Khelo India Youth Games: Haryana's Riddi, Maharashtra's Aditi Swami bag archery gold to keep title race evenly poised

Khelo India Youth Games 2021 here on Sunday. With, both, the hosts and the defending champions, winning one title each, Maharashtra held on to their solitary gold lead, with a total of 38 gold, 35 silver and 29 gold while Haryana have 37 gold, 34 silver and 39 bronze. Tamil Nadu girls clinched the football gold with a 2-0 win over Jharkhand, with Shanmuga Priya and Shanmugapriya, two girls with the same name, scoring a goal each.

The main attraction of the morning session on Sunday was the archery action at Panjab University with all four gold medals at stake. The two recurve summit clashes were contested between state-mates. In a repeat of last edition's final, Haryana's Riddhi fought back from 2-4 down to beat Tamanna 6-4 and avenge the loss in Guwahati. In the boy's final, Singh lost the opening set but stormed back in style to beat Ajay Nagarwal 7-3. Maharashtra had a chance to extend their lead at the top with their compound archers reaching the final in both the girls and boys category. Aditi Swami gave them the perfect start with a convincing 144-137 win over Punjab's Avneet Kaur. However, Parth Korde went down to Andhra Pradesh's Kunderu Venkatadri 144-143, handing Maharashtra just one gold. Twelve-year-old Madala Surya Hamsini bagged the bronze medal. The girls basketball final will see Punjab face Tamil Nadu after the two teams registered contrasting wins in the semis. Favourites Punjab hammered Rajasthan 74-46 while Tamil Nadu edged past Karnataka 65-62.