Golom Tinku has added another feather to his fledgling career by winning the gold medal in the men’s 60kg weight category at the Khelo India University Games, Rajasthan 2025 here.
The 19-year-old from Arunachal Pradesh first made his mark in the second edition of the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune and has never looked back. Representing Lovely Professional University (LPU), Golom has lifted a total of 256kg (Snatch 112kg; C&J 144kg) to clinch the gold medal.
He lifted a total of 33kg more than his closest competitor Khumbheswar Mallik of Chandigarh University (223kg), while bronze medallist Sachin of CT University could only manage to lift a total of 214kg.
But Golom’s journey until he was recognised at the Khelo India Youth Games was anything but easy. The 19-year-old had just begun learning the basics of weightlifting when he lost his father in 2016 to a tragic accident at their Godak village home in Kamle district of Arunachal Pradesh.
Golom, the third of five siblings, was inspired by his elder brother and sister, and initially trained at the Sports Authority of India’s (SAI) Naharlagun campus for three years before moving to the AOC centre in Secunderabad.
Within months, Golom’s career experienced a sudden rise as the youngster broke records and dominated competitions at the state level. However, the loss of their father, who died after falling from a tree, affected the family’s finances, and his elder brother had to end his badminton career to support the family.
But Golom continued to work hard and won a bronze medal in his first Khelo India Youth Games appearance in Pune. He then went on to secure the gold medal at the Guwahati edition of KIYG before setting his sights on international competitions.
Golom, a Khelo India athlete, has so far secured three medals (one silver and two bronze) at the Asian championships, in addition to winning gold with a total lift of 230 kg at the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship 2023.
Golom, who secured a bronze medal at the IWF World Youth Championship held in Durres, Albania in March 2023, also acknowledged the financial backing from the Khelo India scheme for supporting his training needs. He believes the scheme has motivated young people from the most remote areas to take sports seriously.
The Khelo India initiative has transformed many careers; some had the chance to shine on the national stage for the first time, while others saw their careers flourish thanks to the financial support they received over the years.
Trap shooter Neeru Dhanda wins 4th gold
Trap shooters Neeru Dhanda and Aditya Bharadwaj powered Guru Nanak Dev University to a clean sweep of all four shotgun medals, while their cyclists clinched both individual road race titles in the Khelo India University Games here on Wednesday.
Neeru, the reigning Asian Shooting Championships gold medallist, secured her fourth straight individual gold with a final score of 47. Manisha Keer (39) and Nandika Singh (30) took the silver and bronze respectively. The trio also combined to win the team gold with a score of 344 at the Jagatpur Shooting Range.
Neeru, who had finished second behind Manisha in qualifying, raised her performance in the final.
Neeru first competed in the Khelo India Youth Games in 2020, winning a silver, and has since dominated the University Games.
Bharadwaj also led GNDU’s men’s trap team to a golden double, scoring 45 in the final. Punjabi University’s Jungsher Singh Virk claimed the silver with 43, while Manav Rachna’s Bhaktiyaar Malik won the bronze.
Earlier in the day, cyclist Meenakshi Rohilla added the individual road race gold to her time trial victory, while teammate Akshar Tyagi topped the men’s event, taking GNDU’s gold count to 10.
Jain University continued to lead the overall standings, adding four more swimming gold medals, including both 4x100m freestyle relays. Nina Venkatesh (women’s 50m butterfly) and Bhavya Sachdeva (women’s 400m IM) also secured top podium finishes.
Chandigarh University’s Harsh Saroha edged Olympian Srihari Nataraj in the men’s 50m butterfly, clocking 24.90s. He later bagged the 200m butterfly gold with a time of 2:06.88, while his teammate Ishan Rathi won the 200m backstroke in 2:13.51.
The fifth edition of the KIUG is being held across seven cities in Rajasthan, featuring 4448 athletes from 222 universities competing in 23 medal disciplines.