Khelo India Winter Games: The Indian Army continued its impressive run on the penultimate day of the Khelo India Winter Games here on Tuesday, clinching four medals to stay on top of the medal standings. The Army quartet of Narsingh Thapa, Rajeshwar Singh, Sunil Rai, and Vishal Chandal clinched the ski mountaineering men’s relay with a timing of 49:58.1 to grab the limelight.Rajeshwar Singh, who has been training for ski mountaineering for the last three years, expressed his joy in clinching two gold medals in the second leg of the Khelo India Winter Games. Rajeshwar, a rifleman posted at the High-Altitude Warfare School in Gulmarg, won gold in the ski mountaineering sprint event the previous day.
“The Army has been very supportive towards me. My seniors have always encouraged me to do well in sports. Being stationed in Gulmarg, it is definitely an advantage to have the local knowledge and acclimatisation to extreme weather conditions that have helped me till now,” he said.
“I want to represent India in international competitions, and Khelo India has given players like me a good platform to set benchmarks. This is the fifth edition of the Khelo India Winter Games, and every year, the government of India has increased their support for ice and snow sports, which is very heartening,” Rajeshwar Singh was quoted as saying by SAI Media.
With seven gold, five silver, and six bronze medals, Army are on top of the standings, one ahead of Himachal Pradesh, who clinched seven medals on the day to jump to the second spot on the medals tally.
Indian Army made a clean sweep of the Nordic skiing men’s 15km event with Sunny Singh clinching the gold medal with a timing of 41:04.54. Stanzin with a timing of 41:20.70 settled for silver and Thupstan took bronze, clocking 41:51.38.
Himachal Pradesh gave their best-ever performance of the day, making a clean sweep of Alpine skiing women’s slalom and winning top-2 medals in the snowboarding women’s slalom event. The trio of Anchal Thakur (gold), Tanuja Thakur (silver), and Promila Thakur (bronze) stamped their authority in the alpine skiing event.
In snowboarding women’s slalom, Priti Thakur and Prakriti Thakur clinched the gold and silver medal respectively with Urmila Pable of Maharashtra settling for the bronze.
“More the competition, our level and skill sets improve. This is why the Khelo India Winter Games is an important stop for a snowboarder like me. I started at the age of 20 years and have been training for the last three years. I took coaching from Raja Khan and have improved a lot. I want to go for international competitions to improve my skills,” Priti Thakur told SAI Media.
“Being a Khelo India athlete, I have received a lot of support, from free equipment to training, which is a huge help for someone coming from a humble background. My ultimate aim is to represent India in the Winter Olympics, and if I get good exposure and better equipment, I am confident that I will qualify in snowboarding,” she added.
“More the competition, our level and skill sets improve. This is why the Khelo India Winter Games is an important stop for a snowboarder like me. I started at the age of 20 years and have been training for the last three years. I took coaching from Raja Khan and have improved a lot. I want to go for international competitions to improve my skills,” Priti Thakur told SAI Media.
Article Source: IANS
