GILGIT: The Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts team clinched both the National Cross-Country Ski Championship and the International FIS Cross-Country Ski Championship trophies at Rattu, Astore district, after a stellar performance in the competitions held from Feb 7 to 14.

The 3rd International FIS Cross-Country Ski Race and the 14th National Cross-Country Ski Championship took place at Army High Altitude School, Rattu, featuring 19 male athletes from the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts, and Malaysia competing in two categories.

The International Ski Federation (FIS) technical delegate, Koyuncu Ozkan from Turkiye, oversaw the events, which was organised by the Winter Sports Federation of Pakistan.

GB Scouts’ Hussain Shah emerged as the top performer, securing four gold medals — three in the International FIS Cross-Country Ski Races and one in the National Cross-Country Ski Championship.

His remarkable achievements helped GB Scouts secure trophies in both events.

In the first 10km FIS Cross-Country Ski Race, Hussain Shah clinched gold, followed by Pakistan Army’s Shakeel, who took silver, while GB Scouts’ Imran Khan secured bronze.

In the second 10km race, Hussain Shah once again emerged victorious, while GB Scouts’ Nazir Shah won silver, and Pakistan Army’s Shakeel settled for bronze.

The 15km FIS Cross-Country Ski Race saw another commanding performance from Hussain Shah, who bagged his third gold medal. Nazir Shah of GB Scouts claimed silver, while Pakistan Army’s Abdul Aleem finished with bronze.

The 15km National Cross-Country Ski race saw similar results for Hussain, Nazir and Abdul Aleem.

The closing ceremony of the championship is scheduled to be held on Monday (tomorrow), where winners will be honoured for their achievements.

A statement released after the event congratulated the GB Scouts for their outstanding performance in both the

National and International FIS Ski Championships.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2025