Raipur, April 2 – The Chhattisgarh women’s football team continued its strong performance at the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games (KITG) 2026, defeating Jharkhand 1-0 in the final on Thursday, thanks to the individual brilliance of their captain, Kiran Pisda, securing a gold medal.
The hosts also added the silver and bronze medals in the men's 4x400m relay and men's 1500m events, respectively, during the penultimate day of the track and field competitions in Jagdalpur. Furthermore, Jharkhand’s Shiv Kumar Soren achieved a double victory by winning the 200m gold after his triumph in the 100m race.
The Chhattisgarh women’s team capitalized on their opportunity against the aggressive Jharkhand side when their captain scored in the 61st minute, capitalizing on a defensive lapse, and then the home team secured the victory.
"This is a special moment for us because this is the first time so many fans have come to support us, and I am very happy that we were able to win the gold medal in front of our home crowd," said an elated Kiran, the only international player on the home squad.
In total, 30 States and Union Territories are participating in the first-ever Khelo India Tribal Games, which features approximately 3800 athletes competing in seven disciplines, including archery, athletics, football, hockey, swimming, weightlifting, and wrestling, with Mallakhamb and Kabaddi serving as demonstration sports.
In Jagdalpur, the final day of the athletics competitions saw Soren and Karnataka's Reethushree and Nagini claiming their second gold medals on the track at the Kreeda Parisar complex.
Soren, who became the fastest athlete of the Games on Tuesday, won the 200m gold with a time of 21.51 seconds. Earlier, Reethushree added the 200m gold to her 400m victory with a time of 25.87 seconds, and Nagini completed the women’s 800m and 1500m double, winning the four-lap race in 4:43.87 seconds.
The hosts, Chhattisgarh, secured a silver medal in the men’s 4x400m relay after finishing second behind Odisha. The winning team clocked a time of 3:18.47 seconds, while Chhattisgarh finished with a time of 3:19.26 seconds. The bronze medal went to Jharkhand (3:19.62 seconds).
Earlier, Manish Kumar secured a bronze medal for Chhattisgarh with a time of 4:01.50 seconds in the men’s 1500m final. The gold medal was won by Jharkhand’s Rahul Oraon (4:01.18 seconds), with Maharashtra’s Kartik Karilharpal taking home the silver medal (4:01.23 seconds).
With only one day remaining before the conclusion of the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games, the hosts, Chhattisgarh, have secured ninth place with three gold, nine silver, and six bronze medals.
With Reethushree and Nagini adding two gold medals to Karnataka’s tally, the leading team now has 23 gold, eight silver, and seven bronze medals.
Odisha is in second place with 20 gold, 13 silver, and 21 bronze medals, while Jharkhand consolidated its position with four gold medals in athletics and one in archery, bringing their total to 14 gold, seven silver, and 11 bronze medals.
Jharkhand's archery gold was won by former world junior champion Komalika Bari and Krishna Pingua, who claimed the recurve mixed team title, defeating Odisha's Arjun Khara and Mamitaoram.
Maharashtra’s Harshwardhan Ingle won the compound men’s individual title, followed by Vaishnavi Pardeshi in the compound mixed team event, giving the state a fourth position in the overall standings with six gold, 10 silver, and four bronze medals.
RESULTS
ARCHERY
Women
Compound Individual: Gold – Priya Banavath (Andhra Pradesh); Silver – Megha Besra (Jharkhand); Bronze – Vaishnavi Pardeshi (Maharashtra)
Compound Team: Gold – Meghalaya; Silver – Nagaland; Bronze – Jharkhand
Men
Compound Individual: Gold – Harshwardhan Ingle (Maharashtra); Silver – Keshaba Banara (Odisha); Bronze – Sagar Raita (Odisha)
Compound Team: Gold – Meghalaya; Silver – Assam; Bronze – Odisha
Compound Mixed Team: Gold – Maharashtra; Silver – Andhra Pradesh; Bronze -- Jharkhand
Recurve Mixed Team: Gold – Jharkhand; Silver – Odisha; Bronze -- Nagaland
ATHLETICS
Women
200m: Gold – Reethushree (Karnataka) 25.87s; Silver – Anamika Oraon (Jharkhand) 26.13s; Bronze – Adhithya KM (Kerala) 26.67s
1500m: Gold – Nagini (Karnataka) 4:43.87s; Silver – Shakila Vasave (Maharashtra) 4:48.94s; Bronze – Sunita Santa (Odisha) 4:53.72s
10,000m: Gold – Sanjita Oraon (West Bengal) 40:21.18s; Silver – Sandhya Murmu (Odisha) 41:17.79s; Bronze – Balarisha Thyrniang (Meghalaya) 42:29.41s
4x400m relay: Gold – Jharkhand 3:58.03s; Silver – Odisha 4:05.69s; Bronze – Maharashtra 4:11.90s
Long Jump: Gold – Priti Lakra (Jharkhand) 5.54m; Silver – Martina Lakra (Madhya Pradesh) 5.47m; Bronze – Mayuri Gamit (Gujarat) 5.42m
Men
200m: Gold – Shiv Kumar Soren (Jharkhand) 21.51s; Silver – Arpan Tai (Assam) 22.38s; Bronze – Jagdish Meena (Rajasthan) 22.48s
1500m: Gold – Rahul Oraon (Jharkhand) 4:01.18s; Silver – Kartik Kariharpal (Maharashtra) 4:01.23s; Bronze – Manish Kumar (Chhattisgarh) 4:01.50s
10,000m: Gold – Wede Tmero (Nagaland) 32:28.46s; Silver – Kamlakar Deshmukh (Maharashtra) 32:42.29s; Bronze – Hans Raj (J&K) 32:54.98s
4x400m: Gold – Odisha 3:18.47s; Silver – Chhattisgarh 3:19.26s; Bronze – Jharkhand 3:19.62s
Javelin Throw: Gold – Gulab Singh (Madhya Pradesh) 62.80m; Silver – Promod Hagier (Assam) 62.30m; Bronze – Somnath Singh (Odisha) 58.05m
FOOTBALL
Women’s final: Chhattisgarh (Kiran Pisda 61’) defeated Jharkhand 0
Gold – Chhattisgarh; Silver – Jharkhand; Bronze – Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat
