Gulmarg (J&K), Feb 23 : Army made an emphatic start to the Gulmarg leg of the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) 2026, winning three of the five gold medals at stake on Day 1 on Monday. CRPF and Himachal Pradesh also finished with gold medals on Monday.

It was not a day for the favourites as veteran stars like Bhavani Thekkada Nanjunda of Karnataka and Aanchal Thakur of Himachal Pradesh were usurped by skiers who have been doing well in the national circuit.

Young Jiah Aryan, all of 17 and one of Indiaâ??s upcoming talents in Alpine skiing from Karnataka, won a bronze in her second Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG). Jiah lined up against seniors like Aanchal and Sandhya Thakur, who have represented India at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, last February. Himachal Pradeshâ??s Sandhya beat Aanchal in a tight race on the Kongdoori slopes.

It was an emotional day for CRPFâ??s Kajal Kumari Rai, who won the gold in the 15km Nordic skiing (cross-country) for women at the Gulmarg Golf Course. Kajal relegated hot-favourite Bhavani to the bronze in a brilliant finish. The Meghalaya-born Kajal dedicated her gold to her father, who died last year in February. CRPFâ??s Renu Danu won the silver. Bhavani has won a hat-trick of gold medals in KIWG 2025.

Armyâ??s Sunny Singh won the dayâ??s first gold medal in the menâ??s sprint in Nordic skiing. Sunny has been winning medals for the Army at the KIWGs regularly, and on Monday, the Kathua skier, who has trained at the High Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg, led an Army 1-2-3 in the opening event before the inauguration ceremony took place on the Golf Course.

In his speech at the inauguration ceremony, the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Shri Manoj Sinha, said this edition of the Khelo India Winter Games has been like a â??relay raceâ?? since the Winter Olympics ended in Italy on Sunday and KIWG events started in Gulmarg on Monday. â??The Games are a classic example of national integration and display the power of creativity through sports,â?? he said.

â??Our athletes can take inspiration from Olympic legends like American Alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and Indian athletes like Olympian Arif Khan (of J&K) and Aanchal Thakur (of Himachal Pradesh). This edition is coming at the back of the Winter Olympics and is a great platform to showcase technical skills in challenging natural conditions,â?? said Shri Sinha, who added that â??KIWG was a test of courage and characterâ??. Shiffrin is a three-time Olympic gold medallist.

Chief Minister of J&K, Shri Omar Abdullah, urged athletes to perform better. â??We want another Arif Khan to be born here. We have had six editions of Khelo India Winter Games. Now itâ??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,â?? said Shri Abdullah.

Gulmarg has been unnaturally warm this week, with the sun blazing down and the snow melting. Shri Abdullah mooted the idea of â??artificial snow generationâ?? to combat global warming, which has been impacting winter sports worldwide. â??Gulmargâ??s bread and butter is linked with snow and tourism. We cannot deny climate change and have to think of creating infrastructure where we are not entirely dependent on natural snow,â?? said Shri Abdullah.

Results Day 1 (all finals)

NORDIC SKIING

Men (Sprint, 1.5 km): 1. Sunny Singh (Army) 3:06.83 seconds 2. Shubam Parihar (Army) 3:07.35 secs 3. Manjeet (Army) 3:08.73 secs

Women (15 km): 1. Kajal Kumari Rai (CRPF) 52:08.29 secs 2. Renu Danu (CRPF) 53:10.81 secs 3. Bhavani Thekkada Nanjunda (Karnataka) 53:20.44 secs

SNOWBOARDING

(Men- Slalom)1. Vivek Rana (Army) 01.01.439 secs 2. Kulvinder Sharma (Army) 01.02.854 secs 3. Vikar Ahmad Lone (J&K) 01.03.174 secs

ALPINE GIANT SLALOM

(Men): 1. Mayank Panwar (Army) 01.06.479 secs. 2. Baqir Hussain (Army) 01.07.194 secs 3. Devendra Gurung (Army) 01.09.473 secs.

(Women)1. Sandhya Thakur (Himachal Pradesh) 01.23.285 secs 2. Aanchal Thakur (HP) 01.23.985 secs 3. Jiah Aryan (Karnataka) 01.31.064 secs.

/IANS