Gulmarg, February 25 The Army won a total of nine medals, including eight in the Gulmarg leg, to defend their team championship title in the Khelo India Winter Games, here on Wednesday.
Himachal Pradesh finished as the runner-up with four medals on the final day of the competition.
The closing ceremony of the KIWG will be held at the Golf Course here on Thursday, hosted by the Jammu and Kashmir Sports Council and managed by the Sports Authority of India.
The first leg of the KIWG was held in Ladakh from January 20-26.
On the third day of the competition, the Army and Himachal Pradesh won an equal number of four gold medals apiece, while the hosts, J&K, won their first gold.
Karnataka's veteran skier, Bhavani Thekkada Nanjunda, who had won a hat-trick of gold medals in last year's KIWG, finished at the top of the podium in the Nordic women's sprint across 1.5 kms.
Bhavani has participated in all six editions of the KIWG.
Zubaid Ahmad Lone brought cheer to Jammu and Kashmir by winning the men's giant slalom race in the snowboarding competition. He overcame a stiff challenge from Army's Vivek Rana.
J&K finished with one gold and one silver medal, and 10th place in the medal standings.
While Armyman Mayank Panwar was the star of the Games with two gold medals, the Army dominated the Nordic (cross-country) events.
In the 15 kms Nordic skiing race, Mohammad Ali (34:21.49 secs) led an Army 1-2-3, with Padma Namgail (34:36.74 secs) winning the silver medal and Sunny Singh (35:16.83 secs) claiming the bronze.
Three skiers finished with double gold medals in this year's KIWG, with CRPF's Kajal Kumari Rai joining Panwar and Himachal Pradesh's Preeti Thakur, who topped in both the slalom and giant slalom races in snowboarding.
