Altitude training fuels medal sweep
Excelsior Sports Correspondent
Srinagar, Mar 1: The dominance of Army and paramilitary athletes at the 6th Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) has brought renewed attention to the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS), the elite mountain warfare institute that has steadily emerged as India’s most consistent winter sports training hub.
At the national winter games held in Gulmarg from February 23 to 26, athletes representing the Indian Army, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) dominated Nordic and Alpine skiing events, with multiple podium sweeps underscoring the Army’s structured winter sports ecosystem.
Several medal winners credited HAWS, located at nearly 9,000 feet in Gulmarg, as the backbone of their preparation.
Army skiers secured all three medals in the men’s Nordic 10 km event, followed by another clean sweep in the 1.5 km sprint.
In the women’s Nordic events as well, athletes trained under the HAWS system clinched gold and bronze medals, reinforcing the institution’s central role in India’s winter medal surge.
Established in December 1948 by General K. S. Thimayya as the 19 Infantry Division Ski School, HAWS was originally created to train soldiers in snowcraft and mountain warfare.
It was upgraded in 1962 as a Category A Training Establishment and evolved into the Army’s premier high-altitude warfare institute.
Over time, its expertise in endurance, snow mobility and survival training translated into a structured sporting programme that now feeds national-level competitions.
Army coach Rameez Ahmad said the school currently oversees 250 to 300 Army winter athletes annually, along with a smaller number of civilian trainees.
According to officials, 24 athletes train in Alpine skiing, 16 in snowboarding and 20 in Nordic skiing, with each logging at least 600 training hours per year.
The facility includes ski simulators for Alpine skiing, roller skis for off-season cross-training, a modern gymnasium and an indoor sports complex to ensure year-round conditioning.
Nutrition plans are monitored by dieticians and physiotherapy support is integrated into training schedules.
The impact of HAWS extends beyond Army ranks. CRPF and ITBP athletes train under Army coaches and benefit from shared infrastructure.
Officials from the CRPF acknowledged that sustained technical guidance, including mentoring by Olympian coach Nadeem Iqbal, has significantly improved performance standards over the past few years, a trend reflected in the results at Gulmarg.
Located in the snow-heavy slopes of Gulmarg, HAWS offers a natural altitude advantage that strengthens endurance and lung capacity, crucial for Nordic and Alpine disciplines.
With winter sports infrastructure in India still limited, the institute has effectively become the country’s most reliable high-performance centre for skiing and snowboarding.
As the Khelo India Winter Games concluded, medals were distributed among individuals and institutions. However, the pattern of podium finishes at this year’s edition has firmly placed HAWS at the centre of India’s growing winter sports success story.
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