38th National Games : Manipur cross 50-medal mark as gymnasts, fencers, judoka add 7 medalsP Ariha strikes gold, silver and bronze in aerobic gymnastics

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Feb 12 : Manipur picked as many as 7 medals on Day 16 of the 38th National Games being hosted by Uttarakhand as Pangambam Ariha won an individual gold and a trio silver and a group bronze in aerobic gymnastics.
With the seven medals secured today, Manipur's tally swells to 52 overall medals including 14 gold, 15 silver and 23 bronze across 13 disciplines viz- Archery,  Fencing, Gymnastics, Triathlon, Weightlifting, Wushu, Cycling, Boxing, Lawn Bowls, Rowing, Aquatics, Taekwondo and Judo.
Ariha, who won two gold medals in the 37th National Games by topping both the individual aerobic gymnastics and trio events alongside her teammates Pangambam Anjori and Chabungbam Leishilembi continued to dazzle in this edition of the games and bagged a gold medal in the individual aerobic gymnastics competition and a silver medal in the trio competition and a bronze medal in the group event.
Ariha secured best 18.45 points to seal the gold medal in the individual competition as Majida Khatun of West Bengal (17.35 pts) and Gauri Chander of Maharashtra (15.75 pts) settled for the silver and the bronze medals.
Meanwhile in the senior trio event, Ariha, Mutum Romesh and Okram Umajit registered 16.760 points to settle for a silver as Maharashtra trio bagged the gold medal with 17.450 points and Gujarat trio bagged the bronze medal with 16 points.
The mixed pair of Mutum Romesh and RK Thoithoilembi grabbed another silver medal for the State.
The medal spree continued with the women's group comprising Ariha, H Jesika, Maliyani Konsam and Leishilembi Chabungbam won a bronze medal by collecting 15.530 points. Maharashtra and Gujarat sealed the gold and the silver medal in the same competition.


Fencing
The State epee team comprising N Santosh, E Dinikumar, L Thoungamba and K Dronel beat Maharashtra 45-38 in the quarterfinal but suffered a narrow 40-41 loss to Jammu and Kashmir in the semi-final to settle for a bronze medal today.
It was the third medal for Manipur in Fencing discipline after N Mina and W Sonia respectively won a gold and a bronze medal in the women's individual foil competition on February 10.
Men's foil team comprising H Rabikumar, Kh Rajiv, K Abhinash and L Tomba also added another bronze medal to the State's coffer.
Judo
The day also saw State Judoka Laishram Roshni Devi winning a bronze medal in the 78+ Kg category competition today at Monal Hall, MPSC, Rajat Jayanti Khel Parisar.
Roshni suffered defeat to Rajwinder Kaur of Punjab in a semi-final bout today to settle for the bronze medal, fifth of its kind won by State Judokas in this edition of the games.
Earlier in the quarterfinal, she defeated Tiana Das of Maharashtra to confirm her semi-final ticket on February 10.
Canoeing and Kayaking
Manipur paddlers failed to make it through to the final round of the men and women's 500 m C2 (canoeing event involving two paddlers) and women's 500 m K2 (kayaking event involving two paddlers) events today.
L Rajesh and L Rishikesh were representing Manipur in the men's C2 event as O Yaiphabi and K Sarju participated in the women's competition. The kayaking pair in the meantime include Ch Bimola and M Jina.
State paddlers will continue their journey tomorrow in the women's 500 m K4; women's 500 m K1 and men's 500 m K4 events.
With inputs from MOA Media Team