Maharashtra faced a setback in the Khelo India Para Sports Tournament, slipping to fifth place in the medal standings after securing only one medal on the first day. Vaibhavraj Randive brought relief with a bronze in shooting. Maharashtra’s overall tally stands at 8 gold, 6 silver, and 12 bronze medals. Haryana continues to lead with 88 medals, followed by Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Gujarat.
In the shooting arena, Vaibhavraj Randive claimed bronze in the 10m air pistol SH1 category, scoring 143 points in the qualifying round. Despite a strong performance in the main round, he couldn’t match the accuracy of Haryana’s Manish Narwal and Rajasthan’s Rudransh Khandelwal, settling for bronze with 211.6 points.
Table tennis players from Maharashtra showed promise, winning several matches in the men’s and women’s divisions. Ashok Kumar Pal, Dattaprasad Chaugule, and Vishal Tambe secured victories, while Nayana Kamble and Urmila Pal faced defeat. The results indicate Maharashtra’s potential for 3 to 4 medals in table tennis.
While individual successes are celebrated, the overall performance highlights the need for a strategic sports development approach in Maharashtra.
