.
The Khelo India Winter Games 2024 ended in Gulmarg, with the Army winning following an exciting final day of play.
Alpine skier Bobby Pandey’s gold medal in the parallel slalom event was significant, moving Army to the top of the medal table with ten golds. This close margin put them one gold ahead of Karnataka (9 gold) and three ahead of Maharashtra (7 gold), which lead following the first round in Ladakh. The Army dominated the games, particularly in Gulmarg, winning nine gold medals to go with their ice hockey gold from Ladakh. Notably, snowboarder Kulvinder Sharma and Nordic skier Padma Namgial each won two individual gold medals for the team.
Karnataka’s Thekkada Bhavani Nanjunda emerged as the individual star, winning a spectacular hat-trick of gold medals in Gulmarg, despite their reliance on ice skating success in Ladakh. The Sports Authority of India (SAI) successfully handled the technical components of the games. Six Olympians, including Shiva Keshavan and Arif Mohammed Khan, also actively contributed to the event’s success by offering their knowledge and experience.