Tejal Rajendra Salve Shines in Khelo India Youth Games Archery Event

Outstanding Performances in Archery at Khelo India Youth Games

Bhagalpur (Bihar) [India], May 4: Tejal Rajendra Salve from Maharashtra, who was a finalist last year, showcased exceptional skill in the girls' compound qualifying round of the Khelo India Youth Games Archery competition. Competing at Sandy's Compound Ground, she achieved a remarkable score of 697 points, leading Maharashtra archers to dominate three out of four events.

The athlete from Jalna, who represented India at the 2024 Asia Cup in Suwon, South Korea, excelled in the second half with an impressive score of 353 out of 360, leaving her rivals far behind. Her teammates, Vaidehi Hirachandra Jadhav and Prithika, secured the second and third positions with scores of 692 and 690, respectively.

In the boys' recurve qualifying round, Andhra Pradesh's Kodandapani Thaurneesh Jathya claimed the top spot with a total of 655 points, narrowly surpassing Meghalaya's Devraj Mohapatra by two points. His strong first half of 332 points helped him maintain his lead despite a slight drop to 323 in the second half. Dnyanesh Cherale from Maharashtra finished in third place.

Defending champion Shubham Kumar from Bihar's Bhojpur district faced challenges, scoring 309 points in both halves, which placed him 14th out of 16 competitors. However, he remains optimistic, recalling that he won gold last year despite qualifying in 11th place in Chennai.

Sharvari Somnath Shende, last year's silver medalist from Maharashtra, dominated the girls' recurve qualifying round with a score of 667 points, finishing 13 points ahead of her teammate Vaishnavi Baburao Pawar. Haryana's Annu secured the third position with a score of 652.

Maharashtra's Manav Ganeshrao Jadhav, who previously won mixed team compound gold with Aditi Swami, topped the boys' qualifying round today with an impressive score of 713 points. He was followed closely by Diwanshu Singh from Jharkhand and Devansh Singh from Rajasthan, both of whom also surpassed the 700-point mark.

On the first day of volleyball competitions at the Patliputra Sports Complex in Patna, Jammu and Kashmir made a comeback from a 1-2 deficit to defeat Uttarakhand 3-2 in boys' Group A. In girls' Group B, Gujarat triumphed over Kerala with a score of 3-0. Other notable matches included West Bengal's 3-0 victory against Bihar in Group A and Tamil Nadu's win over Jharkhand in Group B.

In Kabaddi, the Haryana boys' team began their title defense with a convincing 57-30 win against Karnataka, leading 28-14 at halftime. Meanwhile, the Haryana girls' team narrowly defeated Punjab 33-32, holding onto a five-point lead despite a strong challenge from Punjab.