RAIPUR (Chhattisgarh, India): Himachal Pradesh and Jharkhand won their first gold medals while Jammu and Kashmir opened their account on Day 5 on Sunday of the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games (KITG) 2026.
Himachal Pradesh clinched their first two gold medals and Jharkhand their first even as Mizoram clinched two more gold medals, while Jammu and Kashmir entered the medals table clinching one gold and one silver medal.
Karnataka continued at the top of the table with 25 medals, which include 15 gold, 6 silver and 4 bronze. Odisha are a close second with 23, including 9 gold, 4 silver and 10 bronze. Arunachal Pradesh moved one spot up to third with 5 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze for a total of 8, pushing Assam, with 22 medals (4 gold, 9 silver, 9 bronze) to fourth place. Hosts Chhattisgarh added 1 silver and 1 bronze to take their tally to 10 but were at ninth place.
Weightlifting
In men’s weightlifting, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh clinched a gold medal each. David Zohmingmawla (Mizoram) clinched the gold in the 110+ kg category, while Gugulothu Raja Shekhar (Andhra Pradesh) clinched the silver and Manash Pratim Sonowal (Assam) the bronze. Sambo Lapung (Arunachal Pradesh) clinched the gold, David Lal Zawmdika (Mizoram) the silver and Lucky Babu Markam (Chhattisgarh) the bronze in the 110 kg category.
In the women’s 86 kg category, Sakshi Burkule (Maharashtra) clinched the gold, Rishika Kashyap (Chhattisgarh) the silver and Bitupuna Deori (Assam) the bronze. In the women’s 86+ kg category, Zosang Zuali (Mizoram) bagged the gold, Pinky Boro (Assam) the silver and Gunjan Uike (Madhya Pradesh) the bronze.
Sunday was the last day of the weightlifting event.
Wrestling
In men’s wrestling, Munir Hussain (Jammu and Kashmir) clinched the gold beating Vikram Pawar (Maharashtra) in the final of the men’s freestyle 74 kg category.
Navish Kumar (Himachal Pradesh) clinched the gold beating Shama Hoon (Jammu and Kashmir) in the final in the men’s Greco-Roman 97 kg category.
In the men’s Greco-Roman 67 kg category, Anjitkumar Munda (Jharkhand) clinched the gold beating Vasava Mukeshbhai (Gujarat) in the final.
In the women’s freestyle 62 kg category, Priyanka Chaudhary (Himachal Pradesh) clinched gold when she beat Debi Daimary (Assam) in the final.
In the women’s freestyle 50 kg category, Poonam Oraon (Jharkhand) beat K Geetha (Telangana) in the final to clinch the gold medal. In the women’s freestyle 76 kg category, Manisha Siddi (Karnataka) clinched gold when she beat Puja Rani (Jharkhand) in the final.
Football
In the group stage in women’s football, Chhattisgarh narrowly beat Gujarat 2-1 thanks to a last-minute goal by Kiran Pisda. She had given Chhattisgarh an early lead when she netted in the 7th minute. Valvai Riya equalized for Gujarat in the 39th minute. The battle continued into the dying minutes and it looked as if the match would end in a draw until Pisda came to the rescue and netted one in the 90th minute to give Chhattisgarh their win.
In another match, Jharkhand beat Arunachal Pradesh 4-2. Jharkhand got an early lead through Elijabed Ekka (5) and held on to it until Giani Ramching Mara (62) equalized for Arunachal Pradesh. However, their joy lasted barely a minute as Viksit Bara (63) put Jharkhand ahead again and Sabarni Kumari (68) consolidated the lead by giving her team their third goal. Efforts by Arunachal Pradesh to come back into the game seemed to yield fruit when Giani Ramching Mara (74) found the net again. However, Jharkhand held on to the lead and sealed the fate of their rivals when Usha Kumari (86) scored another goal just before close.
In a one-sided affair, Andhra Pradesh lost to Tamil Nadu 0-3, with Shrisa Sin (24), Jeba Sin (65) and Sanvi V (74) scoring a goal each for the winners.
Assam beat Sikkim 3-0 in similar fashion, thanks Lokhi Goyari who scored a brace (33, 37), and a lone goal from Basumatary (79).
There were no matches in men’s football on Sunday.
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