Jyothi Yarraji and Animesh Kujur were the stars of the day as they clinched their second and third gold medals respectively, while 15 race walkers set new records, adding to the excitement of the ongoing National Games. Services continued to dominate the medal tally, maintaining a strong lead with only two competition days left.
Kujur’s Golden Double
The 21-year-old Animesh Kujur, representing Odisha, added the 200m gold to his collection, which already included titles in the 100m and 4x100m relay from earlier in the competition. Kujur clocked 20.58 seconds, narrowly missing the National Games record of 20.55 seconds, set by Amlan Borgohain of Assam in the 2022 edition.
Yarraji Adds Another Gold
Jyothi Yarraji, the 25-year-old sprinter from Andhra Pradesh, also claimed gold in the women’s 200m event with a time of 23.35 seconds. This victory added to her earlier win in the 100m hurdles on Sunday, securing a remarkable double.
Chanda Sets New Record
In the women’s 800m, Delhi’s KM Chanda improved her own Games record with a time of 2:00.82, bettering her previous record of 2:01.58 set in 2022. It was a grand double for Chanda as she had already claimed gold in the 1500m, marking her third consecutive gold at the National Games after winning in 2022 and 2023.
Services Continue to Dominate the Medal Count
Services added an impressive 17 medals on Tuesday, including nine golds, to maintain their position at the top of the overall medal tally with 54 gold, 22 silver, and 21 bronze, for a total of 97 medals. The top team from the last edition, Maharashtra, remained in second place with 144 medals (41 gold, 51 silver, 52 bronze), while Karnataka secured third with 75 medals (33 gold, 18 silver, 24 bronze).
Race Walkers Break Records
In an unprecedented performance, all nine competitors in the women’s 10km race walk bettered the previous Games record, which had stood for 26 years. Haryana’s Ravina clinched gold with a time of 45:52 seconds, smashing the old record of 51:56 seconds set by Y Bala Devi in 1999.
In the men’s 20km race walk, six competitors out of 10 improved the previous record set in 2011. Servin Sebastian of Services won the gold with a personal best of 1:21:23, followed by Suraj Panwar of Uttarakhand with 1:21:34 and Amanjot Singh of Punjab who clocked 1:21:42 for the bronze.
Tennis and Gymnastics Highlights
In tennis, Vaidehi Chaudhary of Gujarat claimed her second gold medal by winning the women’s singles, defeating Vaishnavi Adkar of Maharashtra in straight sets (6-4, 6-4). Chaudhary had already won the women’s doubles gold with Zeel Desai earlier in the competition.
In the men’s singles, Ishak Iqbal of Services made a strong comeback to defeat Dev Javia of Gujarat in a thrilling three-set match (3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5)).
In gymnastics, Maharashtra continued its dominance, winning five golds and two silvers. Their gymnasts outperformed rivals in various events, including men’s and women’s acrobatic group events, acrobatic mixed pair, and men’s trampoline.
Judo, Sattal, and Other Sports
In judo, Unnati Sharma of Uttarakhand clinched gold in the women’s -63kg division, while Garima Chaudhary of Haryana won gold in the -70kg category.
In mountain biking, Pranita Prafull Soman of Maharashtra won gold in the women’s elite XCO event, while Kushiman Gharti of Services took the men’s elite XCO gold.
In netball, Haryana won both the men’s and women’s Fast 5 golds, defeating Kerala and Telangana respectively.
In fencing, Nidhi Gisho of Tamil Nadu claimed the men’s sabre gold, while Taniksha Khatri of Haryana won the women’s epee gold.
