Bhubaneswar: Sambalpur University’s Manisha Merel put up an eye-catching performance in track and field competition as she dominated the women’s long jump. She leapt 6.22m and enhanced her reputation by improving on her 6.20m effort that fetched her bronze medal in the All-India Inter-University Championships last month.
KIIT eves’ rugby team bag gold
KIIT University, who are hosting the KIUG, had a day with contrasting fortunes in rugby events. The women’s team secured the yellow metal, while their male counterparts lost their semifinal game. The eves’ team were unstoppable throughout the final against Pataliputra University. Shivaji University men’s team silenced the home crowd with a facile win over KIIT in the semifinals and then went on to claim the gold with a hard-fought 24-19 victory over Chandigarh University, Mohali.
Harmilan Bains lowers Chitra’s 1500m record
Punjabi University’s Harmilan Kaur Bains improved upon PU Chitra’s All India Universities’ women’s 1500m record to steal the limelight on the opening day of the athletics competition in the inaugural Khelo India University Games 2020 at the Kalinga Stadium here Friday. Harmilan led from start to finish to complete her victory in 4:16.68. The 21-year-old from Patiala, who had shaved a hundredth of a second from PU Chitra’s record time of 4:24.87 earlier, left none in doubt Friday that she was rising as one of the nation’s metric mile prospects with the fastest time of the year by an Indian woman, over eight seconds faster than her personal best.
Harmilan’s gold was one of the three that the Punjabi University won on Friday to rise in the medal tally to the fourth place with seven gold behind Savitribai Phule Pune University (14), Panjab University (9) and Jain University (8).