Patna, May 15 Haryana stamped their authority on the wrestling mat at the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) 2025 Bihar, finishing with a commanding tally of 21 medals – eight gold, five silver, and eight bronze – across boys and girls’ categories. Maharashtra followed in second place with 17, with four gold, while Delhi’s boys and Rajasthan’s girls rounded out the top three in their respective divisions.
Maharashtra made a strong push on the final day, collecting seven medals, including two gold medals. Ayushka Pandurang bagged the girls’ 57kg title, followed by Sujay Nagnath Tanpure’s victory in the boys’ 71kg Freestyle. Delhi and Rajasthan also picked up two gold medals each.
Delhi’s Akshara won the U-17 girls’ 53kg final by pinning Karnataka’s Kavya Tukaram Danwenavar, while Pranjal Dahiya defeated Maharashtra’s Rushikesh Eknath Naik to win the boys' 60kg Greco-Roman crown. Rajasthan’s Ashvini Vishnoi emerged champion in the U-17 girls’ 65kg class, while Daksh Sharma defeated Delhi’s Ishu in the boys’ 60kg freestyle final.
In her first outing as coach of Haryana’s girls’ team, world championship bronze medallist and 2018 Commonwealth Games silver winner Pooja Dhanda guided all her seven girls to medals, including two gold.
“It is my first major tournament as a coach, and the experience was truly overwhelming. The wrestlers performed up to expectations,” said Pooja. “We will go back and work on our shortcomings to come back stronger.”
Pooja praised the Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) as a transformative platform for young athletes. Drawing a comparison with her early years in the sport, she highlighted the superior infrastructure and exposure available to today’s wrestlers. “Back then, we didn’t have such facilities. The exposure these kids get now is similar to what we got only after going abroad,” she said.
The results:
Boys:
60kg freestyle: Daksh Sharma (Rajasthan) beat Ishu (Delhi); Bronze medals: Pranav Krushnant More (Maharashtra) and Tanish (Haryana)
71kg Freestyle: Sujay Nagnath Tanpure (Maharashtra) beat Sushant Vashistha (Chandigarh); Bronze medals: Aryan Sharma (Rajasthan) and Moni (Haryana)
60kg Greco-Roman: Pranjal Dahiya (Delhi) beat Rushikesh Eknath Naik (Maharashtra); Bronze medals: Anubhav (Uttar Pradesh) and Sahil Megh (Punjab).
92kg Greco-Roman: Nitin (Haryana), beat Kaif Bin Salam (Telangana); Bronze medals: Harsh Deepak Thakare (Maharashtra) and Suraj Sambhaji Jamdar (Maharashtra).
Girls:
53kg: Akshara (Delhi) beat Kavya Tukaram Danwenavar (Karnataka); Bronze medals: Saarika (Haryana) and Doli (Uttar Pradesh)
57kg: Ayushka Pandurang (Maharashtra) beat Kaveri Talageri (Karnataka); Bronze medals: Kavita Mali (Rajasthan) and Antra (Haryana)
65kg: Ashvini Vishnoi (Rajasthan) beat Astha Anand Singh (Uttar Pradesh); Bronze Medals: Anshul (Haryana) and Srushti Shivaji Kare (Madhya Pradesh).
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