Leh (Ladakh), Jan 22 (IANS) Two gold medals were decided on Day 3 of the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) 2026 on Thursday with Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh sharing one each in the men’s and women’s 500m long track events, respectively, at Gupukh’s Pond in Leh.

Haryana continued to lead the medal tally, courtesy of the pair of figure skating golds won on Wednesday. Four states – Uttarakhand, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh, with a gold each – share the second spot with hosts Ladakh at sixth position with two silvers and two bronzes. The Ladakh leg of KIWG 2026 will end on Republic Day.

Like previous editions, skaters from the plains are matching their skills with those from regions gifted with snow and ice. If Haryana did this on Wednesday, Avikshit Vijay Viswanat (Tamil Nadu) and Udreka Singh (Madhya Pradesh) demonstrated their prowess by skating to the 500m long track golds at Gupukh’s Pond, a frozen water body beside the Indus.

While 19-year-old Avikshith defended his Khelo India Winter Games gold from last year, 15-year-old Udreka, in her third KIWG, has shown remarkable improvement over the years. Wearing long track boots and blades for the first time, Udreka (53.94 seconds) sped to the gold ahead of local favourite Skarma Tsultim (54.21 seconds). Tasnia Shameem (57.41 sec) of Ladakh won the bronze.

“We’ve been friends since I started skating. Defeating Skarma feels good because she’s a local and has the advantage of training in high-altitude conditions in Leh. Athletes from the plains always struggle a bit, so this win is special. There have been times when Skarma has been faster than me… it keeps switching between us. I am happy that both of us will be on the podium tomorrow,” said Udreka to SAI Media.

Avikshith’s four-month training in the Netherlands before arriving at the Khelo India Winter Games did not go to waste. Primarily a roller skater who switched to ice skating only a year ago, Avikshith won the 500m long-track gold with a timing of 43.48 seconds.

The top six positions in this race were shared between three southern Indian states, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. Danda Chandra Mouli (43. 97) of Andhra won the silver while Karnataka’s Harshit BT (44.13) won bronze.

In ice hockey, the Army won their second straight match in group A. Having beaten Himachal Pradesh 5-1 in their opening match on Tuesday, Army romped to a 10-1 win against Chandigarh at the NDS Stadium on Thursday. Padma Norboo scored thrice while Tsewang Dorjay and Jigmath Kunzang scored a brace each.

In the women’s competition, both Ladakh and ITBP were on course for another final showdown with emphatic wins against Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh, respectively. Ladakh women had beaten Haryana 7-1 in their opener.

TODAY’S ICE SKATING RESULTS (all finals):

LONG TRACK 500m (MEN): 1. Avikshith Vijay Viswanat (Tamil Nadu) 43.48 seconds 2. Danda Chandra Mouli (Andhra Pradesh) 43.97 3. Harshith BT (Karnataka) 44.13 seconds

LONG TRACK 500 (Women): 1. Udreka Singh (Madhya Pradesh) 53.94 seconds 2. Skarma Tsultim (Ladakh) 54.21 3. Tasnia Shameem (Ladakh) 57.41 seconds.

TODAY’S ICE-HOCKEY RESULTS:

Women’s Group A: Ladakh beat Chandigarh 5-0; (Group B) ITBP beat Himachal Pradesh 7-0; Haryana beat Rajasthan 2-0.

Men’s Group A: Army beat Chandigarh 10-1.

–IANS

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