AÂ mega event was organized on Tuesday to mark the culmination of the second edition of Khelo India National Winter Games which commenced here on February 26.
Principal Secretary, Youth Services and Sports, Alok Kumar, who was the Chief Guest, described the mega event as spectacular.
He announced that the 3rd Edition of the Khelo India National Winter Games have been allotted to Gulmarg.
Congratulating all the players especially those who came from non-snow bound states and UTs, Alok Kumar wished them good luck and asked them to give their best in the next edition.
Kumar said that Khelo India instills a spirit of oneness.
He said that Gulmarg shall be made the hub of sports for grooming players for Olympic Games.
Kumar said Gulmarg has been given the National Centre of Excellence, besides 40 other sport centers will come up in 20 districts.
He congratulated J&K Sports Council and other associations for organising the event successfully.
On the occasion, Commandant High Altitude Warfare School Gulmarg, Major General R K Singh, Director, Tourism, Kashmir, G N Itoo, Secretary J&K Sports Council, Nuzhat Gul, President Winter Games Association, President, Hoteliers Association, Gulmarg, Heads of Various Sports associations, officers, dignitaries, players and tourists were present.
Welcoming the chief guest on closing ceremony, Secretary J&K Sports Council, Nuzhat Gul said that under his guidance, the department will achieve new heights to make Jammu and Kashmir the sports destination of the country.
She said the department will grab all the opportunities to promote all types of games.
President Winter Games Association Abass Wani thanked the administration for the support and extended his gratitude to all the officers and departments.
He said as the theme of Khelo India is to win the world, “we also should get connected with each other to develop friendly relations across the country.”
Chief Accounts officers J&K Sports Council Zafar Ahmad presented vote of thanks.
Earlier, Alok Kumar visited Kongdori where Alpine Slalom Men, Alpine Slalom Women and Snowboard Men sports events were held.
In the entire event, Jammu and Kashmir bagged 11 Gold, 18 silver and 5 bronze medals followed by Karnataka 5 Gold and 4 Bronze. Maharashtra got 3 Gold, 3 Silver and 2 Bronze medals. Uttrakhand won 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 3 Bronze medals. Himachal Pradesh won 2 Gold, 2 silver and 4 Bronze medals.
Andra Pradesh got 1 Gold, 1 Silver medal and 2 Bronze followed by Delhi, which won 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze.
Punjab got one Gold and 2 Bronze, Rajasthan and Chandigarh got 2 bronze each. Haryana got 1 silver and 1 Bronze while Odisha got 1 Bronze only.
Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Lakshadweep had a drought of medals.
Meanwhile, several sports events were held in the first half of the day during which different teams and players registered their victory.
In the Ice hockey competition that was played in the wee hours of morning, Army from ASCB striked Gold, AIPSCB from ITBP got Silver and UT of Ladakh scored Bronze.
In the Slalom Snowboard of Senior Men’s group, Rigzin Nurboo got Gold, Vikar Rana won Silver and Karan Singh scored Bronze, all belonging to ASCB.
While in the Senior Women’s group of slalom event Anchal Thakur won Gold, Shandhaya obtained Silver and Varshadevi clinched Bronze, all belonging to Himachal Pradesh.
In the Senior Men’s Slalom event, Mayank Panwar won Gold, Tsewang Narbo and Sunil Kumar got Silver and Bronze respectively, all from ASCB.
Today, in Speed Skating, 1000, Meters, Sumit Tapkir got Gold Medal, Sohan Tarkar obtained Silver, both from Maharashtra while Prikshit Kharoliya from Haryana won Bronze.
In the Sprint Senior Girls, 1500 meters, Danalakshmi from Karnataka bagged Gold, Sehrish Mushtaq from J&K won Silver and Devyani Semwal received Bronze.
In the Senior Girls Sprint 400 mtrs, Muskaan Shabaan won Gold medal, Ekta Sing from Delhi got Silver and Zehra Akhtar from Ladakh toiled Bronze.