SPORTS MINISTER Mansukh Mandaviya has announced that the second leg of the Khelo India Winter Games will be held in Gulmarg from 23 to 26 February, with close to 400 athletes expected to take part.
This will continue the sixth edition of the Games after the first leg, which featured ice sports, was staged in Ladakh from 20 to 26 January. Gulmarg will now host the snow events.
The Gulmarg leg will feature four medal disciplines, ski mountaineering, alpine skiing, Nordic skiing (cross-country) and snowboarding, with alpine skiing set to attract the highest number of participants.
At the conclusion of the 2025 edition, the Indian Army topped the team standings with 18 medals. Himachal Pradesh finished second, followed by Ladakh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. After the Ladakh leg earlier this year, Haryana lead the standings with four gold medals, all won by its figure and ice skaters, followed by Ladakh, Maharashtra and Telangana.
Mandaviya said, “The Gulmarg leg is coming at the back of the Winter Olympics and this is the perfect time to host the Khelo India Winter Games. We had a very successful first phase in Leh (Ladakh) and surely, we will see the same excitement in Jammu & Kashmir as athletes will once again battle with nature and challenging conditions. Every season of the Khelo India Winter Games has seen exciting performances and rising competition. In Leh, the addition of figure skating enhanced the competitive intensity, and in Gulmarg, we are expecting some impressive timings on the Kongdoori slopes.”
