As the world prepares for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, India too has a participant in the form of Mohammad Arif Khan who became the first athlete from the country to earn a quota place for the Winter Games.
The games are all set to be held in Beijing, making the Chinese capital the first city to host both Summer and Winter editions of the Olympics (Beijing previously hosted the Olympic Summer Games in 2008).
The Opening Ceremony will be held on February 4, just six months after the Closing Ceremony for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Who is Mohammad Arif Khan and how did he become an alpine skier?
Belonging from Jammu & Kashmir, Mohammad Arif Khan is an alpine skier and had booked his spot in giant slalom at a meet in Montenegro. His father Yasin Khan owns a ski equipment shop in Gulmarg and that's where Arif's love for the sport grew.
He first took it up at the age of four. He turned to competitive skiing when he was 10 years old and steadily rose up the ladder, the Olympic website reported. At the age of just 12, Mohammad went on to win a gold medal in the slalom in his first appearance at the national championship.
Making his international debut for India at the age of 16 in the junior international ski federation (FIS) event in Yomase, Japan, he had finished 23rd in the giant slalom. It was in 2011 that he won two gold medals - in the slalom and giant slalom - at the South Asian Winter Games, the only edition held thus far.
The Indian alpine skier had also taken part in the FIS World Ski Championships in 2013 and had finished 59th in the slalom and 91st in the giant slalom. However, he was unable to move past the qualification stage. While he has since taken part in three more world championships, it was the first time he qualified for the final in any world championship event.
What is Alpine Skiing?
Alpine skiing which is also called downhill skiing is when an athlete slides down snow-covered slopes on skis with fixed heel bindings. Unlike other types of skiing, this sport use skis with free-heel bindings.
It is one of the Winter Olympics' signature competitions. India's first brush with the Winter Olympics came in 1964 when Jeremy Bujakowski competed in the downhill event of alpine skiing.
Alpine skiers represented India at 1964, 1968, 1988, 1992, 2006, 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.
