Srinagar: The second leg of the 5th edition of the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG), which postponed due to insufficient snowfall, will now be held from March 9 to 12 as Jammu and Kashmir’s Gulmarg received the appreciable snowfall.
The second leg of the 2025 Khelo India Winter Games, featuring four snow sports Ski Mountaineering, Alpine Skiing, Snowboard & Nordic Skiing, was initially scheduled to be staged in Gulmarg from February 22 to 25, but the authorities announced postponement of the event due to scant snowfall on the ski slopes of Gulmarg.
The Ski resort has received good snowfall during the last seven days, and even on Monday five to eight inches of fresh snowfall accumulated on the ground while it was still snowing at Gulmarg.
Officials on Monday said that the event will now start on March 9 and conclude on March 12. “More than 300 athletes from all over the country will compete in events like alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, ski mountaineering, snowboarding and ice hockey. Arrangements for 5th Khelo India winter games 2025 have already been finalised,” officials said.
The first leg of KIWG 2025 was held in Leh from January 23 to 27, featuring ice sports such as ice hockey and ice skating at Ladakh NDS Stadium and Guphuk Pond & LSRC Army Rink.
The initiative is meant to promote winter sports in India by offering athletes a competitive platform in one of the country’s premier snow destinations. These winter sports provide Indian athletes with much-needed exposure to international level winter sports facilities.
Gulmarg has some of the world’s best ski slopes comparable to France, Switzerland and Italy. The second stage of the Gulmarg Gandola cable car ropeway, which has 36 cabins and 18 towers, takes skiers to a height of 3,980 m (13,058 ft) on Kongdoori Mountain, a shoulder of nearby Afarwat Peak (4,200 m (13,780 ft)
The ski resort also has the world’s highest golf course, where masters like Tiger Woods have teed off in the past.
The central government is working in close collaboration with J&K government in promoting Gulmarg as the winter sports destination of the country.
(IANS)
