Imphal: Manipur surged to the top of the medal tally at the National Games after a dominant performance on Friday, securing eight medals, including gold in weightlifting and wushu.
The northeastern state now leads with 19 medals (9 gold, 7 silver, 3 bronze), reaffirming its reputation as a sporting powerhouse.
A key highlight of the day was weightlifter Bindyarani Devi’s record-breaking feat in the women’s 55kg category. The Commonwealth Games silver medallist overcame an early setback to lift 88kg in snatch, breaking the previous national record of 86kg set by Mirabai Chanu.
She followed up with a 113kg lift in clean and jerk, bringing her total to 201kg—just one kilogram short of her national record. With this achievement, Bindyarani now holds all three national records in her category.
Meanwhile, Services climbed to second place with a total of 18 medals (9 gold, 6 silver, 3 bronze), closely trailing Manipur.
Karnataka, which led until Thursday, dropped to third with 17 medals (9 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze). Maharashtra, despite adding nine medals on Friday, remained in fourth place with the highest overall tally of 32 medals (7 gold, 16 silver, 9 bronze).
Swimming events also saw exceptional performances. Karnataka’s Dhinidhi Desinghu secured her fourth gold in the women’s 50m freestyle, clocking 26.96 seconds.
She had earlier triumphed in the 200m freestyle, 100m butterfly, and 4x100m freestyle relay. In the men’s 50m freestyle, Maharashtra’s Mihir Ambre clinched gold with a time of 23.29 seconds, while Karnataka’s two-time Olympian Srihari Nataraj took silver.
Shooting events saw Maharashtra’s Parth Mane claim gold in the men’s 10m air rifle, overcoming a strong challenge from teammate Rudranksh Patil, who settled for silver. Services’ Kiran Jadhav took bronze. The 17-year-old Mane displayed nerves of steel, maintaining his lead through most of the final despite competing against more experienced marksmen.
In rugby sevens, Haryana clinched the men’s title with a 22-7 victory over Maharashtra, marking their third consecutive National Games final win. Odisha dominated Bihar 29-5 in the women’s final, asserting their supremacy in the sport.
With the competition intensifying and teams battling for supremacy, the National Games continue to witness record-breaking performances and thrilling contests.