National Institute of Technology at Surathkal (NIT-K) in Mangaluru.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The National Institute of Technology-Karnataka (NIT-K), Surathkal, has emerged as the overall champion among all National Institutes of Technology in India for the academic year 2025-26, topping the All India Inter NIT (AIINIT) Sports Meet with 144 points, the highest tally among the participating NITs.The result places NIT-K at the top of the national standings across athletics, team sports, racquet sports and strength disciplines, with gold-medal finishes in men’s athletics, men’s kabaddi, women’s badminton, women’s volleyball, women’s kho-kho and women’s swimming, a NIT-K release said on Friday.Akhil Banoth (Mechanical Engineering), was the standout individual performer, winning three gold medals in the 200m, 400m and 4x100m relay at the sports meet held at NIT Jalandhar. Rohit V. (Ph.D., Physics) won gold in the hammer throw with a 41.60-metre effort and was named the “Most Powerful Man” of the meet.NIT-K’s men’s kabaddi team won the championship outright at NIT Delhi, with Veerendra M. named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. The women’s volleyball and kho-kho teams both won gold at NIT Rourkela, while the women’s swimming team won the overall championship at the event, led by Suvali P. Shetty, who was named the tournament’s Best Swimmer.NIT-K’s women’s badminton team also won the AIINIT title, with Manashree named the tournament’s Best Player.The men’s table tennis team also won gold at the tournament held at NIT Jamshedpur, with Dilip G. named the event’s Best Player.In chess, NIT-K’s men’s team finished second at NIT Jalandhar, with Aaron Sanju Thomas (Artificial Intelligence) winning gold on the first board and Ekansh Goel (Information Technology) winning silver on the second board. The women’s team, captained by Vinitha M. Rao (Mechanical Engineering), finished third, with Rao winning silver on the third board.In power sports, NITK’s weightlifting team placed third overall at the sports meet at NIT Delhi with two gold and one bronze medal, and the bodybuilding team won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals at the same meet, with Hitesh Dagar crowned Champion of Champions of the tournament.The men’s handball team won bronze at VNIT Nagpur, with Tanshiq Chopade and Vidyashankar H.R. named Man of the Match.NITK staff and faculty also competed at the national level this season, with the staff chess team finishing fourth among 25 NITs at the All India Inter NIT Staff Tournament held at NIT Jalandhar. Vignesh M. (Civil Engineering) and Shri Rakesh Kumar (Purchase Section) won individual board medals, the release said. Published - July 24, 2026 07:01 pm IST
