 60 kg gold to Anurag Sagar (DAVU), silver to Om Sameer Hingmire (SRTM), bronze to Rahul Verma (MSUS); 66 kg gold to Vinay Kumar (CLDU), silver to Ayush Mawri (RTU), bronze to Prashant Raj Singh (HMNG).
- Football (Group Stage women): Annamalai (TN) beat Goa 1‑0; Calicut beat Adamas 5‑0.
- Hockey (women): MD Univ. (HR) beat LPU 2‑1; GKDU beat Bhupinder Singh Sports ⁓6‑0.
- Swimming: Detailed medals in various strokes and relays across sexes, with Jain, LPU, and other universities claiming golds.
- Shooting: Women’s 10‑m air rifle gold to Sakshi Padekar (LPU); team gold went to LPU (1884 points), silver to Panjab, bronze to Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar (Solapur).
Across all sports, the medals tally reshaped as the games continued, with universities jockeying for the top spot. The event showcased the depth of India’s university talent and set the stage for further clashes in the remaining cities and dates of KIUG 2025.
Stay informed on all the latest news, real-time breaking news updates, and follow all the important headlines in world News on Latest NewsX. Follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter(X), Gettr and subscribe our Youtube Channel.
