Indian skiers ready for the Asian challenge

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 19

Donning traditional Himachali woollen caps with the tricolour in hand, the Indian contingent made a colourful entry at the opening ceremony of the eighth Asian Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan.

Fifteen skiers and seven officials from the Army, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Punjab will lead India’s campaign in the eight-day event. Nine athletes will compete in alpine races, five in cross-country and one in snowboarding.

Armyman Avtar Singh, coached by Som Dev Thakur, would be competing in the snowboarding competition. Skiers Nisha and Sarla Thakur would take part in the cross-country race. In the men’s category, Mohamed Iliyas and Jagdish Singh would participate in the cross-country race. The alpine ski (women) team includes Aanchal Thakur, Varsha Devi, Sandhya, Gayatri Devi and Preeti Dimri. Himanshu Thakur, Hira Lal, Arif Khan and Vineet Sharma will be representing India in the men’s category.

Roshal Lal Thakur is the coach of the women skiers and Khem Raj Thakur is the head coach of the men’s team.