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Surf, sand and sports
Surf, sand and sports

The Hindu

time15-06-2025

  • Sport
  • The Hindu

Surf, sand and sports

The inaugural edition of Khelo India Beach Games organised in May in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu was a show of mixed emotions. The elation of victories paralleled the disappointments of falling short. During the open water swimming event, which was held under adverse weather conditions, parents were worried and were waiting on the shore for their competing children to safely return from the sea. Their concerns were drowned in the cheers of local people, volunteers and supporters for the children. The games were held on the blue-flag certified Ghoghla Beach near Diu town. Over 1,300 athletes from 31 States and Union Territories competed in six events — beach soccer, sepak takraw, pencak silat, open water swimming, beach volleyball, and beach kabaddi. Ironically, landlocked Manipur came out as the champions by the sandy shores of Ghoghla. Apart from the competition events, the hosts also put the U.T.'s own sporting talent on display on the final day of the games, demonstrating agility with Mallakhamb — a traditional form of gymnastics; strength with tug-of-war; and grit with boxing. The five-day event gave mediapersons a lot to deal with as photographers often had to deal with unwanted clutter in the background while looking for the perfect frame. Others would have to rival the decibel levels of booming speakers to get across to athletes. The natural lighting of dawns and dusks made covering the games early in the morning or late in the evening incredibly interesting, especially the events of beach kabaddi and sepak takraw, in which players were sort of flying over the sand to score points under the rising/setting sun spinning its own web. The Games had its moments despite challenges, and the beach sports community will hope that the competition augurs well for its future. Show of strength: Athletes in action during the beach kabaddi game. The spirit of the athletes at the Khelo India Beach Games was both fierce and joyous. Aiming for the net: Beach soccer teams from Kerala and Maharashtra fight it out. Sparkling start: A decorated boat during the opening ceremony of the Khelo India Beach Games on the Ghoghla Beach on the Diu Island on May 19. Grabbing eyeballs: A player from Maharashtra sends the ball back in a beach volleyball game. Swift strokes: Athletes participate in the 10-km open water swimming competition. Until one wins: Two women slug it out at the Pencak Silak competition. Champion of the water: Renukacharya Hodmani, representing Karnataka, secured the top spot in the men's category in the 10-km open water swimming contest. Fine balance: Athletes perform Mallakhamb at the opening ceremony. With all their might: The Kerala men's tug of war team in action during the final match. Radiant ending: Artists turn the closing ceremony of the Games to a celebration of the Union Territory as the competitive rivalry comes to an end.

KIBG 2025: Hosts Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu lead medal tally, courtesy to pencak silat
KIBG 2025: Hosts Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu lead medal tally, courtesy to pencak silat

India Gazette

time21-05-2025

  • Sport
  • India Gazette

KIBG 2025: Hosts Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu lead medal tally, courtesy to pencak silat

Diu (Daman and Diu) [India], May 21 (ANI): With three gold medals, all from pencak silat, hosts Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu kept their nose ahead of Manipur, Maharashtra and Delhi in the medal standings of the Khelo India Beach Games here on Wednesday. Hosts DNHDD added a third pencak silat gold late on Tuesday evening when Princess Thomas won the creative solo event for women. Manipur won a pair while Punjab, Delhi and Maharashtra clinched one each to account for the eight golds awarded in pencak silat so far, according to a press release from SAI Media. Four gold medals were decided on Wednesday - two each in 10 km open water swimming and sepak takraw (team event consisting of three players). In one of the most gruelling event of these Games, Maharashtra's Diksha Yadav and Karnataka's Renukacharya Hodmani won the women's and men's races in a fairly docile early morning Arabian Sea. Sepak takraw has caught the imagination of sports lovers throughout the country. It was quite an attraction at the recently held Khelo India Youth Games in Bihar, and in Diu's Ghoghla Beach, young boys and girls are excelling with their skills with their heads and feet. It was a heartbreak for Manipur in the sepak takraw (trio team) finals early on Wednesday morning. The north-eastern state takes pride in this sport but lost both the men's and women's finals to Delhi and Haryana, respectively. Both finals, impacted by rain, were gripping affairs and saw identical 2-1 scorelines. Delhi team captain Sandeep Kumar, 35, revealed how the sudden change in conditions proved crucial. 'We lost the first regu before the rains, but the weather turned in our favour,' said Sandeep, who practices with the team near Majnu Ka Tila beside the Yamuna River in the national capital. Renukacharya Hodmani of Karnataka and Diksha Yadav of Maharashtra bagged gold in the men's and women's sections, respectively, in their 10km open swimming event. Renukacharya, 17, started off with swimming when he was seven-year-old, but forayed into open water only three years back. He clinched the gold timing two hours nine minutes and 40 seconds. Diksha, too, has been in open competitive swimming for a very short time. 'Swimming at the Arabian Sea was fun but there were moments my vision got obstructed due to the incoming waves. On top of that, there were jellyfish stings! I'm taking a lot of good experiences from the Khelo India Beach Games,' said Diksha, who clocked two hours 18 minutes and nine seconds to emerge on top. Daman and Diu is tasting unprecedented success in pencak silat. The hosts picked up three out of eight available golds through Prasanna Narendra Bendre, Kirtana Manojkumar Acharya and Princess Thomas in the Tunggal Senior Male, Tunggal Senior Female and Creative Solo Female respectively. Prasanna, in the company of Sudhanshu Srivastava, also got a bronze in the ganda senior male category. Manipur, meanwhile, picked up two gold medals in the regu senior male and ganda senior male. One gold each went to Delhi (regu senior female), Punjab (creative solo male) and Maharashtra (ganda senior female). In these Games ending May 24, there are six - soccer, volleyball, kabaddi, open swimming, sepak takraw and pencak silat -- medal sports and two non-medal sports (mallakhamb and tug-of-war). (ANI)

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