Cold play

In Turkey last year,Lundup,26,and Namgial,25,who had been accumulating qualification points with a string of good performances,finally had enough to book India a spot each in the cross-country and alpine skiing events for the Vancouver Games. Together with Shiva Keshavan,who will travel to his fourth Winter Olympics,they make up India’s challenge in Canada,where the Games start in the coming week. Lundup,the older,quieter of the two,has an international medal in his category in the 10km race,but for them the biggest stage holds more thrill than expectation.

Before 2002,the closest Lundup and Namgial had come to skiing even in their cold Himalayan villages,was upturning metal box lids and trying to balance both feet on them on frozen ponds and streams in the winter months. “It’s a childhood playtime activity in the village,” Namgial says. “Snow isn’t very frequent,but we get a lot of frozen,ice-covered water bodies and kids love to slide down those.”

In 2002,both — having joined the Army recently as sepoys — were asked to report to a sports camp meant to get a bunch of new recruits to train as skiers. They showed natural skill,got noticed early and quickly moved to representing the Army in national tournaments. Staying and travelling together,they found acquaintances common to each other to talk about,but they had never expected to find themselves taking off to the Big O.

Unusual choice

With a lama and a post-office worker for older brothers,Lundup had not found much encouragement from his farmer father to move out of the house at 17 years of age. Staying in the family village of Achinathang,near Leh,was the more preferred option. “I was done with school,and my friends insisted I come along,so I went and got enlisted,” Lundup says. Once there,Lundup found there was much he could do with ready facilities and opportunity. He had only played a bit of volleyball before,but the prospect of training as a sportsperson appealed. “He had worked in the field,and just seemed to have natural stamina too,” Namgial pitches in as his friend breaks the conversation thread.

The 2002 camp was the determining factor. Lundup is now a permanent resident of the High Altitude Warfare School (HAWS) in Gulmarg,which is the Army’s nodal centre for mountain and snow warfare,but where Lundup says,he is part of a select bunch who practice and train for their chosen alpine sport. The coaches thought his natural stamina suited the cross-country version,and so his specialisation was picked. He now has a boxful of national-level medals — the first coming in March 2003,just four months after he started skiing. The latest was a gold at the National Winter Games in Gulmarg last year that qualified him to take the spot at the Vancouver Games for the country.

“I hadn’t really gone out much before that,but joining the Army was good for me because I got a lot of chances,plus it meant steady money back home,” Lundup says. His skills on snow got him an early promotion too — he was elevated to the post of havaldar just two years into his job,a task that usually takes at least 10. His oldest daughter,five,is already in school,but the travails of travelling do show up: Lundup takes a moment to recall his youngest daughter’s name. “We stay out too much!” he says.

In 2007,he got himself his only international medal when he finished third at the FIS race in Iran. “That was the kind of thing that makes you believe in yourself. Competing at the world level takes a lot of will too,” Lundup says. He will be part of a similar big stage in Vancouver,but there is one small thing that Lundup says he is specially looking forward to — seeing Lukas Bauer in the flesh. The Czech Republic’s Bauer became the first man to win two Tour de Ski titles just last month. “When we go abroad for competitions,we see people like Bauer and Norway’s Petter Northug on television. It will be nice to see them in action,” Lundup says. “They are like Sachin Tendulkar,” Namgial elaborates,“when they move across the venue,there are always people looking at them.”

A new beginning

The ebullient Namgial was at a loss of wits when he made his way to the Army,also on the insistence of friends. “I had won myself a scholarship to the Vishesh Kendriya Vidyalaya in Ghaziabad in Class VII. But after Class X,most of my friends left,so I didn’t want to stay there any more. I made my way to Jammu to look for something to do,” he says. But that was short-lived,mother’s orders were to come back home — to the village of Saboo near Leh — right away.

Once there,he,too,was whisked along in the group of friends enlisting in the Army. There,at the same camp in Gulmarg in 2002,Namgial was found capable of skiing between sets of poles,or gates,and India’s next alpine skier was born. He is also part of the HAWS now.

The strict rigours of the Army help in his sport,but every little chance he gets,Namgial likes to indulge himself by stealing a peek at the latest Hindi movie. “I really liked 3 Idiots,” he says of the latest hit. “But they deleted so many portions they had shot in my village,that was disappointing,” Namgial says. His younger brother,who quit the Army because it was “too disciplined for him” now works as a taxi driver in Leh,an older brother is employed with the district treasury,and his mother,a handicrafts artist,and grandmother,have begun talking about his marriage. “I tell them,‘there is a lot to do right now.’”

Back recently from a three-month pre-Olympic training stint in Italy,Namgial also has ‘horror’ tales of food mishaps to tell from his travels. “I can’t eat beef and you get beef in everything in Europe. Taking out meat pieces from the soup on a shared dining table is not a great idea!” There was also the experience with ‘cat meat’ sandwich while returning from the Asian Winter Games in China. “I scare my friends by saying I have to live on snakes and insects when I go abroad,” Namgial laughs.

Off the dinner plate,the biggest challenge in his sport,he says,is getting used to different tracks. “The difficulty levels vary drastically,and you really need to race on a lot of tracks and get used to the differences,” he says. Still,Vancouver calls,an achievement Namgial says was noted in Leh on the local radio,but one that he hopes helps in getting snow sports the necessary popularity in the country. “Sometimes I think I could’ve studied further,I would’ve liked to,” Namgial says,“but this isn’t too bad either you know.”

Forced stopover

The Winter Games Federation of India office was forced into the premises of a publishing house in Darya Ganj,when the earlier one caught fire last month. The passports of the two were luckily at the house of one of the officials. The good luck,and that brand new equipment the sports ministry helped them get just about 15 days ago,the two hope,will help them get a ride they’re proud of on the cottony slopes of Vancouver.

‘It’s great when you have a team to count on,rather than being the only one’

Despite having won an Asian championship silver at the end of last year,the scheduled run-up to his fourth Winter Olympic Games didn’t quite go as planned for Shiva Keshavan,with the luge rider missing out on all the tournaments he had lined up before Vancouver because of a stress fracture in his back. India’s best bet in the Games,however,is healed and rested,and with a one-week stint in France,also track-ready again. He talks about the injury,his preparations and the comfort of not being a solo participant in a big event. Excerpts:

How has the run-up to the Vancouver Games panned out for you?

My preparations had a bit of a setback because of the stress fracture in a vertebra right after I returned to Delhi post the Asian championships. I had to take three weeks off,including one week of physiotherapy. It meant that I missed out on all the tournaments I had lined up,including the World Cups,but I’m fine now. I have spent a week in France on the field with my coach and I feel confident.

How did you get the injury? Are there any lingering effects?

It was because of accumulated pressure,I think. I don’t travel with a physiotherapist so I didn’t realise it in time. But I got it checked in December when I was in Delhi and was told that I would have to take immediate rest. There is no discomfort at the moment.

Does the lack of track time make you nervous before the big Games then?

It is an unfortunate thing,obviously,but I think I had had sufficient competition time through the season prior to it. I had had enough runs. The week in France was productive as I got time with my coach and we got the chance to try out some small changes in terms of angles. I’ll also have five days of practice in Vancouver. Plus,my last race was at the Asian meet,so I just have to stick to the positive feeling from there. I’m ready to go.

Have you raced at the Olympic venue before?

This is a new track,so there hasn’t been a race here yet. But we were all given some time in November on the track and that helped. The good thing is that for everyone in the world,except of course the Canadians,it will be new. But this is one of the fastest tracks in the world,so the reaction times will have to be top-notch.

What will be the key at the Games?

In an Olympics,it is extremely important to be consistent. In a world championship there are just two heats,but here there are four. Even one mistake in any of them can cost you.

How does it help to go as part of a contingent,even if small,rather than the only competitor from the country?

It’s great because you have a team to count on. When you’re moving around in the Games Village,you do it as a team. There is the familiarity of language too,it’s much more comfortable.

Have you been speaking to Tashi and Namgial,giving them tips as the experienced one?

I haven’t met them yet,but we have common friends. My event is the first,on the 13th and the 14th,so I’ll have the chance to give them time and inputs. They will be nervous,but I’m sure my experience will help.

Are you looking forward to the opening ceremony,being the most senior member of the squad?

My federation chief has recommended my name to be the flag-bearer,but I haven’t yet received a word. Let’s see how it works out.

Curated For You

As Dhurandhar surpasses Jawan, Pathaan, Akshaye Khanna has scored a box office feat only achieved by Shah Rukh Khan

Dhurandhar Movie Box Office Collection Day 25 Update: Ranveer Singh film earns Rs 741.9 cr; is highest grossing Hindi film in India

Shashi Kapoor, wife Jennifer woke up on their wedding night to find 2 strangers in the room, recalls son Kunal: ‘Prithviraj Kapoor’s home was a hostel’