Dehradun/Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s women’s rugby team clinched the gold medal in a dominant 29-5 victory over Bihar in the women’s final at the 38th National Games Friday.
In the men’s final, Haryana defeated Maharashtra 22-7.
The competition on the day was intense across various sports. While Odisha’s rugby team made history, other athletes continued to shine across the Games. Karnataka’s 14-year-old swimming sensation, Dhinidhi Desinghu, added her fourth gold by winning the women’s 50m freestyle event.
Dhinidhi’s victory came in a time of 26.96 seconds, outpacing teammate Nina Venkatesh (27.34s), who claimed the bronze, and Maharashtra’s Avantika Chawan (27.28s), who took the silver. This victory solidified her dominance, following her previous golds in the women’s 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly, and the 4x100m freestyle relay.
Manipur’s weightlifters were also in the spotlight, with Bindyarani Devi breaking a national record in the women’s 55kg category. She lifted 88kg in the snatch, surpassing the previous record of 86kg, and continued her dominance in the clean and jerk with a lift of 113kg. Her total lift of 201kg was just 1kg short of her own national record.
Despite this, Manipur moved to the top of the medal tally, winning eight medals Friday, including golds from Bindyarani in weightlifting and a gold in wushu. Services, however, were close behind, adding five gold medals to secure second place with 18 medals.
Maharashtra continued to impress, securing the most medals of the day with nine, bringing their total to 32, including seven golds. Karnataka, previously at the top, fell to third with 17 medals but still managed to win multiple golds across various events.
In shooting, Maharashtra’s world junior champion, Parth Mane, clinched the gold in the men’s 10m air rifle event, beating teammate Rudranksh Patil, who took the silver. The strong performances from all athletes highlighted the competitive nature of the Games.
PNN & Agencies
