JOIN USKhelo India National Winter Games: 1,200 athletes to throng Gulmarg
Around 1,200 athletes from across the country are scheduled to throng Gulmarg - one of the finest skiing destinations in the world – to participate in the second Khelo India National Winter Games from February 26 to March 2.
The event, being organised by the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in collaboration with the J&K Sports Council and the Winter Games Association of J&K, will be e-inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.
Athletes from 27 states and union territories (UTs) will converge on the snow-bound slopes of Gulmarg during the event to compete in different sports categories. Athletes from the Army and the Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports will also participate in the event.
Prominent sports activities, which will be the hallmark of the winter games, will include snowshoe race, ice skating, ice hockey, skiing, Nordic ski, snowboarding, ski mountaineering, ice stock
According to J&K Secretary Sports Council, Nuzhat Gul, the mega sports event is one of the many efforts aimed at engaging the youth in positive and constructive activities.
“We have made all arrangements and put in place all facilities in advance. A special team of the State Disaster Response Fund shall remain deployed for relief and rescue operations,” she told DH.
A health official said that athletes and support staff coming from outside J&K will have to show his/her Covid-19 negative test report before he is allowed to proceed towards Gulmarg. “Besides, three control rooms have been established in Jammu, Srinagar and Tangmarg to expedite the testing of Covid-19,” he said.
Khelo India is a national sports development programme launched by the Center with an aim to revive the sports culture in the country at the grass-roots level, thereby turning India into a sporting nation.
Gulmarg has received good snowfall this winter and is expected to have good weather conditions to support the mega event. The organizers have planned a number of cultural programmes besides setting up stalls of ethnic food and local crafts.