4th Edition of Khelo India Winter Games Concludes at Gulmarg
Srinagar: The 4th edition of Khelo India winter games concluded at Kashmir’s premier ski resort Gulmarg on Sunday with the Indian Army clinching the highest number of ten gold, five silver and six bronze medals followed by the first runner-up Karnataka with nine gold and two silver medals.
Maharashtra won seven gold, eight silver and seven bronze medals, finishing as the second runner-up in the skiing and snowboarding games played during the five-day event.
Jammu and Kashmir, the host state, was placed at the 9th position in the medal tally after winning one gold, six silver and four bronze medals, the officials said.
The winter sporting events that took place at the 2,650-meters-high Gulmarg include snowboarding, Alpine ski, Nordic ski and snow-mountaineering. Twenty states and Union Territories competed in the Alpine Ski, Nordic Ski, and Snowboarding while ten states did it in the Ski Mountaineering competitions.
The closing ceremony was held at the Gulmarg Golf Course. Nuzhat Gull, secretary J&K Sports Council, while speaking on the occasion, said that nearly 600 athletes who came to Gulmarg from various parts of the country to participate in the 4th edition of Khelo India Winter Games were actually realizing the dream of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, as these games “are providing platform to youth from grassroot level to showcase their talent and compete at national level".
She asserted, “These games are helping in the exchange of culture, tradition and languages among athletes and enhance their vision and confidence”. She added, “I express my gratitude to all Olympians for officiating the Khelo India Winter Games and enabling professional conduct of the national event in which 600 athletes and officials participated”.
CEO, Gulmarg Development Authority (GDA) Waseem Raja also thanked the departments and service providers for successful conduct of the event.
The event was organized by the Department of Youth Services & Sports and J&K Sports Council in collaboration with the Tourism Department, GDA and other stakeholder departments.
The J&K Sports Council had chosen snow leopard as the mascot of Khelo India Winter Games. It said that the idea was to address the high-mountain development issues of the natives, its fragile environment as well as to highlight the importance of conservation efforts to protect the natural habitat of this beautiful big cat and ensure its survival for future.