LUCKNOW, April 9 -- Spirited athletes from Meerut hogged the limelight on the opening day of the 24th Uttar Pradesh State Junior Under-20 Federation Athletics Championship 2026, winning four golds, three silvers and two bronzes, at the Madan Mohan Malaviya Stadium in Prayagraj on Wednesday. Athletes from Hapur with four gold were placed second, whereas athletes from Varanasi with three gold, five silver and four bronzes stood third at the end of day's action. In all, 656 male and female athletes from 65 districts of Uttar Pradesh are participating across 40 different events. Based on their performance in this competition, athletes will qualify to participate in the national-level championship, scheduled to be held on April 24 and 25 in Tumkur at Karnataka. The gold medal winners in Day One included, Anshu Rajak, Anshul Kumar, Amit Kumar, Akash, Amir Khan, Akhand Pratap Singh, Vishnu, Soni Kumari, Vanshika Vanshika, Khushi Patel, Deepu Kashyap, Gunjan Yadav, Khushi, Divya Chaudhary, Ramanand Singh, Vansh Kumar Sharawat, Akash, Saurabh Yadav, Sandeep Kumar, Abdullah and Jyoti Rajput. Students from St Joseph, Rajajipuram, stole the spotlight with an all-around stellar performance in both athletics and team games, securing gold medals in almost every category in the Sansad Khel Mahakumbh 2026 events for the West Assembly constituency here on Wednesday. Students from St Joseph left everyone astonished with their performance in athletics, sweeping gold medals in nearly every race including the 100m, 200m, 400m, and the 4x100m relay. Both the boys' and girls' teams won gold medals in Tug of War, while the boys' team also secured a gold medal in kabaddi. Meanwhile, in the North Assembly constituency events, students from the St Joseph, Sitapur Road branch delivered an impressive performance on the opening day. The boys' teams secured gold medals in team games such as basketball and taekwondo, as well as in the 100m athletics event. KD Singh Babu XI and Mohd Shahid XI scored big wins in the 2nd Fazlur Rehman Memorial Sub-Junior Hockey Tournament, at Chandra Bhan Gupt Khel Maidan here on Wednesday. KD Singh Babu XI defeated Gandhi Club 3-1, whereas Mohd Shahid XI beat Bula Ganguli by 4-0. Lucknow is now ready for the thrill of handball as the 'UP Pro Handball League' is set to kick off here on Thursday, offering sports enthusiasts six days of high-voltage handball action. The inaugural match of the league promises to be a thrilling affair. Starting at 11:00 a.m., the match will see the 'Kashi Kings' face off against the 'Gorakhpur Rowdies,' offering a true glimpse of fierce competition and intense energy right from the very first game. As many as 15 powerlifters of Chowk Stadium won medals in the State Sub-Junior, Senior and Masters Championship. They are being trained by Shatrughan Lal. The medal winners included, Honey gaur, Triipti kashyap, Pavni Agarwal, Yashi Srivastava, Aradhya, Pragya Upadhyay, Sita Kanojiya, Sushila, Kartikey Saxena, Chandrabhan Rana, Anand Kumar, Vishal Rawat, Gaurav Anand Singh, Ajeet Singh and Piyush Sharma....