KIYG 2023: Kerala’s Anupriya, MP’s Vikas Bind break Games records on first day of athletics competition

Chennai:  Kerala’s Anupriya V S and Madhya Pradesh’s Vikas Bind set new Games records in girls shot put and boys 3000 metres race respectively on the first day of athletics competitions in the ongoing Khelo India Youth Games 2023 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Outdoor Stadium here on Tuesday.

Anupriya hurled the shot put to a distance of 17.22m, improving the previous record set by Vidhi last year to bag Kerala’s second gold from the Games. Punjab’s Gurleen Kaur took the silver with a throw of 16.38 while Tamanna of Haryana bagged the bronze with a throw of 16.35m.

“I approached the game with the intention of breaking the record, as it is my final Khelo India Youth Games. Thankfully, I won the gold with a new record,” said the 18-year-old from Kerala.

Bind ended the day’s action with a timing of 8:29.16s in 3000m that saw all the three medallists improving on the previous meet record of 8:31.97 by Arjun Waskale in Guwahati three years ago. Haryana’s Baljeet T (8:30.02s) and Prabhu Mahato of Uttarakhand (8:31.53s) took home the silver and bronze medals respectively.

Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra bagged two gold medals each from the 11 medal events from athletics arena on the day as defending champions Maharashtra rose to the top spot on the medal standings.

Sanyukta Kale led Maharashtra’s charge adding two apparatus gold in Rhythmic Gymnastics to take her tally to three gold and one silver from five events.

Kale, who had won the All-Round gold on Monday, added two more gold medals to her tally in Ball and Ribbon category while her state-mate Kimaya Karle clinched the Hoop gold.

Muskan Rana of Jammu and Kashmir ensured that Maharashtra did not sweep all the Rhythmic Gymnastics gold medals by bagging the individual Clubs category crown at the SDAT Aquatics Complex.

Muskan finished on top with a total of 24.05 points to clinch Jammu and Kashmir’s first gold medal of the Games with Maharashtra’s Parina Madanpotra (22.95) and Haryana’s Life Adlakha (22.80) bagging the silver and bronze medals respectively.

Maharashtra also added another gold and silver in Yogasana with the duo of Pranav Sahu and Yash Lagad winning the Boys Artistic Pair event with a score of 133.23 points while Aryan Kharat and Tanmay Mhalaskar (132.42 pts) finished second. Tamil Nadu’s B Monisha Mahendran and S Kabilan (131.98) bagged the bronze.

Rajasthan also opened their gold medal account with Kheta Ram Chinga winning the boy’s Individual Pursuit with a timing of 3:50.494. Bihar’s Prahalad Kumar (3:51.953) clinched the silver medal while the bronze went to Aashirwad Saxena (3:47.502) of Telangana.

In the shooting event being held at the Guru Nanak College, Haryana’s Samrat Rana and Suruchi Phogat defeated Rajasthan’s Prachi and Yogesh Kumar 16-6 to clinch the 10m Air Pistol mixed doubles gold.

–IANS