Indian athlete wins nation’s first skiing medal

Wednesday, 10 January 2018 16:00

An Indian athlete has won the nation’s first medal in skiing.

Aanchal Thakur, 21, picked up bronze at the Alpine Ejder 3200 Cup in Turkey, which was organised by the International Ski Federation (FSI).

In a tweet, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said "the entire nation is ecstatic" over her "historic accomplishment".

Thakur, who comes from the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, won the medal in the slalom race category.

Her father, Roshan Thakur, spoke to BBC Sport about raising the profile of winter sports in India: "I saw the prime minister and sports minister had both tweeted and congratulated her. This is a very positive sign and hopefully it will encourage more people to take winter games seriously."

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