Leh, Jan 28: In their second year as hosts, the Union Territory of Ladakh finished on top of the Khelo India Winter Games 2025, the first chapter of which ended at the NDS Stadium here on Monday. Like always, the grand finale saw the mouth-watering men’s ice hockey final and the Indian army squeezed past ITBP 2-1 to retain the KIWG crown.
The second and final phase of KIWG 2025 will be held in J&K’s Gulmarg from Feb 22-25. Ladakh won two of the four golds decided on Monday. Their mixed relay quartet, comprising Stanzin Jampal, Skarma Tsultim, Mohammed Saquaf Raza and Padma Angmo, clocked 3:02.19 secs to strike gold. Maharashtra (3:03.78 secs) and Telangana (3:04.85 secs) won silver and bronze, respectively.
There was more joy for the local fans. In what was sweet revenge, Ladakh girls romped past fancied ITBP 4-0 to finish on top of the women’s round-robin league at a packed NDS Stadium complex. Women’s ice hockey started only last year and interestingly, Ladakh had lost the final match to ITBP by a 4-0 scoreline. Himachal Pradesh won the bronze. “It feels amazing and it’s a big moment our team. Last year, we lost to ITBP but this year, we made a strong comeback. A huge thanks to our coach and the Khelo India administration for bringing this event to Ladakh and making this possible for us,” said Padma Chorol, a senior member of the UT Ladakh women’s ice hockey team.
Tamil Nadu showed why it is emerging as a centre for budding skaters. In the final skating event on Monday, the 500m women long track (at Gupuks), saw Yashashree winning Tamil Nadu’s third gold of KIWG 2025. She clocked 00:58.00 seconds. Riya Vilas Gayakwad of Maharashtra (1:04.31 secs) and Srija S Rao of Karnataka (1:04.93 secs) won silver and bronze, respectively, in the tightest of finishes.
KIWG 2025 toppers Ladakh (7 medals, including four golds) were followed by Tamil Nadu (five medals including three golds). Maharashtra finished with the maximum number of medals (10) but only two golds meant they finished third. Maharashtra had finished on top in KIWG 2024, winning 20 skating medals that included six golds. Telangana (2 golds) finished fourth and Karnataka (1 gold) fifth in KIWG 2025.
Army defended their ice-hockey crown but only after surviving some close moments. Backed by their young and vociferous fans from Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre, who sang a popular Bollywood chartbuster from the movie Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, the Army team looked charged from the very first minute. Monday’s win was sweeter because Army had lost to ITBP 3-1 in a league match on Saturday. In Monday’s final, there were no goals in the first two periods and all three goals came in the final 15 minutes of play. It was a pacy encounter between two workmanlike teams fielding several national level players. Army took the lead in the third minute of the final period. Rigzin Norboo capped a fine assist from national player Dorjay Angchok to give Army the lead with a clever finish at the far post. Army lost the lead after an unmarked Rigzin Norboo equalised for ITBP on an assist from Tashi Namgail in the 13th minute. Angchok once again played a key role as Padma Norboo kept his cool to make it 2-1 for the Army team with a minute left on the clock. Army coach Rinchen Tundup told Media “Our team has been playing matches back-to-back, starting with the CEC Cup, then the LG Cup, and now Khelo India. We didn’t get much time to practice, but I’m glad the team performed well. We won all three Cups, and I’m happy with their performance. I also want to thank the ITBP team for giving us tough competition in today’s final.”
