4th Edition of Khelo India Winter Games conclude
Gulmarg, Feb 25: The Indian Army team emerged victorious in the 4th edition of the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) festival which concluded at Gulmarg on Sunday.
The team of Indian Army emerged as the champions of the Khelo India Winter Games festival by bagging 21 medals including 10 gold medals, five silver and six bronze medals.
When the Championship trophy was given to the Indian Army team, the echoes of their happiness resonated in the mountains of Gulmarg.
While the Indian Army lifted the title of the festival, Karnataka emerged as runners up and bagged nine gold and two silver medals and the team of Maharashtra emerged as second runner up in the Khelo India winter games festival. The team bagged seven gold medals, eight silver and seven bronze medals respectively.
Meanwhile, J&K figured at the 9th position in the competition as the team bagged one gold, six Silver and four bronze medals.
The 4th edition of the Khelo India Winter Games Festival commenced on February 21 of 2024 and was inaugurated by the J&K Lieutenant Governor (LG) Manoj Sinha.
Talking to Greater Kashmir, the coach of Indian Army team, Nadeem Iqbal Mirza expressed his happiness over the victory and said they will continue to work hard to win championships in future as well.
"We are very happy to have won this championship. We will continue to strive to win such championships in the future and bring medals at the international level for India. I hope that Khelo India happens every year, and new talents emerge in India," he said.
The 4th edition of Khelo India Winter Games festival witnessed competitions like Snowboarding, Alpine skiing, Nordics skiing and ski mountaineering.
From J&K, Shahid Ahmad Chachi clinched the sole Gold medal in Vertical Ski Mountaineering while he also won silver in another discipline of Sprint and shared a bronze with three other colleagues in Ski Mountaineering Men Relay group.
Also, Shazia Hassan, Sobia Nabi, Shaista Shabir and Vikar bagged silver medals in Ski Mountaineering Women Sprint, Alpine Skiing Women Slalom and Alpine Skiing Women Parallel and Men Parallel Slalom respectively.
Participants from J&K also bagged another silver medal in ski mountaineering Women Relay in which Shazia Hassan, Maryam Farooq and Noorian Latief teamed up to display enthusiastic spirit to clinch the title.
Further, four bronze medals also came in the bucket of J&K including one from Men Relay Ski Mountaineering team and three others were scored by Gousia Gulzar, Mehraj ud Din Bhat and Mehraj Ud Din Khan in individual events.
In her address at the concluding ceremony, Secretary Sports Council Nuzhat Gul, who was the chief guest at the occasion said that the athletes participating in KIWG are realising the dream of Prime Minister Narander Modi.
"Khelo India games are providing a platform to youth from grass root level to showcase their talent and compete at national level," she said.
She said that winter games help in the exchange of culture, tradition and languages among athletes and enhance their vision and confidence.
Speaking at the occasion, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) Waseem Raja said that Gulmarg is crown of incredible India
"Organising the winter games has given a boost to winter sports. Weather was a big challenge for us but we made it a success as a team and took the event to conclusion smoothly," he said.
He also expressed gratitude to the officers of other departments who played a vital role in snow clearance and other measures which were taken care by all the departments under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner Baramulla, Minga Sherpa.
"With the successful conclusion of the 4th edition of KIWG, we are looking forward to the 5th edition of it and I believe we should start preparation for it," he said and congratulated all the athletes and medal winners who participated in the championship.
Among others who were present at the occasion were General Manager Cable Car Corporation, SSP Traffic Rural, 6-time Olympian, SDPO Tangmarg and SHO Gulmarg.
