Anchal Thakur skied her way to two Khelo India Winter Games gold medals under severe conditions.
Thakur, the first Indian skier to win a medal in an International Ski Federation event, bagged top podium finishes in alpine skiing slalom and giant slalom events held in Gulmarg, Jammu and Kashmir.
“I am extremely happy about winning two gold medals. The conditions were tough, the visibility was poor and the temperature was low but my spirits were high,” Aanchal said.
She credited her brother Himanshu Thakur, an international skier who represented India at the 2014 Winter Olympics, for guiding her to victory.
“My brother has guided me all along,” Aanchal said.
“I started skiing at the age of five years and have over 20 years of experience in this sport. I didn’t have original skiis but would practice on wooden skiis. It used to be very tough.
“But after I started winning medals in junior nationals, I went and trained in Europe. In 2012, I represented India at the Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. Since then, I have represented the country at six World Championships and two Asian Games,” she said.
She has set her sights to qualifying for Milano Cortina 2026 now.
“At the Khelo India Winter Games, the atmosphere inspires us athletes to work hard for our states and country. My next goal is the National Winter Games and after that I am trying to qualify for the Olympics. I want to carry the Indian flag at the next Olympics. I will work hard for it and will make India proud with my performance,” she said.
In the last two years, she claimed four silver medals at the UAE Alpine Slalom Championships held in Dubai in 2022 and qualified for the 2023 World Ski Championships.