Gulmarg, February 23 The Army made a strong start to the Gulmarg leg of the Khelo India Winter Games, winning three of the five gold medals on offer here on Monday.
CRPF and Himachal Pradesh also secured gold medals on the first day.
It was not a day for the favorites, as experienced skiers like Bhavani Thekkada Nanjunda of Karnataka and Aanchal Thakur of Himachal Pradesh were overtaken by younger skiers who have been performing well in the national circuit.
Young Jiah Aryan, aged 17 and one of India's rising talents in alpine skiing from Karnataka, won a bronze medal in her second Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG).
Jiah competed against experienced skiers like Aanchal and Sandhya Thakur, who represented India at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, last February. Sandhya Thakur from Himachal Pradesh beat Aanchal in a close race on the Kongdoori slopes.
It was an emotional day for CRPF's Kajal Kumari Rai, who won the gold medal in the 15km Nordic skiing (cross-country) for women at the Gulmarg Golf Course. Rai secured a brilliant victory, relegating Bhavani to the bronze.
Kajal, who was born in Meghalaya, dedicated her gold medal to her father, who passed away last February. CRPF's Renu Danu won the silver medal. Bhavani has won three gold medals in the 2025 KIWG.
Army's Sunny Singh won the first gold medal of the day in the men's sprint in Nordic skiing. Sunny has consistently won medals for the Army at KIWGs, 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.
