Tamil Nadu controlled the climax well to beat Punjab 70-59 in the men’s under-21 basketball final in the Khelo India Youth Games at the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Balewadi, on Saturday.
After trailing 12-20 in the first quarter, Tamil Nadu turned the match by scoring 23 points in the second quarter while conceding only eight. The match was evenly fought thereafter, but Tamil Nadu retained the lead after the teams were on par at 41-41 midway through the third quarter.
The Tamil Nadu under-21 women’s team also bagged the gold, while Punjab won both the under-17 gold medals.
In the kabaddi men’s under-21 final, Chandigarh beat Tamil Nadu 41-40 through a super raid, after having recovered from the ashes with a penalty point.
Premature celebration
The Tamil Nadu substitutes jumped onto the mat in a premature celebration at 40-39 before the final whistle, and that revived Chandigarh’s fortune.
Haryana won two of the other gold medals, while it was stunned 30-27 in the women’s under-21 final by Himachal Pradesh.
In women’s under-17 hockey final, played at the National Defence Academy Complex, Haryana beat Jharkhand 2-1 thanks to two goals by Deepika. Odisha won the bronze, beating Punjab 3-2.
The results (finals):
Basketball: Men: Under-21: Tamil Nadu 70 (Hariram 19, Arvind Kumar 18, Daniel Richards 11) bt Punjab 59 (Ajay Kumar 21, Princepal Singh 12).
Under-17: Punjab 91 (Navkaman Singh 28, Rajan 22, Avinder Singh 20, Mannatpreet Singh 11) bt Rajasthan 78 (Rishab Mathur 30, Rajveer Bhati 18).
Women: Under-21: Tamil Nadu 82 (Pushpa Senthilkumar 27, Dharshini 18, Nishanthi 11) bt Karnataka 68 (Bahdavyam 21, K Lopamudra 17, B. Harshita 13, Supritha 11).
Under-17: Punjab 76 (Harsimran Dhami 45, Sapna 10) bt Tamil Nadu 71 (Sathiya 23, Nitika 12, Steffie Anges 10).