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Indian skier Arif Khan has departed for Beijing ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics. He, along with Chef De Mission Harjinder Singh and support staff, left for the Chinese capital yesterday (February 1).
The multi-sporting event is scheduled to take place between February 4 and 20, 2022 in Beijing, China. However, some sporting events including curling and luge will commence on February 2, two days before the opening ceremony.
Khan is the only Indian skier to have secured a spot at the 2022 Winter Games. He booked his spot for the giant slalom event in northern Montenegro in December.
Meanwhile, he also qualified for the slalom in alpine skiing. With this achievement, Khan became the first Indian to win direct quota spots in two different Winter Olympics events.
He will take part in the Slalom and Giant Slalom events in Beijing. Both his events are scheduled to take place on February 13 and 16. Khan is aiming for a modest top-30 finish in the mega-event, which begins on Friday (February 4).
"My expectation is to be in the top-30" - Arif Khan
Arif Khan is the lone Indian participant at the quadrennial event. He secured his berth at the Winter Olympics in a qualifying event in Dubai last year. Khan during a virtual interaction, organized by the Sports Authority of India (SAI), on Sunday said:
"To be honest, if you want to be a medal contender, you require at least 10 years of training and preparation, (need) to have (decent) budget and funding, only then it's possible to be in medal contention. I have been training over a couple of years seriously and my expectation is to be in world's top 30. To be in top 30 is like medal winners in the world."
The 31-year-old skier also added that his training in Santa Catarina "was helpful" ahead of the mega event.
Skier Arif Khan's major achievements
Arif Khan, who hails from the Hajibal Tanmarg area of Jammu and Kashmir, has represented India at four World Championships. He also won two gold medals at the Slalom and Giant Slalom events at the 2011 South Asian Winter Games, held in Uttarakhand.
Khan has participated in almost 100 international competitions, including the South Asian Games, Asian Games and World Ski Championships.
Also read: Indian skier Arif Khan qualifies for 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
