Manali's Aanchal Thakur climbs Swiss peak

Abhinav Vashisht

Kullu, June 18

Aanchal Thakur, a resident of Manali, made a world record by climbing the 4,164-mt high Mount Breithorn at Zermatt in Switzerland along with 80 women from 25 nations yesterday. She waved the Indian Tricolour at the peak and shared her videos on social media. She wrote, “I am honoured to have represented India in a 100 per cent women’s world record. I have never experienced something like this in my entire life”.

Aanchal thanked the Swiss authorities for giving her the opportunity. She also thanked her family and friends for always encouraging her. She felt humbled by the support of all that gave her the real motivation. Various social media platforms were flooded with congratulatory messages.

Aanchal’s father Roshan Thakur said that he felt proud that his daughter had brought laurels to the country and the state at the international level. Even earlier, she became the first Indian girl ski athlete to have won a second international medal by winning a bronze in Giant Slalom during the International Ski Federation Alpine Ski Competition at Kolasin in Montenegro of Europe on December 23, 2021. She had also won a bronze medal in the international skiing competition held in Turkey in 2018, besides several medals in national championships. She has been honoured with the Himachal Gaurav award and the Parshuram award for sports.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur, Education Minister Govind Singh Thakur and Technical Education Minister Ram Lal Markanda congratulated Aanchal on her achievement and wished her good luck for the future. The Education Minister said that it was a matter of pride that a daughter from his home constituency had brought laurels to the country and the state.