Pranav Madav Wins Second Gold for Telangana; ITBP Tames Army in Ice Hockey
�Srinagar: Teenager Pranav Madav Surapaneni won a second gold medal for Telangana in the Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) 2025’s ice-skating competition -the 500m short track for men- held at Leh's NDS Stadium on Saturday.
A day ago, 15-year-old Nayana Sri Talluri, also from Telangana, had won the first gold medal in the Women 500-metre Ice Skating event and it was her hattrick in the Khelo India.
Harshith BT of Karnataka had bagged the second gold of the ice-skating competition on the second day of the KIWG 2025 being played in the Ladakhi capital.
On the third day of event on Saturday, Maharashtra and hosts Ladakh also won their first skating gold medals but it is Telangana which leads the medal tally.
Ishaan Darvekar skated to Maharashtra’s first gold of the skating competition by winning the 1000m short track event at the NDS. In a rather one-sided race, Darvekar clocked 2:02.33 secs ahead of teammate Vyom Sawant (2:04.90 secs) and Tiluck Keisam of Delhi, who timed 2:10.78.
At the end of Day 3 of KIWG 2025, Maharashtra was third with a total haul of five skating medals (one gold, one silver and three bronze) while Karnataka are second with three medals (one gold and two silvers), all from ice skating.
Schoolboy Surapaneni clocked 56.86 secs to win the 500m short track gold at the NDS complex. It was quite a tight race as Number 2 (Samrudh SD of Karnataka) and Number 3 (Sumit Tapkir of Maharashtra) were separated by micro seconds.
“I feel like a bamboo tree, growing slowly but steadily reaching great heights. That's how I feel right now. I have all three medals -bronze in 2023, silver in 2024, and gold today, and I’m really proud of the accomplishment," he said, adding, "The rink is natural, so there are bumps, and the high altitude makes it challenging, requiring intense focus on my breathing and pushing through the effort.”
15-year- old Surapaneni further stated that his main goal is the Olympics, but before that, there’s the world tour, the world championships, and the junior world championship. "It’s a long journey ahead,” he said.
In the ice-hockey league match between Indian Army and Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), with about 10 minutes left on the clock, Stanzin Mingure scored twice in succession to script a dramatic 3-1 victory for ITBP. Army’s defence collapsed in the third and final period of the contest.
But it was Mohammed Ismail that struck first blood for ITBP in the second minute of a match that often got a bit physical. Tsewang Dorjey drew level for Army with a lovely flick in at the far post early in the second period, but Indian Army, the defending champions, lost control in the third period and suffered their first loss of the KIWG 2025.
“The team's strategy worked perfectly, bringing us closer to securing the victory today. I managed to score a goal for the team and I am happy with that. The KIWG are being professionally managed and such an open environment encourages us to perform better,” said ITBP’s centre forward Ismail in a chat with Sports Authority of India's media wing SAI Media.
It was joy for hosts Ladakh at the Gupuks Pond. Shabana Zara (2:09.69 secs) and Tasniya Shamim (2:13.95 secs) made it a one-two for Ladakh in the 1000 metres long track for women. For 14-year-old Shabana, it was the first time winning a gold at the Khelo India Winter Games, although she participated last year too. Tasniya tasted success in KIWG last year, winning a gold, silver and bronze under different categories.
DAY 3 RESULTS
ICE HOCKEY (Men): UT Ladakh beat Himachal Pradesh 6-0; ITBP beat Army 3-1; Chandigarh beat Rajasthan 4-1; Haryana beat Maharashtra 9-3.
ICE HOCKEY (Women): UT Ladakh beat Himachal Pradesh 3-0; ITBP beat Chandigarh 8-0
ICE SKATING (Men): 500m short track: 1. Pranav Madav Surapaneni (Telangana) 56.86 secs 2. Samrudh SD (Karnataka) 1:00.31 secs 3. Sumit Tapkir (Maharashtra) 1:00.58 secs.
(Men) 1000m short track: 1. Ishaan Darvekar (Maharashtra) 2:02.33 secs 2. Vyom Sawant (Maharashtra) 2:04.90 secs 3. Tiluck Keisam (Delhi 2:10.78.
ICE SKATING (Women): 1000m long track: 1. Shabana Zara (Ladakh) 2:09.69 secs 2. Tasniya Shamim (Ladakh) 2:13.95 secs 3. Nirja Manik Lubal (Maharashtra) 2:28.04 secs.
