A young and shining Aanchal Thakur made history on Tuesday when she became the first-ever Indian to win an international medal in a skiing competition The 21-year old took home the coveted bronze medal in the Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup organised by the Federation Internationale de Ski (FIS) at the Palandoken Ski Centre in Erzurum in Turkey.
The Manali-born girl clinched the medal in the slalom race category. Aanchal is the daughter of the secretary general of the Winter Games Federation of India - Roshan Thakur. She learned the tricks and the trades of the sport from her father before working with Olympian Heera Lal, according to a report in TOI.
"Months of training have finally borne fruit. I started well and managed to take a good lead, which helped later in getting the third-place finish," Aanchal told the national daily from Turkey.
“This is a breakthrough for the sport in India and the entire skiing fraternity is proud of her achievement,” her father, Roshan Thakur told the daily after her win. So far Aanchal's foreign trips for various events have been financed by her father or FIS.
"Aanchal called me on WhatsApp and showed me the medal. I thought it was some kind of a souvenir given at the end of every FIS event! But she told me that shw won a bronze," her father further added.
Aanchal's magnificent feat holds great relevance when there is lack of culture and infrastructure for winter sports in India. The Union Sports Ministry also has shown least interest so far in the winter sports but this win is likely to change things in the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also complimented Aanchal Thakur on winning the prestigious medal for India, he said the entire country was ecstatic on her "historic accomplishment"
"Well done @alleaanchal for winning an international medal in skiing! The entire nation is ecstatic on your historic accomplishment at the FIS International Skiing Competition in Turkey. Wishing you the very best for your future endeavours," Modi tweeted.
