Arthi claims historic KIYG gold in girls’ squash
Pooja faced a tough contest against Maharashtra’s Nirupama Dubey, extending to the fifth game. In a closely contested first game, Pooja sealed the deal and emerged victorious.
Pooja Arthi is all smiles after her gold medal win
CHENNAI: Top-seed Pooja Arthi concluded her singles campaign in style, securing another gold medal for Tamil Nadu on Tuesday.
Pooja faced a tough contest against Maharashtra’s Nirupama Dubey, extending to the fifth game. In a closely contested first game, Pooja sealed the deal and emerged victorious. Nirupama, showed determined resilience and won the second game, setting the stage for a back-and-forth contest. Nirupama claimed the third game, but Pooja, runner-up at the National Games in 2023, utilized her drop shots effectively in the fourth game to secure crucial points.
“My drop shots are my forte. Even if they lead to errors, I’ll keep trying because I know they will bring me points at some point in the game,” said Pooja speaking to DT Next after the final.
With each player winning a game, the fifth game served as the decider. Although Nirupama took an early lead of 5-1, Pooja staged a comeback, securing four consecutive points. From there on, there was no stopping Pooja, and the finals concluded with a 3-2 victory, earning her the gold medal.
Reflecting on her gold medal win, Pooja said, “This is my last year at Khelo India, and I’m really proud to be the first squash girls champion in the Khelo India Youth Games. I’m really happy.”
Pooja is set to compete once again on Wednesday as Tamil Nadu enters the final of the squash (team) event.
Tanveet defeats Aryan in boys’ final
Tanveet Singh Mudra defeated second-seed Aryan Pratap Singh of Uttar Pradesh to win the gold medal in boys’ squash final in a nail-biting title round after saving two match points in the fourth game.
Multiple golds for TN in cycling
R Tamilarasi won gold medal for Tamil Nadu in the track cycling girls-scratch race (7.5km) category event at the Cycling Velodrome on Tuesday. After winning a bronze medal in the ‘Time Trial’ event yesterday, the youngster from Coimbatore bagged yet another medal for the state.
J P Dhanya bagged another gold for Tamil Nadu by winning the girls’ junior individual pursuit (2km) category.
Gold in Yogasana- Artistic Pair event
Petrashivani and Menaka won gold medal for
Tamil Nadu in the ‘Artistic Pair-Yogasana’ event. Maharashtra wins the silver medal followed by Madhya Pradesh in the final podium place.
TN secures bronze in Pole Vault
TN pole vaulter Kavinraja won bronze medal with his best effort of 4.30m in the Pole Vault Boys U-18 category held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Tuesday.
TN bags bronze in 10m Air Pistol
Tamil Nadu siblings bagged bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team category with Viraj Girish and Vaishnavi Girish winning Tamil Nadu’s first medal in shooting in this edition of Khelo India Youth Games held at the Shooting Range in the city on Tuesday.
Vishnu strikes gold in 110m Hurdles
Tamil Nadu’s Vishnu clocked 13.77 to win the gold medal in the 110m Hurdles (youth) category event. Sandip Gond of Maharashtra stood second.
