Triumphant Racquets and Record Breakers: A Sporting Extravaganza

In an impressive display, Indian shuttlers dominated their mixed team event against Macau, clinching a 5-0 victory on the opening day of the World University Games in Germany's Rhine-Ruhr region. Highlighting the day was young swimmer Rohit Benedicton, who shattered a seven-year-old national record in the men's 50m butterfly.

The badminton team triumphed as Saneeth Dayanand and Sathish Kumar Karunakaran won the men's doubles match, while women's singles player Devika Sihag and the mixed pair of Karunakaran and Vaishnavi Khadkekar secured additional victories. Rohit's record-breaking swim saw him finishing with a time of 24:00 seconds, progressing to the semifinals.

Meanwhile, in other sports, Indian participants faced challenges. Abhay Shinde advanced to the knockout rounds in men's sabre fencing but was defeated by a Spanish opponent. The women's volleyball team faced a setback against Poland, while in tennis, players Kabir Hans and Shashank Macherla were unable to advance past their preliminary matches.

(With inputs from agencies.)