Arif Mohammad Khan finishes 39th in men’s slalom event

Bormio (Italy), Feb 16: India’s top alpine skiier Arif Mohammad Khan finished 39th in the men’s slalom event after two combined runs in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games here on Monday.

Khan clocked a combined time of 2 minute 41.60 seconds to take the last spot among those who completed both the two runs at the Stelvio Ski Centre, to log India’s best-ever finish in men’s slalom event at the Winter Olympics.

He was 44th out of 96 competitors in run one with a time of 1:22.12 and 39th in run two with a time of 1:19.48, giving him a combined time of 2:41.60 for a 39th place finish.

Kishore Ratna Rai’s 49th-placed finish with a time of 2:52.21 at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary was the previous best among Indian men..

India’s best slalom finish at the Winter Olympics, however, belongs to Shailaja Kumar, who finished 28th after clocking 2:52.27 in the women’s event in Calgary 1988.

The 35-year-old Khan’s combined time was 47.99 more than the gold winner Loic Meillard of Switzerland, who clocked 1:53.61.

Fabio Gstrein of Austria finished second with a time of 1:53.96 while Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway took the bronze with 1:54.74.

Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who had made history by clinching the giant slalom even on Saturday as he became the first athlete from South America to win a medal at a Winter Olympics, failed in his bid to win another gold. His ski slipped out on a fast first run.

Slalom is a high-speed technical alpine skiing or snowboarding discipline where competitors race down a, slope, navigating a zigzag course marked by closely spaced, alternating, sets of poles or “gates”..

It is the fastest-turning event in alpine skiing, requiring quick, short turns to achieve the fastest combined time across two runs.

Failure to pass through any gate in Run 1 results in a DNF (Did Not Finish), which means the athlete cannot start the second run. Missing a gate or crashing off course in Run 2 also leads to a DNF, making the skier ineligible for a final classification.

Each competitor gets two runs, and the final rankings are based on the combined time from both attempts — the lower the total time, the better the result.

This was Arif Khan’s second Winter Olympics appearance.

At Beijing 2022, he had failed to finish in men’s slalom but finished 45th in giant slalom — also India’s best-ever finish in the event at the Winter Olympics.

Khan had turned to crowdfunding for the Winter Olympic participation.

India’s campaign also ended after Khan’s event.

Earlier, India’s Stanzin Lundup had finished 104th in the men’s 10km freestyle cross-country skiing event.