KITG 2026: Jharkhand and HP Wrestlers Clinch Two Golds Each

Raipur: Jharkhand and Himachal Pradesh each secured two gold medals as wrestling kicked off in Ambikapur on Sunday. Meanwhile, Mizoram weightlifters grabbed two additional golds to conclude their campaign on the fifth day of the Khelo India Tribal Games 2026.

Wrestling Dominance Jharkhand opened its gold medal account when Poonam Oraon defeated Telangana’s Geetha K (6-3) in the women’s 50kg final. Anjit Kumar Munda doubled the state’s tally by beating Gujarat’s Mukesh Vasva through technical superiority in the men’s 67kg Greco-Roman final.

Himachal Pradesh matched this feat through Navish Kumar (97kg GR) and Priyanka Chaudhary (women’s 62kg), who both claimed top honors. In the men’s 74kg freestyle, Munir Hussain earned Jammu and Kashmir its first gold by defeating Maharashtra’s Vikram Pawar 11-1.

Weightlifting Highlights Mizoram propelled itself to fifth place in the overall standings as Zosangzuali (women’s +86kg) and David Zohmingmawia (men’s +110kg) finished atop the podium. Arunachal Pradesh also climbed to third place after Sambo Lapung clinched the men’s 100kg gold with a massive 299kg total.

Maharashtra’s Sakshi Burkule dominated the women’s 86kg category, lifting a total of 150kg—29kg more than her nearest rival—to secure gold. Her teammate Vinod Salkar later added another gold by winning the men’s 125kg freestyle Nordic competition.

Medal Tally Update

• Karnataka maintains the lead with 15 gold, six silver, and four bronze medals.

• Odisha holds second place with nine gold medals.

• Hosts Chhattisgarh slipped to ninth place despite silver and bronze medal performances from weightlifters Rishika Kashyap and Lucky Babu Markam.