Facing an uphill task, Indian cross-country skier fights to qualify for 2026 Games

Most of Bhavani Thekkada's competitors grew up on skis. She grew up on a coffee farm — in southern India.

So as a cross-country skier, she's a little behind.

Thekkada has been hitting European tracks in recent weeks trying to keep her Olympic dream alive. She's a long shot to qualify for the Milano-Cortina Winter Games, but she's reaching some other goals along the way.

"I will be really grateful and happy if even one person out there in India is inspired by my journey and wants to do skiing, which already people are — I've been getting a lot of messages," the 30-year-old Thekkada told reporters.

Thekkada is chronicling her journey on social media and making headlines back home.

Her bronze medal in a five-kilometer race in Chile in September, even though just a handful of athletes competed, was hailed as India's first international medal in women's cross-country skiing.

Last month's 10-kilometer World Cup race in Finland was a harsh reality check.

In an elite field, Thekkada finished last among 81 athletes, more than 16 minutes behind the winner, Frida Karlsson of Sweden. United States star Jessie Diggins finished fifth.

"The top 80 girls who were competing with me had a whole team with them. They had coaches, they had wax technicians, they had managers," said Thekkada, who has won several national titles in India.

"I was standing there with a few years of skiing (experience) and a couple of hours of training with some coaches."

Being an Olympic qualification season, eligibility is flexible enough that Thekkada could get on the start line. The goal is not beating opponents — rather it's closing the time gap to improve her score.

"I may not be the best in the world, but I'm really trying to be there," she said.

"I might be a couple of minutes behind the top athletes, but then I'm also a couple of years behind (in the) training they've had."

Thekkada had a similar result at last weekend's 10-kilometer World Cup race in Trondheim, Norway, which leaves the upcoming event in Davos, Switzerland, as her last chance to unlock an Olympic quota spot for India.

Largely self-funded, Thekkada operates mostly independently, so she was grateful when several national teams lent a hand in Trondheim. The Canadians and Chileans helped with waxing and training, and the Italians transported her equipment, she said.

And during the race, she heard from Diggins.

"Jessie was out there cheering the loudest for me during the race. It really meant a lot to me," Thekkada said in an update on Instagram.

Her home country is starting to take notice, too. Besides media coverage in India, a member of Parliament from her Karnataka region, Tejasvi Surya, wrote on X: "Her feats make her an inspiration for the young generation."

Thekkada has used her growing public profile to nudge Indian leaders. After her podium finish in Chile, she wrote on X: "I hope at least now the government starts noticing (and) supporting the winter sports athletes," and tagged Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Alpine skier Arif Khan was the only Indian to compete at the 2022 Beijing Games.

Only two Indian women — Shailaja Kumar and Neha Ahuja — have competed at the Winter Games, according to the Olympics' website.

Thekkada didn't see snow until she was 20.

She had become interested in mountaineering "after watching some Bollywood movies," she said. As a mountaineering instructor in the Himalayas, she also picked up Alpine skiing.

And then she watched the 2018 Pyeongchang Games, where Marit Bjoergen became the most-decorated Winter Olympian.

The Norway great had given birth a couple of years before.

"Her journey fascinated me," Thekkada said.

"I've seen in the Indian community that 'women can't do that. Once you have a baby, once you are 30-plus, you can't do this.' It really motivated me so much."

After Milano-Cortina there's the 2030 French Alps Olympics.

"If not this year," Thekkada said, "then I want to push for the next four years."

Agencies Via Xinhua