KIWG 2024: Army men dominate skiing events, Padma Namgial strikes second gold

Karnataka leads medal tally with eight gold medals; Himachal again sweeps medals in snowboard event

Leh, Feb 24, 2024: Army men dominated the skiing events once again on the third day of the 4th Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) here on Friday. In the men’s Nordic Skiing (15 km run) competition, all three positions were taken by the Army. Padma Namgail won gold while Manjeet and Rameez Ahmad Padder settled for silver and bronze, respectively. This was Namgail’s second gold in the competition.

Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Nisith Pramanik and six-time Olympian Shiva Keshavan handed the medals to the podium finishers.

The bright and sunny day witnessed some thrilling competitions with Nordic Skiing event being held at Gulmarg Golf Course while Alpine Skiing, Ski Mountaineering and Snowboard events organised at Kangdoori.

Karnataka reign supreme in the medals tally, cumulative of the Ladakh and Gulmarg chapters, with eight gold and two silver medals followed by Maharashtra with six gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals.

Army bagged another gold in men’s Ski Mountaineering Relay, Uttarakhand settled for silver with Jammu & Kashmir bagging bronze. In the women’s category, Himachal Pradesh emerged the champions while J&K finished runners-up.

In the men’s giant slalom under alpine skiing, Army man Baqir Hussain secured the gold medal, Himachal’s Pranav took silver while Debendra Gurgung of Army bagged the bronze.

In men’s snowboard, Army men Kulvinder Sharma and Karan Singh took home gold and silver medals respectively while Mehraj-ud-din Khan pocketed bronze. In the women’s event, Himachal once again swept the medals as Preeti Thakur, Prakriti Thakur and Deepika Thakur took away gold, silver and bronze medals respectively.