Khelo India Tribal Games: Nikita Ends Chhattisgarh’s Wait, Odisha Rule Waters, Karnataka Lead Tally

Weightlifter Nikita ended hosts Chhattisgarh’s wait for a gold medal, while Odisha’s women swimmers clinched all three gold medals on offer on the fourth day of the Khelo India Tribal Games 2026 on Saturday.

Nikita dominated the women’s 77kg weightlifting event to comfortably win the gold medal in the last event of the day, while Odisha secured gold medals through Ritika Minz (100m freestyle), Anjali Munda (50m backstroke) and the 4x100m medley relay team. Anjali finished with five golds, four of them in individual races.

Arunachal Pradesh were the other major movers in the medals table on Saturday, as they won both the men’s weightlifting gold medals to close in on the third spot, which is currently held by Assam with four gold, seven silver and three bronze medals.

Karnataka continue to top the medals tally with 15 gold, six silver and three bronze, while Odisha are second with seven gold, three silver and 10 bronze medals. Hosts Chhattisgarh are seventh with eight medals (one gold, four silver and three bronze).

Having already won four silver and three bronze medals in swimming, Chhattisgarh sports fans were waiting for a gold from their athletes, and Nikita fulfilled their wish with a dominating performance in the women’s 77kg category at the open ground in Pt Ravishankar University here.

The 20-year-old Nikita lifted a total of 160kg (70kg in snatch and 90kg in clean & jerk), finishing 34kg ahead of second-placed Srimati Jani of Odisha. Joyshree Patir of Assam took home the bronze medal with a total of 118kg.

“It is a special moment for me as this is my first gold medal in Khelo India. I was training for the whole year preparing for these games and I was confident of winning this gold medal once I came to the weightlifting arena for weigh-in,” Nikita told SAI Media.

Dimpi Sonowal led an Assam 1-2 in the women’s 69kg category with a total of 155kg, while Pallavi Payeng took the silver with a total of 131kg. Ruba Tadu (men’s 88kg) and Lalu Taku (men’s 94kg) boosted Arunachal Pradesh’s chances of breaking into the top three as they clinched the gold medals with relative ease. Tadu lifted a total of 274kg for gold, while Taku aggregated 250kg in the 94kg category.

In the swimming competition, Assam’s Krow siblings, Nibir Krow and Violina Krow, won a gold and a bronze medal, respectively, on the last day of competition at the international pool here. Nibir clinched the top spot in the 50m backstroke with a time of 31.31s, pushing Karnataka’s Dhoneesh N (31.39s) to second place.

Earlier, Violina won the bronze medal in the 100m freestyle with a time of 1:16.62, with Odisha taking home the gold and silver through Ritika Minz (1:12.93) and Krushna Priya Nayak (1:15.77).

Karnataka signed off the swimming competition with 15 gold, five silver and three bronze medals. Karnataka’s Manikanta L topped the chart with eight golds and one silver, while Dhoneesh M finished with five golds and one silver medal. In the women’s section, Karnataka’s Meghanjali bagged four golds and two bronze medals.