(a) whether it is a fact that only one person qualified for the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing 2022 from India;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons for such poor qualification of Indian sportspersons in Winter Olympics;
(c) the measures being taken by the Government to setup Winter Sports Federation in the country; and
(d) the measures being taken by the Government to improve Winter Sports?
THE MINISTER OF YOUTH AFFAIRS AND SPORTS
[SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR]
(a) Yes, Sir.
(b) Only one athlete from India, Shri Arif Mohammad Khan qualified for participation in the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing 2022 in Alpine Skiing. The participation of this athlete was on the basis of ‘Quota participation’ of International Ski Federation. Participation of individuals/teams in the Winter Olympic Games depends on achieving the qualifying standards by the individual athletes / teams belonging to the respective national federations. Further, Sports which are part of Winter Olympic are confined to very few Indian States such as Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh and also the winter sports being seasonal, very few athletes take up the winter sports.
(c) Promotion and development of specific sports disciplines is mainly the responsibility of the concerned National Sports Federations (NSFs). Government supplements the efforts of the recognised NSFs by providing financial assistance to them under the Scheme of Assistance to NSFs for holding national championships, conduct of international events in India, preparation and participation of Indian sportspersons / teams in international sporting events, equipment support, etc. The Government recognition is granted to the national level sports bodies, which makes them eligible for financial and other support from the Government. As and when any feasible proposal is received from national level federations, such proposals are considered as per the laid down procedure under the National Sports Development Code of India, 2011. At present, no NSF has been recognized for Winter Sports.
(d) With the objective of promotion and development of winter sports, the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports has organized Khelo India Winter Games at Gulmarg (Jammu & Kashmir). The first Khelo India Winter Games were held from 7-11 March 2020, which saw participation of 955 athletes in the disciplines of Snow Skiing, Snow Rugby, Snow Ice Stock, Snow Baseball, Snow Mountaineering, Snow Shoe, Ice Hockey. The second Khelo India Winter Games were held in the disciplines of Snow Ski, Ice Hockey, Ice Stock, Snow Shoe, Snow Ski Mountaineering, Ice Skating were held from 26th February to 2nd March, 2021 at Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir with 787 participants.