India’s Opening Day Schedule at the FISU World University Games 2025

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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