Beach Pencak Silat Senior Men Ganda; Manipur’s Premchandra Yengkhom & Wahengbam sudhir meetei (Gold Medalist) (Photo Courtesy: KIBG)
Diu, January 7 (MExN): Chandigarh’s Simran and Sonia defeated home favourites Anushka Singh and Anshu Kumari in the women’s Ganda double final of Pencak Silat on Day 3 of the Khelo India Beach Games (KIBG) 2026 at Ghoghla Beach here on Wednesday. Manipur won the men’s Ganda event to claim their first gold medal of the Games.
The Khelo India Beach Games 2026 are being organised by the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu under the technical supervision of the Sports Authority of India and the national sports federations.
The second edition of the Khelo India Beach Games has drawn over 1,100 participants competing in eight sports — volleyball, soccer, sepaktakraw, kabaddi, pencak silat, open water swimming, mallakhamb and tug-of-war. Of these, the first six are medal sports, with 32 gold medals on offer.
The hosts, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, had opened their gold medal account earlier in the women’s Tunggal event and were hoping to add another gold in the women’s Ganda double. However, Simran, despite suffering a knee injury during the semifinals, had other plans.
The Punjab Police employee, who had won a bronze medal in Tunggal on Tuesday, partnered Sonia to defeat Anushka and Anshu 555-537 in the final on Wednesday. In the men’s Ganda final, Premchandra Yengkhom and Wahengbam Sudhir Meetei of Manipur beat Tamil Nadu’s Bose Raja Guru and Selvakumar 555-536.
“This was the final. There was a chance of winning the gold, so I had to risk myself. Five years ago, I had an ACL tear and underwent surgery. In the semifinals today, I suffered a meniscus injury and had to tape my knee to appear in the final. But all’s well that ends well, and we managed to get a gold for Chandigarh,” said Simran, who represented India at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta.
After three days of competition, hosts Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, with one gold, two silver and one bronze, lead the medal tally. Chandigarh, Manipur and West Bengal have also won one gold medal each.
In KIBG 2026 beach soccer, defending champions Odisha women sealed their semi-final berth in Group A with an 8-4 win over Arunachal Pradesh, while Kerala secured a place in the men’s semifinals with a 7-0 win over Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu in their second match.
In beach sepaktakraw, which began on Wednesday, Manipur women assured themselves of a semi-final berth after beating Bihar 2-1 and Goa 3-0 in their group matches.
Day 3 results
Pencak Silat
Women’s Ganda double: Gold – Chandigarh; Silver – Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu; Bronze – Delhi, Karnataka
Men’s Ganda: Gold – Manipur; Silver – Tamil Nadu; Bronze – Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Madhya Pradesh
Beach Kabaddi
Women (Pool A): Haryana bt Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 71-5
Men (Pool A): Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu bt Andhra Pradesh 46-32
Beach Soccer
Women (Group A): Odisha bt Arunachal Pradesh 8-4
Women (Group B): Gujarat bt Himachal Pradesh 9-0
Men (Group B): Kerala bt Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 7-0; Karnataka bt Himachal Pradesh 7-3
Beach Sepaktakraw
Women (Group A): Manipur bt Bihar 2-1; Nagaland bt Goa 3-0; Manipur bt Goa 3-0; Bihar bt Nagaland 3-0
Women (Group B): Delhi bt Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 3-0
Men (Group A): Delhi bt Rajasthan 3-0; Bihar bt Nagaland 2-1; Bihar bt Rajasthan 3-0
Men (Group B): Manipur bt Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu 3-0
Beach Volleyball (Quarterfinals)
Women: Deepika/Pavithra (Tamil Nadu) bt Yamini/Rishitha (Telangana) 21-6, 21-2; Swathi/Dharshini (Tamil Nadu) bt Divya/Janvi 21-18, 21-18; Revathi/Swetha (Puducherry) bt Gnanasowendary/Mahalakshmi (Puducherry) 21-17, 21-12
Men: Sawan/Gauns (Goa) bt Divya Sai/Manikantaraju 22-24, 21-16, 15-12; Poonthamizhan/Abhithan (Tamil Nadu) bt Sadik/Amardeep Rana (Gujarat) 21-12, 21-11
The Khelo India Beach Games are being held under the sports competition and talent development vertical of the Khelo India Scheme. The inaugural edition of the Games was held in Diu from May 19 to May 24, 2025. The second edition is being conducted from January 5 to 10, 2026. The initiative of the Union sports ministry aims to promote beach sports and enhance the reach and popularity of disciplines played on sand and water bodies.
In KIBG 2026, six sports — beach soccer, beach volleyball, beach sepaktakraw, beach kabaddi, pencak silat and open water swimming — are medal events, while mallakhamb and tug-of-war are non-medal sports.
