New Delhi: India’s Ankita Dhyani delivered a remarkable performance at the 2025 World University Games (WUG), clinching a silver medal in the women’s 3000m steeplechase with a blistering personal-best time of 9:31.99. The 23-year-old social sciences student shaved nearly seven seconds off her previous best (9:39.00) to narrowly miss out on gold.
Finland’s Ilona Maaria Mononen edged out Ankita by just 0.13 seconds to take the top spot, finishing in 9:31.86, while Germany’s Adia Budde claimed bronze with 9:33.34.
Ankita had shown signs of peak form earlier in the tournament by winning her heat in 9:54.79, a massive 22-second improvement from her earlier timings. Her silver takes India’s medal tally at the Games to two golds, four silvers, and three bronzes.
India’s women’s 4x400m relay team—comprising Anakha Bijukumar, Devyaniba Zala, Rashdeep Kaur, and Rupal—recorded their season-best time of 3:35.08 in the final but finished fifth in a fiercely contested race. Germany bagged the gold with 3:29.68 after a stunning comeback despite a sluggish start.
Though the team missed out on a medal, their timing reflects promise ahead of the upcoming men’s 4x400m, 4x100m, and women’s 4x100m relay finals, where India hopes to improve its medal count.
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