Gulmarg: Army made an emphatic start to the Gulmarg leg of the Khelo India Winter Games, winning three of the five gold medals at stake here on Monday.
CRPF and Himachal Pradesh also finished among the gold medals on the first day.
It was not a day for the favourites as veterans like Bhavani Thekkada Nanjunda of Karnataka and Aanchal Thakur of Himachal Pradesh were usurped by skiers who have been doing well in the national circuit.
Young Jiah Aryan, all of 17 and one of India’s upcoming talents in Alpine skiing from Karnataka, won a bronze in her second Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG).
Jiah lined up against seniors like Aanchal and Sandhya Thakur, who have represented India at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin China last February. Himachal Pradesh’s Sandhya beat Aanchal in a tight race on the Kongdoori slopes.
It was an emotional day for CRPF’s Kajal Kumari Rai, who won the gold in the 15km Nordic skiing (cross-country) for women at the Gulmarg Golf Course. Kajal relegated hot-favourite Bhavani to the bronze in a brilliant finish.
The Meghalaya-born Kajal dedicated her gold to her father who died last year in February. CRPF’s Renu Danu won the silver. Bhavani has won a hat-trick of gold medals in KIWG 2025.
Army’s Sunny Singh won the day’s first gold medal in the men’s sprint in Nordic skiing. Sunny has been winning medals for Army at the KIWGs on a regular basis and on Monday, the Kathua skier, who has trained at the High-Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg, led an Army 1-2-3 in the opening event before the inauguration ceremony took place on the Golf Course.
