Skiier Aanchal Thakur bags bronze at Montenegro, becomes first Indian to win two international medals
Indian skier Aanchal Thakur did the country proud as she won the bronze medal in the giant slalom category at the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) meet at Kolasin, Montenegro, on Thursday. The competition was held under the banner of the Jamaican National Championships recently.
Interestingly, this is India's only second medal at any international skiing event. The first medal was also won by Aanchal at the 2018 Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup in Turkey. As far as this competition is concerned, the 25-year-old clocked 56.38 seconds and 57.92 seconds in her first and second runs. She finished third with this effort.
On the other hand, Croatia’s Dora Ljutic (1:50.61s) won the gold medal, followed by Cyprus skier Georgia Epiphaniou (1:52.71s). This was her first competition since her bronze medal effort as well, as she could not compete in 2020, due to Covid-19.
Recently, she also moved to Austria, with her brother Himanshu, 2018 Sochi Olympian, to qualify for the 2022 Olympics. But having said that, the time is running out for the duo, to make the cut.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Arif Khan, the only Indian to have qualified for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, finished 21st in the men's section with a time of 1:51.23 seconds.