Indian skier Anchal Thakur on Friday won her second international medal in alpine skiing at the FIS Alpine Ski Competition in Kolasin in Montenegro, keeping alive her hopes of qualifying for the next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing.
Aanchal won third place in the giant slalom section of the FIS Alpine Ski Competition on Friday.
Aanchal had earlier scripted history by winning India’s first international medal in skiing (slalom) in the 2018 Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup, which was held in Turkey.
In the 2012 Youth Winter Olympics she took part in the Alpine skiing – Girl’s Slalom and Girl’s Giant Slalom events.
Aanchal, whose brother Himanshu represented India at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, in a race to complete the qualification norms for the Winter Olympics to be held in February 2022.
To give herself the best possible shot at qualification, Aanchal Thakur has moved to Austria to train.
Aanchal, who needs a prolonged stay in Austria to improve her chances of qualification, has recently started a crowdfunding campaign to fund her preparation in Europe. “We are trying hard to qualify for the upcoming Winter Olympics Feb 2022. We need your help,” she said in a message on Twitter in September 2021.
Recently, she told the Olympic Channel that she got a good response for the initial appeal but needs a lot more. She is still hopeful that sponsors and other people will come forward to help her.
The latest medal will boost her confidence in her attempt to qualify for the Winter Olympics.