Arif Khan, India’s lone skier at the Winter Olympics aims top-30 finish

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Indian skier Arif Khan, who is the only one from his country to take part in two skiing events at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, is hopeful to make a top-30 finish at the grand quadrennial event, which is set to commence from 4th February onwards.

Hailing from the state of Jammu and Kashmir, Arif Khan earned his berth at the Winter Olympics during the qualifiers which took place in Dubai last year. The 31-year-old Apline skier will be participating in both Slalom and Giant Slalom events.

Recently included into the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) of the Sports Ministry, Khan’s target at the upcoming Games is to finish in a modest top-30 position, rather than targeting a medal finish directly, as the Kashmiri feels a decade of training is needed to secure an Olympic medal in skiing.

“To be honest, if you want to be a medal contender, you require at least 10 years of training and preparation, (need) to have (decent) budget and funding, only then it’s possible to be in medal contention,” said Khan during a virtual interaction, organised by the Sports Authority of India (SAI) this Sunday.

“This sport is very different and you can be never consistent at winning. Even if you make one mistake while going down the hill, it is like done. You make a mistake and you are out of the game,” added Khan, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir. Last one year, my training has been taken care of well. I have been performing much better than I used to before,” he added.

Highlights:

  • Indian skier Arif Khan, set to represent the country solely at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing, hopes to make a top-30 finish
  • The TOPS athlete says undergoing training at Santa Catarina has been helpful in improving his performance

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