BHUBANESWAR: KIIT & KISS felicitated 11 athletes from KIIT University, who represented India in various sporting events and won medals at the recently concluded World University Games (WUG) 2025 in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany.
Each athlete, who won a silver medal at the WUG, received a cash prize of Rs 3 lakh, while bronze medal winners were awarded Rs 1 lakh. Founder of KIIT & KISS Achyuta Samanta felicitated them in the presence of several sporting personalities, including Olympians.
Expressing his delight over the achievement, Samanta said that the highest number of players in the Indian contingent at the World University Games were from KIIT. “India secured a total of 12 medals in the event, with KIIT athletes contributing 6 of them. This accomplishment is a matter of pride for both KIIT-KISS and Odisha,” he added.
He further stated that KIIT is the first Indian university to win the highest number of medals at the World University Games in the past 65 years.
Three KIIT students — Ankita in the 3000m Steeplechase, Praveen Chithrawal in the Triple Jump, and Seeman in the 5000m Final — won a silver medal each. Additionally, the Men’s 4x100m relay team (Sahkanth Hoblidhar, Animesh Kujur, Lalu Prasad Bhoi, and Matyam Jayaram Dandapati), the Women’s 20km race walk team (Munitap Rajpathi, Mansi Negi, and Sejal Anilsingh) and Avinash Mohanty in Badminton secured bronze medals, taking the medal tally to six.
Among others, Vice Chancellor of KIIT-DU Prof Sharanjit Singh; Registrar Prof J R Mohanty and Director General of the Sports and Yogic Sciences School Dr Gaganendu Dash, were present at the ceremony. Olympians Dutee Chand, Srabani Nanda, Amiya Mallick, Shradhanjali Samantray, and Bhavani Devi also graced the occasion.