Raipur, March 29 – Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh each won two gold medals on the opening day of the wrestling competition in Ambikapur, while Mizoram secured two gold medals to conclude the weightlifting competition on the fifth day of the Khelo India Tribal Games 2026 here in Raipur on Sunday.
Jharkhand began their gold medal count with Poonam Oraon winning the women's 50kg final against Geetha K of Telangana with a score of 6-3, while Anjit Kumar Munda won the men's 67kg Greco Roman final, defeating Gujarat's Mukesh Vasva through technical superiority.
Himachal Pradesh's two gold medals were won by Navish Kumar (97kg GR) and Priyanka Chaudhary (women's 62kg), while Mizoram brought their gold medal count to four with Zosangzuali (women's +86kg) and David Zohmingmawia (men's +110 kg) finishing at the top. These golds propelled Mizoram to fifth place in the overall medal standings.
Karnataka continues to lead with 15 gold, six silver, and four bronze medals, while Odisha is second with nine gold, four silver, and 10 bronze medals. The host state, Chhattisgarh, which won a silver (Rishika Kashyap) and a bronze (Lucky Babu Markam) in weightlifting, slipped to ninth in the medal standings.
Weightlifter Sambo Lapung helped Arunachal Pradesh surpass Assam to third place when he won the men's 100kg gold with a total of 299kg. David Lal Zawmdika of Mizoram finished second with a total of 270kg, with the bronze medal going to Chhattisgarh's Lucky Babu with a total of 261kg.
Maharashtra also made its move on the medal tally as weightlifter Sakshi Burkule helped the state win their second gold medal with a dominant performance in the women's 86kg category. Her total of 150kg was 29kg more than silver winner Rishika Kashyap of Chhattisgarh.
Sakshi led from the front and was barely challenged. Rishika also had a good performance, playing within her limits and choosing her weights well to finish on the podium.
Wrestler Vinod Salkar then added a gold medal to Maharashtra's tally by winning the men's 125kg freestyle Nordic competition.
Jammu and Kashmir also opened their medal account on Sunday by winning a gold and silver in the wrestling competition. Munir Hussain defeated Maharashtra's Vikram Pawar 11-1 through technical superiority in the first round to win the men's 74kg freestyle gold, while Shama Hoon lost to Himachal Pradesh's Navish Kumar in the 97kg Greco Roman final.