Kuala lumpur: Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) emerged as overall champions of the 2026 Higher Education Institutions Sports Games (SUKIPT), which culminated at Dewan Tuanku Canselor, Universiti Malaya (UM), here today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, UPM clinched 35 gold, 20 silver, and 15 bronze medals to repeat their success as overall champions in the 2022 edition. Defending champions Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), who won the 2024 edition, finished second with 29 golds, 21 silvers, and 32 bronzes, while hosts UM finished third with a 28-18-17 medal haul.

UPM deputy contingent head Muhamad Malik Ahmad Tobias described the achievement as 'beyond expectations', as they initially did not set a target of becoming overall champions. He stated that although they did not set a target for 2026 based on the athletes' performances monitored through tournaments organised by the Malaysian University Sports Council (MASUM) and Varsity Sports Championship (VSC), UPM eventually emerged champions of this year's SUKIPT.

Commenting on the sports that contributed most to UPM's success, Malik mentioned that several events remained strengths of the contingent, including men's and women's hockey and netball, in which they emerged champions. In athletics, UPM won 15 gold medals in individual events. Additionally, they achieved an unexpected third-place finish in rugby after losing in the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, 46 meet records were broken throughout the Games: 13 in athletics, 18 in swimming, and 15 in archery. Two national records were also shattered, in the women's TK1 200-metre kayak event and the men's 10m air rifle event.

HELP University runner Rodney James Darren James and Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI)'s kayak specialist Syahida Asyiqin Rusli were named the 2026 SUKIPT Sportsman and Sportswoman respectively, following their outstanding performances throughout the Games.