Excelsior Sports Correspondent
LEH, Jan 25: The Khelo India Winter Games 2025 continued with high-octane action on Day 3 as Telangana dominated the medal tally while the Indian Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) pulled off a thrilling win over the Indian Army in the ice-hockey match.
Pranav Madav Surapaneni of Telangana won the second gold for his state in the men’s 500m short track ice-skating competition, clocking an impressive 56.86 seconds. The race was tightly contested, with Samrudh SD from Karnataka finishing second (1:00.31) and Sumit Tapkir from Maharashtra claiming the third spot (1:00.58). Surapaneni, reflecting on his journey, shared, “I have won bronze in 2023, silver in 2024, and now gold today. It feels great, and the high-altitude rink made it a challenging yet rewarding experience.”
Meanwhile, ITBP and Indian Army faced off in an intense ice-hockey battle, with ITBP securing a dramatic 3-1 victory. ITBP’s Mohammed Ismail scored the opening goal in the second minute, but Army equalized with Tsewang Dorjey’s well-placed flick in the second period. With just 10 minutes left, Stanzin Mingure netted two goals to ensure ITBP’s win, handing Army their first defeat of the games.
The ice-hockey league also saw other thrilling matches, including UT Ladakh defeating Himachal Pradesh by 6-0 and Haryana besting Maharashtra by 9-3. In women’s ice-hockey, ITBP triumphed over Chandigarh by 8-0, while Ladakh defeated Himachal Pradesh by 3-0.
Maharashtra’s Ishaan Darvekar also claimed gold in the men’s 1000m short track event, finishing in 2:02.33, ahead of his teammate Vyom Sawant (2:04.90) and Tiluck Keisam from Delhi (2:10.78). In women’s ice-skating, hosts Ladakh celebrated a one-two finish in the 1000m long track, with Shabana Zara (Ladakh) winning gold in 2:09.69, and Tasniya Shamim (Ladakh) securing silver (2:13.95), while Maharashtra’s Nirja Manik Lubal took bronze (2:28.04).
With Maharashtra and Karnataka also collecting several medals, Telangana continues to lead the overall medal tally as the Khelo India Winter Games 2025 progresses in Leh.
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