The Indian Army finished top and clinched the overall trophy in the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) 2024 by winning 21 medals (10 gold, 5 silver, and 6 bronze).
- Karnataka secured second place with 11 medals (9 gold and 2 silver), and Maharashtra secured third place with 22 medals (7 gold, 8 silver, and 7 bronze).
Mascot:
The mascot of the KIWG 2024 is a snow leopard. It has been named ‘Sheen-e She’ or Shan in Ladakh region.
Medal tally:
| Rank | State/UT/institution | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Army | 10 | 5 | 6 | 21 |
| 2 | Karnataka | 9 | 2 | 0 | 11 |
| 3 | Maharashtra | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
| 4 | Himachal Pradesh | 4 | 3 | 9 | 16 |
| 5 | Uttarakhand | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
Click here to view full medal tally
Key points:
i.The 28-year-old certified trainer and mountaineer, Bhavani Thekkada Nanjunda of Karnataka was the only athlete to win hattrick gold medals.
- She had gold medals in three events of Nordic Skiing including sprint, Distance, and Distance 10 km.
ii.The army team won the men’s ice Hockey title, and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) team won the women’s title.
iii. Aanchal Thakur of Himachal Pradesh won two gold medals in Alpine skiing, each one in the Giant Slalom and the Slalom.
- Slalom is the shortest form of alpine skiing which involves skiing between two poles.
iv.Army’s Kulvinder Sharma won two gold medals in Snowboarding, one in Slalom and another in Parallel Slalom.
v.Padma Namgail representing the Army won three medals in Nordic Skiing (one gold in Distance and one gold in 15Km cross country and one silver in Sprint).
About KIWG 2024:
i.The fourth edition of KIWG was held in two stages with six sports events.
ii.The first stage had two ice sports (Ice Hockey & Ice Skating) held from 2nd to 6th Feb 2024 in Leh, Ladakh.
iii.The second stage has four snow sports (Ski Mountaineering, Alpine Skiing, Snowboard & Nordic Skiing) held from 21st to 25th February 2024 in Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir.
iv.This is the first time the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, along with the Sports Authority of India, is managing the technical conduct of KIWG in association with the National Sports Federations and the Ad-hoc body of the Indian Olympic Association.
Note:
All three previous editions – 2020, 2021, and 2023 were hosted and won by Jammu and Kashmir.
About Khelo India Scheme:
i.Khelo India, which translates to ‘Let’s Play India,’ was launched by the Indian government in 2017 as a way to revive India’s sporting culture by involving youngsters at the grassroots level.
ii.As of February 2024, 6 editions of the Khelo India Youth Games and 4 editions of the Khelo India University Games and 4 editions of the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) and 1 edition of the Khelo India Para Games have been successfully conducted.
Recent Related News:
i.The 6th edition of Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) 2023 hosted by Tamil Nadu was held from 19th to 31st January 2024. Maharashtra topped the medal tally of KIYG 2023 with 158 medals (57 gold, 48 silver, 53 bronze) and won the overall championship trophy.
ii.Haryana topped the medal tally with 105 medals (40 gold, 39 silver, and 26 bronze) in the inaugural edition of the Khelo India Para Games 2023 held in New Delhi, Delhi from 10th – 17th December 2023.
About the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS):
Union Minister– Anurag Singh Thakur (Constituency- Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh)
Minister of State (MoS)– Nisith Pramanik (Constituency- Coochbehar, West Bengal)
