Skiing

Overview

Origin

Ancient

Category

Winter

Olympic discipline

Yes

Paralympic discipline

No

Central pathway

Olympic (TOPS eligible)

Athlete profiles on SportSupport

17

Governance and status

Each field below is shown only where we hold a source for it; anything else reads “Not currently verified” rather than a guess. Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports recognition is granted year by year, so it is only ever shown with the year it applies to. Last reviewed: September 2026.

Indian governing/organising body

Winter Games Federation of India

Ministry recognition

Not currently verified

International federation

Not currently verified

Khelo India inclusion

Not currently verified

TOPS eligibility

In scope — TOPS covers Olympic medal prospects

Olympic status

On the Olympic programme

Paralympic status

Not a Paralympic discipline

Scholarships & Funding

Central, state and private scholarships available for skiing athletes in India.

• Khelo India Talent Identification & Development (KITID)

  Monthly stipend (₹10,000 for selected Khelo India athletes), boarding, coaching and kit at accredited centres for talent identified through the Khelo India selection process (Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports). Applies only to disciplines on the official Khelo India Games list, and only to athletes it selects.

• Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS)

  Central government scheme covering training, foreign exposure, equipment and an out-of-pocket allowance (up to ₹50,000/month) for athletes inducted by the Mission Olympic Cell. TOPS covers a Core Group and a Development Group of disciplines rather than every Olympic sport, and induction is decided athlete by athlete; we hold no current list confirming whether skiing is among the covered disciplines.

• National Sports Development Fund (NSDF)

  Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports fund used to sponsor elite athletes' training, foreign coaches and equipment. Allocations are made case by case; we hold no record of NSDF support specific to skiing.

• Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons

  Lifetime monthly pension (₹20,000 for Olympic/World/Asian/CWG medallists; scaled by tier) for retired internationals who meet the scheme's medal criteria — Government of India.

• Aanchal ThakurHimachal Pradesh

  Aanchal Thakur (born 28 August 1996) is an Indian alpine skier. She represented India at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria. In Innsbruck, Thakur took part in the Alpine skiing - girl's slalom and girl's giant slalom events.

• Alessia DipolIndia

  Alessia Afi Dipol (born 1 August 1995) is an Italian-Togolese alpine skier who competed for Togo at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics in the slalom and giant slalom. Dipol also originally competed for India between 2011 and 2013, but she later switched to compete for Togo even though she has no familial connections to the country, so she could qualify to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics. She also chose to represent the country because her father owns a clothing factory in Togo.

• Dicky DolmaHimachal Pradesh

  Dicky Dolma (born 5 April 1974) is an Indian mountaineer and former alpine skier. She is known for being the youngest woman to summit Mount Everest up to that time at the age of 19 on 10 May 1993, which occurred on the Indo-Nepal Everest Expedition.

• Gul DevIndia

  Gul Mustafa Dev was the first Indian Olympian from the state of Jammu and Kashmir, who represented India in the Winter Olympic Games, with two other participants at the 1988 Winter Olympics held at Calgary, Canada (see India at the 1988 Winter Olympics).

• Gupta BahadurLadakh

  Gupta Bahadur Gurung (born 7 September 1976) is an Indian skier. He qualified for 2006 Winter Olympics, where he represented India. He participated in Men's sprint event of Cross-country skiing.

• Himanshu ThakurMadhya Pradesh

  Himanshu Thakur (born 9 January 1994 in Manali, Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh, India) is an alpine skier from India. He competed for India at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the giant slalom race securing a rank of 72. Thakur was named to India's 2017 Asian Winter Games team in February 2017.

• Hira LalHimachal Pradesh

  Hira Lal (born 26 November 1980) is an Indian alpine skier. He competed in the men's giant slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

• Jagdish SinghUttarakhand

  Jagdish Singh (born 1 July 1991) is an Indian cross-country skier, who represented India at 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. He competed in men's 15 km freestyle cross-country skiing. He qualified in the Olympics for the first time.

• Jamyang NamgialLadakh

  Jamyang Namgial (born 3 June 1985) is an Indian skier. Namgial participated in his first Olympic event at the 2010 Winter Olympics, competing in the men's giant slalom event of Alpine skiing. He also participated in the 2007 Asian Winter Games.

• Jeremy BujakowskiIndia

  Jeremy John Bujakowski, also known as Jarema Stanisław Bujakowski (March 30, 1939 – June 1, 2010), was a Polish–Indian alpine skier, and two-time representative of India at the Winter Olympics.

• Kishor RaiIndia

  Kishor Rahtna Rai (born 5 November 1964) is an Indian alpine skier. He competed in the men's slalom at the 1988 Winter Olympics. Rai was the flagbearer of India at the opening ceremony of the 1988 Winter Olympics.

• Lal ChuniIndia

  Chuni Lal Thakur (born 2 January 1971) is an Indian alpine skier. He competed in two events at the 1992 Winter Olympics. He hails from a small village called Palchan in Manali area in Kullu District.

• Nadeem IqbalIndia

  Nadeem Iqbal (born 3 April 1983) is an Indian cross-country skier and military officer. He was born in Rajouri a district in the Jammu division of Jammu and Kashmir in India. Iqbal competed for India at the 2014 Winter Olympics in the 15 kilometre classical race.

• Nanak ChandIndia

  Nanak Chand Thakur (born 20 March 1971) is an Indian alpine skier. He competed in two events at the 1992 Winter Olympics.

• Neha AhujaDelhi

  Neha Ahuja (born September 27, 1981) is an Indian former alpine skier who represented India in the 2006 Winter Olympics held in Torino, Italy. Ahuja was also the flag bearer in the opening and closing ceremonies. She has achieved several milestones in skiing for India.

• Shailaja KumarDelhi

  Shailaja Kumar (born 17 January 1967) is an Indian former alpine skier. She competed at the 1988 Winter Olympics. She is the first Indian woman to participate at the Winter Olympics.

• Tashi LundupLadakh

  Tashi Lundup (born 5 October 1984) is an Indian cross-country skier who has competed since 2005. He was born in Ladakh in India on 5 October 1984. He finished 83rd in the 15 km event at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Rules

Alpine skiing is a timed discipline: racers descend a marked course through pairs of gates, and the fastest time wins. Slalom uses closely spaced gates and short, quick turns; giant slalom uses wider gate spacing and higher speeds. Missing a gate or straddling it means disqualification, and slalom/GS titles are decided on the combined time of two runs on different course sets. Courses, gate spacing and safety equipment are governed by International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) rules, which also set the homologation standards a slope must meet to host sanctioned races. Nordic (cross-country) skiing instead races over set distances in classic or freestyle technique.

Authoritative rulebook: Winter Games Federation of India. Age-group and school-level variations are published by SGFI and the state associations each season.

Positions

Typical roles across winter sports. These are category-level descriptions, not a sourced skiing squad list.

• Alpine / cross-country / snowboard
  Timed and judged snow disciplines under FIS rules.
• Skating & ice hockey
  Speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey under ISU / IIHF.
• Sliding sports
  Bobsleigh, luge and skeleton contested on ice tracks.

Equipment

Standard kit and infrastructure required to train and compete in skiing at a federation-recognised event.

• Alpine skis with race bindings (separate slalom and giant-slalom pairs)
• Ski boots and poles (slalom poles with guards)
• FIS-approved helmet, plus chin guard and back protector for slalom/GS
• Race suit, gloves with hand guards, goggles and shin/arm protection
• Wax and tuning kit; cross-country skiers use lighter Nordic skis, boots and poles

Governing/organising body

Major Indian Events

Domestic competitions we hold a source for in skiing.

• National Skiing Championship

  Held annually at Auli, Uttarakhand — often called 'the Ski capital of India' — whose slope is the first in the country approved by the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS). The 2026 edition drew 17 state teams plus Army and ITBP contingents.

• Khelo India Winter Games

  A flagship government programme (6th edition, 2026) held across Leh/Ladakh (ice sports) and Gulmarg, J&K (snow sports including alpine skiing), drawing 1,200+ participants and contesting 136 medals in its most recent edition.

International Events

Continental and world-level competitions we hold a source for in skiing.

• Winter Olympics

  Arif Khan became a two-time Olympian (2022, 2026) in slalom and giant slalom, and became the first Indian to win gold at an international FIS event, in 2023. Gul Dev was the first Olympian from Jammu & Kashmir, competing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, and also represented India at the first-ever Asian Winter Games (1986, Sapporo).

• FIS World Championships

  Arif Khan has competed at six editions between 2013 and 2025.

Leagues

No dedicated professional league is currently catalogued for skiing. The national championship under Winter Games Federation of India remains the top domestic competition.

International Players

Globally recognised skiing athletes to know outside India.

The international federation for skiing maintains the current world ranking — check the federation site for the up-to-date top names.

Career Options

Ways to build a career in skiing — on the field, on the sidelines and behind the scenes.

• India's winter sports infrastructure faces a genuine, escalating threat from climate change: the Auli National Championship has been cancelled or postponed six times since 2014 due to insufficient snowfall, and the 2025 and 2026 Khelo India Winter Games in Gulmarg both had to be rescheduled for the same reason — prompting one training-institute founder to warn that 'winter sports in India will become extinct' if the pattern continues
• Despite this, a new generation is emerging from unlikely places: a junior skier from Bengaluru — a city with no snow at all — won two bronze medals in Alpine skiing at the 2026 Khelo India Winter Games, having trained at a racing centre in Italy
• Bhavani T N, India's most successful Nordic skier, also comes from a non-traditional winter-sports region — Coorg, Karnataka
• Playing pathway through Ski Snowboard India and state-level programmes; coaching and ski-resort infrastructure careers are growing in Auli, Gulmarg and Manali as winter tourism expands

• Indian Institute of Skiing & MountaineeringElite
  Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir · Since 1969

  India's only government winter-sports academy at 8,700 ft in Gulmarg.

FAQs

Common questions about skiing in India.

Skiing in every state & UT

Dedicated pages for Skiing in each Indian state and Union Territory — academies, schemes, athletes and how to start.

• Skiing in Andhra Pradesh
• Skiing in Arunachal Pradesh
• Skiing in Assam
• Skiing in Bihar
• Skiing in Chhattisgarh
• Skiing in Goa
• Skiing in Gujarat
• Skiing in Haryana
• Skiing in Himachal Pradesh
• Skiing in Jharkhand
• Skiing in Karnataka
• Skiing in Kerala
• Skiing in Madhya Pradesh
• Skiing in Maharashtra
• Skiing in Manipur
• Skiing in Meghalaya
• Skiing in Mizoram
• Skiing in Nagaland
• Skiing in Odisha
• Skiing in Punjab
• Skiing in Rajasthan
• Skiing in Sikkim
• Skiing in Tamil Nadu
• Skiing in Telangana
• Skiing in Tripura
• Skiing in Uttar Pradesh
• Skiing in Uttarakhand
• Skiing in West Bengal
• Skiing in Andaman & Nicobar Islands
• Skiing in Chandigarh
• Skiing in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu
• Skiing in Delhi
• Skiing in Jammu & Kashmir
• Skiing in Ladakh
• Skiing in Lakshadweep
• Skiing in Puducherry