Siva Sridhar shines as Jain University bags overall title

Express News Service

BENGALURU: After ten days of eventful action across 20 disciplines, the second edition of the Khelo India University Games formally came to a close at the Sree Kanteerava Indoor Stadium on Tuesday. The ceremony, which was attended by the Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah, Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur and Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai among others, witnessed some cultural events, and felicitation of the country’s men and women hockey team during the event.

Overall, it was Jain University, who bagged the overall title with 20 gold medals (seven silver, five bronze) while Lovely Professional University managed 17 gold (15 silver, 19 bronze) against their name to finish second. Jain University swimmer Siva Sridhar collected nine gold and two silver, helping him become the most successful athlete in the Games.

“I am glad we made the decision to host the second edition of the Khelo India University Games in Bengaluru this year. I can say with utmost pride that despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the KIUG 2021 has been an outstanding and very successful event,” said Thakur.

Earlier during the day, there was some action in football and kabaddi. MG University beat University of Kerala 2-0 to win gold in the latter while in kabaddi, University of Kota and Kurukshetra University won gold in the men and women competition respectively.
 
Black attire issue

However, it was not smooth sailing for some of the invitees, who were told to remove their black masks before entering the ceremony venue. It was learnt that some other people also faced similar hurdles before reaching the indoor stadium as well.