Although Winter Olympics started in 1924, India being a sub-tropical nation sent its first athlete to the Games after 40 years. With Beijing 2022, India is all set to make its eleventh Winter Olympics appearance.
So far, only 15 athletes have represented India at the Winter Olympics. Through this article, we take a look at the Indian Olympians at the Winter Games.
List of Indian athletes in Winter Olympics (1964-2022)
| Year | Indian athlete(s) | Events |
| 1964 | Jeremy Bujakowski | Downhill |
| 1968 | Downhill, Giant Slalom, Slalom | |
| 1988 | Shailaja Kumar | Woman’s Slalom |
| Gul Dev | Slalom | |
| Kishor Rahtna Rai | Slalom | |
| 1992 | Lal Chuni | Slalom and Giant Slalom |
| Nanak Chand | ||
| 1998 | Shiva Keshavan | Luge |
| 2002 | ||
| 2006 | Neha Ahuja | Women’s Slalom and Giant Slalom |
| Hira Lal | Giant Slalom | |
| Bahadur Gupta | Cross-country sprint | |
| Shiva Keshavan | Luge | |
| 2010 | Jamyang Namgial | Giant Slalom |
| Tashi Lundup | Cross-country 15km freestyle | |
| Shiva Keshavan | Luge | |
| 2014 | Himanshu Thakur | Giant Slalom |
| Nadeem Iqbal | Cross-country 15km Classical | |
| Shiva Keshavan | Luge | |
| 2018 | Jagdish Singh | Cross-country 15km freestyle |
| Shiva Keshavan | Luge | |
| 2022 | Mohammed Arif Khan | Slalom and Giant Slalom |
Also Read | Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Schedule: Opening and Closing Ceremony
List of Indian athletes in Winter Olympics: Highlights
First Indian athlete at Winter Olympics
Jeremy Bujakowski became the first Indian athlete to compete at the 1964 Winter Olympics held in Austria. He was the only Indian who participated in the event that year and competed in the men's downhill alpine skiing event. In the 1968 Winter Games, Jeremy Bujakowski participated in three events - men’s downhill, slalom and giant slalom. He announced his retirement after the 2018 Winter Olympics.
India skipped the Winter Olympics for 20 years
India didn't participate in the Winter Olympics for 20 years and returned to the 1988 Winter Games held in Canada with a contingent of three-- Shailaja Kumar (women’s slalom), Gul Dev (slalom), and Kishor Rahtna Rai (slalom).
Only two Indian women participated in the Winter Games
Neha Ahuja is the second woman athlete from India to compete at the Winter Olympics in Italy. She participated in the 2006 Winter Games,18 years after Shailaja Kumar's participation. Ahuja is also the first Indian woman to qualify for the Winter Olympics by meeting minimum qualifying standards.
It is to be noted that Shailaja Kumar’s slot was an invitational one. Moreover, Shailaja Kumar and Neha Ahuja are the only women Winter Olympians from India.
India on the luge map
Six-time Winter Olympian Shiva Keshavan put India on the luge map with his participation in the Winter Games in 1998. At the age of 16, he was also the youngest to qualify for the sport in Winter Olympics at the time.
Ban on Indian Olympic Association (IOA)
Interestingly, the most-decorated Winter Olympian in Indian history, Shiva Keshavan, participated under the International Olympic Committee flag rather than the Indian tricolour at Sochi 2014 as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) was serving a ban.
That year, the three Indian athletes started as Independent Olympic Participants (IOP) in the Games. However, after the ban was lifted midway through the Sochi Games, the athletes were allowed to finish the event officially representing the Indian flag but Keshavan already finished before the ban was uplifted and his results were recorded under IOP.
India at Beijing 2022
Mohammad Arif Khan is the only Indian athlete to compete in Beijing 2022. He is also the first Indian athlete to have earned a quota place for the Winter Olympics 2022.
Also Read | Mohammad Arif Khan Biography: Birth, Age, Family, Skiing Career and More
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