Leh (Ladakh), Feb 3 (PTI) Top Indian ice-skater Varsha Puranik proved her credentials yet again, clinching gold in the 300m short-track race for women (above 17 years category) at the Khelo India Winter Games here on Saturday.
Varsha’s Karnataka teammate Akash Aradhya also hogged the limelight with his second individual gold at the games.
Varsha and Akash, who won the men’s over-17 short track (500m) event on this day, have given their state a head-start in the short-form skating competition.
Karnataka have three gold medals out of the five decided so far and are leading the overall tally.
Telangana won their first gold when Tallur Naiyanashri won the women’s Under-17 short track (300m) final.
But Varsha was unbeatable. The 37-year-old, who has been competing internationally since 2001 with her last foreign assignment being the World Games in July 2022 in the US, was a start-to-finish winner, clocking 39.81 seconds.
“I’m a microbiologist by profession and skating is my passion. Originally, I am a roller-skater and have represented India at the 2018 Asian Games. On suggestion of my coach, K. Srikantha Rao, I chose to take up ice skating. I would like to thank Khelo India,” said Varsha.
Aradhya (54.91 seconds) also rode his international experience when he out-sprinted Suyog Tapkir (55.27) of Maharashtra for the gold medal. Aradhya has represented India in various internationals and was the country’s flag-bearer at the 2017 Asian Winter Games in Japan.
In ice hockey, top sides such as ITBP, Army and Ladakh dominated the competition.
In men’s Group A, ITBP defeated Haryana 13-0 with Mohammed Ismail scoring four goals. Army scored a massive 24-0 win against Rajasthan in Group B game, with Tsewang Dorjey scoring six goals and Tsewang Stanzin netting four.
In another Group B match, UT-Ladakh trounced Maharashtra 13-0. In a women’s round-robin match, ITBP crushed Telangana 19-0.
Source: PTI News
