Srinagar, Mar 10 (UNI) Skier Siddhartha Gadekar of Pune Maharashtra won the gold in Vertical Ski Mountaineering event in the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) being played at the picturesque Gulmarg in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Shardul Thapliyal and Himanshu Singh both from Himachal Pradesh clinched Silver and Bronze in the event respectively.
Celebrating yellow metal, Skier Gadekar divulged that consistent endurance training got him the result he wanted.
He expressed gratitude to KIWG authorities for the platform and unique opportunity to help athletes display latent potential.
Gadekar eyes international sports events and hopes to carry current performance forward to do better in upcoming events.
In the women’s category, Tenzin Dolma from Himachal Pradesh secured Gold in Vertical Ski Mountaineering, the first medal for her in KIWGs, while Natasha Mahar from Himachal Pradesh improved from yesterday’s performance and won the silver medal.
As an Ultra Trail Runner, Dolma didn’t find the competition challenging since the endurance she had developed over the period showered her with desired rewards.
In the same event, Manek Gunjiyal of Uttarakhand who had won Gold in Women’s Snowboarding Slalom on Sunday had tough luck today and had to settle for bronze. Gunjiyal was one of the gold medallists from KIWG-2024.
In the Nordic Ski Sprint, ITBP sent all other participants to cleaners while wrestling all three medals in the event. The ITBP players Kulsum Rana, Selma Soreng, and Anjana Devi obtained Gold, Silver, and Bronze respectively.
The Nordic Ski Sprint for men saw medals raining for the Army as the athletes including Manjeet, Shubam Parihar and Sunny Singh took away Gold, Silver and Bronze medals respectively leaving others high & dry amid the snow.
Competing against thirty other participants in Snowboard gaint Slalom event, Zubair Ahmad Lone from J&K, glided the slopes fiercely to clinch Gold Medal, while Kulvinder Sharma and Karan Sing of Army settled with Silver & Bronze.
Similarly, in Alpine Gaint Slalom Category Women, Himachal Pradesh had triple whammy to celebrate all three medals with Anchal Thakur, Tanuja Thakur and Suhani Thakur taking home Gold, Silver and Bronze respectively amid the huge applause of spectators and supporters.
In the Men’s Category of Alpine Giant Slalom, Sunil Kumar from Army, Atul Bhat from ITBP and Yogesh Kumar from Himachal Pradesh achieved Gold, Silver and Bronze respectively. It would be entertaining to watch which among these teams would be dominating the final medal tally of KIWGs.
Similarly, in Alpine Gaint Slalom Category Women, Himachal Pradesh had triple whammy to celebrate all three medals with Anchal Thakur, Tanuja Thakur and Suhani Thakur taking home Gold, Silver and Bronze respectively amid the huge applause of spectators and supporters.
Gulmarg witnessed snowfall from the wee hours on Monday and proclaimed that remnants of Winter chill are still in command to thrill visitors at the famous high altitude tourist destination.
The perseverance and passion of athletes raised the visual warmth over white snow turf as all the scheduled games were officiated according to the fixture to foster real winter sports spirit.
Hundreds of players coming from across the country battled over the title in different domains of snow sports including Vertical Ski Mountaineering, Snowboard Gaint Slalom and Sprint.
