India ends world University Games campaign with record 26 medals, more than historical combined total of 21

India ended their World University Games (WUG) campaign on Tuesday with their best-ever performance, winning a record haul of 26 medals, including 11 gold, here. India finished at seventh spot with 11 gold, 5 silver and 10 bronze, the best ever standing in the medal tally.

This edition's haul is even more than the combined total of all the past WUG medals won by the country. India had won just 21 medals (6 gold, 6 silver and 9 bronze) before the 2023 World University Games.

This time, India had sent 256 athletes in the WUG.


The biggest let down, however, is the performance of the track and field athletes, who won just four bronze medals from 82 participants, the largest in the Indian contingent.

The 21-member shooting team performed the best with 8 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze while archers won 3 gold, 1 silver and 3 bronze. One bronze came from judo.

Hosts China topped the standings with a whopping 178 medals (103 gold, 40 silver, 35 bronze), followed by Japan (21 gold, 29 silver, 43 bronze) and Korea (17 gold, 18 silver, 23 bronze).