RAIPUR (Chhattisgarh, India): Hosts Chhattisgarh will meet Jharkhand in the final of women’s football of the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games (KITG) 2026.
Chhattisgarh entered the final beating Arunachal Pradesh 2-2 (4-3) in a nail-biting finish, while Jharkhand blanked out Gujarat 9-0 on Day 7 of the games on Tuesday.
Odisha dominated athletics, winning 8 medals in the day’s 11 events, which included a gold medal, 3 silver medals and 4 bronze medals.
Karnataka remained at the top of the table as it increased its tally to 33, which includes 19 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze, followed closely by Odisha with 36 medals – 13 gold, 8 silver and 15 bronze. Jharkhand is at third place now with 7 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze for a tally of 14. Arunachal Pradesh is at fourth place with 6 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze for a tally of 9 medals. Hosts Chhattisgarh are at tenth place with 2 gold, 7 silver and 4 bronze, totaling 13 medals.
Athletics
In men’s athletics, Shiv Kumar Soren (Jharkhand) won the gold with a timing of 10.58. Tilak Barsel (Chhattisgarh) won the silver with a timing of 10.87, while Atish Kindo (Odisha) clocked 10;91 for the bronze.
In men’s 4 x 100 meters relay, Odisha (Atish Kindo, Bhima Sardar, Jiwan Mukti Bilung, Nobal Kumar Kissan) clocked 41.97 to win the gold, while Jharkhand (Shiv Kumar Soren, Deepak Toppo, Amanuel Kisku, Deepak Munda) clocked 42.29 for the silver. Gujarat (Vahid Parmar, Yatin Patel, Harshad Morya, Semish Patel) came in at 43.44 for the bronze.
In men’s 110 meters hurdles, Troilukya Mosrong (Assam) clocked 15.85 for gold, Sapavath Dathu (Telangana) 16.65 for silver, and Hari Mohan Tripura (Tripura) finished with 16.82 for the bronze.
In long jump, Abdul Fathah NM (Lakshadweep) with 7.03 won the gold, Bhima Sardar (Odisha) with 6.96 the silver, while Jiwan Mukti Bilung (Odisha) was just a whisker away at 6.95 for his bronze. In high jump, Sagar Ekka (Odisha) cleared 1.94 for gold, Vaibhav Gaonkar (Goa) 1.91 for silver, and Hemanta Khadia (Odisha) 1.80 for bronze.
In 400 meters, Santosh Ganvit (Gujarat) clocked 49.332 for gold, while Nobal Kumar Kissan (Odisha ) was just a hair-breadth behind at 49.335 to win the silver. Ramu (Karnataka) with a timing of 49.60 won the bronze.
The men’s throwing events shot put and discus saw an interesting battle between Siddharth Nagesh (Chhattisgarh) and Danish Makvana (Gujarat). Danish lost to Siddharth in shot put, but won by a huge margin in discus throw.
In shot put, Siddharth threw 13.52 for gold, while Danish fell painfully short with 13.04 for silver. Manas Rabha (Assam) managed 12.20 to settle for bronze. In discus throw, however, Danish showed his class when he threw a massive 44.83 for gold, way ahead of Siddharth who could manage only 35.56 for the silver. Chandray Murmu (Odisha) threw 33.97 for the bronze.
In women’s 100 meters, Prithvi Oraon (Jharkhand) clocked 12.73 for the gold, while Ruduolhounou Belha (Nagaland) was close behind at 12.90 for silver. Putul Baski (Jharkhand) clocked 13.03 for bronze.
In 4 x 100 meters relay, Jharkhand (Prithvi Oraon, Putul Baski, Anamika Oraon, Anushka Tirkey) won the gold with a timing of 50.31. Odisha (Sanju Hantal, Basanti Majhi, Rameswari Gond, Jamuna Tudu) clocked 51.11 for the silver. Maharashtra (Shreya Sudewad, Chhakuli Dhongade, Soki Pawara, Nisha Sambar) lagged way behind at 54.00 for the bronze.
Odisha had a 1-2 finish in 100 meters hurdles, when Basanti Majhi clocked 16.20 for the gold and her team-mate Kabita Tadingi 16.81 for the silver. Payal Rathva (Gujarat) finished with 16.94 for the bronze. In women’s 400 meters, Reethushree (Karnataka) clocked 58.63 for the gold, Adithya K M (Kerala) clocked 1.00.07 for the silver, while Chintamani Tuti (Jharkhand) came in at 1.00.76 for the bronze.
Gujarat had a 1-2 finish in discus throw. Muskan Lobi threw 32.29 for the gold, while her team-mate Apiksha Gamit fell short at 31.52 for the silver. Krishnamoni Pegu (Assam) managed 29.95 to settle for bronze. In shot put, Manasi Kunkalkar (Goa) threw 9.72 for the gold. Anamika Gond (Bihar) managed 9.50 for the silver, while Meli Badkro (Meghalaya) settled for the bronze with 9.43.
Football
In women’s football, a gritty Chhattisgarh won a keenly fought contest to set up the title clash with Jharkhand.
In a semi-final match that saw fortunes swing one way and the other, Chhattisgarh beat Arunachal Pradesh with a penalty shoot-out score of 4-3 after being tied 2-2 even after extra time. The two teams were tied 2-2 at the end of regulation time.
Chhattisgarh took the lead quickly after the game began as Ripika Korram (2) found the net, and Kiran Pisda (18) increased the lead. A little later, Tadar Marmi (41) netted for Arunachal Pradesh. Chhattisgarh did everything to hold on to the thin lead, but Yumlam Lali (86) brought Arunachal Pradesh back into the game barely a few minutes before time. The match went into extra time but the tie could not be resolved since no goals were scored.
The penalty shoot-out saw as much drama as the match. Chhattisgarh and Arunachal Pradesh both found the net in their first two attempts. Arunachal Pradesh scored off their third while Chhattisgarh missed, so it was 2-3 in favor of Arunachal Pradesh. However, Arunachal Pradesh missed its fourth kick while Chhattisgarh scored to tie at 3-3. Arunachal Pradesh missed its fifth spot kick also and heartbeats increased on both sides as Chhattisgarh stepped up for their fifth and last attempt. Chhattisgarh scored from its fifth to make it 4-3 and heaved a sigh of relief. Thus, Chhattisgarh made it to the final with a score of 2-2 (4-3).
In the other semi-final, Jharkhand convincingly beat Gujarat 9-0 thanks to a hat-trick by Sabarni Kumari (79, 87, 90), with braces by Anita Dungdung (24, 45) and Elijabed Ekka (58, 79), while Usha Kumari (25) and Viksit Bara (27) scored a goal apiece.
There were no matches in men’s football on Tuesday.
Wrestling
In men’s wrestling, Abhishek Munda (Jharkhand) clinched the gold beating Arfan (Himachal Pradesh) in the final of the Greco-Roman 77 kg category.
In the finals of the freestyle 86 kg category, Sumit Thakur (Himachal Pradesh) beat Bahadur Khan (Jammu and Kashmir) to win the gold, while in the finals of the Freestyle 57 kg category, Ajit Bhuyan (Odisha) beat Paras Bidkar (Maharashtra) to clinch the gold.
In women’s wrestling, Nagalaxmi (Telangana) won the gold and Shalina Siddhi (Karnataka) the silver in the freestyle 57 kg category. In the freestyle 68 kg category, Prinsita Siddi (Karnataka) won the gold and Elizabeth Rohlupuli (Mizoram) the silver.
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