Bhubaneswar: Odisha swimmer Anjali Munda made a splash at the inaugural Khelo India Tribal Games (KITG) 2026 being held in Chhattisgarh.
The 15-year-old swimmer, from Gahiragadiya village in Jajpur district, won her second gold on Thursday by winning the Women’s 200m IM event clocking 2:53.82s, with Chhattisgarh’s Anushka Bhagat winning the silver with a time of 2 minutes 59.33 seconds.
Anjali, who studies at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), had clinched gold in Women’s 200m freestyle a day earlier. Had it not been for Anjali’s brilliant effort of 2 mins 39.02 seconds, India’s swimming powerhouse Karnataka would have swept all six gold medals on the opening day.
Weightlifter Jhili Dalabehera fetched Odisha another gold medal later on Day 2 of KITG 2026.
The 27-year-old Jhili, who has won multiple medals at the national and international level, topped the Women’s 53 kg event.
Odisha’s kitty swelled further through two more weightlifters.
Dipa Rani Mallick bagged silver medal in Women’s 48 kg category, and Subrat Kumar Nayak earned bronze in Men’s 60 kg event.
Chhattisgarh is hosting the first edition of KITG across three cities — Raipur, Jagdalpur and Surguja.
Over 2,300 tribal athletes are taking part in seven medal sports and two demonstration sports to celebrate indigenous talent.
