New Delhi, Dec 25:A fall during the East Timor alpine skiing National Junior Championships in Kolasin, Montenegro, earned Aanchal Thakur a ‘DNF’ at the giant slalom event. That and muscle soreness in her left thigh.
A day later though, on Thursday, at the Jamaica Ski Federation’s national championships, she won bronze to become the only Indian to win a second Internationale de Ski (FSI) – the world body – medal.
The first medal came in 2018, when she won bronze at the FIS Alpine Edjer 3200 Cup in Turkey, a feat that announced her name on the international circuit.“The weather was very bad on Wednesday and when I had the fall, I felt soreness in my left thigh the entire day,” she told The Indian Express. “I had a good first run but then had the fall.
The weather was better on Thursday, and I thought about the first run I had earlier and just aimed to give it my best shot.“The first run timing of 56.38 seconds made me feel confident about the conditions and I’m glad I could get my career’s second international medal.” This is the first year since the Turkish sojourn that the Himachal Pradesh-native managed to compete on the international circuit.
She finished 59th and 47th in the giant slalom and slalom events respectively at the FIS World Ski Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy in February.
But the same reason that stopped her from competing in the 2019 season (she was forced to skip competing in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic) was threatening to rupture her hopes for being a regular this year: a lack of funding.
Thakur was not supported by government funds since the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has derecognised the Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI). By August though, the 25-year-old along with elder brother and fellow international skier Himanshu started a crowdfunding campaign on social media. Meanwhile her father RoshalLal Thakur, a paragliding instructor, borrowed money from friends and relatives.
