Namita Nayyar:
You won the bronze medal. How tough was the competition? Also, how did it feel to stand up for India?
Aanchal Thakur
The race of 2018 was kind of tricky and tough take since the poles that were placed were in a complicated way and many competitors along with me could not finish the race, it was even tougher for me since a day prior to it I had injured my arm and it pained a lot even during the race, but the zeal to finish the race and get the international Bronze medal for the country was utmost important to me and I was so overjoyed when I completed the race and got the medal.
Namita Nayyar:
What excited you to pursue this sport? What challenges you faced along the way and how did you overcome them?
Aanchal Thakur
Well, to answer your question I have always said that to me skiing is like meditation, when the wind is blowing across my face nothing is more therapeutically for me, along with that the adrenalin rush one gets on skiing across mountains and reaching the top it again is very peaceful for me.
When it comes to challenges the main challenge is to lack of infrastructure in our country which causes a lot of delays, also there is more benefit given to summer athletes as compared to winter ones so I feel if our resorts get a little better equipped it would be really beneficial for us but this is something I learned at very beginning of my career is to not depend on these factors for my sport I have to work my way up on my own hard work
Namita Nayyar
You won four silver medals at the UAE Alpine Slalom Championships held in Dubai in 2022 and became the first Indian skier to win a silver medal in international skiing. Congratulation! Share the key elements according to you to be successful.
Aanchal Thakur
I feel as I mentioned previously as well that zeal and passion for the sport are very important, you have to put in your heart and soul and not get excuses to not achieve something rather be assured to work day and night irrespective of your shortcomings to achieve your goal being
Secondly, I feel there can be times when people can come and tell you why are you doing so much for a sport rather than getting a real job and putting your hard work into it I would suggest not getting demotivated by such people and being assured to follow what your heart wants to.
Lastly consistency and motivation and two important things to keep in mind and never let that fire in you to achieve what you want to go away.