Honour academy

Khelo India Beach Games: Prasanna Bendre was compelled to switch weight categories and move up a class in Pencak Silat Tanding just 20 days before the Khelo India Beach Games (KIBG) 2026, presenting a significant challenge at home. Despite this, he maintained his dominance in Pencak Silat, securing a gold medal at the second edition of the Beach Games.

Bendre, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu’s star Pencak Silat athlete, was looking forward to defending his Tanding gold on home turf at the Khelo India Beach Games 2026 when a last-minute revision to the weight categories meant he had to compete in a much higher weight category this year or opt out.

With only 20 days left before the competition, Bendre had to move from the 40-45 kg to the 50-55 kg weight category, meaning he had to gain weight to compete against bigger and stronger opponents. But instead of giving up, the 23-year-old embraced the challenge and powered his way to a second successive gold medal in Tanding, this time beating Manipur’s Rohit Meitei in the final at Ghoghla Beach in Diu.