Gulmarg (J&K), March 11 (H.S.): On the second day of the second phase of Khelo India Winter Games 2025, Maharashtra’s Siddharth Gadekar and Himachal Pradesh’s Tenzin Dolma caught the headlines with their remarkable performances. Competitions took place on Monday amidst heavy snowfall on Kangdori’s snowy slopes, showcasing a true test of athletes’ endurance and mental strength.
The reigning champions, the Indian Army, maintained their strong presence by securing four more medals, including 2 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze. The Army remains at the top of the medal tally with a total of 13 medals, including 4 gold, 4 silver, and 5 bronze. The Ladakh team is in second place, although they did not win any medals in the second phase. Maharashtra stands third, having won 3 gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze medals.
The 40-year-old Tenzin Dolma from Himachal Pradesh demonstrated mental strength in difficult conditions, winning her first medal at the Khelo India Winter Games with a time of 13:07.41 minutes. Natasha Mahar (13:39.39 minutes) from her state claimed the silver, while Menka Gunjiyal (14:16.23 minutes) from Uttarakhand secured the bronze medal.
Expressing her happiness about her achievement, Dolma said, This was my first time in Gulmarg. The environment and arrangements here are amazing. I am not a professional athlete, but my passion for sports has brought me to this point. Despite being a mother of an 18-year-old daughter, I have continued with sports and am trying to make my identity.
Siddharth Gadekar from Maharashtra, who had started training in ski mountaineering only two months ago, put on an outstanding performance to win the gold medal in the men’s vertical competition. Prior to this, he had secured a silver medal in the sprint event. Gadekar said, Until last year, I used to come to Gulmarg only as a spectator, but this time winning two medals in my first Khelo India Winter Games is an incredible experience for me.
In the men’s sprint event of Nordic skiing, the Indian Army completely established its supremacy. Manjeet won gold with a time of 4:21.14 minutes, Shubham Parihar (4:22.93 minutes) took silver, and Sunny Singh (4:30.94 minutes) earned bronze.
The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) completely dominated the women’s 10 km Nordic skiing event. Kusum Rana won gold, Selma Soren secured silver, and Anjana Devi claimed bronze.
Zubair Ahmed Lone from Jammu and Kashmir honored the state by winning the gold medal in the men’s giant slalom snowboarding event. Kulvinder Sharma from the Indian Army took silver, and Karan Sharma won bronze.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
