HAWS: The Secret Crucible Forging India's Winter Sports Champions

At the sixth Khelo India Winter Games, held here from February 23 to 26, athletes from all over India, representing states, Union Territories, and major institutions like the Indian Army, CRPF, and ITBP, shared a common sentiment: HAWS was the reason for this success.

Founded in December 1948 by Brigadier General K S Thimayya as the 19th Infantry Division Ski School, the institution was established out of necessity. Located in avalanche-prone terrain, it later became the Winter Warfare School. On April 8, 1962, it was upgraded to a Category A Training Establishment and received its current name, with a renewed focus on mountain mastery.

HAWS specialises in snowcraft and winter warfare, offering elite Mountain Warfare and Winter Warfare courses that combine high-altitude combat skills with survival tactics and intelligence training. Over time, however, a new presence emerged on its slopes-athletes. These are not hobbyists or tourists, but competitors.

Kajal Kumari Rai, a 25-year-old from Shillong, had never seen snow before 2024. By the end of that year, she was a champion, winning gold in the Nordic women's 15 km and 10 km sprints, an incredible and poetic rise. She attributes her transformation to a 15-day skiing immersion at HAWS that changed her path.

"Joining the CRPF gave me direction," Kajal said. "HAWS and the Army gave me belief."

Belief functions as currency here, exchanged during grueling climbs and icy lashes, and in the quiet moments before a downhill rush.

Bhavani T N, who won gold in the Nordic women's 1.5 km sprint and earned bronze medals in the 15 km and 10 km events this season, also experienced snow late in her life. At 23, she had never touched it before. She learned her edges, balance, and grip at the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering (IISM) and HAWS, where the Khelo India Winter Games veteran from Karnataka's coffee hills honed her skills.

In the men's Nordic 10 km event, the Army dominated the podium, with Padma Namgail taking gold, Aman securing silver, and Manjeet earning bronze. In the 1.5 km sprint, Sunny Singh, Shubam Parihar, and Majeet repeated their medal sweep. They all credited HAWS not merely as a facility, but as a crucible that shaped their success.

"HAWS plays a great role in grooming winter sports athletes not just from the Army but also from other forces and states," Namgail said. "There are no issues of funding, training, coaching, or competition. The best are even sent to Europe. The tracks are tough, the ice is hard but we are always ready because of HAWS."

That readiness is engineered. Indian Army team manager Col. Kumar Singh Negi calls it systematic. "Expert trainers from Italy, Norway, Sweden and Kazakhstan sharpen technique to international standards," he said.

Indian Army team coach Rameez Ahmad stated that HAWS manages a pipeline of 250 to 300 Army winter athletes annually, in addition to five to ten civilian trainees.

"Currently, 24 athletes train in Alpine skiing, 16 in snowboarding, and 20 in Nordic skiing. Some double down in mountain skiing. They log a minimum of 600 training hours annually," Ahmad said.

"There are ski simulators for Alpine skiing, the only ones in India, roller skis for summer cross-training, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, an indoor sports complex that hums with basketball, volleyball, and badminton even when Gulmarg is buried in white silence. It is conditioning without interruption. Nutrition is calibrated, a dietician charts protein and carbohydrate intake, energy bars and gels are standard issue. The kits mirror those seen at the Olympics."

Physio Vivek Kaktwan calls the infrastructure "world-class." "Funding is stable, the advantage is altitude itself. By staying in Gulmarg, our athletes train more and train better," he said.

The influence reaches beyond the Army. CRPF team manager Magesh K recognized HAWS' contribution in advancing his team from providing equipment support to becoming elite coaches.

"Army coach Nadeem Iqbal, himself an Olympian, worked closely with CRPF athletes over the past three years, refining technique and raising performance thresholds. The results are beginning to show," Magesh said.

They definitely are. In Gulmarg, medals may hang around individual necks, but their story traces back to a single location in the snow, a place where military training intersected with winter sports, and somewhere along the way, it fostered champions.

- IANS