Indian Alpine skiers start training in Austria, hope to make the cut for Beijing 2022
While the last two years have been tough on the Indian athletes, they still have a chance to qualify for the Beijing 2022 Games. Alpine skiers Arif Khan, Himanshu Thakur and Aanchal Thakur, are training in Austria to prepare for the World Cup competitions so that they can make it to Winter Olympics.
Aanchal is just glad to be back on the slopes and training, while veteran skier Arif Khan, is trying to get as much practice under his belt, as he can.
As for Himanshu, who represented India at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the training stint in Austria will be about regaining the lost touch. In an interaction with Olympics.com, he said, "The last 18 months or so have been extremely difficult for us as we haven’t been able to get any proper practice and especially when it comes to my category (giant slalom), it hasn’t been easy.
"Post lockdown, we were eager to get back on the ice in Europe so that we can practice enough and have a chance of qualifying for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
"Over the next few weeks, we will be looking to bridge the gap between us and other skiers as far as getting ready for competitions is concerned. Apart from this, we’re really pleased to be in Europe for training and to get the chance to have a go at qualification for the Winter Olympics."
But with the scanty time left, the Indians face an uphill task to make the cut.