Slippery Slopes: Arif Khan overcame big odds to get to the Winter Olympics. More athletes, fired by their dreams, are joining the uphill struggle

Indervir Grewal

T he Winter Olympics ended recently, and as usual India had very little to cheer about. Alpine skier Arif Khan was the only Indian athlete at the Games in Beijing. It was the first time after four editions that only one Indian participated at the Olympics. It was also the first time since 1998 that Indian luge legend Shiva Keshavan was not present at the Winter Games.

Jammu and Kashmir’s Khan participated in the slalom and giant slalom events, making him only the second Indian to qualify for more than one event at the Winter Games. Polish-origin Indian alpine skier Jeremy Bujakowski had qualified for three events at the 1968 Games.

I think the federation and the government will take care of some of Arif’s expenses now. But an athlete needs support earlier, during preparation time Ludar Chand Thakur, former skier

Qualifying races are held abroad, mostly in Europe. You cannot just go and race after training in India. The conditions are very different in Europe, and it takes time to acclimatise Rajat Thakur, Alpine skier

It was one of my dreams to be at the Winter Olympics. It really means a lot Arif Khan, India skier

While Khan had a tough outing in slalom, failing to finish his first run, he achieved India’s best-ever finish in giant slalom. The 31-year-old finished 45th despite tough conditions on the day.

Tough even to qualify

Despite being India’s fastest-ever, Khan would be disappointed to not achieve his pre-Games target of finishing in the top-30, which he had said was like winning a medal. However, Khan would know the importance of even qualifying for the Winter Games. “It was one of my dreams to be at the Winter Olympics. It really means a lot,” Khan had said after the giant slalom event.

The immensity of his achievement can be gauged by the fact that Khan was only the 16th Indian to race at the Winter Games since the country’s first participation in 1964.

When it comes to qualifying in the slalom and giant slalom events, which have seen the highest Indian participation, consistency is the key. Khan said he had trained seriously for two years to get to the Games.

“It’s a point-based qualifying system. You get these points by competing in races authorised by the international federation (FIS),” said Rajat Thakur, an international-level alpine skier from Solang, Himachal Pradesh. “In slalom and giant slalom, the final list is calculated by taking the average of five best results. You must have an average of less than 140 points. It was relaxed to 160 for the Beijing Games due to Covid-19,” he added.

“So even if your timings reach international standards, it’s about repeating those runs,” added Rajat, who came close to achieving the qualifying standard for the 2018 Games.

Money matters

For an Indian skier, qualification is even harder because of the high costs involved, Rajat said.

“These qualifying races are held abroad, mostly in Europe. You cannot just go and race after training in India. The conditions are very different in Europe, and it takes time to acclimatise,” Rajat said.

“When I was trying to qualify for the 2018 Games, I spent over two months in Europe in late 2017. During that time, I participated in over 15 races. I had achieved the points average in three races but then I suffered a knee (ACL) injury in December,” he added.

“I used to train during the weekdays and compete over the weekends. The expenses run high, with accommodation costs, fee for using the facilities to train and the race fee,” he added.

Training abroad

It doesn’t help that skiing is inherently an expensive sport. “A pair of racing skis cost around Rs 1.5 lakh, and you can only use it for one season,” said Rajat’s father Khem Raj Thakur. “The total cost of skiing gear runs well over Rs 2 lakh,” said the former skier, national coach and administrator.

What makes the sport even more expensive is the necessity to train abroad. There are only three prominent skiing facilities in India — in Gulmarg (Jammu and Kashmir), Auli (Uttarakhand) and Solang (Himachal Pradesh). But Khem Raj said the facilities don’t match the international standards, which is why India doesn’t get to host any qualifying races. “But more than the facilities, Indian skiers go abroad in search of better coaching because the standards in India are not up to the international level,” Khem Raj said.

Self help

Despite the rising expenses, the skiers get very little funding from the federation or the government. Khan, who underwent most of his training in Europe, got funding from different benefactors. What made things easier was that he got backing from JSW Sports.

“Arif trained in Austria and Switzerland for over a year,” said Ludar Chand Thakur, who travelled to the Beijing Games as the official alpine coach.

Former international skier Ludar Chand, who is president of the Himachal Pradesh ski federation, said that help from the national federation and government usually comes afterwards. “I think the federation and the government will take care of some of Arif’s expenses now. But an athlete needs support earlier, during preparation time,” added Ludar Chand, who also belongs to Solang.

Unlike Khan, most skiers don’t get the backing from organisations like JSW Sports and look towards family and friends to support their passion.

However, even achieving the qualifying standard doesn’t guarantee participation at the Games. Due to India’s low standard in winter sports, the nation gets only one quota per event for the Olympics. In case two skiers qualify, the one who is higher on the points list gets to go to the Olympics.

Despite all the hurdles, it is the Olympics dream that drives the Indians to take up winter sports. “It is every athlete’s dream to become an Olympian,” said Ludar Chand, whose hopes of qualifying for the Olympics over a decade ago were dashed by an injury.

While the path to the Winter Olympics is difficult, the dream is often short-lived, impeded by injuries or shortage of funds. Therefore, it is no surprise that in India’s Winter Olympics history, only Bujakowski and Keshavan have participated in more than one edition of the Games.

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