KIBG 2026: Prasanna Bendre wins Tanding gold, Tamil Nadu win big in Beach Volleyball

DIU: Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu’s Prasanna Bendre added a Tanding gold in Beach Pencak Silat to his tally while Tamil Nadu grabbed four medals, including a gold and silver, in Beach Volleyball in the Khelo India Beach Games 2026 at the Ghoghla Beach here on Thursday.

The Khelo India Beach Games 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, according to a KIBG release.

The second edition of Khelo India Beach Games 2026 is witnessing over 1100 participants compete in eight different sports — volleyball, soccer, sepaktakraw, kabaddi, pencak silat, Open water swimming, mallakhamb and tug-of-war. The first six are medal sports, and 32 gold medals are for grabs.

A moment of pride and excellence
Prasanna Narender Bendre from Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu clinches the Gold Medal in Senior Male Class B (50–55 kg) in 2nd KIBG 2026 with an outstanding display of strength & skill
(Khelo India Beach Games) #KIBG2026 pic.twitter.com/dN21UYWK7D

— Khelo India Beach Games Diu (@KIBGDIU2026) January 9, 2026

Bendre, who had won the silver medal in Tunggel, won the men’s Tanding Class B 50-55kg gold, beating Manipur’s Yaikhom Rohit Meitei 15-0 in the final to take the hosts’ medal tally to two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

However, Tamil Nadu took the lead on the medals table thanks to their exploits in the Beach Volleyball Arena and the men’s regu gold in Pencak Silat. At the end of day 4, Tamil Nadu leads the medals tally with two gold, two silver, and three bronze; hosts DNH and DD are second with six medals (two golds, two silvers, and two bronze), while Manipur is third with two gold, one silver, and two bronze.

In the women’s Beach Volleyball final, Deepika and Pavithra defeated Pondicherry’s Revathi and Swetha 2-0 to clinch the gold medal, while Swathi and Dharshini took home the bronze medal.

Bharat and Rajesh had a chance of completing a double for Tamil Nadu, but they were no match for Goa’s Tejas Gauns and Prabal Sawan, losing 0-2. Senthilkumar Abithan and U Poonthamizhan of Tamil Nadu won the bronze medal.

Earlier, Haryana women and Delhi men ended Bihar’s hopes of winning a gold medal in Beach Sepaktakraw, registering contrasting victories in the regu finals.

In the women’s final, Haryana came back strong after losing the opening regu to beat Bihar 2-1 in a match that lasted an hour and 15 minutes, while Delhi men inflicted a straight 2-0 defeat on Bihar.

Haryana could complete a double in Beach Kabaddi after both their women’s and men’s teams reached the final in contrasting fashion. Haryana women defeated Uttar Pradesh 38-32, while the men had to work hard for a 33-31 win over Maharashtra. In both finals, they will face Rajasthan.

In Beach Soccer, defending champions Odisha registered a dominating 7-0 win over debutants Himachal Pradesh to reach the women’s final. Srijana Tamang, Satyabati Khadia and Khundongbam Ambalika scored two goals each for the winners.

In the second women’s semi-final, Gujarat’s rousing start that saw them score four goals in the first quarter proved enough for them to register a 6-3 win over Arunachal Pradesh. Skipper Giani Ramching Mara scored one goal each in all three quarters for the losing side but did not get much support from the others in front of the Gujarat goal.

Thursday’s result
Beach Pencak Silat
Women
Regu: Gold – Odisha; Silver – Maharashtra; Bronze – Bihar, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Tanding Class B 50-55kg: Gold – Thokchom Roji Chanu (Man); Silver – Hatneinem Khongsai (Nag); Bronze – Parmesh Chauhan (Goa), Sonia (Chd)
Tanding Class C 55-60kg: Gold – Tripti Pandey (MP); Silver – Naushaba (Chd); Bronze – Drishti (Del), Nabam Yani (Arunachal)
Men
Regu: Gold – Tamil Nadu; Silver – Maharashtra; Bronze – Odisha, Karnataka
Tanding Class B 50-55kg: Prasanna Bendre (DNH&DD); Silver – Yaikhom Rohit Meitei (Man); Bronze – Aryaveer Singh (UP), Eshu Bharti (Utr)
Tanding Class C 55-60kg: Gold – Aaryan (Pun); Silver – Sohil Gurung (Odi); Bronze – Nikhil (Chd), Krishana Bairwa (Del)
Beach Kabaddi (semifinals)
Women: Haryana bt Uttar Pradesh 38-32; Rajasthan 56-28
Men: Haryana bt Maharashtra 33-31; Rajasthan bt Uttar Pradesh 57-22
Beach Soccer (semifinals)
Women: Gujarat bt Arunachal Pradesh 6-3; Odisha bt Himachal Pradesh 7-0
Beach Sepaktakraw
Women Regu: Gold – Haryana; Silver – Bihar; Bronze – Uttar Pradesh, Manipur
Men Regu: Gold – Delhi; Silver – Bihar; Bronze – Manipur, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Beach Volleyball
Women: Gold – Deepika/Pavithra (TN); Silver – Revathi/Swetha (Pdy); Bronze -Swathi/Dharshini (TN)
Men: Gold – Sawan/Gauns (Goa); Silver – Bharat/Rajesh (TN); Bronze – Senthilkumar Abithan and U Poonthamizhan. (ANI)