Hosts Tamil Nadu opened their account with two gold medals while West Bengal and Delhi bagged a gold each on the opening day of the 6th Khelo India Youth Games 2023 on Saturday.

Twins Devesh K and Sarvesh K clinched the Games first gold medal in Yogasana Rhythmic Pair boys’ category at the Rajarathinam stadium while Megha Maity and Urmee Samata of West Bengal claimed the title in the girls’ section.

Anbless Gowin N pocketed the boys’ Epee gold with a 15-11 victory over Zenith SH of Manipur at TNPESU Table Tennis hall, and Khanak Kaushik of Delhi defeated Himanshi Negi of Haryana 15-9 to take the gold in the girls’ Sabre Fencing.

Oviyea C and Shivani D added a bronze medal for the hosts from the Yogasana Arena in girls’ Rhythmic Pairs event with a total of 128.32 points while fencer Jefarlin JS bagged the bronze in girls’ Sabre.

The hosts wouldn’t have hoped for a better start after a grand opening ceremony had set the tone of the Khelo India Youth Games, which are being held in South India for the first time.

Devesh and Sarvesh showed fantastic co-ordination and stability to clinch the top spot in Rhythmic Pair event with a score of 127.89 points. West Bengal’s Avarjit Saha and Nil Sarkar bagged the silver medal with a score of 127.57 while Maharashtra’s Khush Ingole and Yadnesh Wankhede (127.20 points) took home the bronze medal.

Medal Tally: https://youth.kheloindia.gov.in/medal-tally

PHOTO CAPTION: KIYG 2023 - Gold Medalists Devesh K (L), Savesh K (R) winners of Rhythmic Pair Yogasan State - Tamil Nadu

Results:

Boxing

Boys:

54kg: Naveen Kumar (TN) bt Yash Gawai (Mah)

57kg: S Dhanachezhian (TN) bt Vivek Naithani (Utr)

63kg: Krish Kamboj (Har) bt Dorjay Namgyal (Lad)

67 kg: Ayush Shriwas (MP) bt Vedant Koraonkar (Goa)

71kg: Danish Poonia (Raj) bt Rohan Singh (Har)

Girls:

48kg: Elangbam Thoicha Devi (Man) bt V Lakshaya (TN)

50kg: Kashish (HP) bt Manasa Veni (AP)

54kg: Babita Singh (UP) bt Khanka (Del)

57kg: Anjali Koranga (Utk) bt Haripriya (Tel)

Fencing:

Boys Epee: Gold medal match: Anbless Gowin N (TN) bt Zenith SH (Man) 15-11

Bronze medal: Devraj (Har), Ashwini Shourya (Pun)

Girls Sabre: Gold medal match:

Khanak Kaushik (Del) bt Himanshi Negi (Har) 15-9

Bronze medals: Jefarlin JS (TN), Kashish Bharad (Mah)

Kabaddi

Boys:

Group A: Rajasthan bt Bihar 48-27; Maharashtra bt Madhya Pradesh 41-26

Group B: Haryana bt Chandigarh 58-39;

Girls:

Group A: Haryana bt Telangana 59-22; Tamil Nadu bt Maharashtra 41-32

Group B: Himachal Pradesh bt Bihar 49-23

Squash (Round of 16):

Boys: 1-Tavneet Singh Mundra (MP) bt Vansh Chandrakar (CG) 11-2, 11-2, 11-4; 2-Aryan Pratap Singh (UP) bt Gautham R Das (KL) 11-5, 11-4, 11-3; Arihant KS (TN) bt Malay Rathod (CG) 11-2, 11-2, 11-1; L Meyyappan (TN) bt Dishant Murjani (Raj) 10-12, 11-5, 8-11, 11-2, 13-11;

Girls: 1-Pooja Arthi R (TN) bt Subhadra K Sony (Ker) 11-2, 11-2, 11-2; 2-Nirupama Dubey (Mah) bt Perina Sharma (Del) 1-0 (retd); Shameena Riaz (TN) bt Chitrangda Goel (UP) 11-3, 14-12, 8-11, 11-3; Chhavi Saran (Raj) bt Reiva Nimbalkar (Mah) 11-6, 11-6, 6-11, 11-7

Yogasana:

Boys:

Rhythmic Pairs: Gold – Devesh K/Sarvesh K (TN) 127.89 pts; Silver – Avarjit Saha/Nil Sarkar (WB) 127.57; Bronze – Khush Ingole/Yadnesh Wankhede (Mah) 127.20

Girls:

Rhythmic Pairs: Gold – Megha Maity/Urmee Samata (WB) 128.76; Silver – Swara Gujar/Yuganka Rajam (Mah) 128.64; Bronze -- Oviyea C/Shivani D (TN) 128.32

ABOUT KIYG 2023, TAMIL NADU

The 6th Khelo India Youth Games 2023 from January 19-31 are being held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Chennai. This is the first time that Khelo India Youth Games are being held in South India. The Games are being played across four cities of Tamil Nadu, namely Chennai, Madurai, Trichy and Coimbatore. The mascot for the Games is Veera Mangai. Rani Velu Nachiyar, fondly called Veera Mangai, was an Indian queen who waged a war against British colonial rule. The mascot symbolizes the valour and spirit of Indian women, embodying the strength of women power. The logo for the games incorporates the figure of poet Thiruvalluvar. Over 5600 athletes will be participating in this edition of Khelo India Youth Games, spread across 13 days in 15 venues with 26 sporting disciplines, over 275 competitive events and 1 demo sport.  The 26 sporting disciplines are a diverse mix of conventional sports such as football, volleyball, badminton etc. and traditional sports such as kalaripayattu, gatka, thang ta, kabaddi and yogasana. Silambam, a traditional sport of Tamil Nadu, is being introduced as a demo sport for the first time in the history of Khelo India Youth Games.

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PPG/SK