After medal first, female Indian skier Thakur aims for Olympic summit

• Sarwar Alam
• 21 January, 2018

By: Sarwar Alam

She has already defied the odds in a country fixated on cricket rather than the slopes to win India’s first international skiing medal — but Aanchal Thakur insists she is just getting started. The 21-year-old dreams of following her older brother Himanshu to compete in the Winter Olympics, a feat so improbable only one Indian woman has ever done it. She credits Himanshu with inspiring her to dedicate herself to what remains a highly niche sport, despite her family’s best efforts, in a country where cricketers are idolised and skiing is sidelined. Aanchal made Indian sporting history when she won a…

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