Despite second spot, skiing going downhill

Advertisement

Shimla, February 14

Himachal secured the second spot, behind J&K, in the recently concluded National Ski and Snowboard Championship at Auli. The state bagged 27 medals in the event, including six gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze. The girls pocketed 16 medals and the boys 11.

It appears a good haul for the state, but the HP Winter Games Association officials and skiers feel the sport is going downhill in the state. According to them, Himachal used to dominate the skiing Nationals until a few years back, but lack of infrastructure has started hit the sport now. “The sport has become centralised in Manali alone. There is no skiing in Kufri now, and in Narkanda, too, it is on the decline,” said Himachal Pradesh Winter Games Association secretary Lalit Chauhan.

State lacks infrastructure

J&K and Uttarakhand have slopes of international quality at Gulmarg and Auli, respectively. We have no such slopes. There are no lifts, and equipment too is a problem. —Shivam Kainthla, International Skier

Chauhan said the government would have to lend the state a helping hand to do well in winter sports.

“Apart from reviving the centres such as Kufri and Narkanda, we need to develop more slopes. We can develop good slopes in Khara Pathar and Chanshal. We need to spread out the infrastructure to various places to get more youth into the sport,” said Chauhan.

Shivam Kainthla, an international skier, feels the state was lagging behind because of the lack of quality slopes. “J&K and Uttarakhand have slopes of international quality at Gulmarg and Auli, respectively. We have no such slopes. There are no lifts, and equipment too is a problem. All this is a big handicap for the skiers from the state,” said Kainthla.

Sagar, who has been associated with the Narkanda skiers for the past 15 years, admits that the state skiers are not able to perform as well as they desire at the Nationals. “There are several problems, from old and obsolete equipment to lack of infrastructure. Not too long back, Narkanda skiers used to dominate the Nationals, but now we are falling behind,” he said.

The skiers feel the installation of a lift at the Narkanda slope would go a long way in giving a much-needed thrust to skiing in upper Shimla.