KIBG 2026: Local favourite Princess Alexander Thomas, WB’s Raja Das clinch gold medals in Pencak Silat

Diu, Jan 6 (IANS) Home favourite Princess Alexander Thomas of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu clinched the first gold medal of the Khelo India Beach Games (KIBG) 2026 with a confident performance in the women’s Tunngal category in Pencak Silat, while Raja Das of West Bengal emerged victorious in men’s Tunngal at the Ghoghla Beach here on Tuesday. 

With two medals up for grabs on the second day of competition on Tuesday, the hosts were in contention to win both the gold medals, just like last year. Princess Alexander Thomas gave them a perfect start as she defeated Bhoomika Jitendra Jain of Madhya Pradesh in the women’s final.

Last edition's gold medallist Prasanna Bendre was the favourite in the men’s final against Raja Das, but the West Bengal athlete showcased better technical ability to prevail over the home favourite.

The KIBG 2026, organised by the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, is being held under the technical supervision of the Sports Authority of India and national sports federations. The second edition of Khelo India Beach Games 2026 will witness over 1100 participants compete in eight different sports -- volleyball, soccer, sepak takraw, kabaddi, pencak silat, Open water swimming, mallakhamb, and tug-of-war. The first six will be medal sports, and 32 gold medals will be up for grabs.

Elsewhere, competition for the semifinal spots heated up in Beach Kabaddi after Haryana registered their second straight win in Pool A, beating Maharashtra 47-26. Both teams were neck and neck in the first 10 minutes of the match, but once the Maharashtra players started to slow down in the sand, the Haryana women took control of the proceedings.

In the men’s section, Uttar Pradesh men were too good for Andhra Pradesh in Pool A, at times even winning as many as three touch points in one raid. To their credit, the Andhra team members fought hard and tried to keep pace with quality raids of their own, but ended up on the losing side of a 43-34 scoreline.

In Beach Soccer, favourites Kerala began their campaign with a dominating 15-2 win over Karnataka, in which all four of their first team outfield players scored three goals each. Hosts Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were also at their rampant best, beating Himachal Pradesh 15-1.

In the evening session, Gujarat women punctured Himachal Pradesh’s hopes of another upset win as they dominated the Group B encounter to win 9-0. Himachal Pradesh women, making their debut in Beach Soccer here, had defeated the hosts 7-5 on Monday in their group opener.

Group matches also started in Beach Volleyball with teams from Goa, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh making a winning start to their campaign.

TODAY’S RESULTS

Pencak Silat:

(Women) Tunggal: Gold – Princess Alexander Thomas (DNH&DD); Silver – Bhoomika Jitendra Jain (MP); Bronze – Simran (CHD), Kirnakshi Yewale (Mah)

(Men) Tunggal: Gold -- Raja Das (WB); Silver – Prasanna Bendre (DNH&DD); Bronze – Abhishek Gautam (Del), Srikant V (TN)

Beach Kabaddi

(Women): Pool A – Haryana bt Maharashtra 47-26, Punjab bt Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu 63-11; Pool B: Rajasthan bt Himachal Pradesh 59-24

(Men): Pool A – Uttar Pradesh bt Andhra Pradesh 43-34, Haryana bt Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu 55-19; Pool B: Rajasthan bt Delhi 57-32

Beach Soccer

(Women) Group A: Arunachal Pradesh bt Maharashtra 9-1; Group B: Gujarat bt Himachal Pradesh 9-0

(Men) Group B: Kerala bt Karnataka 15-2; Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu bt Himachal Pradesh 15-1.

--IANS

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