Sports

KIWG 2026: Army Leads Gold Charge On Day 1

On Tuesday, the Army made a dominating start at the Gulmarg leg of the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) 2026, bagging three of the five gold medals on Day 1, Monday, February 23. Himachal Pradesh and CRPF athletes also struck gold.

The opening day saw surprise winners as national-circuit skiers toppled veterans like Bhavani Thekkada Nanjunda and Aanchal Thakur.

Seventeen-year-old Jiah Aryan from Karnataka, one of India’s rising Alpine skiing stars, clinched bronze in her second KIWG & finished behind seniors Aanchal Thakur and Sandhya Thakur. In a tight women’s Alpine race on the Kongdoori slopes, Himachal’s Sandhya edged past Aanchal for gold.

CRPF’s Kajal Kumari Rai produced an emotional performance to win the 15 KM cross-country Nordic skiing event at Gulmarg Golf Course, pushing hot favourite Bhavani to bronze. Kajal, hailing from Meghalaya, honoured her late father with the victory. CRPF teammate Renu Danu took silver. Bhavani had previously won three golds at KIWG 2025.

Army’s Sunny Singh opened the day’s gold tally in men’s Nordic sprint. The Kathua skier, trained at the High Altitude Warfare School, led an army 1-2-3 sweep in the opening event before the inauguration ceremony.

Lt Governor Manoj Sinha’s Speech

“The Games are a classic example of national integration and display the power of creativity through sports,” Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said in his speech at the inauguration ceremony.

Sinha described this edition as a ‘relay race’ following the Winter Olympics in Italy. He highlighted KIWG as a showcase of national integration and sports creativity, urging athletes to draw inspiration from Olympic champions like Mikaela Shiffrin and India’s own Olympians Arif Khan and Aanchal Thakur.

“We want another Arif Khan to be born here. We have had six editions of Khelo India Winter Games. Now it’s time to think about how to win medals at least at the Asian level. The onus is on us to create the infrastructure to make Gulmarg an all-weather international ski destination,” said Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.

The CM encouraged athletes to aim for the next Asian-level medals. He also flagged climate challenges, suggesting ‘artificial snow generation’ for Gulmarg to counter global warming and ensure year-round skiing infrastructure.