Gulmarg (J&K), Feb 23 : The three athletes in focus, Sahil Thakur, Syed Zain, and Faizan Ahmad Lone, have a single mentor and a single dream. What binds them together is not geography.

On a wind-carved ridge above Gulmarg, where the snow gleams with the promise of ambition, these three young Indian alpine skiers are carving more than lines into ice. They are carving a future.

Manaliâ??s towering slopes and Kashmirâ??s powder fields could not be more distinct, but a shared lineage of belief was shaped under the watchful eye of Mohammad Arif Khan, the trailblazer who became the first Indian to represent the country twice at the Winter Olympics.

Under Khanâ??s guidance, the trio recently trained in Italyâ??s Sudtirol region, absorbing the technical rigour and competitive mindset that define Europeâ??s alpine elite.

For 19-year-old Sahil Thakur, skiing is an inheritance and instinct. Raised in Manali in a family where snow is both playground and profession, his father Devi Chand and brothers Rajneesh and Rahul, all skiers, Sahil speaks of Italy with reverence.

â??When I returned, I could feel the difference,â?? says Sahil. â??The coaching, the attention to technique, it changes how you see the mountain.â??

A national gold and silver medallist and a competitor at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Gangwon, South Korea, Sahil now fixes his gaze on a singular horizon: the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps. His ambition is not tentative; it is inevitable.

If Sahilâ??s journey was written in his bloodline, Syed Zainâ??s was carved from aspiration. Raised in Humhama, on Srinagarâ??s outskirts, Zain, 16, grew up far from the European epicentres of Alpine skiing. Yet his rise has been emphatic, two gold medals in Slalom and Giant Slalom at the inaugural Khelo India Winter Games (KIWG) in 2020, followed by two silver medals at the Junior Nationals in 2022.

â??Skiing is a European sport,â?? Zain said. â??But Olympians like Arif Khan showed us it can belong to India too.â??

His foundation was laid at the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering (IISM) in Gulmarg, refined by Khanâ??s mentorship, and strengthened alongside 35 to 40 Indian athletes during the Italy training programme.

Zain also credits six-time Olympian Shiva Keshavan, whose legacy continues to anchor Indiaâ??s winter sports ecosystem.

Faizan Ahmad Loneâ??s story is one of perseverance sharpened by opportunity.

A five-time national gold medallist and four-time Khelo India champion, the 19-year-old Faizanâ??s ascent has been powered not only by talent but by crucial support.

â??Skiing is expensive,â?? he says. â??Arif didnâ??t just coach me, he helped me secure sponsorship. That allowed me to compete internationally.â??

Faizan has since represented India at the 2025 Winter Asian Games in Harbin, China, and competed in FIS races across Dubai and Kazakhstan - each race another step in Indiaâ??s slow but steady climb toward alpine relevance.

Yet beyond medals, training camps, and Olympic dreams, there is a quieter symbol of their shared journey.

Each of their helmets bears the signature of Federica Brignone, the Italian Olympic champion and one of Alpine skiingâ??s modern greats. It is ink on plastic, but it carries the weight of possibility.

â??Her signature reminds us why we do this,â?? they say. â??It keeps us focused. It keeps us dreaming.â??

On Gulmargâ??s slopes, where cold air sharpens resolve, and every descent demands courage, Sahil, Zain, and Faizan are no longer just athletes in training. They are standard-bearers of a nation still learning to believe in winter. And somewhere between gravity and glory, they are finding their way down the mountain and toward history.

/IANS