Bhavani Thekkada grew up on a coffee farm in Karnataka and didn’t encounter snow until she was 20. Now 30, the cross-country skier is striving to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics, despite being a long shot. At a recent 10-kilometer World Cup race in Finland, she finished in last place among 81 competitors. “I may not be the best in the world but I’m really trying to be there,” she told the Associated Press. “I might be a couple of minutes behind the top athletes, but then I’m also a couple of years behind (in the) training they’ve had.”
If she doesn’t qualify for Milano Cortina 2026, she plans to set her sights on the 2030 French Alps Olympics. “If not this year,” Thekkada said, “then I want to push for the next four years.”
Along the way, she hopes to serve as an inspiration to other Indians. “I will be really grateful and happy if even one person out there in India is inspired by my journey and wants to do skiing, which already people are—I’ve been getting a lot of messages,” she said.