One in a billion: Alpine skier Arif Khan carries India’s hopes at Beijing 2022 on his shoulders
India’s lone participant at the Olympic Winter Games will compete in slalom and giant slalom at Beijing 2022. He spoke to Olympics.com about his journey, life and what it means to represent more than a billion people on the world’s biggest sporting stage.
The #strongertogether campaign 2022 message can be summarized by this motto “Every rise, every fall, every victory, we’re in it together.”
When we believe in each other, we can make the unbelievable happen. Belief from others inspires belief in ourselves; to make that leap, land that trick, to push to the finish. Through every rise, every fall, every victory we’re in it together.
The city of Innsbruck, Austria is relatively little-known in India as far as the world of sport is concerned. However, the Austrian city is central to India's hopes at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. India’s lone participant at this year’s Winter Games made Innsbruck his base over the past five months, as he aimed to achieve the seemingly impossible - to qualify for the Games.
Due to the challenges of COVID-19, the past two years have seen the world of sport dealing with one of the hardest periods in history. Add to that the challenges Indian winter sports athletes face under normal circumstances and the obstacles have been exponentially magnified.
In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com, Arif Khan elaborated on how difficult the past few months have been for him and spoke about how the pandemic has impacted his preparations for the Olympic Winter Games.
“It's been really tough, a lot of different races and training on slopes in different conditions,” he explained. “Since COVID happened in India, my plan was to start training in 2020 but we couldn’t travel at all. The year was really difficult and we couldn’t travel, so the chances were really less, it was like 60-40 [per cent]. I was wondering if I would be able to travel. I thought if I get a chance to travel and get my visas, I can make it happen. Later in 2021, I got my visa and invitations for training.”
Sacrifice, struggles and a wedding postponement
For any athlete, the journey to the Olympics requires a great deal of struggle, skill and sacrifice. In the near 100-year history of the Games, only 15 athletes have ever represented India. For Khan to become the 16th, he had to walk down a road filled with hard work and self-denial.
One example of the personal sacrifice required to make his sporting dreams come true in Beijing is the fact that Khan postponed his wedding in order to make it to the Games. However, throughout it all, he has maintained the support and backing of his family back home.
“This is one of the things that gets highlighted quite often when my story is discussed. So, the first thing for me was to qualify for the Olympic Games and this has been the dream for the last 10 to 12 years. [With respect to the wedding] I had to ask my fiancée and her parents if I could get one more year, which would help me in training and racing to make it to the biggest stage. In the end, it was a collective decision and they supported me and everything went well.” - Arif Khan
The support Khan received from family during this time embodies the message of the #strongertogether campaign 2022 and its motto, “every rise, every victory, we’re in it together.”
The skier from Gulmarg in India has endured many hardships over the past decade while trying to qualify for the Olympic Winter Games, but the unwavering support of his family and friends is one constant he has always been able to rely on.
Qualification and preparations for Beijing 2022
The cornerstone of Khan’s quest to qualify for Beijing 2022 has been his ability to train and race in Europe, where weather conditions and training facilities have allowed him to reach his potential. He has also been fortunate to work with athletes from across the world.
“I actually started training with an international academy where you have different teams from different nations. We're also trained for the Olympics or World Cups,” he said. “So, that was one of the best things that happened to me and I got accepted by the international academy. We were a group of four people from different nations for training for the Olympics and things became easy because we could travel together.
"There was one athlete from Japan, one from USA and one from Germany, making a group comprised of the four of us. We trained together all these months and managed to travel to help each other in that group. This was one of the best things that happened to me during this this year, this past year and otherwise."
As the slopes in Beijing will be artificial, Khan knows there are challenges ahead. However, he has set himself a target and knows what needs to be done to achieve his goals.
“We will have time for training on those slopes and every athlete who is competing will have time for practice,” he explained. “But it's a different environment where the slopes are not natural but they’re all going to be artificial. This will be one of the challenges. I want to finish in the top 30 in the first run and then in the second run, go as fast as I can.”
“My father, my inspiration”
Khan’s love affair with skiing began when was just four years old, inspired by his father who ran a ski equipment store in the resort town of Gulmarg - the premier ski destination for many in India.
Speaking about the special relationship he has with his father, Khan reflected: “It's been the same since the beginning, he's very sensitive with all things we did. He wanted to see me as a professional athlete and whenever he could, my father gave me great advice. He still advises me with regards to my goals and performance.”
One of the biggest things Khan’s father taught him was to always “be on time.” It is a motto that has stayed with the Alpine star throughout the years and helped him in his pursuit of excellence.
Carrying the hopes of a billion
For Khan, representing over a billion Indians is as much about responsibility as it is a source of pride. At the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, he is hoping an entire nation gets behind him as he skis down the slopes of Beijing. He is also hoping to inspire the next generation of Indians to take up Alpine skiing.
When asked what it means to be one in a billion, the word Khan uses is “responsibility.”
“I think and look at all these years, my struggle was meant actually for this: to be one in a billion. For me, being one in a billion and representing India is a huge responsibility. It’s a legacy for sure but it’s also an inspiration. There are a lot of youngsters back in India in my region who want to prove themselves and that actually drives me to do better. Becoming one in a billion is amazing – it’s absolutely amazing.”
Other than his immense talent, Khan has relied on a winning combination of discipline, hard work and persistence to succeed on the slopes. However, when asked what piece of advice he would give anyone hoping to succeed in life, the 31-year-old instead talks about courage.
“Be brave. That's the only mantra I use. Be brave. Especially in sport, if you are not brave, you're not going to get what you want.”
Over the next few weeks, Khan will be hoping to bring together a billion hearts and make them fall in love with Alpine skiing.