In a remarkable display of talent, 15-year-old Nayana Sri Talluri from Telangana clinched the first gold medal of the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) 2025, achieving a stunning victory in the women’s 500m event in short track speed skating at NDS Stadium.
Nayana’s triumph marks a significant hattrick, having already won the same medal in the under-17 category last year. She demonstrated her superior skills by finishing with a time of 1:01.35 seconds, decisively outperforming her competitors from Karnataka and Maharashtra. His victory adds to his accolades from the KIWG 2023 in Gulmarg. This year’s skating competition is open, unlike the previous edition which had two categories: under 17 and 17 and over. With many of India’s elite skaters training abroad for the upcoming Asian Winter Games in February, the KIWG 2025 has attracted some of the country’s best young talents.
Nayana has gradually built up her experience, having secured two gold medals at the KIWG 2024, followed by a victory in the women’s 3000m relay at the Asian Open Short Track Speed Skating Championship in Jakarta last August. Reflecting on her journey, she said: “The competition in Jakarta brought together participants from various countries, which was amazing, but competing at home brings a different energy. Being back on the ice for the first time this year is nostalgic, especially after my victory in Gulmarg in 2023. This hat-trick of gold medals is fantastic. » She expressed her excitement during an interview with SAI media.
The Khelo India Winter Games not only provides a platform to win medals but also an opportunity for athletes to gain invaluable experience and set higher standards for themselves. Though Guru Harshan H. of Tamil Nadu, despite bagging a silver medal, failed to get gold in his maiden long track skating race at the Khelo India Winter Games, the experience was gratifying for him. The 14-year-old finished second, behind Harshith K. of Karnataka, who won the second gold medal of the day at Gupuks Pond, while Sachin Singh of Haryana took third place.
-Harshan, who is still getting used to the high altitude of Ladakh, acknowledged the challenges faced, saying, “I could not give my best. The surface in Gupuk was difficult to navigate as I am used to skating on artificial ice. » Harshan previously won a bronze medal in the under-10 open event organized by the Ice Skating Association of India in 2019 and participated in the third KIWG at Gulmarg in the short track speed skating event. last year. Before KIWG 2025, he attended a preparation camp in Gulmarg, sponsored by the Tamil Nadu government.
Furthermore, the ice hockey competition promises to be a valuable learning experience for teams from Haryana, Maharashtra, Chandigarh and Rajasthan, while established teams like Army, ITBP, and Ladakh have so far navigated the competition with relative ease.
