Diu, May 20 (PTI) Prasanna Bendre and Kirtana Acharya bagged top honours in the pencak silat to make a golden start for hosts Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu on Day 2 of the inaugural Khelo India Beach Games here on Tuesday.
The first gold medals of the Games were decided in pencak silat competition with Daman & Diu winning two of the first three on offer at the scenic Ghoghla Beach.
It was Bendre who first lit up the arena with a commanding performance in the senior men’s tunggal (artistic) category.
Showcasing fluidity, precision, and control in his routine, the experienced martial artist scored 420 points to take the first gold of the Games for the hosts.
His teammate, Acharya followed it up in style, dominating the senior female tunggal event with a well-executed performance that fetched her 408 points and the second gold for the Union Territory.
For Bendre, the victory added to an already impressive resume.
A silver medallist at the 2022 Asian Championship in Jammu and Kashmir and a double bronze winner at the 2024 Asian and World Championships in Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively, Bendre said the Games had the potential to leave a lasting legacy.
“These Games can help boost tourism in Diu. That will strengthen the economy and help improve infrastructure for sports,” he said, hopeful that the exposure would open new doors for local athletes.
The only other gold medal of the morning session in pencak silat went to Punjab’s Aaryan, who topped the senior male solo creative category with an impressive score of 560.
Odisha’s Sohil Gurung took the silver with 542 points, while Maharashtra’s Vaibhav Valmik Kale (541) and Nagaland’s Kevin (525) rounded off the podium.
The pencak silat competition, making its debut in the Khelo India Beach Games, is judged on artistic presentation and creativity, rather than combat, and is a test of discipline and body control.
The participation and success of the hosts’ team added a special buzz to the opening contests on the beach.
Beach soccer ======== Meanwhile, the beach soccer tournament, which had started a day earlier, continued with a string of lopsided group matches.
Lakshadweep men’s team thrashed Gujarat 19-1 in one of the most dominant results of the day, while Odisha women’s team steamrolled Madhya Pradesh 18-0 in their opener.
Beach volleyball ========== In beach volleyball, the day saw several walkovers and easy wins.
Telangana men’s team received a walkover against Andaman & Nicobar, while Tamil Nadu and Jammu & Kashmir both posted straight-set wins over the host team.
In the women’s section, Telangana, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra all won comfortably, mostly via walkovers, underlining the need for greater depth and preparedness among participating teams.
The first edition of the Khelo India Beach Games will conclude on Saturday.
The Games feature six medal sports — beach soccer, volleyball, kabaddi, open water swimming, sepak takraw, and pencak silat — along with two demonstration sports, mallakhamb and tug-of-war. PTI TAP PDS PDS
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