In early February, Moham mad Arif Khan will be making his Winter Olympic debut in Beijing. But even before he steps out on the course, he has made history as the first Indian to have qualified for two events at the quadrennial event—the slalom and the giant slalom disciplines of alpine skiing. It’s a sport that features ath letes rushing down a snow slope at breakneck speeds of over 70 kmph, while twist ing past flags en route to the finish line. Each run is about shedding infinitesimal frac tions of time and each run comes down to the perfor mance of your body’s every muscle, sinew and twitch.
So, alongside the phy sical aspects of training, Khan, 31, has also been spending much time tuning his mind these days. “Speed is everything as you rush downhill while at the same time trying to maintain the right movements to stay inline and take on the turns. To pull it off, you have to be very strong mentally, really brave. If you are brave enough, the rest of the things simply fall in place,” he says. Khan knows a thing or two about being fearless in the face of adversity. It is what has allowed him to pursue the sport over the past 15 years or so. And most times, against all odds.
Bu hikaye India Today dergisinin January 31, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye India Today dergisinin January 31, 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
The Mamata Pushback
The West Bengal Chief Minister Faces A BJP Onslaught On Issues Like Corruption And Women's Safety. Unwilling To Yield An Inch, The TMC Is Building A Narrative That The Saffron Party Is 'Anti-Bengali'
Who Will Win The Mahayuddh?
In Maharashtra's Most Complex Political War Ever, Shifting Alliances Fuel A Gripping Saga Of Power Struggles And Betrayals In The Pursuit Of Votes
Grand Young Master
Seventeen-yearold D. Gukesh has become the youngest player to win the Candidates chess tournament
SPORTING SPIRIT
BADMINTON PLAYER ASHWINI PONNAPPA, 34, IS OFF TO HER THIRD OLYMPICS, THIS TIME WITH A NEW PARTNER, TANISHA CRASTO
PORTRAITS OF A PEOPLE
Etchings by the colonial Flemish artist F. Baltazard Solvyns are getting a new lease of life in an exhibition at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai
Centennial Man
A seminal exhibition of K.G. Subramanyan's works in his birth centenary year at Emami Art, Kolkata takes an imaginative and immersive curatorial approach
Rhythms of Nature
ARTIST AND MUSIC COMPOSER GINGGER SHANKAR'S LATEST SINGLE COMBINES SOUTH INDIAN MUSIC WITH INUIT THROAT SINGING
SEARCHING FOR THE SOUND
Kashmiri musician Faheem Abdullah’s debut album Lost; Found is a collaborative effort
FOUND IN TRANSLATION
With its excellent translations, Songs of Tagore makes Rabindrasangit accessible to the non-Bengali reader
Of Freedom and Friendship
T.C.A. RAGHAVAN'S CIRCLES OF FREEDOM FOLLOWS THREE YOUNG MUSLIMS DRAWN INTO THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE