Thekkada Bhavani Nanjugunda of Karnataka, the queen of Nordic skiing in India. other sports news

If there were an award for the ‘Women of the Khelo India Winter Games 2024’ going on in Gulmarg, Thekkada Bhavani Nanjugunda would probably have walked away with the honour. The skier from Karnataka, who is also a mountaineer with good credentials, completed a hat-trick of gold medals in Nordic skiing at the prestigious Gulmarg Golf Course on Saturday. In this edition of the Games, where the technical parameters are directly managed by the Sports Authority of India, Bhavani’s consistency impressed six-time Winter Olympian Shiv Keshavan, who thinks there is a lot to be achieved for Indian snow sports athletes. . Given the excellent conditions available in Gulmarg.

Thekkada Bhavani Nanjugunda capped off a highly successful KIWG 2024 by winning the 10km race on Saturday. She had earlier won the 5km and 1.6km races in the championships and has been solely responsible for Karnataka’s good performance at the Games.


Bhavani, a slim girl of average height, hails from Karnataka, where snow is found in abundance like water in the desert. Bhavani went to Kashmir during winter in her childhood. The 28-year-old woman recalled that the snow fascinated her.

It was through NCC that he got the taste of adventure sports for the first time. “I then joined the Jawahar Mountaineering Institute in Pahalgam, where the principal and instructors of the institute encouraged me to learn cross country,” says Bhavani. He never looked back.

For the first time in 2020, he participated in the cross-country race in Gulmarg. “I learned the techniques while watching the army teams,” Bhavani said. He said the High Altitude Warfare School has been one of his biggest supports.

“I am continuing my training with the Army in Gulmarg who are providing me accommodation and other technical facilities,” she said. “I do endurance training at home throughout the year,” she said.

He said, “When my friends see me running every day, they ask me ‘What’s so fun about that?’. I tell them I’m preparing for the Winter Games. They look a little surprised. Winter Games There is a need to raise awareness about.” Bhavani, who aspires to represent India at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, Italy.

Bhavani has been conducting seminars to inspire youth to take up winter sports.

“Today we are seeing a lot of change as players from non-snow states are taking part in the Khelo India Winter Games seriously,” Bhavani said. Karnataka skaters dominated the first leg of KIWG in Ladakh earlier this month.

Bhavani is no stranger to the Khelo India Winter Games. On her debut in 2021, she won gold and bronze in cross-country skiing. Interestingly, Bhavani is the first woman to represent India in a biathlon competition. Biathlon events usually feature a combination of cross-country skiing and rifle shooting!

Some first names of Bhavani are. She trained in New Zealand and became the first Indian woman to earn an international ski instructor certificate in 2019. She was the first South Indian to represent the country at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2023 in Slovenia. She is the first South Indian to qualify for the 2023 World Championships and the only Indian this year!

The future could be bright if the government continues to support winter sports in India. The Khelo India Winter Games is a step in the right direction and Bhavani feels J&K athletes can do much better with the snow at their feet.

“There is a lack of awareness among (Jammu and Kashmir) girls. Family support is important and it is important to move away from stereotypes,” said Bhavani, who wants more junior level tournaments to increase interest and awareness in winter sports since childhood. .

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a press release)