3 Manali skiers qualify for Winter Olympics

Three skiers from Manali have qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Russia in February.

Three skiers from Manali have qualified for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Russia in February.

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Roshan Thakur, the general secretary of the Winter Games Federation of India (WGFI), on Saturday said that the three skiers - Hira Lal, Himanshu Thakur and Anchal Thakur - hailed from Burwa village of Manali, and made up for three-fourth of the four-member Indian skiing team. The fourth skier, Nadeem Iqbal, is from the Indian Army.

Hira Lal has represented India in the 2006 Winter Olympics. Himanshu Thakur, a student of Kullu's Bharat Bharati School, represented India in the 2012 Junior World Ski Championship in Italy. He also represented India in the World Ski Championship in Austria in 2013.

Anchal Thakur, a student of Kullu Valley School, represented India in the 2012 Youth Winter Olympics at Insbrock, Austria. She also represented India in the 2013 World Ski Championship.

Thakur urged the state government to reimburse the skiers for the expenses they would incur during their trip to Sochi in Russia, where the Winter Olympics will be held from February 7 to 23. “Such skiers have been accorded awards by Haryana and Uttarakhand governments” he said.