Raipur, April 3 – Former world junior champion Komalika Bari of Jharkhand added the gold medal in women's recurve archery to her mixed triumph, while Arjun Khara of Odisha won the men's recurve category. However, these efforts were not enough for the chasing teams to dislodge Karnataka from the top of the medal tally on the final day of the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games here on Friday.
Thirty states and union territories participated in the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games, which featured nearly 3,800 participants competing in nine sports disciplines. A total of 106 gold medals were awarded across archery, athletics, football, hockey, swimming, weightlifting, and wrestling, while traditional sports like Mallakhamb and Kabaddi were demonstration sports.
Karnataka won 23 gold, along with 8 silver and 7 bronze medals, to claim the overall championship title, with Odisha finishing second with 21 gold, 15 silver, and 21 bronze medals. Odisha was the only contingent to cross the 50-medal mark, finishing with 57 medals. Jharkhand came in third with 16 gold, 8 silver, and 11 bronze medals.
The host state of Chhattisgarh also showcased strong sporting talent within the tribal community, winning 3 gold, 10 silver, and 6 bronze medals to finish ninth. Chhattisgarh's last medal was a silver in men's football on Saturday, when they lost 0-1 to West Bengal in the final.
Karnataka dominated the swimming events, winning 15 gold, 5 silver, and 3 bronze medals, leading the overall medal tally from the opening day. They also won 5 gold in athletics and 3 in wrestling, ensuring that neither Odisha nor Jharkhand could catch up.
Manikanta L of Karnataka was the most successful athlete of the Games, winning 8 gold and 1 silver, while his teammate Dhoneesh N won 5 gold and a silver in the swimming competition. Among the women's competitors, Anjali Munda of Odisha won 5 gold medals, while Meghanjali of Karnataka won 4 gold and 2 bronze medals.
Odisha was the only contingent to win at least one gold medal in all six sports disciplines, including 8 in athletics and 7 in swimming. Jharkhand, on the other hand, won 9 gold medals in athletics, 4 in wrestling, and 3 in archery, along with at least one medal in the other three disciplines.
Besides football, there were 4 gold medals on offer in archery on the final day, and it was clear that Odisha, which was behind Karnataka by three gold medals after the penultimate day, had no chance of catching up, as they could have won a maximum of two gold medals in archery.
Arjun Khara won one of them in the men's recurve individual, defeating his teammate Somanatha Hembram in the final, but the men's team lost to Jharkhand 4-6 in the final.
Komalika Bari then added another gold to Jharkhand's tally, defeating Bhargavi Bhagora of Gujarat in the individual final. Nagaland won the women's team gold, beating Jharkhand to finish in 14th place with 2 gold, 2 silver, and 3 bronze medals.
A total of 25 states and union territories were represented in the medal tally, with 20 of them winning at least one gold medal, highlighting the broad talent pool across the country. Maharashtra finished fourth with 6 gold, 10 silver, and 4 bronze medals, while Arunachal Pradesh completed the top five with 6 gold, 1 silver, and 4 bronze medals.
RESULTS:
ARCHERY
Women
Recurve Individual: Gold – Komalika Bari (Jharkhand); Silver – Bhargavi Bhagora (Gujarat); Bronze – Ruovinuo Theunuo (Nagaland)
Recurve Team: Gold – Nagaland; Silver – Jharkhand; Bronze – Madhya Pradesh
Men
Recurve Individual: Gold – Arjun Khara (Odisha); Silver – Somanath Hembram (Odisha); Bronze – Pavan Parmar (Madhya Pradesh)
Recurve Team: Gold – Jharkhand; Silver – Odisha; Bronze – Meghalaya
FOOTBALL
Men: Gold – West Bengal; Silver – Chhattisgarh; Bronze – Arunachal Pradesh, Goa