In a first, Khelo India Winter Games to witness drone, laser shows at Gulmarg

Srinagar, Dec 14: In a first of its kind in Jammu and Kashmir, the drone show is all set to take center-stage in the upcoming Khelo India Winter Games slated to be held in February next year at Gulmarg—a famous ski-resort.

Notably, Gulmarg has so far hosted four Khelo India winter Games since 2020 in which 5000 athletes, support staff and technical officials participated till 2024.

However, the preparations for the fifth edition of Khelo India Winter Games at Gulmarg is in full swing with the official sources revealing that a series of meetings have so far taken place to finalize the arrangements and make the upcoming event a grand success.

Reliable sources told the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that the Khelo India Winter Games at Gulmarg would for the first time witness the drone and laser shows during the event.

It is worth mentioning here that Gulmarg would be the first place across J&K to witness the drone show.

Besides, the official sources informed that over 1000 participants are set to participate in the fifth edition of the event, saying that the preparations at present are in full swing.

The annual event has been hosted at Gulmarg since 2020 under Swach Bharat Abhiyaan and with an aim to showcase the potential of the place to emerge as one of the best snow-resort in South Asia.

Pertinently, the Khelo India Winter Games will once again be held in two legs as the government has announced that the Union Territory of Ladakh will host the ice events from January 23 to 27, 2025 while the UT of Jammu & Kashmir will host the snow events from February 22 to 25, 2025.

“We are once looking ahead to an exciting season of Khelo India Games. The Winter Games will be important because India needs to find the best athletes to represent the country at the 2026 Winter Olympics,” said the Union Sports Minister, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya had said in an official communique, issued to KNO, a few days back.

“It is our endeavor to promote winter sports and encourage more athletes to take up skiing and skating. We have already seen many athletes from remote Himalayan villages participating in these Games. That’s very encouraging,” Dr Mandaviya had said.