India’s Marathon Opening Day at the FISU World University Games 2025: Full Schedule and What to Watch
The much-awaited action begins for Indian athletes on 17th July at the World University Games 2025, taking place in Germany’s Rhine-Ruhr region. Across swimming, taekwondo, fencing, basketball, badminton, and table tennis, India has a packed first day, starting from early afternoon and stretching well past midnight.
Here’s a detailed look at India’s schedule and the key events to follow.
Swimming: Morning to Night
Indian swimmers kickstart the country’s campaign, with heats, potential semifinals and finals making it the busiest sport for India on Day 1.
From 12:30 PM IST
- Shivank V & Aneesh Kumar
Men’s 400m Freestyle — Heat 2 & 3
India’s first athletes in action; strong opening races can set the tone.
1:04 PM IST
- Nina Venkatesh & Nilabjaa Ghosh
Women’s 50m Butterfly — Heat 3 & 4
Sprint event where every fraction matters.
1:17 PM IST
- Harsh Saroha & Benedicton Rohit
Men’s 50m Butterfly — Heat 4 & 6
1:36 PM IST
- Shrungi Banderkar & Pratyasa Ray
Women’s 200m Backstroke — Heat 1
1:53 PM IST
- Yadesh Babu & Vidith Shankar
Men’s 100m Breaststroke — Heat 3
2:17 PM IST
- India
Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay — Heat 2
2:36 PM IST
- India
Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Relay — Heat 1
The evening brings the suspense of potential progression:
- 10:30 PM onwards: Subject to qualification, Indian swimmers could feature in finals and semifinals of 400m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 200m backstroke, 100m breaststroke, and 4x100m freestyle relays (women & men).
Taekwondo: Poomsae Matches
1:05 PM IST
- Tanishq Pareeq vs Griffin (AUS)
Men’s Poomsae — Round of 32 & Round of 16 (if progresses)
1:20 PM IST
- Shanaz Parveen vs Lucija Jazic (CZE)
Women’s Poomsae — Round of 32 & Round of 16 (if progresses)
3:05 PM IST
- India vs To Be Decided
Mixed Pair Poomsae — Round of 16
A day of knockout-style rounds means Indian athletes could feature multiple times if they advance.
Fencing: Pool to Final
India’s women and men fencers will look for strong pool performances to enter the direct elimination rounds.
2:30 PM IST
- Mitwa, Yashkeerat, Mumtaj & Tanuja
Women’s Epee — Pool Stage to Final*
(*Competition progresses through the day if qualified.)
5:30 PM IST
- Abhay Shinde, Aditya, Dhruv & Chirag
Men’s Sabre — Pool Stage to Final*
Fencing format combines early pool stages (short bouts) leading to direct elimination — every point counts.
Basketball
2:30 PM IST
- India vs Poland
Women’s Pool C
A key group-stage clash as India takes on a strong European opponent.
Badminton
4:00 PM IST
- India vs Macau
Mixed Team — Group F
India will aim to dominate and start with a win to boost quarterfinal hopes.
Table Tennis: Evening Battles
7:30 PM IST
- India vs Romania
Women’s Team — Group 5
Facing an experienced European team.
9:30 PM IST
- India vs Japan
Men’s Team — Group 3
Likely to be one of the toughest matches of the day; Japan has a strong student TT culture.
Late Night Swimming (Subject to Qualification)
If Indian swimmers advance:
- 10:30 PM: Men’s 400m Freestyle Final
- 10:40 PM: Women’s 50m Butterfly Semifinal
- 10:48 PM: Men’s 50m Butterfly Semifinal
- 10:56 PM: Women’s 200m Backstroke Semifinal
- 11:08 PM: Men’s 100m Breaststroke Semifinal
- 11:24 PM: Women’s 4x100m Freestyle Final
- 11:35 PM: Men’s 4x100m Freestyle Final
What Makes Day 1 Special
- India fields athletes in seven sports on a single day: Swimming, Tennis, Taekwondo, Fencing, Basketball, Badminton, and Table Tennis.
- Many events feature both pool stages and knockout rounds so results could shape how many Indians we see late at night.
- Team events (basketball, badminton, table tennis) give India multiple medal opportunities.
- Young university athletes get global exposure, representing India in the world’s biggest university sports festival.
With action starting at 12:30 PM IST and potentially ending close to midnight, Indian sports fans are in for a full day. Action can watched on FISU TV
Don’t miss it and follow IndiaSportsHub for live updates! 🇮🇳🔥
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