KIBG 2026: Kerala Men, Odisha Women Retain Beach Soccer Gold Medals; Madhya Pradesh Atop Standings

KIBG 2026: Kerala men, Odisha women retain Beach Soccer gold medals; Madhya Pradesh atop standings (Image Source: IANS)

The Khelo India Beach Games: Defending champions Kerala men and Odisha women registered contrasting victories to retain their Beach Soccer gold medals in the Khelo India Beach Games (KIBG) 2026 at the Ghoghla Beach in Diu on Friday.

With just one day left for the curtains to fall on the second edition of KIBG 2026, Madhya Pradesh jumped to the top spot on the medals tally with two gold medals in Pencak Silat. Sarun Sonwane (Male 70-75kg) and Mahendra Swami (Male 85-90kg) won the Tanding weight-categories to take the state’s tally to three gold, one silver, and one bronze.

Haryana were second with two gold, four silver, and two bronze, while hosts Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were third with a tally of two gold, two silver, and four bronze.

The Khelo India Beach Games 2026, organised by the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, is being held under the technical supervision of the Sports Authority of India and national sports federations. The second edition of Khelo India Beach Games 2026 is witnessing over 1100 participants compete in eight different sports -- volleyball, soccer, sepaktakraw, kabaddi, pencak silat, Open water swimming, mallakhamb, and tug-of-war.

Kerala men thrashed Goa 8-2 while Odisha women got the better of Gujarat 2-1 in the Beach Soccer finals. In the men’s final, Kerala men started strong, scoring two goals in the first two minutes. Though Goa pulled one back through Abel Gurjao in the eighth minute, Kerala restored the advantage a minute later. The champions had extended their lead to 6-1 by the end of the second quarter and easily retained the title thereafter.

In the women’s final, Khundongbam Ambalika scored the match-winner in the 28th minute for Odisha after both teams were locked 1-1 after the second quarter. Manisha Naik had given Odisha the lead in the 13th minute, but Gujarat had restored parity a minute later thanks to a strike from Bhumisha Dravid.

Anurag, Ashmita shine in Open Water Swimming

Earlier, Uttar Pradesh’s Anurag Singh and Karnataka’s Ashmita Chandra grabbed the men’s and women’s gold medals in the 10km Open Water Swimming competition.

Anurag, who was participating in his first Khelo India Beach Games, stopped the clock at 2:22:02 seconds, a good 16 minutes before silver medallist Akshaj P managed to reach the finish line.

Anurag, who trains in Delhi under the guidance of his father, prepared for KIBG by doing intense endurance training in the pool for the last month, and those efforts bore fruit as he was hardly challenged throughout the race.

Rajasthan rule Beach Kabaddi

Meanwhile, Rajasthan clinched both the men's and women's gold medals in Beach Kabaddi, defeating the formidable Haryana teams. In the women’s final, Rajasthan defeated Haryana 47-27, while their men registered a 43-36 victory over Haryana to make it a grand double for the state.

Haryana’s Beach Sepaktakraw team, however, ensured that the state will end the day with at least one gold on Friday when they defeated Uttar Pradesh 15-8, 15-7. In the men’s final, Bihar got the better of Andhra Pradesh 15-13, 15-13.

TODAY’S RESULTS

Beach Pencak Silat

Women Tanding

Class D 60-65kg: Gold – Nyia K Thono (Nag); Silver – Chetna Tanwar (Har); Bronze – Piyu Das (Odi), Meko Liyak (Arunachal Pradesh)

Men Tanding

Class D 60-65kg: Gold – Shahid Hilal (J&K); Silver – Vinay (Har); Bronze – Suraj Yadav (UP), Ashish Sharma (DND&DD)

Class E 65-70kg: Gold – Saliq Bin Farooq (J&K); Silver – Ashish Kumar Singh (Del); Bronze – Suraj Gora (Raj), Sheikh Arbaj Ali (Cht)

Class F 70-75kg: Gold – Sarun Sonawane (MP); Silver – Chetan Prajapati (Utr); Bronze – Hansda Akash (DNH&DD), Sarfaraz Ali (J&K)

Class I 85-90kg: Gold – Mahendra Swami (MP); Silver – Arvinder Singh (J&K); Bronze – Ravi Choudhary (Raj), Rudra Pratap Sadangi (Odi)

Class J 90-95kg: Gold – Kitenlo K Thono (Nag); Silver – Saleen Sultan (J&K); Bronze – Chaina Ram Sepat (Raj), Gautam (Har)

Beach Kabaddi

Women: Gold – Rajasthan; Silver –Haryana; Bronze – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra

Men: Gold –Rajasthan; Silver – Haryana; Bronze –Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh

Beach Soccer

Women: Gold – Odisha; Silver – Gujarat; Bronze – Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh

Men: Gold --; Silver --; Bronze – Karnataka, Maharashtra

Beach Sepaktakraw

Women Quad: Gold – Haryana; Silver – Uttar Pradesh; Bronze – Odisha, Nagaland

Men Quad: Gold – Bihar; Silver – Andhra Pradesh; Bronze – Haryana, Delhi

Open Water Swimming

Men Quad: Gold – Bihar; Silver – Andhra Pradesh; Bronze – Haryana, Delhi

Men Regu: Gold – Anurag Singh (UP) 2:22:02s; Silver – Akshaj P (Kar) 2:38:27s; Bronze – Kanishka S A (Kar) 2:41.51s

Article Source: IANS