Athletes of the Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics High Performance Centre put up an outstanding performance at the ongoing 5th Khelo India Youth Games, 2022 with an impressive haul of seven medals.

Odisha athletes made it to the podium in seven different events, collecting four gold medals, one silver and two bronze making it the best performance of the state in Athletics at the Khelo India Youth Games. In the previous edition of Khelo India Youth Games, Odisha had won 3 medals of which 1 was silver and 2 bronze

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Leading the way was the 17-year old Sabita Toppo from Sundergarh district, who won individual Golds in the girl’s 100m Hurdles and Long Jump events, before winning a Bronze medal in the 4x100m relay.

Other impressive performances on track came from Doondapati Mruty Jayaram, who was the fastest boy in the field, claiming a new Khelo India record of 10.53s on way to winning the 100m Gold. Jayaram also joined Rajendra Sidhu, Mohammed Reyan Basha and Nitish Kull to win Odisha Gold at the 4x100m relay.

“We are thrilled with the performance of our athletes. Each achievement is a call to action for aspiring athletes, in Odisha and India as well. The ripple effect of these victories will drive even greater accomplishments in the future. We are extremely happy to partner with Reliance Foundation. It enables us to provide exceptional infrastructure, training, and support to young athletes at the grassroots level, and help them pursue athletic excellence,” Vineel Krishna, Secretary, Sport and Youth Services Department.

“Our athletes have given their best performance at Khelo India Youth Games, winning 7 medals, including 4 Gold. This outstanding achievement is a result of the collaborative efforts of talented athletes, the State Government, and the innovative Reliance Foundation. The HPC has successfully created a sustainable support system for athletes, fostering their growth and development, on the track as well as outside of it. The athletes’ triumph at Khelo India Youth Games this year is a clear indication of the impact of the government and Reliance Foundation’s investments in sports”, Martin Owens, Head Coach, Odisha Reliance Foundation Athletics HPC said.

The 5th edition of Khelo India Youth Games, an annual event organised as part of the government of India’s Khelo India initiative, aims at promoting sports at the grassroots level. This year over 5,000 athletes are competing in 27 sports.