Manali: Four Indian skiers, who have qualified for the Winter Games, will represent the country as independent athletes at the Black Sea resort of Sochi in Russia, Feb 7-23.
Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI) secretary general Roshan Thakur Tuesday said the skiers -- Himanshu Thakur, Hira Lal and Shiva Keshavan, all from this Himachal Pradesh town, and Nadeem Iqbal from Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir -- have qualified for the Olympics.
"They will not represent the country under the Indian flag, but they are participating as independent athletes under the Olympic flag," Thakur told IANS.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended India in December 2012 over the election process of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
