The World University Games (WUG) in the Rhine-Ruhr region of Germany witnessed a promising start for the Indian contingent, with badminton players displaying dominance and swimmer Rohit Benedicton shattering a national record.

Indian shuttlers began their campaign with a clean sweep against Macau in the mixed team event. The team secured a 5-0 victory in their opening Group F match, demonstrating strong performances across all categories. The men's doubles pair of Saneeth Dayanand and Sathish Kumar Karunakaran set the tone by winning in straight games against Chi Chon Pui and Kok Weng Ving. In the women's singles, Devika Sihag continued the momentum by defeating Chi Wa Pui. Saneeth returned to the court to secure another victory, overcoming Fei Long 2-0. The women's doubles pair of Tasnim Mir and Varshini Viswanath added to the tally by defeating Sam Kio Ieong and Wai Kei Wang. Finally, the mixed team of Karunakaran and Vaishnavi Khadkekar completed the sweep by overcoming Kok Weng Vong and Chi Wa Pui. With this dominant performance, the Indian shuttlers have set a strong precedent for their upcoming matches in Group F, which also includes Hong Kong, China.

Adding to the positive start, teenage swimmer Rohit Benedicton made a significant mark by breaking the seven-year-old national record in the men's 50m butterfly. Clocking an impressive time of 24:00 seconds, Rohit surpassed Virdhawal Khade's previous record of 24:09 seconds set in 2018. This achievement not only earned him a place in the semifinals but also highlighted his potential as a rising star in Indian swimming. Rohit's success follows his recent gold medal win in the 100m butterfly at the national aquatics championships in Bhubaneswar, where he broke Khade's record with a time of 52.57 seconds. The 19-year-old was the only Indian swimmer to progress to the next round on the first day of the competition.

In other events, Abhay Shinde was the only Indian fencer to advance to the knockout rounds, where he was eventually defeated by a Spanish opponent in the round of 64. Mitva Chaudhari reached the round of 32 in the women's epee event but lost to Germany's Alexandra Zittel. The women's volleyball team faced their second consecutive defeat, this time against Poland, diminishing their chances of advancing to the next round.