Raipur, March 31 – Shiv Kumar Soren and Prithvi Oraon, both from Jharkhand, were crowned the fastest men and women athletes in the inaugural edition of the Khelo India Tribal Games 2026 at the Kreeda Parisar ground in Jagdalpur on Tuesday. Furthermore, Siddharth Nagesh won gold and silver in the shot put and discus throw, while Tilak Barsel secured the men’s 100m silver for the host team, Chhattisgarh.
Shiv Kumar and Prithvi led their 100m races to secure the gold medals for their state. Shiv Kumar finished with a time of 10.58 seconds, while Barsel finished in 10.87 seconds to win the silver. Atish Kindo (Odisha) took the bronze with a time of 10.91 seconds.
In the women’s 100m final, 16-year-old Prithvi set a personal best of 12.73 seconds to win the gold, beating Ruduolhounuo Belho (Nagaland) who finished in 12.90 seconds, and Putul Bakshi of Jharkhand (13.03s), who took the silver and bronze, respectively.
“I was confident of winning a medal as I had performed well in the selection trials for the Games. Today, I focused on giving my best, and I am happy that I could set my personal best time,” said Prithvi after the race.
For the hosts, Siddharth Nagesh began the day with a silver medal in the men’s discus throw with a distance of 35.56 meters. Danish Makvana (Gujarat) won the gold with a throw of 44.83 meters, while Chandray Murmu of Odisha (33.97 meters) won the bronze.
In the evening session, he further secured the gold in the shot put with a distance of 13.52 meters. Danish Makvana won the silver with a throw of 13.04 meters.
Hosts Chhattisgarh also reached the women’s football final, defeating Arunachal Pradesh in a penalty shootout. Chhattisgarh now occupy 10th place in the medal tally with two gold, seven silver, and four bronze medals. Chhattisgarh will now compete against Jharkhand in the final after the latter defeated Gujarat 9-0.
Karnataka continues to lead the medal tally with 19 gold, seven silver, and seven bronze medals, while Odisha is second with 13 gold, eight silver, and 15 bronze medals. Jharkhand has moved to third place with seven gold, two silver, and five bronze medals. Abhishek Munda won the gold medal, defeating Arfan from Himachal Pradesh in Ambikapur.
With the athletics session cancelled due to unseasonal rains in Jagdalpur, the morning session was packed with seven finals, and the long jump final kept the spectators engaged.
Abdul Fathah emerged victorious in a closely contested match against Bhima Sardar of Odisha, becoming the first long jumper from Lakshadweep to clear the 7-meter mark. He leaped to a distance of 7.03 meters to win the gold, while Bhima Sardar secured the silver with a distance of 6.96 meters. Jivan Bilung of Odisha took the bronze with a distance of 6.95 meters.
In the men’s 400m final, a photo-finish saw Odisha’s Nobal Kumar Kissan’s last-ditch effort at the finish line not enough to beat eventual champion Santoshbhai Ganvit of Gujarat. Ganvit finished with a time of 49.332 seconds, while Nobal Kissan finished second with a time of 49.335 seconds. Ramu of Karnataka took the bronze with a time of 49.60 seconds.
Manasi Kunkalka secured Goa’s first gold medal in the women’s Shot Put with a distance of 9.72 meters. Anamika Gond (Bihar) and Melibadkro (Meghalaya) took the silver and bronze, respectively, with 9.50m and 9.43m.
Results:
Athletics
Women
100m: Gold – Prithvi Oraon (Jharkhand) 12.73s; Silver – Ruduolhounuo Belho (Nagaland) 12.90s; Bronze – Putul Bakshi (Jharkhand) 13.03s
100m hurdles: Gold – Basanti Majhi (Odisha) 16.20s; Silver – Kabita Tadingi (Odisha) 16.81s; Bronze – Rathva Somsingh (Gujarat) 16.94s
400m: Gold – Reethushree (Karnataka) 58.63s; Silver – Adithya KM (Kerala) 1:00.07s; Bronze – Chintamani Tuti (Jharkhand) 1:00.76s
4x100m: Gold – Jharkhand 50.31s; Silver – Odisha 51.11s; Bronze – 54.00s
Discus Throw: Gold – Muskan Lobi (Gujarat) 32.29m; Silver – Apiksha Gamit (Gujarat) 31.52m; Bronze – Krishnamoni Pegu (Assam) 29.95m
Shot Put: Gold – Manasi Kunkalka (Goa) 9.72m; Silver – Anamika Gond (Bihar) 9.50m; Bronze – Melibadkro (Meghalaya) 9.43m
Men
100m: Gold – Shiv Kumar Soren (Jharkhand) 10.58s; Silver – Tilak Barsel (Chhattisgarh) 10.87s; Bronze – Atish Kindo (Odisha) 10.91s
110m hurdles: Gold – Troilukya Mosrong (Assam) 15.85s; Silver – Sapavath Dattu (Telangana) 16.65s; Bronze – Hari Mohan Tripura (Tripura) 16.82s
400m: Gold – Santoshbhai Ganvit (Gujarat) 49.332s; Silver – Nobal Kumar Kissan (Odisha) 49.335s; Bronze – Ramu (Karnataka) 49.60s
4x100m: Gold – Odisha 41.97s; Silver – Jharkhand 42.29s; Bronze – Gujarat 43.44s
Long Jump: Gold – Abdul Fathah (Lakshadweep) 7.03m; Silver – Bhima Sardar (Odisha) 6.96m; Bronze – Jivan Bilung (Odisha) 6.95m
High Jump: Gold – Sagar Ekka (Odisha) 1.94m; Silver – Vaibhav Gaonkar (Goa) 1.91m; Bronze – Hemanta Khadia (Odisha) 1.80m
Discus Throw: Gold – Danish Makvana (Gujarat) 44.83m; Silver – Siddharth Nagesh (Chhattisgarh) 35.56m; Bronze – Chandray Murmu (Odisha) 33.97m
Shot Put: Gold – Siddharth Nagesh (Chhattisgarh) 13.52m; Silver – Danish Makvana (Gujarat) 13.04m; Bronze – Manas Pratim Rabha (Assam) 12.20m
FOOTBALL (Semifinals)
Women: Chhattisgarh bt Arunachal Pradesh 2-2 (4-3 on penalties); Jharkhand bt Gujarat 9-0
WRESTLING
Women
57kg: Gold – Nagalaxmi (Telangana); Silver – Shalina Siddhi (Karnataka); Bronze – Amulya Kundargi (Karnataka)
68kg: Prinsita Siddi (Karnataka); Silver – Elizabeth Rohlupuii (Mizoram); Bronze – Lilaben Chavda (Gujarat), Balkesh Kumari Meena (Rajasthan)
Men
57kg FS: Gold – Ajit Bhuyan (Odisha); Silver – Paras Bidkar (Maharashtra); Bronze – Vicky Uike (Maharashtra), Abdul Khan (Himachal Pradesh)
86kg FS: Gold – Sumit Thakur (Himachal Pradesh); Silver – Bahadur Khan (J&K); Bronze – Shabbir Khan (Himachal Pradesh)
77kg GR: Gold – Abhishek Munda (Jharkhand); Silver – Arfan (Himachal Pradesh); Bronze – Charan Jadhav (Telangana), Inzamam (J&K)
130kg GR: Gold – Shiva Bhalavi (Madhya Pradesh); Silver – Diler Khan (J&K); Bronze – Tara Raju (Telangana)