National Games 2023: SS Sneha, VK Elakkiyadasan bag gold, Maharashtra go past 100 medals 

SS Sneha and VK Elakkiyadasan grabbed the limelight in the National Games after winning gold medals in their respective events at the GMC Bambolim Athletic Stadium on Sunday.

Tamil Nadu’s Elakkiyadasan bagged gold in the men’s 100m event after he finished with a timing of 10.36 seconds. Maharashtra’s Pranav clinched the silver medal with a timing of 10.41 seconds. Saurabh Rajesh won bronze with a timing of 10.45 seconds.

Sneha, hailing from Karnataka, clocked 11.45 seconds and won the gold medal in the women’s 100m event. She defeated Odisha’s Srabani Nanda. Tamil Nadu’s R Giridharani clocked 11.58 seconds and finished third.

Maharashtra, in the meantime, became the first team to cross the three-figure mark in the ongoing National Games. They have clinched 114 medals - 47 gold, 34 silver and 33 bronze. The state team is also on top of the medals’ tally in Pencak Silat, having bagged 17 medals (seven gold, five silver and five bronze).

Having also won nine gold medals in Mallakhamb, 12 golds in gymnastics and 10 in Modern Pentathlon, Maharashtra have stamped their authority in the National Games.

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Losses for Giridharini, Manikanta in National Games 2023

Manikanta Hoblidhar finished fourth in the 100m event, despite storming into the lead at the half-way mark of the race. Later, Manikanta revealed that he had issues with his hamstring because of which he started limping.

“I pulled my Hamstring,” Manikanta was quoted as saying after the race.

In the National Open that took place in Bangalore, he clocked 10.23 seconds and set a new national record.

In the women’s 100m event, Giridharani R was the favorite to win gold, being the country’s fastest athlete, but she finished third. Here's what she said following the event:

“I had fever after the National Open and it took time to recover,” Giridharani said.

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