‘This tournament will encourage upcoming talent’: PM Modi wishes athletes for KIWG

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his best wishes to all the athletes participating in the 5th Khelo India Winter Games 2025, being held at the iconic Nawang Dorjay Stobdan Sports Complex in Leh, Ladakh. PM Modi expressed hope that the tournament would inspire emerging talent.

The Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) 2025 began with great enthusiasm on Thursday. Wishing success to the athletes, PM Modi remarked that the games should be a celebration of sportsmanship. “Best wishes to all the athletes participating in the 5th Khelo India Winter Games 2025! I am sure this tournament will encourage upcoming talent. May the games also be a celebration of sportsman spirit,” PM Modi wrote on X.

Best wishes to all the athletes participating in the 5th Khelo India Winter Games 2025! I am sure this tournament will encourage upcoming talent. May the games also be a celebration of sportsman spirit.@kheloindia pic.twitter.com/1bUx7SqKv8

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 23, 2025

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Mansukh Mandaviya, who was scheduled to inaugurate the games, could not land at Leh’s Kushok Bakula Rimpochee Airport due to adverse weather conditions. Despite this setback, Mandaviya conveyed a heartfelt message, officially declaring the Games open.

Several dignitaries, including the Lt Governor of Ladakh, Brigadier Dr BD Mishra, were present in the opening ceremony which was highlighted by teams marching past the VIP podium on their skates. A cultural display and an exhibition of ice hockey were also part of the opening ceremony.

“Our government prioritizes sports development in Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir. Through 100 Khelo India Centres in Jammu & Kashmir and three in Ladakh, including a State Centre of Excellence in Leh for athletics, archery, and boxing, our efforts are shaping the region into a hub of sporting excellence,” said PM Modi as quoted from a press release by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, adding that “KIWG 2025 will play a crucial role in taking our sporting excellence to the next level.”

Mandaviya expressed his disappointment at missing the opening ceremony but cheered all the stakeholders saying, that India is truly a “4D sports destination.”

In the KIWG, nineteen teams, comprising, states, Union Territories and institutional outfits like the Army and ITBP, are competing. A total of 594 participants, of which 428 are athletes, are involved in the Ladakh leg of KIWG 2025. This is the second time Ladakh is hosting the Winter Games, into its fifth edition. (ANI)