Star gymnast Rakesh Kumar Patra won gold medal on mens rings at Multipurpose Hall, Sama Complex, Vadodara. His statemate Tapeswarnath Das finished eighth in the same event.

As many as six male gymnasts represented Odisha in the ongoing National Games. Among them Rakesh, Tapeswar and Tapan Mohanty qualified for finals in different events. Tapan finished sixth in parallel bars.

Tapeswar also secured sixth and fifth position in floor exercise and horizontal bar respectievely. Ashwini Kumar Samantray and Ashok Kumar Sahoo accompanied the State gymnastics squad as coach and manager respectively.

In fencing, Odisha mens foil team, represented by Ravinder Kumar, Ravi Sharma, Herojit Singh, Rabi Kumar Singh, bagged bronze medal after losing to Services in the semifinals 25-45. But the medal seemed to be a borrowed one as all four fencers of the foil team were roped in from other states.

Odisha experienced mixed luck in football as the State women team beat Maharashtra 2-1 while the men team lost to Kerala 1-2 in respective opening match at Trans Stadia, Ahmedabad.

Led by Rakesh Oram, Odisha mens team were first to take the lead with Arpan Lakra scoring from the penalty spot in the 69th minute. But Nijo Gilbert and Jeritto J scored a goal each in the 77th and injury time (90+2) to enable Kerala clinch a thrilling win.

Odisha women football team also faced stiff fight against Maharashtra as the first half of the match ended in 1-1 draw. Manisha Naik gave Odisha an early lead scoring the first goal in the second minute.

But Maharashtra fought back to restore parity as Arya More scored in the 35th minute. However, Odisha women eventually clinched win with Jasoda Munda scoring the second goal for her team in the 66th minute.

Odisha continued to suffer one afer another setback in athletics despite fielding a star-studded squad, featuring Olympians and National record holders. Dutee Chand, the most celebrated woman sprinter of the State failed to qualify for the 200m finals after finishing sixth in 100m yesterday.

Srabani Nanda, the other Olympic sprinter of Odisha, however, managed to advanced to the 200m final by finishing third in heats-2 with a timing of 24.07 seconds. In mens high jump, Odisha representative Swadhin Majhi finished tenth with an effort of 2.05m.
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TOP: Odisha gymnastics star Rakesh Patra poses with his uncle and former National gold medallist Subhendra Patra after winning the rings gold medal at the 36th National Games in Vadodara, Gujarat on 2 October 2022.
RIGHT: Odisha woman rowers Sonali Swain (Right) and Ritu Kaudi pose after winning gold medal at the 36th National Games in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 2 October 2022.