CHENNAI: In November last year, Arif Mohammad Khan had become the first alpine skier from the country to win a quota for the Winter Olympics by accumulating requisite FIS (International Ski Federation) points.
Arif, who hails from Tangmarg of Baramulla district (Jammu & Kashmir), had achieved the qualification in the final FIS Qualification held in Dubai. With the Winter Games scheduled to begin on February 4 in Beijing, China, the 31-year-old Arif is set to fly off for the venue on Monday.
Despite him being the pioneering force for the sport in the country, Arif is aiming for the top-30 finish in the quadrennial event. "To be honest, if you want to be a medal contender, you require at least 10 years of training and preparation. You need to have a decent budget and funding, only then it's possible to be in medal contention. I have been training for over a couple of years seriously and my expectation is to be in the world's top 30. To be in the top 30 is like medal winners in the world," said Arif during an interaction organised by the Sports Authority of India on Sunday.
Arif will take part in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events in the showpiece event. He firmly believes that the country can be developed into a favourite spot for skiing in the next four or five years.
"I have been training for the past 15 years. Travelling to Europe, Asian countries and North America for races and training. The infrastructure we have here is only good for basic and intermediate level skiing as compared to the rest of the world."
"The best we can offer are the mountains and the snow and the free ride skiing. The alpine freeride skiing is one of the best we have in the world. But, if we talk about the sport, we definitely need five or six different places with four or five slopes of international standards." he said.
"Then, we need grooming facilities that groom the surfaces. Then, we need to have highly qualified European coaches. We could do this in the next four or five years. We just need a beginning. I think this is the right time as people are coming to know that winter sports can be a game-changer within India. If we can utilise the Himalayas then it can be used for both the purposes — sports as well as economic development."
The skier was included in the Target Olympics Podium Scheme (TOPS) recently. After qualifying for the Games, he trained in Santa Caterina, Italy. "Training in Santa Caterina back in December was really helpful because conditions there were very different from other places. What I mean to say about the conditions is that they prepared slopes by injecting water and then making it so compact that the surface becomes icy which helped us in training and balancing down the slope. In regard to support from SAI, it's really good to have it in time. It helped me in buying equipment at the right time and paying coaches as well."
After completing the training in Italy, Arif did elevation training at his hometown. He affirmed that his stint in Gulmarg will keep him in good stead at the Beijing Games. "Right now, I am in Delhi and going through a very important test. Just a week ago, I was in Gulmarg going through elevation training. We have high altitudes here which helped me especially getting the muscles used to high altitude which can be helpful in China. China stands at the lower elevation and here we got the high elevation which can help me in building up lungs and endurance."
Arif's events are scheduled on February 13 and 16 and he is excited to represent 1.4 billion people of the country in the Winter Olympics. "It feels so great, I am going to represent 1.4 billion people. It is an achievement like being an athlete as well as being a citizen of India, it is super exciting. My dream has been to inspire people, especially back in Jammu and Kashmir. I always wanted to be someone that can really draw a line for the generation to follow and I see myself doing something closer," Arif signed off.