KIYG 2025: Manvi, Aditi sparkle on opening day of swimming in Gaya

Gaya (Bihar) [India], May 6 (ANI): Karnataka dominated the opening day of swimming competitions on Monday, winning four gold medals in the Khelo India Youth Games 2025 Bihar at the BIPARD Sports Complex.

Manvi Varma (Karnataka) topped the Karnataka show with a double gold-winning effort. After claiming the girls’ 100m Breaststroke title at 1:18.30, she hogged the limelight with a victory in the 50m Butterfly final, touching the wall in 28.87 seconds.

Maharashtra’s Samaira Mehrotra and Zara Somshekhar Baksi won the 100m Breaststroke silver and bronze, respectively, in 1:18.72 and 1:19.84. Karnataka’s Charita Phanindranath and Maharashtra’s Rujuta Prasad Rajadnya took the lesser medals in the 50m Butterfly in 29.21 seconds and 29.31 seconds, respectively.

In a close contest, Karnataka’s Krish Sukumar came in first in the boys’ 100m Breaststroke at 1:06.39. His team-mate Surya Jhoyappa (1.06.84) and Shubham Joshi of Maharashtra (1:06.85) chased him hard but had to be content with flanking him on the podium.

Sri Charani Tumu (9:22.29) did not relent after taking the lead in the girls’ 800m Freestyle time trial to complete Karnataka’s quadruple gold haul on Monday, winning. She beat her team-mate Aditi N Mulay (9:25.51) in a race that she made her own with strong intent and an intense effort.

Maharashtra’s Aditi Satish Hegde won gold in the girls’ 200m Freestyle in 2:09.51, improving on her silver in the last KIYG. She was followed by Delhi’s Titiksha Rawat (2:09.58) and Assam’s Subhranshini Priyadarshini (2:12.99). She later won bronze in the 800m Freestyle with a time of 9:28.20.

Aditi Hegde said she had trained really hard for the event, dedicating four hours to training every day. “It has paid off. It feels great to improve on your past performances. I look to maintain my good show," she said.

In the boys’ 200m Freestyle – the first final of the day under the sun and a humming drone – Abhinav S (Kerala) took the gold in 1:55.32. Karnataka’s Dhakshan S and Andhra Pradesh’s Gotteti Sampath Kumar Yadav finished second and third in 1:55.59 and 1:55.89, respectively.

The boys’ 50m Butterfly final saw Assam’s Jananjoy Jyoti Hazarika bag gold in style. He took 24.98 seconds and left Karnataka’s Chinthan S Shetty (25.26) and Maharashtra’s Vedant Santosh Tandale (25.62) to fight for the second place. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)

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