The Khelo India University Games kicked off at the Jain Global Campus on Saturday, with MG University's coming up as the big winners of the day, serving up shocks on the volleyball court and demolition in basketball.
A testament to the variable nature of the sport was displayed in the first men's Volleyball match of the day as MG University Calicut beat the University of Calicut. The University of Calicut are the defending All India Inter-University champions. Cheered on by their university footballer colleagues, MG University won in straight games (25-11, 25-17, 25-23) to set the tone for the day.
While volleyball action set the day off, at venues spread across the city, other sports had kicked off too. The women's team badminton was keenly contested with six matches. The highlight of the day was the match between Osma University and Savitribai Phule University, with the former winning the tie 2-1 -- a reversal from the All-India Inter-University earlier this year. The tie was also a perfect example of one sibling bailing out the other in times of crisis.
Vaishnavi, 23, the elder sibling lost her opening singles to Mrunmayee Deshpande as Savitribai Phule took the lead. In the doubles the sister act pulled through to draw Osma level, before Bhairavi, 19 won her singles match to ensure Osma got the win.
In the basketball competition, the University of Madras' women's team overwhelmed Guru Nanak Dev University 88-68 in the opener. Their men though suffered a heartbreaking reversal against Kurukshetra University in their own game later in the day, losing by a mere three points.
Back at the volleyball courts, later in the evening, MG University's women's team, despite showing some nerves in the late stages, backed up their men's performance. Playing against a high-quality Adamas University, the girls from Kottayam pulled through in four sets of high-quality volleyball.
Speaking after the match, Anna Mathew, who was part of the U21 Kerala team that won the event at the Khelo India Youth Games 2020, said that the event was one of the best competitions on the calendar. "The facilities, the travel, the court quality, at the Khelo India Games it has always been top-notch and I've loved my experience in the past." The 22-year old Mathew has also been part of the India U-19 team in the past.
The opening day of the competition also saw the first day of Mallakhamb kick-off. In the indigenous sport, competitors displayed their skills over three apparatus, rope, pole mallakhamb and hanging mallakhamb.
The Day 2 will see some of the first medal events at KIUG as weightlifters and shooters will take centerstage at the Games. In addition, women's football and boxing will also commence.
( With inputs from ANI )
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