Aanchal Thakur hopes medal will end govt apathy

New Delhi:  Aanchal Thakur has just one wish after becoming the first Indian to win an international medal in skiing — an end to the government’s unenthusiastic attitude towards winter sports.

The response to her bronze medal winning performance in Turkey has been overwhelming. She still can’t believe that PM Narendra Modi congratulated her on the achievement in a sport that usually begs for attention.

“I never thought the Prime Minister would tweet for me. It is unreal. I just hope we are finally treated at par with athletes of popular sports. As of now, there has been no support whatsoever from the government,” Aanchal said from Turkey where she secured bronze at the Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup organised by the Federation Internationale de Ski.

“I just want to say that we too are fighting, working hard day in and day out for India,” she said.

Skiing runs in her blood but it has not been an easy ride thus far for the 21-year-old, who is a student of DAV College in Chandigarh.

Her father Roshan Thakur, who is secretary of the Winter Games Federation of India, always loved skiing and therefore it was natural for his children, Aanchal and Himanshu, to pick up the sport at an early age.

While Aanchal has grabbed attention now, brother Himanshu, also an Alpine skier, competed in the Sochi Winter Olympics alongside luger Shiva Keshavan.

Aanchal says if it was not for the efforts of her father, there was no way she could have pursued skiing.