This November 26 event in Jaipur marked a triumphant outing for shooters Neeru Dhanda and Aditya Bharadwaj, who helped Guru Nanak Dev University sweep every available shotgun medal at the Khelo India University Games (KIUG) Rajasthan 2025 held at the Jagatpur Shooting Range. Their cycling squad also dominated, claiming both solo road race titles and pushing the university’s gold count into double digits.
Neeru, the reigning Asian Shooting Championships champion, captured her fourth consecutive individual gold at KIUG with a perfect 47‑point score. She topped a podium that also featured Gulshan Keer—who earned silver with 39 points—and Nandika Singh, who took bronze on 30 points. Together, the trio powered a team gold haul with a combined score of 344.
Despite a close second place in qualifiers behind Keer, Neeru elevated her performance in the final: “I was determined to win the gold today, as this is going to be my last Khelo India University Games. I had won the gold in the last three editions of the University Games, and I wanted to end this with another gold medal,” she told SAI Media. Neeru first appeared at the Khelo India Youth Games in 2020, where she earned a silver, and she has since become a mainstay at the University Games.
The fifth edition of KIUG 2025 unfolds across seven Rajasthani cities and sees 4,448 athletes from 222 universities compete in 23 medal‑bearing disciplines. The Games run under the Sports Authority of India in partnership with the Rajasthan State Sports Council, with Poornima University acting as host.
Aditya Bharadwaj, leading the men’s trap team, secured a double gold for GNDU with a 45‑point final score. Singh Virk of Punjabi University took silver (43 points), while Bhaktiyaar Malik from Manav Rachna bagged bronze (34 points).
Earlier in the day, cyclist Meenakshi Rohilla added a gold in the individual road race to her win in the time trial, while her teammate Akshar Tyagi captured the men’s road race crown, elevating Guru Nanak Dev University’s tally to ten gold medals.
Jain University, the reigning Khelo India University Games champions, continued to dominate the medal table. They added four more swimming golds to their two‑day haul of eight, clinching both the 4×100 freestyle relay and individual titles for Nina Venkatesh (women’s 50 m butterfly) and Bhavya Sachdeva (women’s 400 m IM).
Harsh Saroha of Chandigarh University bested Olympian Srihari Nataraj in the men’s 50 m butterfly (winning gold in 24.90 s) and also took gold in the 200 m butterfly (2:06.88 s). Ishan Rathi, his teammate, lifted a gold in the 200 m backstroke with a time of 2:13.51 s.
Highlights from the day
Badminton (Quarter‑finals)
- Men: Mahatma Gandhi University defeated Shri JJt University (3‑1); Chitkara University beat Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal (3‑2); Panjab University over Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar (3‑1); University of Mumbai outperformed SRM University (3‑2).
- Women: Chitkara University overcame Shri JJt University (2‑0); Lovely Professional University triumphed over Savitribai Phule Pune (2‑0); SRM University dominated Kalinga Institute (2‑0); Maharshi Dayanand University edged Jain University (2‑1).
Cycling
- Women’s Individual Road Race: Gold – Meenakshi Rohilla (GNDU); Silver – Muskan Gupta (Veer Narmad South Gujarat); Bronze – Hemlata Dhakad (Bagalkot).
- Men’s Individual Road Race: Gold – Akshar Tyagi (GNDU); Silver – Adwaith Sankar SS (Kerala); Bronze – Chirag Sehgal (LPU).
Football (Group Stage)
- Men: Adamas University beat Chatrapati SM University 3‑1; Guru Nanak Dev University drew with University of Calcutta 1‑1.
Shooting
- Women’s Trap: Gold – Neeru (GNDU) 47; Silver – Manisha Keer (GNDU) 39; Bronze – Nandika (GNDU) 30.
- Trap Team: Gold – Guru Nanak Dev University 344; Silver – Panjab University 298.
- Men’s Trap: Gold – Aditya Bharadwaj (GNDU) 45; Silver – Jungsher Singh Virk (Punjab) 43; Bronze – Bhaktiyaar Malik (MRS) 34.
- Trap Team: Gold – Guru Nanak Dev University 335; Silver – Jamia Milia Islamia 291; Bronze – Swami Vivekanand S University 103.
Swimming
- Women: 400 m IM gold – Bhavya Sachdeva (Jain) 5:27.72; 200 m backstroke gold – Pratyasa Ray (Utkal) 2:29.51; 50 m breaststroke gold – Rithvika M (KIIT) 34.95; 50 m butterfly gold – Nina Venkatesh (Jain) 28.40; 4×100 freestyle relay gold – Jain University 4:12.50.
- Men: 1500 m freestyle gold – Aneesh Gowda (Christ) 16:37.66; 200 m butterfly gold – Harsh Saroha (Chandigarh) 2:06.88; 200 m backstroke gold – Ishan Rathi (Chandigarh) 2:13.51; 50 m breaststroke gold – Vidith Shankar (Reva) 29.28; 4×100 freestyle relay gold – Jain University 3:37.15.
Weightlifting
- Women 58 kg: Gold – Rima Bhoi (LPU) 197 kg; Silver – Rajyashree Biswas (ADU) 195 kg; Bronze – Khushi Kumari (PPU) 183 kg.
- Men 65 kg: Gold – Sanjay Lokhande (SPPU) 244 kg; 71 kg: Gold – RS Tarun Sharma (GKU) 260 kg.
The event concluded with bsk/, finishing a successful calendar of competitive university sports across Rajasthan.
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