Excelsior Sports Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 28: Arif Khan who recently qualified for the Winter Olympics 2022 that are going to be held in Beijing, today said that he was feeling overwhelmed that he is going to represent the country on a global platform.
Arif has remained busy with the practice at the ski-resort Gulmarg and has been concentrating on polishing his skills lately.
Hailing from the Hajibal area of Tangmarg, Arif has had the honour of being the only skier across the country to have qualified for the Winter Olympics 2020 during the qualifying event that was earlier held in Dubai.
“It is an achievement for me; it is the outcome of years of training and practice; if I have been able to get through, it is because of the hard work and dedication,” he said.
His achievement was earlier lauded from all the quarters, from LG, Manoj Sinha to former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Arif has been praised while as people have been pining hopes for him to shine at the global event.
“I have been undergoing training for long now and have finally qualified to the grand event and that is something that needs to be cherished-that’s beyond me now,” he smilingly said.
It is interesting to note here that Arif has postponed his scheduled marriage to focus more on his sport and achieve whatever he has been intending to.
“Yes, I have postponed my marriage and that was a mutual decision from both the sides; that was aimed to do better, focus more on the sport; the marriage could have had its impacts, but we thought to postpone it for now,” he said.
He said that he is overwhelmed with the fact that he going to represent the country in Beijing and that he is focusing more on doing well.
“I have been giving my 100 per cent, but let’s hope that I end up performing well at the global event as that is going to be a game-changer for me, for J&K and the rest of the country,” he said.
In his message to the youth who are inclined towards sports or any other field, Arif said that they need to need to work hard toward making their nation, their people proud. “They should not stop from giving their 100 per cent,” he said.
While Arif has winded up his practice at Gulmarg, he is expected to fly to Beijing to participate in the Winter Olympics in the next few days.
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