Kashmir gets ignited by alpine skier Arif Khan's glory

The first signs are already here -- there is an air of optimism among the youth who want to follow Arif's footsteps and bring glory to the country.

Arif Khan may not have won any medal at the Beijing Winter Olympics but he has lit the fire of imagination among the sportsmen, much as Neeraj Chopra did when he won India's first gold medal in athletics at the Tokyo Olympics.

By all measures, Arif Khan from the Tangmarg area of Baramulla district in Kashmir is not an ordinary sportsman.

He was the first-ever skier from India to have qualified for the Olympics in both slalom and giant slalom.

Though he stood 45th in the Beijing Winter Olympics, millions in India wished him good luck as he led the one-man Indian team, himself.

He was the only one from India to have qualified for the Olympics.

J&K's first-ever Olympian Gul Mustafa Dev who represented India in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada, is sure that Arif's rise will give a big boost to winter sport not only in Kashmir but across India.

On home turf, there is a flurry of activity among people and sportspersons.

The young, budding athletes see Arif's presence in Beijing Olympics as the 'Neeraj Chopra moment' for them, a beacon of hope and inspiration.

Like Arif, other Kashmiri athletes want to represent India in the world sports arena, especially the Olympics -- the pinnacle of sports.

Abhinav Bindra, the first Indian Olympic gold medallist before the opening ceremony, said, "From Kashmir to the Olympics! Really proud to see Arif Khan, the only athlete representing India at Beijing 2022 carry the tricolor high!"

Arif Khan's true contribution would be known when hundreds of Kashmiri young men and women would strive in their respective sports to hold the tricolor at the world's top sporting arena.