• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the second Khelo India Winter Games in Gulmarg on February 26. 

      • Athletes from 27 states and Union Territories are competing in the Games which will conclude on March 2.

      • Venue is the world famous ski and tourist resort in Gulmarg.

      • The annual event, which made its debut last year in Ladakh and J&K, is organized by the J&K Sports Council and the Winter Games Association of J&K under the aegis of the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports. The sports meet will go on till March 2.

    • PM said winter games in Jammu & Kashmir would help in developing a new sporting ecosystem and would instill new spirit and enthusiasm in the tourism sector in Jammu & Kashmir.

    • The games in Gulmarg will see participation of over 600 athletes from 27 states and Union Territories (UTs) besides the armed forces personnel.

    • The games include snowshoe race, ice skating, ice hockey, skiing, Nordic ski, snowboarding, ski mountaineering and ice stock.

    • Athletes from the Indian Army and the Jawahar Institute of Mountaineering and Winter Sports will also participate in the event, besides the athletes from different states and UTs.

    • The J&K administration has put in place a special team of doctors and ambulances round the clock for the length of the event, along with a special team of the State Disaster Response Fund for relief and rescue operations.

    • Last year, hosts J&K topped the medal tally with a total of 26 golds.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)