With Beijing 2022 in sight, Arif Khan added to TOPS core group
Arif Khan is the only Indian to have earned a quota for the 2022 Winter Olympics which begin on February 4.
Indian alpine skier Mohammad Arif Khan has been included in the Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) core group, until next month’s Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Arif Khan is currently the only Indian to have secured a Beijing 2022 berth, after securing two quota spots last year.
Under TOPS, which is a flagship programme of the Indian sports ministry for promising athletes with potential to win Olympic glory, Arif Khan will receive support for training and equipment.
The 31-year-old Jammu and Kashmir native had made the slalom cut in November and then won a giant slalom quota last month, becoming the first Indian to win direct quota spots in two different Winter Olympics events.
The two disciplines of alpine skiing, slalom and giant slalom, involve skiing between sets of poles positioned at a distance from each other. The distance is greater in giant slalom than in slalom.
Arif Khan is currently training at a camp in Austria along with his coach and physio.
Tokyo 2020 medallists Neeraj Chopra, PV Sindhu, Mirabai Chanu, Ravi Kumar Dahiya and Bajrang Punia are some of the notable names in the TOPS programme.
Watch Winter Olympics live in India
Watch Arif Khan live at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Olympics.com. Both the slalom and giant slalom events will be available on live streaming.