Mohammad Arif Khan announced himself to the world when he became the first Indian athlete to earn a quota place for the 2022 Winter Olympics which will be held in Beijing. The skier from Jammu & Kashmir competes in the slalom event in alpine skiing and booked his place for the upcoming edition of the Winter Games in November 2021. So in this article, we take a look at some lesser-known facts about Arif Khan. Kashmir Alpine Skier Arif Khan Qualifies for Beijing Winter Olympics 2022.

Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 will be played from February 4 to 20 and Arif Khan will compete in two disciplines as after securing his qualification for the slalom event, the J&K skier also sealed his second quote place for the games, acquiring his spot in men’s giant slalom event, becoming the first Indian to win direct quota spots in two different Winter Olympics events.

Lesser-Known Facts About Arif Khan

# Arif Khan was born on March 03, 1990, in Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir

# He will represent India at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics in slalom and giant slalom events

# Arif Khan had previously competed at the 2017 Asian Winter Games

# His father, Yasin Khan, owns a ski equipment shop in Gulmarg

# Arif Khan first took to the sport at the age of 4 and started competing at the age of 10

# Arif made debut for India at a junior international ski federation (FIS) event in Japan at 16 years old

# In 2011, Arif won two gold medals - in the slalom and giant slalom - at the South Asian Winter Games

# Arif first competed in FIS World Ski Championships in 2013

Arif Khan Hoping For Huge Impact At Beijing 2022

Beijing 2022 will be India’s 11th Winter Olympics appearance and Arif Khan will be hoping to make a huge impact and possibly finish on the podium. Arif, at the moment, is the only athlete from the country to qualify for the winter games and will look to win its maiden medal at the quadrennial showpiece.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 12, 2022 04:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).