Army men, Ladakh women off to emphatic start

Leh, Jan 20 (PTI) Defending champions Ladakh women and Army men made emphatic starts in the Khelo India Winter Games 2026 ice-hockey competition here on Tuesday.

The fancied teams ITBP, Himachal Pradesh also won their matches.

The Ladakh phase of the Winter Games, that will host ice sports like skating and hockey, will conclude on January 26. This is the third time that the Union Territory of Ladakh is hosting KIWG.

The snow leg of KIWG will be held in Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir later this year.

During a colourful opening ceremony, punctuated by traditional music and dance and an exhibition ice-hockey match between Army and Ladakh men, Khelo India Winter Games 2026 were declared open by the Lt Governor of Ladakh, Kavinder Gupta.

Day one got off to a rousing start with two women's hockey matches at the Ladakh Scouts Regimental Centre.

In a group B contest, ITBP, last year's runners-up, thrashed Rajasthan 6-0 but it was the Ladakh girls who decimated Telangana 19-1 in a group A match.

In the men's event, defending champions Army drubbed Himachal Pradesh 5-1 in a group A match. The Army team found the back of the net through five different scorers to show the all-round impact of the squad.

ITBP men too sounded their intentions in group B.

They scored 16 goals without reply from Rajasthan. Stanzin Mingure (thrice) and Tashi Tundup (twice) were the lead scorers for ITBP. PTI AH AH APS APS