Kajol Sargar of Shivaji University wins weightlifting gold in women’s 48kg in Bikaner. Olympian Srihari Nataraj clinches three gold medals on the opening day in swimming. Jain University leads the medal tally on a day when 25 gold medals were decided, with LPU in second place.
Jaipur, November 25: Meenakshi Rohilla of Guru Nanak Dev University claimed the first gold medal of the Khelo India University Games (KIUG) Rajasthan 2025 in the women’s individual time trial. Former champions Jain University, powered by their strong swimming contingent and led by Olympian Srihari Nataraj, took an early lead in the medals table on the opening day at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium complex.
The fifth edition of KIUG is being held across seven cities in Rajasthan with 4448 athletes from 222 universities competing in 23 medal disciplines. The Games are conducted under the aegis of the Sports Authority of India in collaboration with the Rajasthan Government and the State Sports Council, and hosted by Poornima University.
With 25 gold medals on offer on Day 1, Jain University seized the top spot by winning eight of the eleven swimming gold medals. They also secured two silver and four bronze medals. Lovely Professional University (LPU) followed with two golds in shooting and two in weightlifting.
GNDU’s Strong Start
Guru Nanak Dev University picked up three gold medals with Mitvaben Chaudhari winning the women’s Épée event and Aakhri securing the gold in women’s Sabre, following Meenakshi’s early win.
Srihari Nataraj Leads Jain University’s Gold Rush
Olympian Srihari Nataraj dominated the pool with three gold medals — two individual and one team relay. He began with a victory in the men’s 100m backstroke (58.25s), followed shortly by a commanding win in the 50m freestyle (23.79s). He later led Jain University to gold in the men’s 4x200m freestyle relay.
Other gold medallists for Jain University included Bhavya Sachdeva (women’s 400m freestyle), Shoan Ganguly (men’s 200m IM), Manikanta L (men’s 200m breaststroke), Nina Venkatesh (women’s 50m freestyle) and the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay team.
Cycling Debut & Meenakshi’s Historic Win
Making its debut at KIUG, cycling saw Meenakshi Rohilla claim the first gold medal of the Games. A 2022 Asian Championships bronze medallist, she showcased her road-racing prowess to win the 30km Individual Time Trial with a time of 00:45:31.907.
“Today, my strategy was to stay patient, maintain my rhythm and not rush early. The strategy worked exactly as planned,” said Meenakshi, who has been training for the time trial for the past three months.
Pooja Bishnoi (MGSU) clinched silver, while Apurva Gore (SPPU) secured bronze. In the men’s time trial, Manav Sarda of MGSU won the gold medal with a time of 00:52:12.947.
Shooting: LPU’s Sakshi Padekar Strikes Gold
Sakshi Padekar (LPU) won the women’s 10m Air Rifle gold with a final score of 253.2. Disha Dhankhar (Panjab University) took silver, while R Narmada Nithin (University of Madras) secured bronze. Sakshi also topped qualification with 633.5, helping LPU win team gold alongside Priyanka Das and Sanjeeta Das.
Weightlifting: Kajol Sargar Shines in Bikaner
In Bikaner, Kajol Mahadev Sargar (Shivaji University) clinched the women’s 48kg gold with a total lift of 158kg. She overcame a hip injury she battled for two years.
Silver went to Rinki Nayak (149kg), while Rani Nayak (148kg) secured bronze.
In men’s 61kg, Golom Tinku (LPU) dominated with a total of 256kg, ahead of Kumbheswar Mallik (223kg) and Sachin (214kg). In the women’s 53kg event, Bornali Borah (LPU) lifted 168kg to win gold.
Full Results Summary
Badminton (Round of 16)
Panjab University, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Veer Bahadur Singh Purvanchal University, and Chitkara University Punjab advanced with 3–0 wins.
Cycling Results
Women – Individual Time Trial: Gold: Meenakshi (GNDU); Silver: Pooja Bishnoi (MGSU); Bronze: Apurva Gore (SPPU)
Men – Individual Time Trial: Gold: Manav Sarda (MGSU); Silver: Jai Dogra (PU); Bronze: Gaurang Singh Gaur (LPU)
Fencing
GNDU dominated with gold medals in Épée (Mitvaben Chaudhari) and Sabre (Aakhri).
Judo
Winners included Jaanvi Yadav (women’s 48kg), Mehek Singh (women’s 52kg), Anurag Sagar (men’s 60kg), and Vinay Kumar (men’s 66kg).
Football & Hockey
Annamalai University and the University of Calicut recorded convincing wins in women’s football, while MD University and Guru Nanak Dev University recorded victories in women’s hockey.
Swimming
Multiple events saw strong performances from Jain University, Utkal University, HSNC University, and others across freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and relay categories.
Medal Tally
For the updated KIUG 2025 Medal Tally: Click Here