Telangana’s Nayana Sri Talluri Wins First Gold; Karnataka’s Harshith BT too steals honour

Srinagar: Telangana’s Nayana Sri Talluri won the first gold medal of the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWGs) 2025 currently underway in Leh, the capital of the Union Territory of Ladakh.

The 15-year-old Nayana won the gold in the Women 500-metre Ice Skating event and it was her hattrick in the Khelo India. Harshith BT of Karnataka bagged the second gold in the ice-skating competition on the second day of the KIWGs 2025.

Nayana sped to the Women’s 500-m short track at Leh’s NDS Stadium winning the first gold medal of KIWGs 2025 and completing her ‘hattrick’. She had won the gold in the under-17 category last year, and was an emphatic winner, clocking 1:01.35 seconds, leaving in her wake the skaters from Karnataka and Maharashtra. Earlier won in KIWGs 2023 at Gulmarg, Kashmir’s premier ski resort, officials said.

Unlike KIWG 2024, where there were two skating categories – under-17 and 17 years plus – the skating competition this time is an open one. With several top Indian skaters away in Korea and China to train for the Asian Winter Games in February, this year will see some of the best junior skaters in the country.

Nayana is one of them. She had won two gold medals in KIWGs 2024 and then went on to win a 3000m women’s relay gold at the 2024 Asian Open Short Track Speed Skating Championship in Jakarta in August. She has been building on her exposure and experience.

“(In Jakarta), there were participants from different countries, which is great, but playing in our own country feels entirely different. This year, I’m back on the ice for the first time, and it’s a nostalgic feeling to be back in Ladakh. It’s been a hat-trick of gold for me since I won in Gulmarg in 2023. I feel super great about it,” Nayana said.

An official spokesman in Leh said that two southern states -Telangana and Karnataka – stole the honours when a pair of speed skating gold medals were decided on Day 2 of the KIWGs 2025 on Friday. “KIWGs are not only about winning medals. It’s about gaining experience and setting higher benchmarks,” he said.

Although Guru Harshan H of Tamil Nadu did not win the gold medal in Leh, it was quite a feeling for him to finish second in his first long-track KIWGs race. The 14-year Harshan finished behind Karnataka’s Harshith K, who won the second skating gold medal of the day at Gupuks Pond. Sachin Singh of Haryana finished third.

Taking part in a long track race in an atmosphere he is not used to, Harshan’s performance was definitely affected by Ladakh’s thin air. “I could not give my best,” said Harshan, catching his breath. He added that the Gupuk surface was difficult to manage as he was used to skating on artificial ice.

In 2019, Harshan bagged a bronze in the under-10 category Open event organised by Ice Skating Association of India. Harshan also participated in the third KIWGs at Gulmarg in short-track speed skating in 2023. For KIWGs 2025, Guru joined a week-long camp in Gulmarg, sponsored by the Tamil Nadu government.

The ice hockey competition is also turning out to be a learning curve for teams like Haryana, Maharashtra, Chandigarh and Rajasthan. The top teams like Army, ITBP and Ladakh have so far had smooth sailing in the competition.

RESULTS

Speed skating 500m women’s final: 1. Nayana Sri Talluri (Telangana) 1:01.35 secs; 1. Pratheeksha KS (Karnataka) 1:02.84 secs 3. Swaroopa Deshmukh (Maharashtra) 1:03.15 sec.

Speed skating 1000m long track men’s final: 1. Harshith BT (Karnataka) 1:44.22 secs 2. Guru Harshan H (Tamil Nadu) 1:55.38 secs 3. Sachin Singh (Haryana) 1:56.63 sec.

ICE HOCKEY (Men): ITBP beat Haryana 11-0; UT-Ladakh beat Chandigarh 6-0; Army beat Maharashtra 15-0.

ICE HOCKEY (Women): UT-Ladakh beat Chandigarh 6-1;

GOLD MEDAL DECIDED On Friday - 2 (both in skating)

1. Telangana

2. Karnataka