Jain University’s Bhavya Sachdeva bagged a golden double in the individual swimming events and added another gold in the women’s 4x100m medley relay, taking her overall tally to seven at the Khelo India University Games here on Thursday.
Bhavya, who had won one individual and one relay gold on the first two days of competition, began her gold medal march on Thursday in the women’s 800m freestyle category with a timing of 9:37.41s here at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium complex.
The first Indian women to win an Asian Aquatic Championships medal earlier this year, Bhavya returned to the pool a few minutes later to win the 200m freestyle event with a time of 2:13.55s.
Jain University swimmers expectedly dominated the pool events, winning eight of the 11 gold medals on offer to take their overall gold medal tally to 20.
Guru Nanak Dev University and Lovely Professional University were locked in a neck-and-neck battle for the second spot in the medals tally, as the latter bagged three gold medals in archery and one in shooting to take their gold medals tally to 13.
Guru Nanak Dev University have so far won 14 gold medals, sweeping all three team golds in fencing while winning one in shooting on Thursday.
Archers Anshika Kumari and Devaang Gupta won the recurve men and women finals respectively, and returned in the evening to lead LPU to the team gold.
In the women’s recurve final, Anshika defeated Panjab University’s Srishti Jaiswal 6-2, while Gupta got the better of Shivaji University’s Sahil Shelar 6-4 in the men’s recurve final at the Jagatpura Sports Complex.
In the team event, Lovely Professional University girls defeated Kurukshetra University 6-0, while the men beat Shivaji University 6-2.
Anshika and Gupta, however, suffered a setback in the recurve mixed team final, going down in a tiebreaker against Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya’s Kartika Bichpuriya and Deepanshu Nanda.
A few meters away in the same complex, Lovely Professional University’s Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu bagged the 25m rapid fire pistol gold with a final score of 29, getting the better of Panjab University’s Devansh Vashishtya by just one point.
In the men’s 10m air rifle event, Yash Vardhan bagged first gold medal of the Games for Manipal University, Rajasthan with a score of 252.7 in the final.
Yash and silver medallist Maddineni Uma Mahesh of KLEF University were neck-and-neck throughout the final, but it was the 10.8 in the first shot of the final series that ensured him a medal as his closest opponent only managed a 9.9.
Elsewhere, in Bikaner, Logeswaran S delivered the standout performance on Day 3 of the weightlifting events, securing his first-ever KIUG gold medal.
Representing Thiruvallur University, the Tamil Nadu-born lifter dominated the men’s 79kg category with a total lift of 305kg — 135kg in snatch and 170kg in clean and jerk — marking a breakthrough in his third KIUG appearance.
The afternoon session featured a tightly contested men’s 88kg category, where Parikshit Soni of Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya emerged on top with a total lift of 278kg (127kg snatch; 151kg clean and jerk).
He edged out Andhra University’s M Tarun, who finished with 276kg (126kg snatch; 150kg clean and jerk), while Guru Kashi University’s Vivek secured bronze after lifting 273kg (121kg snatch; 152kg clean and jerk).
Sakshi Padekar overcomes financial difficulties to secure 10m air rifle gold
When Sakshi Padekar first considered pursuing shooting as a sports career, even renting guns and purchasing basic ammunition posed difficulties, and her parents had to mortgage her mother’s jewellery to get started.
The 22-year-old daughter of a security guard at a manufacturing unit in Pune, Maharashtra, has made significant progress since her roots. She secured the gold medal in the women’s 10m Air Rifle individual event with a commanding performance at the Khelo India University Games Rajasthan 2025. Additionally, she led the Lovely Professional University team to victory.
What makes this achievement especially remarkable is that it was Sakshi’s first major win in the 10m Air Rifle, an event she had previously concentrated on 50m Rifle competitions, which she started during her time with the National Cadet Corps (NCC).
Sakshi comes from Alephata village, located two and a half hours from Pune. Her parents moved to Pune seeking better livelihood and opportunities for their children. Sakshi initially explored several sports, including judo and taekwondo, before becoming interested in shooting during an NCC camp right after the COVID-19 lockdown.
However, pursuing a sports professional career was not easy, as obtaining training equipment outside the NCC camp was expensive.
The LEAP scholarship from the Foundation altered her career trajectory. In 2024, she secured gold medals in the 50m Rifle 3-Position event at the Maharashtra State Shooting Championships in both junior and senior categories, and also earned an individual silver in the junior category at the Nationals. She later represented India at the 2024 Junior World Championships in Peru.
A wrist injury at the beginning of the year affected her training, but Sakshi was determined to make it worthwhile in Jaipur, especially after barely securing a team bronze in Guwahati last year.