Patna, May 15 Karnataka girls and Uttar Pradesh boys won well-deserved gold medals but in contrasting styles in the basketball competition in the Khelo India Youth Games 2025 Bihar at the Patliputra Sports Complex Indoor Stadium here on Thursday.
Karnataka girls’ all-round superiority over Haryana was in evidence as they dominated the final. The low-scoring boys’ title clash was a more attritional contest, with the teams seemingly well-matched. Uttar Pradesh’s ability to find ways to score at critical moments helped it beat back Rajasthan’s challenge.
Nidhi Umesh’s shooting skills came in handy while skipper Nidhi Srinivas donned the role of playmaker and contributed with her lay-up shots as well. Mahek Sharma made her presence felt with 21 rebounds, 7 of them on the offensive court and scored as well to lend her shoulder to Karnataka’s wheel.
Haryana were dependent on a couple of players to keep the scorers busy. Skipper Kafi had to bear a considerable load herself, setting up opportunities and scoring. Bhumi Kataria was the other livewire for Haryana on the offensive court, but the team’s low shooting accuracy and lack of bench strength hurt it.
Uttar Pradesh boys did well to rally around one another, finding heroes in Sanjay Mahakumbh and Anuj Divakar, who scored at key moments. Sanjay Mahakumbh stole the ball and converted at the very end of the third quarter to leave Rajasthan to consider that lapse, which allowed Uttar Pradesh to edge ahead 47-44.
In the final quarter, Uttar Pradesh’s twin spearheads found a three-pointer each to make it tough for Rajasthan to catch up. Besides, Rajasthan ended up ruing the tendency of its players to commit fouls and letting Uttar Pradesh score off free throws made a big difference and impacted the outcome of the game.
The Rajasthan team had to settle for silver for the second time in succession, having lost to Tamil Nadu last year in Chennai. In the end, it did not have the players who could put their hands up at crucial moments or shoot consistently to raise the scoring percentage.
Results-
Boys (final): Uttar Pradesh 68 (Anuj Divakar 19, Jatin 17, Sanjay Mahakumbh 15) beat Rajasthan 57 (Lokesh Kumar Sharma 16, Chetan 11). Half-time: 31-30. Bronze medal playoff: Tamil Nadu beat Delhi 90-69.
Girls (final): Karnataka 86 (Nidhi Umesh 27, Mahek Sharma 21, Nidhi Srinivas 17, Shravani Shivanna 10) beat Haryana 61(Kafi 22, Bhumi Kataria 22, Vaishnavi 13). Half time: 46-25. Bronze medal playoff: Punjab beat Maharashtra 68-63.
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