Shivangi Sarma, Khushi Dinesh take centerstage with hat-trick of gold medals

Assam's Shivangi Sarma and Karnataka's Khushi Dinesh raked in their third gold medal each in the swimming competition at the Khelo India Youth Games 2020 here on Saturday.

West Bengal's Swadesh Mondol and Karnataka's Nina Venkatesh completed a double each before Srihari Nataraj dominated the boys under-21 100m backstroke.

The four gold medals that Karnataka won in the Dr. Zakir Hussain Aquatics Complex, including one for Aneesh S Gowda in the 1500m freestlye event, saw the state continue its dramatic rise from outside the top 10.

They are now in the fifth spot on the medals tally with a collection of 15 gold to be behind Maharashtra, Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

Maharashtra are firmly in the lead with 49 gold in haul of 179 medals while Haryana are trying hard to catch up with 40 gold in a total of 125 medals. Delhi (26 gold) and Uttar Pradesh (22) are locked in a competition of their own for the third place, with Karnataka making a game run through their swimmers.

The home state's top freestyler Shivangi Sarma's triple crown in the pool, with a win in the girls under-21 400m freestyle on Saturday, helped Assam touch double-figures in terms of gold medals won. With more gold likely to come their way late on Saturday from the Lawn Bowls competition, Assam are looking forward to cracking the top 10 by the end of the day.

Maharashtra's tally was boosted by both under-21 gold medals in kho-kho. The all-round superiority of their teams was always evident on the mat and the scores reflected that well. That both the finals ended in big victories by an innings and more tells the story of Maharashtra's domination of the indigenous sport.

Even as Haryana's traditional rivals in wrestling, Maharashtra and Delhi, were giving them a run for their money, they relied on their shooters to keep stay within 10 gold medals of Maharashtra.

Their shot girls under-21 shot gun aces did not disappoint them on Saturday, Kiran holding her nerve in a shoot-off for the gold medal with Madhya Pradesh's Neeru Devi in the Trap final.

Sanjana Sood did not have to endure such stress in the Skeet final as she edged out Tamil Nadu's N Keerthana 46-45. Punjab's Vanshika Shahi (50m Rifle 3 Positions) and the Uttar Pradesh 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team of Devanshi Dhama and Sharvan Kumar took home the other two gold medals at stake in the shooting ranges on Saturday.

Rajasthan's Boni Manghkya claimed the girls under-17 55kg class weightlifting gold, denying Arunachal Pradesh's Balo Yalam by 6kg in a close battle.

However, late in the evening, Markio Tario won Arunachal Pradesh's second gold medal in the sport by topping the boys under-21 contest.