Raipur, March 27 Karnataka extended their lead at the top of the medal tally with another dominant performance in the swimming pool, while the hosts, Chhattisgarh, had their best outing so far in the first Khelo India Tribal Games, winning one silver and two bronze, here on Friday.
Manikanta L once again led the charge, as the Karnataka swimmer added two gold and a silver to his individual tally.
Karnataka ended Day 3 with 13 gold, 5 silver, and one bronze. Odisha is second with six gold, two silver, and nine bronze, while Assam is third with two gold, four silver, and two bronze medals.
Chhattisgarh is joint seventh with Tripura, with six medals each – three silver and as many bronze.
For Chhattisgarh, Anushka Bhagat won her third silver medal of the Games, this time in the women's 50m breaststroke, while Nikhil Xalco won his second bronze in the men's 50m breaststroke, and Nyasa Paikra joined them on the podium with a bronze in the 100m butterfly.
Thirty states and union territories are participating in the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games, which is witnessing nearly 3800 participants competing in nine sports disciplines.
A total of 106 gold medals are at stake across archery, athletics, football, hockey, swimming, weightlifting, and wrestling, while traditional sports like Mallakhamb and Kabaddi are the demonstration sports.
After three days of competition, 14 states have won at least one medal, with six of them winning at least one gold. Arunachal Pradesh and Maharashtra also opened their gold medal accounts on Friday, with Anai Wangsu winning the women's 58kg weightlifting gold for the northeastern state, and Tanvi Dhurve winning the women's 100m butterfly gold.
Tanvi became the first swimmer who is not from Karnataka or Odisha to stand at the top of the podium, stopping the clock at 1:23.65s, almost nine seconds ahead of second-placed Shristi Verma of Madhya Pradesh. Nyasa Paikra of Chhattisgarh finished third with a time of 1:47.62s.
"I have been swimming for the past eight years, inspired by my family. My father, Sukhdev, was an international open water swimmer, and my brother, Sarthak, is a gold medallist in the national water polo, and I am very happy that I have also won a Khelo India medal," said Tanvi, who recently appeared for her 10th standard exam.
Karnataka's Meghanjali then clinched her third gold medal of the Games with a 38.23s time in the women's 50m breaststroke, with Anushka Bhagat finishing second with a time of 39.57s.
This was the third time that Anushka had come close to winning, but she was happy with her performance in the Khelo India Tribal Games.
In the men's event, Manikanta continued to perform well, winning gold medals in the 50m breaststroke and 100m butterfly, before fatigue set in.
In the final race of the day, Manikanta was overtaken by his teammate, Dhoonesh N, in the 50m freestyle. Dhoonesh, who had won the 200m freestyle gold on the opening day of the Games, stopped the clock at 25.75s, while Manikanta managed a time of 26.38s.
In the weightlifting competition, Anai Wangsu of Arunachal Pradesh lifted a total of 169 kg to win the gold in the women's 58kg category, while Odisha's Bidu Smita Bhoi won the women's 63kg gold with a total lift of 195kg.
Richin Chongruju then doubled Arunachal Pradesh's gold medal tally by winning the men's 79kg competition with a total lift of 269kg, while Mizoram took the silver and bronze through Lalfakawma (265kg) and Jacob Vanlatluanga (250kg).