Indian Army retain ice-hockey gold at Khelo India Winter Games

The Indian Army retained their men’s ice-hockey gold at the Khelo India Winter Games in Ladakh, edging Chandigarh 3-2 in a thrilling final. Haryana won the team championship, while Ladakh, Maharashtra and Telangana secured two golds each in the medal standings

Hyderabad: The Indian Army team edged out a spirited Chandigarh 3-2 to retain their men’s Khelo India Winter Games ice-hockey gold medal at the NDS Stadium in Ladakh on Republic Day.

The Army’s match-winner came with just three minutes left on the clock, providing a thrilling finish to the Ladakh edition.

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Haryana won the team championship title of the Ladakh phase of KIWG 2026, thanks to four golds from their figure and ice-skaters.

Ladakh, Maharashtra and Telangana secured two golds each but were separated by silver medals. Ladakh (5 silvers), Maharashtra (3 silvers) and Telangana (2 silvers) finished in that order on the medal standings.

Goal scorer Birshahaanjit said: “I have been playing inline hockey for the past eight years, and that experience has given me great confidence in my skating, dribbling and puck-control skills. I believe I was able to demonstrate that control on the rink today. This is only my second year competing on ice. Last year, our team finished fifth, and I feel we have made significant progress since then. I am confident that next year we will be playing for the gold medal.”

For the record, Ishaan Darvekar (Maharashtra), Nayana Sri Talluri (Telangana) and Sachin Singh (Haryana) finished with two golds each.