Leh (Ladakh), Jan. 24(UNI) When figure skating made its debut at the Khelo India Winter Games 2026 in Ladakh, it was more than the introduction of a new discipline, it was the arrival of a long-missing national platform. Standing at the centre of that moment was Abhijith Amal Raj from Kerala, who went on to win gold in figure skating-men’s advance category, marking a personal milestone.
Abhijith’s presence in Ladakh carried weight far beyond a single competition. He is already one of India’s most accomplished artistic figure skaters— a world champion in artistic roller skating, having won gold at the World Roller Skating Championship in 2019, along with Gold at the Asian Roller Skating Championships in 2023 and 2025, and the World Skate Oceania and Pacific Cup in 2023.
Yet his appearance at Khelo India Winter Games 2026 represented something different, a return to figure skating on ice, and the chance to compete on a serious national stage at home.