Aanchal Thakur is an Indian female alpine skier. She represented India at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics that took place in Innsbruck. In the 2012 Youth Winter Olympics she took part in the Alpine skiing – Girl’s Slalom and Girl’s Giant slalom events. She became the first Indian skier to win a medal in an international skiing event in 2018.
Women Fitness gets in a candid chat with Aanchal Thakur as she talks about sportsmen hardships, fitness and her journey.
Namita Nayyar:
You became the first Indian skier to win a medal in an international skiing event in 2018. Share the journey that inspired you to follow this sport and become a role model.
Aanchal Thakur
I think my journey has been very challenging yet very fulfilling, since when I started with the sport not a lot of people knew about it, I remember training very hard for the sport in summer and waiting for snow to come so that I could practice it. I put my heart and soul into the sport. My forever inspiration has to be my father who used to educate people about the sport, he used to go to schools to make people know about it. So looking up at him I gave my best for the sport.
FULL INTERVIEW ON THE NEXT PAGE!
This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar, President of womenfitness.org, and should not be reproduced, copied, or hosted in part or full anywhere without express permission.
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Namita Nayyar:
You won the bronze medal. How tough was the competition? Also, how did it feel to stand up for India?
Aanchal Thakur
The race of 2018 was kind of tricky and tough take since the poles that were placed were in a complicated way and many competitors along with me could not finish the race, it was even tougher for me since a day prior to it I had injured my arm and it pained a lot even during the race, but the zeal to finish the race and get the international Bronze medal for the country was utmost important to me and I was so overjoyed when I completed the race and got the medal.
Namita Nayyar:
What excited you to pursue this sport? What challenges you faced along the way and how did you overcome them?
Aanchal Thakur
Well, to answer your question I have always said that to me skiing is like meditation, when the wind is blowing across my face nothing is more therapeutically for me, along with that the adrenalin rush one gets on skiing across mountains and reaching the top it again is very peaceful for me.
When it comes to challenges the main challenge is to lack of infrastructure in our country which causes a lot of delays, also there is more benefit given to summer athletes as compared to winter ones so I feel if our resorts get a little better equipped it would be really beneficial for us but this is something I learned at very beginning of my career is to not depend on these factors for my sport I have to work my way up on my own hard work
Namita Nayyar
You won four silver medals at the UAE Alpine Slalom Championships held in Dubai in 2022 and became the first Indian skier to win a silver medal in international skiing. Congratulation! Share the key elements according to you to be successful.
Aanchal Thakur
I feel as I mentioned previously as well that zeal and passion for the sport are very important, you have to put in your heart and soul and not get excuses to not achieve something rather be assured to work day and night irrespective of your shortcomings to achieve your goal being
Secondly, I feel there can be times when people can come and tell you why are you doing so much for a sport rather than getting a real job and putting your hard work into it I would suggest not getting demotivated by such people and being assured to follow what your heart wants to.
Lastly consistency and motivation and two important things to keep in mind and never let that fire in you to achieve what you want to go away.
Namita Nayyar:
What is your daily fitness routine? How do you start your day?
Aanchal Thakur
When we are training we get up really early generally in the dark and go for practice since the weather conditions are harsh you get to challenge yourself the maximum and hence get to challenging practice. Besides that we train according to our upcoming competitions and tournaments, also as skiers, we emphasize a lot on stretching since that is very important to avoid any kind of injury during the course of the tournament.
Namita Nayyar
What is your offbeat training routine when not competing?
Aanchal Thakur
The offbeat training usually happens in summer when I am not skiing I try to practice a lot by doing inline skating on the roads early in the morning along with putting cones or obstacles to uplift my level of training along with that I do exclusive training that includes running uphill along with taking breaks in between. Besides that, I do cycle a lot including 50-60 km at 3000m altitude so that is again challenging and helps me focus on my thigh and calve muscles. This training helps me prepare for the winter season.
Namita Nayyar
Diet and nutrition are key elements for optimum fitness. What kind of diet do you follow to combat the stress and strain of the sport you pursue?
Aanchal Thakur
Diet and nutrition play a very important role in an athlete’s life we need to have a heavy body built in order to ace skiing, but again you can’t have a lot of fat, I generally intake a lot of protein to build my muscle mass, along with that during the course of our race I keep with me protein bars in case of I lose breath and get tired easily. The plus point is I am not a fan of junk food so I prefer home-cooked food and that really helps.
Namita Nayyar
Share an insight about your marriage. How do your husband and family support you to pursue your goal?
Aanchal Thakur
My husband is in the merchant navy but by passion, he is a footballer, so being a sports person himself he really understands the life of a sportsperson and that is really beneficial for me, that my in-laws are really supportive and guide me on my diet and more.
My husband goes with me for cycling and hiking it is great that we share common areas of interest.
Namita Nayyar
Message for your family, friends & followers.
Aanchal Thakur
I feel really grateful to have family who support me and follow all my races, very happy to have friends who have been there during my downfall and also during my wins, and of course, the followers who are like family now so grateful for each one of them who has been there to support me.
Namita Nayyar
Motivational quote you live by
Aanchal Thakur
My favorite motivational quote has to be “ Adventure is within you and not outside you” That’s the quote that I live by.
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This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar, President of Women Fitness