Khelo India Tribal Games Day 2: Karnataka's Manikanta L Wins Five Swimming Golds; Anjali Munda Completes Golden Hat-Trick

Raipur, March 26: The Khelo India Tribal Games (KITG) 2026 witnessed another dominant day in the pool as Karnataka's Manikanta L extended his golden run and Odisha's Anjali Munda completed a remarkable hat-trick of gold medals on Day 2 in Raipur.

Karnataka continued its dominance, with Manikanta emerging as the standout erformer. After winning two gold medals on Day 1, he added three more golds on Thursday to take his tally to five.

Khelo India Tribal Games Day 2 Manikanta L Wins Five Golds Anjali Munda Completes Golden Hat-Trick — Manikanta L (center) of Karnataka after winning 100m backstroke event in Raipur. Image: KITG

Manikanta Leads Karnataka's Charge and he clinched gold in:

Men's 200m Individual Medley
Men's 100m Backstroke
4x100m Relay (team event)

"I am very happy that all the hard work I had put over the years is coming to fruition here. I am competing in a total of nine events and I am aiming to win gold in all nine," Manikanta said.

At the end of Day 2, Karnataka topped the medal standings with 8 gold, 3 silver and 1 bronze.

Anjali Munda Continues Golden Run

Odisha's Anjali Munda added two more gold medals to her tally after her Day 1 win, completing a hat-trick of golds.

She topped the podium in Women's 200m Individual Medley (2:53.82s) and Women's 100m Backstroke (1:19.98s) to help Odisha finish another day on a high. Odisha also clinched gold in the women's 4x100m relay, underlining their strong showing in women's swimming events.

Weightlifting Heroes Overcome Injuries

The weightlifting arena saw inspiring performances as athletes battled injuries to win gold:

Monikha Sonowal (Assam) won women's 48kg gold with a total lift of 132kg despite a knee injury
Isak Malsawmtluanga (Mizoram) clinched men's 60kg gold with 235kg despite a back issue

"I did not want to miss this event because I wanted to make a mark on the national stage," Sonowal said.

Odisha's Jhilli Dalabehera also secured gold in the women's 53kg category on bodyweight advantage after a tie.

Hosts Chhattisgarh Add to Medal Tally

Hosts Chhattisgarh had reason to cheer as Anushka Bhagat clinched her second silver medal of the Games in the women's 200m individual medley, adding to her earlier podium finish.

Football Results

In football action Chhattisgarh held West Bengal to a 1-1 draw, while Arunachal Pradesh defeated Goa 2-0.

Khelo India Tribal Games 2026 Day 2 - Complete Results

Sport	Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze
Swimming (Women)	200m IM	Anjali Munda (Odisha) – 2:53.82s	Anushka Bhagat (Chhattisgarh) – 2:59.33s	Anjali Mallick (Odisha) – 3:06.13s
Swimming (Women)	100m Backstroke	Anjali Munda (Odisha) – 1:19.98s	Nidhi S (Karnataka) – 1:26.18s	Parmila Molsom (Tripura) – 1:28.14s
Swimming (Women)	4x100m Relay	Odisha – 5:06.12s	Gujarat – 5:54.37s	Karnataka – 6:29.69s
Swimming (Men)	200m IM	Manikanta L (Karnataka) – 2:25.93s	Riyaj Tripura (Tripura) – 2:34.04s	Kanhu Soren (Odisha) – 2:36.21s
Swimming (Men)	100m Backstroke	Manikanta L (Karnataka) – 1:07.74s	Nibir Nilim Krow (Assam) – 1:09.25s	Rajesh Soren (Odisha) – 1:10.99s
Swimming (Men)	4x100m Relay	Karnataka – 4:00.42s	Assam – 4:02.86s	Odisha – 4:25.90s
Weightlifting (Women)	48kg	Monikha Sonowal (Assam) – 132kg	Deepa Rani Mallik (Odisha) – 120kg	Alaaska Aleena (A&N Islands) – 115kg
Weightlifting (Women)	53kg	Jhilli Dalabehera (Odisha) – 160kg	Kiuchangliu Gangmei (Manipur) – 160kg	Larityngkai Lawriniang (Meghalaya) – 132kg
Weightlifting (Men)	60kg	Isak Malsawmtluanga (Mizoram) – 235kg	Babulal Hembrom (Jharkhand) – 230kg	Subrat Naik (Odisha) – 228kg
Weightlifting (Men)	65kg	Manuranjan Dhekial (Assam) – 247kg	Laithanpuia (Mizoram) – 237kg	Om Kumar (Jharkhand) – 231kg
Football	Group A	Chhattisgarh 1-1 West Bengal
Football	Group B	Arunachal Pradesh 2-0 Goa

Story first published: Thursday, March 26, 2026, 20:35 [IST]

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