Indian skier Arif Khan created history at the Winter Olympics in China as he was the only Indian to represent the country at the big event this year. The Indian skier finished 45th out of 89 competitors in the giant slalom event at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.
He finished with a time of 2 minutes, 47.24 seconds, 37.89 seconds behind gold-medalist Marco Odermatt of Switzerland.The 31-year-old man from Jammu and Kashmir was in the 53rd position after his first run for 1 minute, 22.35 seconds earlier in the day.
Arif who finished the set in run 2 revealed how one mistake can be a major determining factor. “There was no room for error – once you committed a mistake you’re out,” Arif told ESPN soon after the first run.
It was a historic event for the Indian as he was living his dream of making it to the Olympics. “We were nervous first-up on seeing most of the skiers end up missing gates and taking a tumble, it was like straight out of a movie,” Arif’s brother Mehrajuddin told ESPN.
His brother was delighted to see Arif finish as they were all very excited to see him represent the country at such a big stage. “At the centre, we saw visibility wasn’t that much, and the way he finished it was an exciting moment for all of us. We couldn’t be happier than this to see him returning with the best results he could have.”
He also highlighted how the conditions played a role as Arif never experienced something like that in Gulmarg. The snow accumulation also caused him a lot of trouble. However, Mehrajuddin pointed out Arif’s strong technique and felt that if the situation was under control, his brother could have broken into the top 30, which was the target for the 31-year-old skier.
I personally, haven’t such conditions anywhere; it was way different from what we have at Gulmarg. The accumulation of snow had further worsened the situation. He’s technically strong in his game and better conditions could have further pushed him into 30 which is was looking at.”
Arif and his family lived a dream through the 31-year-old skier who reached the level where he always wanted to be. But hopefully, this will be a historic moment for India in winter sports. People taking up these sports need more support and more facilities to represent the country at such a high level just like Arif Khan.
