India’s only representation at the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022, alpine skier Mohammed Arif Khan finished 45th in the giant slalom event
Hailing from Jammu and Kashmir, Mohammad Arif Khan benefitted from the Indian Government’s TOPS scheme to secure a berth in the Winter Olympics 2022 currently underway in Beijing.
Arif Khan Finishes 45th In The Men’s Giant Slalom Event At The Winter Olympics Beijing 2022
The only Indian representative at the showpiece games, Arif made his debut at the games on Sunday as he took part in the men’s giant slalom event. However, he ended up in a dismal 45th position after clocking 2:47.24 seconds – 1:22.35 in the first run and 1:24.89 in the second run – at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Centre.
The 45th position for Arif was India’s best ever finish in the men’s giant slalom at the Winter Olympics till date with him getting the better of Jeremy Bujakowski, India’s first ever Winter Olympics who had occupied 65th place in 1968.
First place went to Marco Odermatt of Switzerland who registered a time of 2:09,35 seconds with Slovenia’s Can Kranjec taking home silver with 2:09.54 seconds while French Mathieu Faivre rounded off the top three with a time of 2:10.69.
“It was one of my dreams to be at the Winter Olympics and this is my first time. It really means a lot. It’s a great message back to our country, to our people to join the winter sports in the future. We have a lot of mountains, a lot of places to ski, but not the alpine sports at the moment,” Arif Khan said.
He will next take part in the men’s slalom event on Wednesday, February 16 which can be viewed on Olympic.com and the official YouTube channel.