Raipur, March 31 (NationPress) Shiv Kumar Soren and Prithvi Oraon, hailing from Jharkhand, emerged victorious as the fastest male and female athletes respectively during the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games 2026, held at the Kreeda Parisar ground in Jagdalpur on Tuesday. Additionally, Siddharth Nagesh secured a gold medal in shot put and a silver in discus throw, while Tilak Barsel achieved the men’s 100m silver for the host state, Chhattisgarh.

Both Shiv Kumar and Prithvi dominated their 100m heats from the outset, achieving a golden double for their state. Shiv clocked an impressive time of 10.58 seconds, with Barsel finishing closely behind at 10.87 seconds to earn silver. Atish Kindo from Odisha claimed the bronze with a time of 10.91 seconds.

In the women’s 100m final, the 16-year-old Prithvi recorded her personal best of 12.73 seconds to seize the gold. Ruduolhounuo Belho from Nagaland and Jharkhand’s Putul Bakshi captured the silver and bronze medals, respectively, with times of 12.90 seconds and 13.03 seconds.

“I was confident about winning a medal after my strong performance in the selection trials for the Games. My focus today was to give my best, and I’m thrilled to have achieved my personal best,” Prithvi expressed after her victory.

Siddharth Nagesh commenced the day's events by winning a silver in the men’s discus throw, achieving a distance of 35.56 meters. The gold went to Danish Makvana from Gujarat, who threw 44.83 meters, while Chandray Murmu of Odisha secured bronze with a throw of 33.97 meters.

Later in the evening, Nagesh claimed the shot put gold with a distance of 13.52 meters, while Danish Makvana earned the silver with a throw of 13.04 meters.

The hosts, Chhattisgarh, also progressed to the women’s football final after defeating Arunachal Pradesh in a penalty shootout. Chhattisgarh is currently ranked 10th in the medal standings with two golds, seven silvers, and four bronzes. They will face Jharkhand in the championship match following Jharkhand's dominant 9-0 victory over Gujarat.

Karnataka leads the medal tally with 19 golds, seven silvers, and seven bronzes, while Odisha follows with 13 golds, eight silvers, and 15 bronzes. Jharkhand's recent successes, including a gold in the women’s 4x100m and men’s 77kg Greco-Roman events, have propelled them to third place overall, accumulating seven golds, two silvers, and five bronzes. Abhishek Munda took the gold, defeating Arfan from Himachal Pradesh at Ambikapur.

Due to unseasonal rains in Jagdalpur, the athletics session was canceled the previous evening, leading to a busy morning that featured seven finals, with the long jump final capturing the audience's attention.

In a thrilling contest, Abdul Fathah emerged as the victor in the long jump, becoming the first long jumper from Lakshadweep to surpass the 7-meter mark, achieving a distance of 7.03 meters on his final attempt. Bhima Sardar from Odisha took silver with 6.96 meters, while Odisha’s Jivan Bilung earned bronze with a jump of 6.95 meters.

The men’s 400m final concluded with a nail-biting photo finish, where Nobal Kumar Kissan from Odisha’s last-minute dive was insufficient to surpass the champion, Santoshbhai Ganvit of Gujarat, who finished in 49.332 seconds. Nobal’s time was 49.335 seconds, while Karnataka’s Ramu secured bronze at 49.60 seconds.

Manasi Kunkalka marked Goa’s first gold medal by winning the women’s shot put with a throw of 9.72 meters. Anamika Gond from Bihar and Melibadkro from Meghalaya followed with silver and bronze, respectively.

Results:

Athletics

Women

100m: Gold – Prithvi Oraon (Jharkhand) 12.73s; Silver – Ruduolhounuo Belho (Nagaland) 12.90s; Bronze – Putul Baksi (Jharkhand) 13.03s

100m hurdles: Gold – Basanti Majhi (Odisha) 16.20s; Silver – Kabita Tadingi (Odisha) 16.81s; Bronze – Rathva Somsingh (Gujarat) 16.94s

400m: Gold – Reethushree (Karnataka) 58.63s; Silver – Adithya KM (Kerala) 1:00.07s; Bronze – Chintamani Tuti (Jharkhand) 1:00.76s

4x100m: Gold – Jharkhand 50.31s; Silver – Odisha 51.11s; Bronze – 54.00s

Discus Throw: Gold – Muskan Lobi (Gujarat) 32.29m; Silver – Apiksha Gamit (Gujarat) 31.52m; Bronze – Krishnamoni Pegu (Assam) 29.95m

Shot Put: Gold -- Manasi Kunkalka (Goa) 9.72m; Silver – Anamika Gond (Bihar) 9.50m; Bronze – Melibadkro (Meghalaya) 9.43m

Men

100m: Gold – Shiv Kumar Soren (Jharkhand) 10.58s; Silver – Tilak Barsel (Chhattisgarh) 10.87s; Bronze – Atish Kindo (Odisha) 10.91s

110m hurdles: Gold – Troilukya Mosrong (Assam) 15.85s; Silver – Sapavath Dattu (Telangana) 16.65s; Bronze – Hari Mohan Tripura (Tripura) 16.82s

400m: Gold – Santoshbhai Ganvit (Gujarat) 49.332s; Silver – Nobal Kumar Kissan (Odisha) 49.335s; Bronze – Ramu (Karnataka) 49.60s

4x100m: Gold – Odisha 41.97s; Silver – Jharkhand 42.29s; Bronze – Gujarat 43.44s

Long Jump: Gold – Abdul Fathah (Lakshadweep) 7.03m; Silver – Bhima Sardar (Odisha) 6.96m; Bronze – Jivan Bilung (Odisha) 6.95m

High Jump: Gold – Sagar Ekka (Odisha) 1.94m; Silver – Vaibhav Gaonkar (Goa) 1.91m; Bronze – Hemanta Khadia (Odisha) 1.80m

Discus Throw: Gold – Danish Makvana (Gujarat) 44.83m; Silver – Siddharth Nagesh (Chhattisgarh) 35.56m; Bronze – Chandray Murmu (Odisha) 33.97m

Shot Put: Gold – Siddharth Nagesh (Chhattisgarh) 13.52m; Silver – Danish Makvana (Gujarat) 13.04m; Bronze – Manas Pratim Rabha (Assam) 12.20m

FOOTBALL (Semifinals)

Women: Chhattisgarh bt Arunachal Pradesh 2-2 (4-3 on penalties); Jharkhand bt Gujarat 9-0

WRESTLING

Women

57kg: Gold – Nagalaxmi (Telangana); Silver – Shalina Siddhi (Karnataka); Bronze – Amulya Kundargi (Karnataka)

68kg: Prinsita Siddi (Karnataka); Silver – Elizabeth Rohlupuii (Mizoram); Bronze – Lilaben Chavda (Gujarat), Balkesh Kumari Meena (Rajasthan)

Men

57kg FS: Gold – Ajit Bhuyan (Odisha); Silver – Paras Bidkar (Maharashtra); Bronze – Vicky Uike (Maharashtra), Abdul Khan (Himachal Pradesh)

86kg FS: Gold – Sumit Thakur (Himachal Pradesh); Silver – Bahadur Khan (J&K); Bronze – Shabbir Khan (Himachal Pradesh)

77kg GR: Gold – Abhishek Munda (Jharkhand); Silver – Arfan (Himachal Pradesh); Bronze – Charan Jadhav (Telangana), Inzamam (J&K)

130kg GR: Gold – Shiva Bhalavi (Madhya Pradesh); Silver – Diler Khan (J&K); Bronze – Tara Raju (Telangana)