Around 300 Indian student-athletes from more than 60 universities are set to represent their country at the FISU World University Games 2025, scheduled in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, from July 16 to 27.
Also referred to as the ‘Olympics for university athletes’, the World University Games are a multi-sport event held every two years for students aged 17 to 25.
The Rhine-Ruhr 2025 World University Games edition will see over 9,200 athletes from more than 150 countries compete, making it the largest FISU Games to date.
India’s best-ever performance in the biennial event came at Chengdu 2023, where they finished seventh overall with 26 medals – 11 gold, 5 silver and 10 bronze. A bulk of these came from shooting, which contributed 14 medals, including eight gold.
Notable performers included Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, who won four medals, and Manu Bhaker, who bagged two golds in pistol events. Jyothi Yarraji, Amlan Borgohain and Priyanka Goswami also stood out with podium finishes in athletics.
India have been participating in the FISU World University Games since the inaugural edition in Turin in 1959. The upcoming Games will mark the 32nd edition of the Summer Universiade.
The FISU World University Games 2025 will feature 18 sports across 23 venues in six German cities – Bochum, Duisburg, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Hagen and Berlin.