India’s Marathon 20 July Schedule at World University Games 2025: Packed Fixtures Across Sports
The Indian contingent is set for one of its busiest and most promising days at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 World University Games on 20 July. From early afternoon matches to post-midnight swimming finals, India’s athletes will take the field, court, piste and pool in a packed schedule that showcases the country’s depth across sports like table tennis, tennis, fencing, taekwondo, badminton, basketball and swimming.
The day begins at 12:30 PM IST with three simultaneous contests. In fencing, the Indian men’s sabre team faces Sweden, while the women’s epee team meets Cambodia, both in Round of 32 ties aiming to progress to the medal rounds later in the day. At the same time, Deepanshu enters the men’s 58kg taekwondo category against Ricki Gene Farnes (Denmark) hoping to advance through the knockouts.
Swimming starts soon after, as D Mahesh Kumar and Srihari Nataraj compete in the men’s 50m backstroke heats at 1:09 PM, followed by Nina Venkatesh & Nilabjaa Ghosh in the women’s 100m butterfly heat at 1:24 PM.
The racquet sports calendar opens at 1:30 PM with tennis and table tennis: Anjali Rathi plays Li Zhongyu (China) in women’s singles, while Taneesha Kotecha faces Korea’s Lee Daeun and Suhana Saini takes on Angel Tan (USA) in women’s singles group matches.
Can Srihari Nataraj Create Another National Record
Just minutes later at 1:42 PM, Jyoti Yadav steps into the taekwondo ring to face Giulia Maggiore (Italy) in the women’s 67kg category. If victorious, she could fight all the way to a medal match by day’s end. At 1:43 PM, Joshua Thomas and Srihari Nataraj dive in for the men’s 100m freestyle heats.
From 2:00 PM onwards, there’s a rush of contests: Sayali Wani and Pritha Vartikar play their women’s singles table tennis matches against Hungarian and Colombian opponents, and Vinay Redhu takes on E Charalambous (Cyprus) in men’s 80kg taekwondo Round of 32. The swimming pool stays busy with Dibyanka Pradhan & Anushka Patil in the women’s 100m backstroke heat at 2:08 PM, while India’s women’s volleyball team plays Mongolia in the 9–16 classification match at 2:30 PM.
At 2:31 PM, Indian swimmers enter the women’s 4×200m freestyle heat aiming for qualification to the night’s final. Another key taekwondo contest follows at 2:42 PM as Twisha Kakadiya meets Uzbekistan’s Dilnoza Tangirova in the women’s 49kg Round of 32.
3:30 PM brings two more men’s singles table tennis group matches: Harkunwar Singh vs Enkhmend M (MGL) and Devarsh Vaghela vs Mauro Scharrer (SUI). Then, at 4:00 PM, India meets Chinese Taipei in the mixed team badminton semifinal—a medal-deciding match that could guarantee at least a silver for the country.
Evening fixtures continue as Ayaz Murad and Chitwan Wadhwa play men’s singles table tennis matches starting 4:00 PM. Tennis doubles follows at 5:30 PM: Soumya / Rutuparna face Germany’s Dittmann/Herrmann in the women’s Round of 16, while Vaishnavi / Atharva play South Africa’s Castillo/Torres in mixed doubles.
Basketball closes the evening with India vs Finland in women’s Group A at 6:00 PM, and India vs Romania in men’s Group B at 9:00 PM.
Late Night Medal Hopes and Knockout Challenges
Late at night, swimming semifinals and finals could bring India into medal contention. These events remain subject to qualification from earlier heats:
- 10:30 PM: Men’s 100m freestyle semifinals
- 11:22 PM: Women’s 100m butterfly semifinals
- 11:31 PM: Men’s 50m backstroke semifinals
- 12:02 AM: Women’s 200m backstroke semifinals
Finally, at 12:14 AM, India’s women’s team aims to contest the 4×200m freestyle final if they qualify.
Among the packed day’s fixtures, several events have direct medal implications. Marked in yellow on the schedule, these include:
- 12:30 PM – Men’s sabre team fencing, Round of 32 to final
- 12:30 PM – Women’s epee team fencing, Round of 32 to final
- 12:30 PM – Deepanshu vs Ricki Gene Farnes (DEN), men’s 58kg taekwondo Round of 32 to final
- 1:42 PM – Jyoti Yadav vs Giulia Maggiore (ITA), women’s 67kg taekwondo Round of 32 to final
- 2:42 PM – Twisha Kakadiya vs Dilnoza Tangirova (UZB), women’s 49kg taekwondo Round of 32 to final
- 4:00 PM – India vs Chinese Taipei, badminton mixed team semifinal
- 12:14 AM – Women’s 4×200m freestyle final (subject to qualification)
As Team India steps into the second day of action, the mix of youth and experience promises thrilling matches, knockout battles, and the pursuit of medals across multiple disciplines. The stage is set for a defining day at the World University Games 2025 with fans back home ready to cheer for every point, jump, kick and stroke. 🇮🇳🔥
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