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Khelo India Youth Games: Maharashtra completes hat-trick of titles with 158 medals
Maharashtra completed a hat-trick of Khelo India Youth Games titles with a mind-boggling 158 medals as the multi-discipline sporting extravaganza concluded here on Thursday. The athletes from the state won 58 gold medals, 47 silver and 53 bronze. Raksha Nikhil Khadse, the union minister of state for youth affairs and sports, was among the dignitaries present at the closing ceremony.
Two hundred and eighty-five gold medals across 27 disciplines were decided during the 12-day Games. In these under-18 Games, Maharashtra won gold medals across 14 sports with the bulk of them coming from athletics (10), swimming (7), gymnastics (7), archery (6) and weightlifting (5). Haryana finished runners-up with 39 gold medals, with most of them coming from wrestling (8), boxing (8), fencing (7) and athletics (6).
Karnataka finished third with 17 gold medals, one more than No. 4 Delhi and two more than last year's hosts Tamil Nadu at No. 6. Hosts Bihar showed massive improvement in these Games. Events were staged in five cities spread across the state. Bihar's athletes won 36 medals, seven of them gold, to finish a creditable 15th, up from 21st in the last edition.
"With the grand success of the Khelo India Youth Games 2025, Bihar has showcased its capability to host national sporting events with excellence and enthusiasm, setting a new benchmark for the future," Khadse said. "I am confident that numerous youngsters in Bihar and across India will feel inspired by the efforts of the athletes in the Khelo India Youth Games 2025 Bihar and will take up some sport or other to contribute to India's sporting ecosystem," she added.
One of the primary objectives of the Khelo India Youth Games is to spot and develop talent who can serve India in global events in future. With India keen to host the 2036 Olympics, several athletes have already been spotted by Sports Authority of India's (SAI) talent development team. One hundred and eight-six Khelo India athletes were among the 5071 – 50% of them being girls – who took part in these Games. Out of the 26 records created in Khelo India Youth Games 2025, eight were set by girls. Out of the eight, five were national youth records in weightlifting, an event where Indian girls have huge potential to win international medals. PTI