Day seven at the World University Games 2025 turned into a rollercoaster of emotions for India, filled with fresh breakthroughs, frustrating exits, and a few standout moments that kept the tricolour flying high.
The biggest talking point came from the men’s long jump qualification round. Much of the spotlight was on national record holder Jeswin Aldrin, once celebrated for his stunning 8.42m leap in 2023.
But on this day, Jeswin struggled to find rhythm. Starting with a foul, he managed 7.54m on his second attempt but failed to improve meaningfully, landing just 7.43m in his final effort. It was a performance well below his peak, continuing a patchy run of form that has seen him fail to cross 8m since last season even after switching coaches from Yoandri Betanzos to Reliance Foundation.
While Jeswin fell short, India’s David P Solomon brought a glimmer of hope. David began confidently, leaping 7.63m in his first attempt and following up with 7.55m and 7.57m. Though these weren’t near his season-best 7.94m (set at the Federation Cup, where he shocked both Jeswin and Anees Yahiya), it was enough to secure 11th place overall and a spot in the final. David now carries India’s long jump hopes forward, and fans will hope he can edge closer to the elusive 8m mark in the decisive round.
Chanda’s Fighting Spirit and Archers Keep Medal Hopes Alive
The night also featured an inspiring run from middle-distance runner KM Chanda. Running in the women’s 800m semifinals, Chanda demonstrated tactical maturity, coming from behind in the last 100m to finish second in her heat with a time of 2:02.05, booking a direct berth in the final. Her teammate Amandeep started strongly but faded to finish seventh with a time of 2:04.84, missing out on qualification.
Meanwhile, on the archery range, India’s compound archers continued to impress. In the men’s individual competition, Kushal Dalal and Sahil made it to the semifinals. Kushal edged out Germany’s Fluss 148-146, while Sahil defeated Britain’s Finlay 146-142.
In the women’s compound, defending champion Parneet Kaur progressed smoothly into the semifinals after outscoring Low from Singapore 148-144, joining a challenging last-four lineup featuring three strong South Korean archers.
In recurve women, Basanti fought her way to the quarterfinals after overcoming American Catalina 6-2. However, she fell to a Japanese opponent 1-7 in the next round. Earlier, Basanti had survived a scare against Malaysia’s Syaqiera, winning 6-4 despite shooting a five in the final set. Her compatriots Bhajan and Aditi bowed out earlier in the individual rounds.
The Indian recurve men faced disappointment, with Aryan exiting after a 2-6 defeat to a Japanese archer. In compound, Avneet progressed to the quarterfinals with a 145-142 win over Madhura but couldn’t close the gap in the next round.
Breakthroughs in Throws and Sprints, but Mixed Results in Badminton and Beyond
In the field events, Samardeep Gill made his mark in the men’s shot put qualification. A solid throw of 19.10m close to his season best of 19.38m earned him fourth place and a place in the final. His compatriot Sawan managed just 17.03m and failed to advance.
Women’s discus throw brought another bright moment when Sanya Yadav threw a lifetime best of 51.21m, finishing ninth overall and securing her place in the final. Priya, the other Indian thrower in the field, registered a best of 48.25m, which placed her 14th and out of the final race.
On the track, national record holder Animesh Kujur made it look effortless in the men’s 200m heats. Clocking 21.16s into a light headwind, Animesh topped his heat with what seemed like spare gears left, comfortably qualifying for the semifinals. In contrast, Manikanta Hoblidhar timed 21.42s and missed the semis. In the women’s 200m, Angelsilvia Mariya kept her campaign alive by qualifying for the semifinals as one of the fastest losers with 24.01s, though she’ll need to push harder to make the final. Unfortunately, Soniya clocked 24.84s, which wasn’t enough to advance.
The day’s low point came in the men’s 110m hurdles when Rahil Sakeer was heartbreakingly disqualified for a false start. With national record holder Tejas Shirse absent due to injury, Rahil’s exit ended India’s campaign in this event.
In heptathlon, Pooja and Tanushree opened their competition with personal bests in the 100m hurdles — Pooja clocking 14.97s (846 points) and Tanushree 15.53s (773 points). Pooja then cleared 1.71m in the high jump for 867 points, her season best, while Tanushree managed 1.62m.
India’s badminton campaign was a mixed affair. Women’s doubles pair Aditi and Devika beat Singapore’s Chan/Choo convincingly (15-5, 15-8) in the Round of 32. But the top-seeded Indian duo of Vaishnavi and Alisha suffered a shock loss to a Turkish pair (11-15, 8-15). In men’s singles, Saneeth advanced past Poland’s Lukasz (15-8, 15-13) before losing in the next round. Darshan won a tense three-gamer against Saudi Arabia’s Shaikh (15-6, 12-15, 15-6) to enter the Round of 32 but exited later in men’s doubles with Saneeth.
In taekwondo, India’s women’s and men’s teams lost to Ukraine and Poland in early rounds, but the mixed team beat Romania before losing to hosts Germany in the quarterfinals. In basketball, the men’s team fell to Chinese Taipei 77-102 and to Romania 58-109 in classification matches for lower placements.
In swimming, India’s men’s 4x100m medley relay team (Srihari, Vidith, Rohit & Jashua) timed 3:42.95 and didn’t make the final. The women’s team clocked 4:35.31, finishing last in their heat. In individual events, Shoan and Anurag couldn’t progress in the 400m individual medley, while Bhavya and Ashmita placed outside the top 25 in the women’s 400m freestyle.
By the end of Day 7, it was clear: while established names like Jeswin Aldrin stumbled, India’s younger athletes David Solomon, Sanya Yadav, Samardeep Gill, and KM Chanda offered fresh hope. With finals approaching, Indian fans now wait to see if these sparks can ignite podium finishes and bring more medals home.
