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India's mixed badminton team won a historic bronze medal at the FISU World University Games 2025 in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, marking the country’s first-ever medal in badminton at this prestigious university-level multi-sport event. 

• Host Cities: Bochum, Duisburg, Essen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Hagen, and Berlin. 
• Event Dates: 16 to 27 July 2025. 
• Participation: Around 8,500 student-athletes and officials from over 150 countries. 
• Sports: Competitions in 18 sports, including a compulsory programme of 15 sports 
  • Archery, Artistic Gymnastics, Athletics, Badminton, Basketball 
  • Diving, Fencing, Judo, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Swimming 
  • Taekwondo, Tennis, Table Tennis, Volleyball, and Water Polo
• Event Nature 
  • A modern, youth-focused festival atmosphere, full of energy, diversity, and celebration. 
  • Aims to build friendships and promote innovation through sports, culture, and science.
    
• FISU World Conference 
  • Scheduled from 17 to 19 July 2025 at the Jahrhunderthalle in Bochum. 
  • Will gather future thought leaders and showcase academic research on university sports.
• First Mascot (1973): The tradition began with Sineglazka, a monochrome running girl mascot at the Moscow 1973 Universiade; her name means "Blue-eyed" in Russian.
  
• Recent Mascots 
  • Chengdu 2021: Animated giant panda named Rongbao. 
  • Napoli 2019: Mermaid called Partenope. 
  • Taipei 2017: Bravo the Bear.
    
• Rhine-Ruhr 2025 Mascot: The Organising Committee aimed to create a mascot that represents the region, captures the spirit of the event, and connects with participants. 
  

Wanda