India’s leading alpine skier Arif Khan delivered a historic performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Monday, finishing 39th in the men’s slalom event after two combined runs at the Stelvio Ski Centre.
In doing so, the 35-year-old recorded India’s best-ever result in the men’s slalom discipline at the Winter Games.
Khan clocked a total time of 2 minutes 41.60 seconds across two runs, securing the final position among athletes who successfully completed both legs of the technically demanding event. While the result may not immediately stand out on a medal table, within the context of Indian winter sports, it marks a significant benchmark.
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In a field of 96 competitors, Khan placed 44th in the first run with a time of 1:22.12. He improved his standing in the second run, finishing 39th with a sharper 1:19.48. The combined time of 2:41.60 lifted him to 39th overall a steady climb that reflected composure and technical discipline on one of alpine skiing’s most challenging stages.
The previous best finish by an Indian man in Olympic slalom belonged to Kishore Ratna Rai, who finished 49th at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary with a time of 2:52.21. Khan’s result not only surpasses that mark but also underscores the incremental progress Indian athletes are making in winter disciplines historically dominated by European powerhouses.
India’s overall best slalom finish at the Winter Olympics remains Shailaja Kumar’s 28th place in the women’s event at Calgary 1988, where she clocked 2:52.27. Khan’s effort now stands as the strongest men’s equivalent performance in the discipline.
At the sharp end of the competition, Switzerland’s Loïc Meillard clinched gold with a blistering combined time of 1:53.61 nearly 48 seconds faster than Khan. Austria’s Fabio Gstrein took silver in 1:53.96, while Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen secured bronze with 1:54.74.
The gap between medal contenders and developing ski nations like India remains substantial, but context is critical. Alpine skiing infrastructure, training ecosystems, and competitive exposure differ vastly across nations. For an Indian athlete competing without the depth of systemic backing available in Europe, completing both runs cleanly on Olympic terrain is itself an achievement of note.
Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, fresh from creating history by winning giant slalom gold and becoming the first South American athlete to medal in a Winter Olympics alpine event, failed to finish the slalom after slipping out in a high-speed first run. His exit was a reminder of slalom’s unforgiving nature.
Slalom is regarded as one of the most technically exacting disciplines in alpine skiing. Athletes navigate a steep, icy course marked by tightly spaced gates that demand rapid, precise turns. It is the fastest-turning event in alpine skiing, requiring explosive lower-body control, edge precision, and split-second decision-making.
Each competitor gets two runs down the course, and final standings are determined by the aggregate time. A single mistake a missed gate, a slip, or an over-rotation can end a campaign instantly. Many top athletes failed to complete both runs, making Khan’s clean execution across two attempts a demonstration of discipline and race management.
A Second Olympic Chapter
The Milan Cortina Games marked Khan’s second Winter Olympic appearance. At the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, he did not finish the slalom event but managed a 45th-place finish in the giant slalom also India’s best-ever result in that discipline at the time.
His journey to the Games has not been conventional. Without a robust winter sports ecosystem at home, Khan has relied on personal determination, overseas training stints, and even crowdfunding initiatives to sustain his Olympic ambitions. That makes his latest result not just a sporting statistic, but a testament to resilience.
India’s Winter Campaign Concludes
Khan’s race also brought India’s campaign at the 2026 Winter Olympics to a close. Earlier, Stanzin Lundup had finished 104th in the men’s 10km freestyle cross-country skiing event. While India remains a peripheral presence in winter sport medal tallies, performances like Khan’s suggest incremental movement. In disciplines where participation itself is a structural challenge, finishing among the top 40 globally carries weight.
For Indian winter sport, the story is not yet about podiums. It is about presence, progression, and pushing historical benchmarks forward. On Monday in Milan Cortina, Arif Mohammad Khan did precisely that.
