Gulmarg, Feb. 22 -- By the time the bugle echoes across the frozen valley, the contest is usually already decided.

From the high-altitude rinks of Leh to the powder-white slopes of Gulmarg, one constant has defined the modern era of the Khelo India Winter Games - the quiet, disciplined dominance of the Indian Army.

As the Gulmarg leg of the sixth edition of KIWG unfolds on Monday, the Army's story at KIWG is no longer about participation. It is about supremacy. Launched in 2020 under the Government of India's flagship Khelo India initiative, the winter games were designed to mainstream snow and ice sports in a country more fluent in cricket than cross-country skiing, as per a release from KIWG.

Yet in just six editions, the Games have ...