Twenty-one year old Aanchal Thakur made India proud at the global stage when he clinched a bronze in skiing at the Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup organised by the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS). The youngster thus won the country’s first ever medal in the sport by participating in the slalom race category held at the Paladonken Ski Centre in Erzurum in Turkey.
“Months of training have finally borne fruit. I started well and managed to take a good lead, which helped later in getting the third-place finish,” she said from Turkey, as quoted by The Times of India. This indeed is a remarkable achievement not only for the fact that she is just 21 but also that there’s no infrastructure for winter sports in India and they hardly receive any assistance from the Union ministry sports as well.
Aanchal’s father, Roshan Thakur, who is also the secretary general of the Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI) said, “This is a breakthrough for the sport in India and the entire skiing fraternity is proud of her achievement.”
“Aanchal called me on WhatsApp and showed me the medal. I thought it was some kind of a souvenir given at the end of every FIS event! But she told me that she won a bronze,” added Roshan, who has all the reasons to be proud of her daughter’s achievement.
Aanchal’s stint in skiing so far has either been funded by her father or the FIS who at times finances their trips. Roshan rued the fact that there wasn’t any monetary help or support from the Union government.
“The bureaucrats in the sports ministry do not acknowledge skiing as a sport,” he said.
Professional boots and bindings, skiis, poles, helmets, suits, goggles and gloves are required to compete and the equipment takes around ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh.
“I hope Aanchal’s medal helps our cause (in getting financial support from the Centre). I want to see my daughter and son represent the country in the 2018 Winter Olympics,” said Thakur, before adding, “The Centre only funds travel and logistics from one Olympic to another. Rest of the time, you have to fend for yourself.”
Aanchal hails from a small village in Manali named Burua and it was her father who taught her the ropes initially before her skills were perfected by Heera Lal, a former Olympian.