KIUG 2025: Chandigarh University retain crown; MoS Raksha Khadse hails pathway to excellence

Jaipur, Dec 5 Chandigarh University rode on their stupendous performance in Canoe and Kayaking to successfully defend their overall championship crown at the Khelo India University Games Rajasthan 2025 here on Friday.

Chandigarh University finished their campaign with a total of 67 medals, including 42 gold, 14 silver, and 11 bronze. Lovely Professional University (LPU) ended their KIUG campaign as the runner-up with 32 gold, 25 silver, and 22 bronze medals.

Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, Raksha Nikhil Khadse, graced the colourful closing ceremony at Poornima University as curtains came down on the 12-day multi-sport extravaganza. Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan Dr Prem Chand Bairwa and Minister of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of Rajasthan, Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore also attended the glittering function.

Chandigarh University won 23 out of the 30 gold medals on offer in Canoe and Kayaking, a sports discipline which made its debut at the KIUG, six in swimming and five in athletics, two in wrestling and one each in weightlifting, shooting, cycling, archery, table tennis and kabaddi.

Lovely Professional University (LPU) finished their KIUG campaign as the runner-up with 78 medals, 11 medals more than the champions, but with fewer gold medals. Guru Nanak Dev University also finished with 32 gold medals, but their tally of 22 silver and 18 bronze meant that they had to settle for the third spot.

The Games also witnessed 12 new meet records being made in athletics, including two All India University records, to underline the high quality of competition throughout the 12 days.

Olympian and India’s top swimmer, Srihari Nataraj, was the most successful athlete of KIUG 2025 as he ended with nine gold and two silver medals to help Jain University clinch a total of 27 gold, nine silver, and nine bronze medals. Two gold medals from athletes and one in basketball helped the second edition champions finish in fourth place in the medals tally.

Hailing the Khelo India University Games, Khadse said the event was an opportunity for sportspersons of different states to connect with each other and learn about each other’s diverse cultural heritage, apart from creating a pathway for excellence.

“Losing or winning is a different matter, but athletes from every state and region have participated here. This is the most important and significant aspect of these Khelo India University Games. Wherever we go, we understand the culture of that state, learn the language, and move this sport forward with fresh energy,” Smt. Khadse said.

The Minister of State highlighted that sport is not just about winning medals but also a soft power on the global stage.

“Honourable Prime Minister Modi always says that the future of this country is our youth, and it is essential for the youth of every state to understand each other and every culture. Only then can we build a developed nation…

“Sport is a medium that can take this country forward as a soft power on the global stage. I congratulate all the athletes who have won medals and even more so those who have not yet won, because reaching this level is itself a new beginning through which you will progress. We aim to spread sports to every corner and household of the country because it is through sports that we learn unity,” she added.

With 28 gold medals on offer on the final day, including 24 in boxing, the fight for the second spot was clearly between Lovely Professional University and Guru Nanak Dev University. Lovely Professional University ultimately won the race as they captured two gold medals in boxing and one in kabaddi on the final day.

Guru Kashi University topped the standings in the boxing competition at Bharatpur’s Lohagarh Indoor Stadium on Friday, winning four gold, three silver, and five bronze medals, and jumped to fifth position in the overall standings with 15 gold, 15 silver, and 18 bronze medals.

The fifth edition of KIUG 2025 was being held across seven cities in Rajasthan with a whopping 4448 athletes from 222 Universities competing in 23 medal disciplines. The Games were held under the aegis of the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in collaboration with the Rajasthan State Sports Council and are being hosted by Poornima University.

RESULTS

BASKETBALL

Women: Gold – Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam; Silver – SRM University, Chennai; Bronze – Panjab University, Chandigarh

Men: Gold – Jain University; Silver – Christ University; Bronze – University of Madras

BOXING

Women

Minimum (45-48kg): Gold: Janhavi Churi (University of Mumbai), Silver: Bharti (Maharshi Dayanand University), Bronze: Nitika (Shri JJT University, Jhunjhunu), Simran (Guru Kashi University)

Light fly (50kg): Gold: Tamanna (Lovely Professional University), Silver: Khushi Deepak Jadhav (Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University), Bronze: Ritika (Chitkara University, Punjab), Sheetal Rani (Sports University of Haryana)

Fly (52kg): Gold: Devika Satyajit Ghorpade (Savitribai Phule Pune University), Silver: Mohini (Sports University of Haryana), Bronze: Yashika (Lovely Professional University), Pooja (Chaudhary Ranbir Singh University)

Bantam (54kg): Gold: Ruchika (Chaudhary Bansi Lal University, Bhiwani), Silver: Sunita (Maharaja Ganga Singh University), Bronze: Shivani (Sports University of Haryana), Kirti (Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar)

Feather (57kg): Gold: Charu Yadav (University of Engineering & Management), Silver: Vinka (Kurukshetra University), Bronze: Sneha Kumari Gupta (Maharaj Suhel Dev State University, Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh), Neha (Guru Kashi University)

Light (60kg): Gold: Nikita Chand (Soban Singh Jeena University), Silver: Vaishnavi Waghmare (Savitribai Phule Pune University, MS), Bronze: Poonam Ramnarayan Kaithwa (Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University), Mitali Kiran Gunjawale (Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil University, Satara)

Light welter (63kg): Gold: Disha Vijay Patil (Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon), Silver: Garima (Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya), Bronze: K. Monisha (University of Madras), Vanshika Singh (University of Rajasthan)

Welter (66kg): Gold: Lalita (Guru Kashi University), Silver: Arshdeep Kaur (Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar), Bronze: Sribhavana M (VELS Institute of Science and Advanced Studies)

Light middle (70kg): Gold: Saneh (Guru Kashi University), Silver: Komal Mehta (Soban Singh Jeena University), Bronze: Pratibha (Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa), Ananya Choudhary (University of Jammu)

Middle (75kg): Gold: Shweta (Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University, Rajasthan), Silver: Nisha Kumari (Chaudhary Bansi Lal University, Bhiwani), Bronze: Yogita Chouhan (The Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University), Khushi (Maharshi Dayanand University)

Light heavy (81kg): Gold: Naina (Baba Mastnath University), Silver: Anjali (Kurukshetra University), Bronze: Ekta (Guru Kashi University), Anjuman Sharma (Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University)

Heavy (+81kg): Gold: Ipsita Vikram (Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University, Kanpur), Silver: Vanshika Goswami (Himachal Pradesh University Summer Hills), Bronze: Tashree Menaria (University of Engineering & Management), Mankiratkaur Brar (Punjabi University)

Men

Fly (48-51kg): Gold: Anshul Saroha (Guru Kashi University), Silver: Mukesh (Maharaj Suhel Dev State University, Azamgarh), Bronze: Sumit Kumar Singh (Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University), Mukund Acharya (Jai Narain Vyas University, Rajasthan)

Bantam (51-54kg): Gold: Priyanshu Dabas (Sanskaram University, Jhajjar, Haryana), Silver: Sourabh (Nirwan University), Bronze: Prashant Ahirwar (Bundelkhand University, Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh), Sahil (Guru Kashi University)

Feather (54-57kg): Gold: Pankaj Singh Rilkotia (Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University), Silver: Akshat (Guru Kashi University), Bronze: Bhupinder Singh Saini (Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar), Sundram Yadav (Prof. Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University)

Light (57-60kg): Gold: Sagar (Lovely Professional University), Silver: Ashish Kumar (Guru Kashi University), Bronze: Pruthviraj Nitin Bagal (Bharati Vidyapeeth University (MH)), Karan (Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar University, Agra)

Light welter (60-63.5kg): Gold: Gorish Pujani (Shobhit University), Silver: Sachin Pawaria (Baba Mastnath University), Bronze: Ashutosh Bhagat (Lovely Professional University), Prashan Kumar (Maharshi Dayanand University)

Welter (63.5-67kg): Gold: Ankit (Guru Jambheshwar University of Sci. & Tech. Hisar), Silver: Ashish Saini (Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa); Bronze: Anke (Prof. Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University), Nitesh (Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Shekhawati University)

Light middle (67-71kg): Gold: Priyanshu (GNA University Phagwara), Silver: Naveen Siwach (Guru Kashi University), Bronze: Tejaswi Vashisht (Desh Bhagat University, Punjab), Himanshu (Baba Mastnath University (BMU)

Middle (71-75kg): Gold: Aryan Yadav (Sports University of Haryana), Silver: Vikas Kumar (Guru Kashi University), Bronze: Manish Manish Manish (Gurugram University), Mohit (Lovely Professional University)

Light heavy (75-80kg): Gold: Akshay Kumar (Panjab University, Chandigarh), Silver: Kabir Pandit (The Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University), Bronze: Shivam Saini (Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh State University, Aligarh), Kulbir (Lovely Professional University)

Cruiser (80-86kg): Bronze: Harshit Olayan (Rajiv Gandhi Praudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya, MP)

Heavy (86-92kg): Gold: Bobin Chauhan (Guru Kashi University), Silver: Rishabh Kumar Pandey (Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith), Bronze: Daksh (Chaudhary Bansi Lal University, Bhiwani), Jaivardhan (Maharshi Dayanand University)

Super heavy (92-92+): Gold: Manish (Shri JJT University, Jhunjhunu), Silver: Rhythm (CT University), Bronze: Vishal (Guru Kashi University), Rajat (The Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University)

KABADDI

Women: Gold – Chandigarh University; Silver – Lalit Narayan Mithila University; Bronze – Guru Kashi University, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Vishwavidyalaya

Men: Gold – Lovely Professional University; Silver – Punjabi University; Bronze – Guru Kashi University, Panjab University

VOLLEYBALL

Women: Gold – Lovely Professional University; Silver – Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology; Bronze – Chandigarh University

Men: University of Calicut; Silver – SRM University; Bronze – University of Madras.

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