MP finish on top; Odisha, Kerala shine
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
Srinagar, Aug 23: Madhya Pradesh continued their fine form from the start to finish on top of the medal tally in the first Khelo India Water Sports Festival (KIWSF) that concluded at Dal Lake here today.
As per the details, Odisha and Kerala finished in the top three, largely due to the contribution of athletes training at Sports Authority of India centres in Jagatpur and Alappuzha.
Hosts Jammu and Kashmir also put up a strong show. Mohsin Ali claimed the first gold medal of the Games in the men’s 1000m kayaking event, a career highlight for the youngster.
Sajad Hussain and Muhammad Hussain, both training under SAI coach Zulfkar Ali Bhat at the Nehru Park Centre, also added a medal each.
J&K finished seventh with one gold, one silver, and one bronze.
Officials said that Madhya Pradesh swept all four kayaking and canoeing gold medals on Day 2 and added six more on the final day to win the team championship with a tally of 18 medals, including three silver and five bronze.
A total of 24 gold medals were at stake in the Festival-14 in kayaking and canoeing, and 10 in rowing-all of which were Olympic events.
Odisha and Kerala also benefitted from SAI training centres. Twenty-one Khelo India athletes-all from rowing-took part and won two gold, two silver, and two bronze medals across 10 rowing events.
Kayakers and canoeists from five SAI centres across India also excelled, with 47 athletes bagging five gold, seven silver, and three bronze medals.
Jagatpur emerged as the standout centre with 15 participants, clinching three gold and five silver medals. Odisha’s Rasmita Sahoo, who won two gold medals, and Madhya Pradesh’s Dally Bishnoi were among the standout athletes.
There was also much attention on Shikha Chauhan, Reena Sen, and Pallavi Jagtab. Fresh from their historic silver at the Asian Canoe Slalom Championship in Guizhou, China, all three finished among the medals.
Shikha won gold in women’s kayaking singles slalom, while Pallavi took gold in women’s canoeing singles, where Reena finished third.
Both Shikha and Pallavi train at the state water sports facility at Lower Lake, Bhopal.
The Festival also saw major upsets. Tokyo Olympian and Army rower Arjun Lal Jat, representing Delhi, was beaten to silver in the men’s single scull (1000m) by Odisha’s Aviraj, who clocked 03:27.54 against Jat’s 03:28.68.
In the women’s single scull, Shweta Brahmachari of West Bengal clinched gold in 04:00.86.
The Khelo India Water Sports Festival showcased emerging talent across the country and highlighted the growing depth of Indian water sports.
Results (all finals): Canoeing and Kayaking – K1 Slalom (men): 1. Hitesh Kewat (Madhya Pradesh) 01:13.07; 2. Aanak Chouhan (Gujarat) 01:14.57; 3. Vikash Rana (Meghalaya) 01:17.52. C1 Slalom (women): 1. Pallavi Jagtab (Madhya Pradesh) 01:36.30; 2. Manasvi Raikwar (Maharashtra) 01:37.44; 3. Reena Sen (Uttarakhand) 01:39.59. C1 Slalom (men): 1. Dhruv Raj Dholpuria (Madhya Pradesh) 01:27.05; 2. Vishal Verma (Uttarakhand) 01:27.62; 3. Nagidi Rajesh (Andhra Pradesh) 01:31.54. K1 Slalom (women): 1. Shikha Chauhan (Madhya Pradesh) 01:23.60; 2. Nagidi Gayathri (Andhra Pradesh) 01:24.98; 3. Elizabeth Vincent (Meghalaya) 01:28.95. K4 500m Sprint (men): 1. Kerala 01:29.38; 2. Uttarakhand 01:29.94; 3. Manipur 01:32.69. C2 500m Sprint (women): 1. Odisha 02:11.02; 2. Madhya Pradesh 02:13.07; 3. Uttarakhand 02:14.96. K4 500m Sprint (women): 1. Odisha 01:50.89; 2. Uttarakhand 01:51.58; 3. Madhya Pradesh 01:52.38.
Rowing – Coxless Fours (women, 1000m): 1. Kerala 03:31.50; 2. Tamil Nadu 03:33.00; 3. Odisha 03:33.77. Coxless Fours (men, 1000m): 1. Delhi 02:55.66; 2. Haryana 02:58.10; 3. Madhya Pradesh 02:59.49. Coxless Pair (men, 1000m): 1. Maharashtra 03:12.13; 2. Madhya Pradesh 03:15.04; 3. Telangana 03:20.26. Lightweight Double Scull (women, 1000m): 1. Madhya Pradesh 03:34.26; 2. Odisha 03:38.43; 3. Meghalaya 03:40.21. Single Scull (men, 1000m): 1. Aviraj (Odisha) 03:27.54; 2. Arjun Lal Jat (Delhi) 03:28.68; 3. Ajay (Jharkhand) 03:30.34. Double Scull (women, 1000m): 1. Kerala 03:42.37; 2. Odisha 03:43.20; 3. Madhya Pradesh 03:44.20. Double Scull (men, 1000m): 1. Punjab 03:08.63; 2. Delhi 03:09.89; 3. Uttarakhand 03:10.30. Coxless Pair (women): 1. Madhya Pradesh 03:40.58; 2. Punjab 03:44.45; 3. Kerala 03:56.22. Lightweight Double Scull (men, 1000m): 1. Uttar Pradesh 03:11.11; 2. Chandigarh 03:12.41; 3. Rajasthan 03:13.89. Single Scull (women): 1. Shweta Brahmachari (West Bengal) 04:00.86; 2. Amandeep Kaur (Punjab) 04:01.89; 3. Yumnam Chengloulembi Devi (Manipur) 04:02.61.
The festival began on August 21 at the iconic Dal Lake and featured six sports, including rowing, canoeing, kayaking, water skiing, shikara race, and dragon boat race. Thirty-six States and Union Territories participated in the first-ever Games, which were held in the Open Age category.
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