With continuous snowfall since early Monday morning making the competitions a tough test of endurance and stamina, Tenzin Dolma, a 40-year-old skier from Manali, showcased rare mental strength to clinch her first-ever medal in the Khelo India Winter Games with an impressive time of 13:07.41. Dolma\u2019s statemate Natasha Mahar (13:39.39) took the silver, and Menka Gunjiyal (14:16.23) of Uttarakhand settled for the bronze.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThis is my first visit to Gulmarg, and I really enjoyed competing here a lot. The surface is good and the arrangements are also nice. Since I am an ultra-trail runner, I didn\u2019t have much trouble in vertical ski mountaineering.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI am a mother of an 18-year-old daughter. I don\u2019t come from a sporting background. I started ski mountaineering watching my friends, who were into some winter sport or the other. Age for me is just a number as I keep doing well in the upcoming competitions and create my identity,\u201d Tenzing Dolma was quoted as saying by SAI Media.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Siddharth Gadekar, the only athlete from Maharashtra in the field, started training for ski mountaineering just two months back and in a short span laid his hands on two medals \u2013 a silver in the men\u2019s sprint and a gold in men\u2019s vertical competition.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cToday\u2019s race was an important one for me as this is my main event, and winning a gold medal was equally satisfying. A lot of hard work has gone into this achievement. Until last year, I was coming to Gulmarg as a mere spectator, and this time, in my debut at the Khelo India Winter Games as an athlete, I have finished on the podium twice. Winning a gold is definitely more soothing, but the silver in my first event of the competition will stay with me forever,\u201d Siddharth told SAI Media.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Indian Army made a clean sweep of the Nordic skiing men\u2019s sprint event, with Manjeet taking the gold medal, clocking 4 minutes 21.14 seconds. Shubham Parihar (04:22.93) clinched the silver, and Sunny Singh (04:30.94) captured the bronze medal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Similarly, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) dominated the Nordic skiing women\u2019s 10km event, clinching all three medals. Leading ITBP\u2019s charge, Kusum Rana, added gold in the Nordic skiing women\u2019s 10km after taking bronze in the women\u2019s 5km event the previous day. Selma Soreng then pocketed her second silver of the Winter Games. Anjana Devi made it a clean sweep for ITBP by taking the bronze.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The Indian Army made a clean sweep of the Nordic skiing men\u2019s sprint event, with Manjeet taking the gold medal, clocking 4 minutes 21.14 seconds. Shubham Parihar (04:22.93) clinched the silver, and Sunny Singh (04:30.94) captured the bronze medal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
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