Siliguri athlete wins Gold at ‘Khelo India Tribal Games’

Siliguri: Bringing pride to Bengal, 23-year-old tribal athlete Sanjita Oraon from Naxalbari has clinched the gold medal in the 10,000 metres race at the Khelo India Tribal Games (KITG) 2026 held in Chhattisgarh.

Sanjita clocked an impressive time of 40 minutes and 21.8 seconds to secure the top position in the long-distance event.

Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Supremo, congratulated her on her ‘X’ handle. In her message, Banerjee wrote: “Sanju Oraon, a girl from an Adivasi tea-worker family of Naxalbari, has won the gold medal in the 10,000-meter race at a national-level competition—I extend my heartfelt congratulations and lots of love to her!

Sanjita’s achievement has made us all proud. She has once again proved that adversity cannot hold back talent.

Her victory will inspire thousands of boys and girls in Bengal to dream big in the days to come. I wish her an even brighter future and hope all her dreams come true. I will always stand by her and her family in any need.”

Sanjita expressed joy, stating: “It was a wonderful experience for me to finish first in the competition. This will motivate me to achieve more success.”

Hailing from a tea garden labourer family in Mourijote village in Naxalbari under Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad, Sanjita’s journey to success is a story of determination and perseverance. She is currently a final-year student at Naxalbari College. Her father, Bijay Oraon, works as a daily-wage labourer, while her mother, Rita Oraon, is a homemaker.

Sanjita started practising when she was in Class V. Since then, she has been training under the Naxalbari unit of the Siliguri Athletics Welfare Organisation.

Despite the lack of proper training facilities, Sanjita continued her practice routine. She trained twice daily on a ground at Hatighisa, located about 25 km from Siliguri, where she used to travel by bicycle, which she received under the Sabuj Sathi project.

Her father, Bijay, said: “We are not financially stable enough. We seek government support to help her pursue her sporting career in the future.”

Arun Ghosh, the Sabhadhipati of Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad, also visited her house and congratulated her.

The multi-venue event, organised across Raipur, Jagdalpur, and Sarguja from March 25 to April 3, saw participation from around 3,000 tribal athletes representing 30 states across the country.