- Odisha’s Anjali Munda won another gold medal in the women’s 200m individual medley.Monikha Sonowal of Assam and Isak of Mizoram won gold medals in weightlifting despite injuries.
Karnataka swimmer Manikanta L continued her impressive run, winning her third consecutive gold medal in the 200m individual medley to complete a hat-trick of gold medals. Odisha’s Anjali Munda claimed her second gold medal in the women’s event on Thursday, the second day of the Khelo India Tribal Games here.
There was also cheer for hosts Chhattisgarh, where local swimmer Anushka Bhagat won her second silver medal by finishing second in the women’s 200m individual medley.
This first edition of the Khelo India Tribal Games is being attended by 30 states and union territories, with approximately 3,800 athletes competing in nine sports. A total of 106 gold medals are at stake in archery, athletics, football, hockey, swimming, weightlifting, and wrestling, while mallakhamb and kabaddi have been included as demonstration sports.
Manikanta, who had won gold medals in the 100m breaststroke and 50m butterfly on Wednesday, continued her dominance by winning the 200m individual medley in 2:25.93 seconds. Tripura’s Riyaz Tripura (2:34.04 seconds) took silver and Odisha’s Kanhu Soren (2:36.21 seconds) took bronze.
In the women’s 200m individual medley, Anjali Munda won the gold medal with a time of 2:53.82 seconds. Anushka Bhagat of Chhattisgarh (2:59.33 seconds) took the silver and Anjali Malik of Odisha (3:06.13 seconds) took the bronze.
Karnataka tops the medal tally with six gold and two silver medals, while Odisha is second with three gold, one silver and four bronze medals.
In weightlifting, Monikha Sonowal of Assam and Isac Malsawmtluanga of Mizoram overcame injuries to win gold medals. Monikha, despite a knee injury, won the gold medal in the women’s 48 kg category by lifting a total of 132 kg with a 57 kg snatch and a 75 kg clean and jerk. Deepa Rani Malik (120 kg) of Odisha won the silver and Alaska Alina (115 kg) of Andaman and Nicobar won the bronze medal.
Monikha, who is from Dhemaji district in Assam, said she twisted her knee during practice three months ago and the coach was considering withdrawing her from the competition, but she decided to play. “I didn’t want to miss this competition because I wanted to make a name for myself at the national level,” the 19-year-old said. “I’m glad I was able to perform well under pressure.”
Mizoram’s Isaac Malsawmtluanga was also battling a back injury. He struggled to lift 108 kg in the snatch, finishing second, but made a remarkable comeback in the clean and jerk, lifting 130 kg for a total of 235 kg to win the gold medal. Jharkhand’s Babulal Hembram (230 kg) took the silver, and Odisha’s Subrata Naik (228 kg) took the bronze.