At the Beijing Olympics, a Kashmiri skier will carry India's flag -- all by himself
Arif Khan is used to surprising people.
He recalls the looks on people's faces at last year's World Alpine Ski Championships in Italy. One by one, giant slalom racers bounded out of the gates atop a steep, snowy incline. They were mostly Europeans, with their home countries' flags sewn onto their spandex ski suits: Austria, France, Italy, Germany.
Then came Khan, with the name of his country emblazoned on his shoulder: India. Even the judges were surprised, he says.
"It's funny because I've been to four World Championships, and every time I've been asked, 'Is there skiing in India?'" Khan, 31, explains. "Guys, we're living in the Himalayas! It's the highest mountain range in the world. What do you expect?"
Khan is from the Indian-administered side of Kashmir, a Himalayan region that's split between India and Pakistan. He learned to ski when he was four at Gulmarg, an Indian government-run ski resort that boasts one of the highest ski lifts in the world. His father runs a ski shop there.
Now Khan hopes to surprise people again, in Beijing – where he's preparing to compete in his first-ever Olympic Games.
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/02/1075264396/india-arif-khan-winter-olympics
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This is like the Ethiopian Ski Federation which was headquartered out of the second floor of an Ethiopian restaurant in Richmond, VA. One skier, 2 officials in the parade of nations.