New Delhi: Aanchal Thakur is happy that she gave up wushu (a form of martial art) and took up skiing. Now she has just one wish after becoming the first Indian to win an international medal in skiing – an end to the government’s apathetic attitude towards winter sports.
The response to her bronze medal-winning performance in Turkey has been overwhelming to say the least. She still can’t believe that none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated her on the achievement in a sport that usually begs for attention.
“I never thought the Prime Minister would tweet for me. It is unreal. I just hope we are finally treated at par with athletes of popular sports. As of now, there has been no support whatsoever from the government,” Aanchal told this agency from Turkey where she secured the bronze in Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup organised by the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS). “I just want to say that we too are fighting, working hard day in and day out for India, like any other sportsperson,” she added.
Skiing runs in her blood but it has not been an easy ride thus far for the 21-year-old, who is a student of DAV College in Chandigarh. Her father Roshan Thakur, who happens to be the secretary at the Winter Games Federation of India, always loved skiing and therefore it was natural for his children, Aanchal and Himanshu, to pick up the sport at an early age.
Aanchal stated that if her father had not backed her, there was no way she could have pursued skiing. “I have been skiing in Europe since I was in seventh grade. Papa always wanted me to ski and he has been spending out of his pocket all this while. Without any government help, you can imagine how much he has spent on me and my brother,” pointed out Aanchal.
“What makes it more challenging for us is that it doesn’t snow in India for the major part of the year, so we have to go out and train,” she added.
Her father Roshan informed that existing skiing venues in India, at Gulmarg and Auli, are the only world-class during competitions and are not looked after well otherwise.
“The Europeans get to train 10 months in a year where our athletes can do two months at the max, considering the huge cost involved in training overseas,” Roshan, who owns apple orchards in Manali, said.
It is an expensive sport with the equipment, comprising ski, boots and clothing costing approximately Rs 5,00,000.
