Bhubaneswar, Feb 26 (IANS): Bespectacled Uttkarsh Dixit (Punjabi University, Patiala) and Priyanka Thakran (Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak) took contrasting routes to win the men and womens recurve archery gold medals at the Khelo India University Games (KIUG) 2020 here in Odisha on Wednesday.
Uttkarsh Dixit confessed to being nervous at the start against Ranjit Naik of the host University, Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, but calmed down after losing the opening set to win the next two. He could sense the home archer come under pressure in the final set but resolved to keep his own focus sharp to run away the victor.
Priyanka Thakran, who stunned World Cadet Champion Komolika Bari in the semifinals on Monday, thought the gold medal was slipping away when Prarthana Solanki (Panjab University, Chandigarh) won the last two sets to force a single arrow shoot off. Both archers hit 9 but Priyanka Thakran's arrow was closer to the centre and she walked away with the title.
As many as 24 universities from across the country have won at least one gold medal, while 39 have claimed at least one medal till now, but Savitribai Phule Pune University, with 10 gold medals, are placed on top of the charts. Their athletes have won four silver and six bronze medals as well. With 24 medals, including 8 gold, Panjab University have the largest haul so far.
Three new national marks were set in the men's 55kg class weightlifting. Prashant Suresh Koli (Kavayitri Bahinabai Chaudhari University, Jalgaon) set the hall alight with a 110kg Snatch, improving on R Madhavan's mark of 106kg. He threw the gauntlet down with another national record in Clean and Jerk, lifting 133kg on his final attempt.
However, within a few moments, Shivaji University's Sanket Mahadev Sargar turned the tables on him, breaking that Clean and Jerk mark, lifting 138kg to edge past Prashant Koli's total of 243kg for another National mark that was a good 5kg more than Ch. Rishikanta Singh's tally of 239kg set in the National Championships in Visakhapatnam last year.
Sadhvi Dhuri claimed five of Savitribai Phule Pune University's nine golds in the Biju Patnaik Swimming Pool in the Kalinga Sports Complex to emerge the most successful swimmer. She first won the 200m Individual Medley and completed a sweep of freestyle sprints by winning the 100m. She had also won the 100m Butterfly gold on Tuesday to add to the 50m and 200m Free crowns.
Panjab University's Siddhanth Sejwal's bid to finish with six golds was thwarted when he finished third in the men's 100m Freestyle behind Rudransh Mishra (University of Mumbai) and Harshal Sarang (Veer Narmad South Gujarat University). He anchored his team to the 4x200m Freestyle win and took gold in the 50m Backstroke. But with five golds, he was a satisfied man.
Andhra University and Jain University emerged the men and women's badminton champions, with victories over Panjab University and SRM University, respectively, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium in Cuttack. The Andhra University women's team and the Jain University men's squad had claimed bronze medals overnight.