Priyanka Dasgupta, hailing from Dipa Karmakars home city of Agartala in Tripura, grabbed the spotlight on Day 1 of the gymnastics competition, clinching the Girls Under-17 All-Around crown in the Khelo India Youth Games 2020 here on Friday.
Similarly, Jatin Kumar Kanojia carried the flame for Uttar Pradesh, claiming the Boys Under-17 All-Around gold with a measure of comfort.
Asmi Ankush Badade and Shreya Pravin Bhangale made it a 1-2 for Maharashtra in the Girls Under-17 rhythmic gymnastics all-around competition but it was the self-taught Upasha Talukdar who captured the hearts of the capacity crowd by winning bronze, Assam's first medal in the Games.
Maharashtra's Maitreyi Amit Selukar and Nishka Chintamani finished higher in the ranking than Upasha Talukdar, who learnt her routines by watching videos online. But since the rules allow only two athletes from a state to win medals in a gymnastics event, the Assamese girl was awarded the bronze medal.
Gujarat's Pramilaben Baria gave herself a belated birthday present with a superb set of 36 arrows to top the Girls Under-21 Recurve archery qualifying round with 648 points. Himani Kumari (Haryana), who lost the bronze medal play-off last year, finished second with 643 points, finishing just ahead of World cadet champion Komolika Bari (Jharkhand).
The Haryana duo of Sachin Gupta (671) and Sunny Kumar (665) topped the Boys Under-21 Recurve archery qualifying round on a day when Andhra Pradesh's Kundru Venkat (699) and Rajasthan's Priya Gurjar (686) earned the right to be ranked first in the Under-17 Compound boys and girls events respectively.
Coming from a city known for its gymnastics tradition dating back several decades, 15-year-old Priyanka Dasgupta, nailed the Girls Under-17 All-Around gold medal with a total of 42.60 points, improving on the 42.05 that West Bengal's Protishta Samanta had secured in winning gold last year.
Daughter of a driver, Priyanka Dasgupta learnt the ropes at the Vivekananda Byamagar in Agartala and, despite holding promise, missed out on a podium finish in Pune by a mere 0.05 points after an unsatisfactory show on the uneven bars. She ensured that there would be no slips-up this time, completing her routines with aplomb.
The 14-year-old Jatin Kumar Kanojia, who was 13th in the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune last year but won gold on the parallel bars, was confidence personified as he ensured that the All-Around title won in 2019 by Mohammed Rafey was emulated. In fact, he scored 68.90 points, a shade better than his predecessor.
Delhi's Tushar Kalyan became the only one to complete a hat-trick of All-Around medals in Khelo India Games when he moved up a rung from last year to take the silver, stopping an Uttar Pradesh 1-2 in the event. He had won bronze in the Khelo India School Games in Delhi in 2018. Jatin Kumar Kanojia's state-mate, 14-year-old Saref Khan, took the bronze.
Competitions got under way in kabaddi, volleyball and table tennis while athletics, judo and shooting will begin on Saturday, with a number of medals up for grabs.
LS poll battle: Only 9.83 pc candidates are women in NE states
Like previous Parliamentary elections, there are very few women candidates contesting in the 18th Lok Sabha elections in the six northeastern states, where filing of nominations were completed.
Tripura to go for 1st phase LS Poll on April 19; poll materials dispersed from Agartala amid tight security cover
More than 10,000 polling personnel, accompanied by police personnel, have begun transporting EVMs and other polling materials from Agartala Umakanta Academy to their assigned polling stations.
Multi-cornered contest in 15 NE seats going to polls in 1st phase on Friday
A multi-cornered contest will be witnessed in 15 Lok Sabha seats in the eight northeastern states as the first phase of the 7-phase parliamentary elections is held on Friday.
CM Arvind Kejriwal eating mangoes, sweets to raise blood sugar level: ED tells Delhi court
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said in a Delhi court that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was deliberately eating mangoes and other high-carb food to raise his blood sugar level to build a case for bail.
In Kerala rally, Rajnath Singh takes dig at Cong’s ‘Rahulyaan’, hurls ‘migration’ charge
Union Minister Rajnath Singh, while campaigning for BJP in Kerala’s Kottayam district on Thursday, took a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and said that ‘Rahulyaan’ is neither getting launched nor finding a suitable landing.
From Bihar to Punjab, how labourers turned into sharpshooters for Lawrence Bishnoi syndicate
Instead of solely targeting aspiring talents, the Bishnoi gang has now begun luring unsuspecting labourers with the promise of lucrative payouts.
PM Modi took decisive steps to bring peace in Northeast: BJP chief Nadda
BJP President J. P. Nadda has asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi took decisive steps to bring peace in the Bodoland area of Assam by signing the Bodo peace accord.
Bitcoin scam case: ED attaches assets worth over Rs 97 cr of Raj Kundra, Shilpa Shetty
The attached properties include a residential flat in Juhu, which is in the name of Shilpa Shetty, another residential bungalow in Pune and equity shares in Raj Kundra's name.