Srihari Nataraj at Khelo India University Games 2025 Begin Across Seven Rajasthan Cities

The Khelo India University Games (KIUG) 2025, India’s biggest university-level multi-sport event, has returned for its fifth edition this time unfolding across an unprecedented seven host cities in Rajasthan.

From November 24 to December 5, Jaipur, Ajmer, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota and Bharatpur will collectively host close to 5000 athletes representing more than 230 universities, competing for medals, reputations, and the coveted overall university championship title. 

The multi-sport event follows a clear rule: the university with the highest number of gold medals wins. And in 2025, the race for gold features some of the most celebrated young athletes in the country—Olympians, world champions, Asian Games medalists, and India’s fastest-rising stars.

Srihari Nataraj Headlines the Swimming Contingent

Among the biggest names at KIUG 2025 is double Olympian Srihari Nataraj, representing Jain University. As one of India’s premier swimmers with multiple national records, international medals and two Olympic appearances his presence elevates the Games’ competitive stature.

According to the attached KIUG report, Nataraj is scheduled to compete in six events, making him one of the busiest elite athletes in the field and a major contributor to Jain University’s medal ambitions.

His participation is also symbolically significant. KIUG was designed as a bridge between university sport and elite international competition, and Nataraj represents that ideal perfectly an athlete who continues to compete domestically, inspire younger swimmers, and maintain competitive rhythm in a high-performance setting.

With swimming hosted in Jaipur, the pool events are expected to draw strong viewership, especially with a global-calibre athlete like Nataraj involved.

Aditi Gopichand Swami Brings World Champion Aura to Archery

No athlete in KIUG 2025 carries the kind of global aura that Aditi Gopichand Swami does.

At just 17, she became the reigning World Champion in women’s compound archery the first Indian woman ever to achieve the feat. Her appearance at KIUG 2025 is a major attraction for both archery fans and the wider sporting community. The attached report identifies her as one of the marquee elite athletes competing this year. 

Representing her university in Jaipur, Aditi’s participation ensures that the archery competition reaches world-class standards. Her consistency, mental strength and precision make her the favourite across her compound events, offering a unique opportunity for fellow student-athletes to share the field with a reigning world champion.

Adding further star power to the archery ranges is Parneet Kaur, part of India’s gold-medal winning women’s compound team at the 2022 Asian Games.

Parneet’s form over the past two years has been exceptional, establishing her among the world’s top compound archers. With both Aditi Swami and Parneet competing at KIUG 2025, the archery competition becomes one of the strongest in the event’s history featuring multiple world-class athletes in the same discipline. The combination of these two top-tier performers will be crucial in determining their universities’ gold medal hopes and ensuring that archery becomes one of the headline attractions of the Games.

Olympian Bhajan Kaur Adds Depth to the Recurve Archery Event

While Aditi and Parneet dominate the compound categories, India’s recurve archery contingent will be led by Olympian Bhajan Kaur, representing Guru Kashi University.

Bhajan, one of India’s most promising young recurve archers, made her Olympic debut in Paris 2024 and has emerged as a steady presence on the international circuit. Her participation at KIUG 2025 significantly raises the competitive level in the recurve events, especially with several national-level archers also in contention. Her presence underscores what KIUG is increasingly becoming: a rare event where Olympic-level athletes return to compete within India’s university ecosystem, strengthening the competition and raising local standards.

Why Top Athletes Are Competing at KIUG

The attached report emphasizes that KIUG is not just a youth tournament it is a critical component of India’s national sporting pathway, intended to serve as a “stepping stone to global events” including the Asian Games 2026 and future Commonwealth Games. 

This is why leading names like Nataraj, Aditi, Bhajan and Parneet continue to participate. With KIUG sitting between national university competitions and senior national championships, it offers:

• High-quality domestic competition
• Match rhythm for elite athletes
• Talent visibility for selectors
• University pride and scholarship pathways
• A televised and streamed platform to inspire emerging athletes

The live broadcast across DD Sports, regional Doordarshan channels, YouTube, and the Waves OTT app ensures that star athletes are accessible to audiences nationwide.

What truly sets KIUG 2025 apart is its geography. With events spread across seven cities, this is the most decentralized edition yet. Jaipur hosts the opening and closing ceremonies, along with marquee sports such as athletics, swimming, badminton, hockey and archery. Udaipur manages judo, beach volleyball and canoeing; Bikaner runs kabaddi and weightlifting; while Jodhpur, Ajmer, Kota and Bharatpur complete the sports matrix.

This structure not only democratizes sports infrastructure across Rajasthan but also spreads the presence of star athletes across the state.

The presence of Olympians and world champions guarantees that KIUG 2025 will produce performances of national significance. Universities like Jain University, Chandigarh University, Lovely Professional University, Panjab University and Guru Nanak Dev University already known for producing elite athletes will be in fierce contention again.

But beyond medals, the impact of these stars will be deeper: motivating peers, inspiring younger athletes, and strengthening India’s university sports culture.