Khelo India Winter Games: Five Medals for Karnataka

State skaters win one gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

The Karnataka state team put up an impressive performance at the Khelo India Winter Games, organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) in Ladakh, winning a total of five medals—one gold, two silver and two bronze.
The state team, comprising seven players from Mysore, excelled in both long track and short track speed skating events, making a strong mark in national-level winter sports.
In the long track (500 m) event, B.T. Harshit of Mysore secured a bronze medal. Meanwhile, Srivatsa S. Rao of Mysore won the gold medal in the 1000 m event, earning Karnataka’s first gold medal at the Games.
Karnataka also delivered a strong performance in short track events. In the men’s 5000 m relay, the team comprising Srivatsa S. Rao, Omkara Yogaraj, G.V. Raghavendra and Dheemanth Mahesh clinched the silver medal.
The women’s relay team, consisting of Sreeja S. Rao, Sreedhanya P. Bhardwaj, Hiranmayi Ramaganesh and Sahasra Nelaturi, also won silver.
In the mixed relay, the team of G.V. Raghavendra, Omkara Yogaraj, Sreeja S. Rao and Sahasra Nelaturi secured a bronze medal.
All the medal winners from Mysore were trained at Rao Rao International Track, Unnatinagar, and KSR Indoor Roller Skating Track, under the guidance of Ekalavya Awardee K. Srikantha Rao and Dr. Varsha S. Puranik.
With this achievement, Karnataka’s skaters have significantly strengthened the state’s presence in winter sports at the national level.