Shailaja Kumar: the first Indian woman to compete in the Winter Olympics

The Indian contingent has taken part in the worldwide athletic event, which began on February 4th in Beijing. Arif Khan, an alpine skier from Jammu & Kashmir, is the lone Indian competitor in the competition. Arif Khan has won direct quota slots in two different Winter Olympics events. That made him the first and only Indian athlete to do so. In the Men's slalom and Men's giant slalom, he will partake.

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India, on the other hand, is not taking part in the Winter Olympics for the first time. India's involvement in the Winter Olympics dates back to 1940 when Jeremy Bujakowski became the first Indian to compete in the Winter Games. He made history by becoming the first and only Indian to compete in the men's downhill alpine skiing event at that edition. However, following the Jeremy Bujakowski era, skipped did not compete in the Winter Olympics for the next 20 years.

The expertise of Shailaja Kumar

India then again returned to the Winter Olympics at the Calgary 1988 Games in Canada. In the midst of a male-dominated era, there appeared a woman who offered a ray of hope to the deteriorating status of Indian women in sports. She is none other than Shailaja Kumar, the first Indian woman to compete in the Winter Olympics.

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She partook in the tournament alongside Gul Dev and Kishor Rahtna Rai who competed in the men's slalom event. Shailaja Kumar is an alpine skier who competed internationally for India. Having been born on January 17, 1967, in India, she depicted interest in Alpine skiing from the very beginning. It's not easy to navigate your way through a blizzard of white ice while demonstrating your skiing abilities. Kumar, on the other hand, aced it with utter grace. She began to practise more and became the best version of herself over time.

Her performance at the 1988 Winter Olympics astounded the entire world. The confident straight running, solid stem turn on piste, and forceful kick run attracted admiration and applauses from the audience. Her outstanding traversal abilities, along with her strong telemarks, provided the perfect climax to her performance. Thus, Shailaja Kumar became the first Indian woman to compete at the Winter Olympics, finishing 28th in women's slalom.

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However, after Kumar's expertise in the field, India had to wait for 18 years to see another woman participating in the mega event. That was Neha Ahuja, who was featured in women's slalom and giant slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy. By fulfilling the minimum qualifying standards, she became the first Indian woman to qualify for the Winter Olympics.

However, Shailaja Kumar's slot was an invitational one. Till date, She and Neha Ahuja are the only two women Winter Olympians from India.