| India at the 2014 Winter Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC code | IND |
| NOC | Indian Olympic Association |
| Website | olympic |
| inSochi,Russia 7–23 February 2014 | |
| Competitors | 2 (2 men) in 2 sports |
| Flag bearer (opening) | Did not participate |
| Flag bearer (closing) | Himanshu Thakur[1] |
| Medals |
|
| Winter Olympics appearances (overview) | |
| Other related appearances | |
 Independent Olympic Participants (2014) | |
Three athletes fromIndia qualified for the2014 Winter Olympics inSochi, Russia, held between 7 and 23 February 2014. The country's participation in Sochi marked its ninth appearance at the Winter Olympics since its debut in1964.[a]
While three Indians qualified for the games, they entered the competition asIndependent Olympic Participants due to the suspension of theIndian Olympic Association since 2012. AfterShiva Keshavan had participated in theluge event on 11 February 2014, theInternational Olympic Committee reinstated India'sNational Olympic Committee (NOC). This allowed the other two athletes,Himanshu Thakur andNadeem Iqbal, who still had their respective events to compete under the Indian flag.
As participation under the Indian flag was not approved initially, there was no official flag-bearer during theopening ceremony. Thakur served as the flag-bearer during theclosing ceremony. India did not win a medal, and as of these Games, India had not earned a Winter Olympic medal.
TheIndian Olympic Association was recognized by theInternational Olympic Committee in 1927.[9] However, by this time, they had already competed in threeSummer Olympic Games, in1900,1920, and1924. The nation made its first Winter Olympics appearance until the1964 Winter Olympics held inInnsbruck, Austria.[a][4] This edition of the Games marked the nation's ninth appearance at theWinter Olympics.[10][11]
TheIndian Olympic Association (IOA) was suspended by theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC) due to government interference in the autonomy of the country'sNational Olympic Committee (NOC) in December 2012.[12] It was announced on 31 December 2013 that India would be competing under theOlympic flag in Sochi.[13]Shiva Keshavan had traveled toSochi independently and the skiing team consisting of athletesHimanshu Thakur, andNadeem Iqbal and three coaches traveled fromDelhi to Sochi on 5 February 2014.[14] As participation under the Indian flag was not approved, there was no official flag-bearer during theopening ceremony.[15]
Elections for the Indian Olympic Association were scheduled two days after theopening ceremony, which was the major condition for the suspension to be lifted.[16] TheInternational Olympic Committee eventually reinstated the Indian Olympic Association on 11 February after the election of a new board headed byNarayana Ramachandran, the president of theWorld Squash Federation, who was voted in as its new president.[17] By then, Keshavan had already participated in theluge event on 11 February 2014 as anIndependent Olympic Participant.[18]
The other two athletesHimanshu Thakur andNadeem Iqbal, who still had pending events were able to compete under the Indian flag.[19][20] On 16 February 2014, theIndian flag was hoisted in the Games village by the newly IOA president in the presence of IOC officials and the Indian delegation.[19] Thakur served as the flag-bearer during theclosing ceremony.[21]
| Sport | Men | Women | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine skiing | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Cross-country skiing | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Luge | 1[b] | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 2 | 0 | 2 |
The basic qualification mark forslalom andgiant slalom events stipulated an average of less than 140 points in the list published by theInternational Ski Federation (FIS) as of 19 January 2014 for competitors ranked outside the top 100. The quotas were allocated further based on athletes satisfying other criteria, with a maximum of 22 athletes (maximum of 14 male or 14 female athletes) from a single participating NOC with not more than four participants in a single event.[22] As per the final quota allocation released on 20 January 2014,[23] In December 2013, Indianalpine skiers Himanshu Thakur andHira Lal achieved the basic qualification mark for the giant slalom event.[24][25]
Despite two athletes achieving the qualification standard, India was allocated only one quota place based on the allocation criteria.[26] Though Lal had prior experience having participated in the2006 Turin Olympics, Thakur was selected for the event on account of his better performances in the recent events.[27] The 20-year old Thakur hailed fromManali in theIndian stateHimachal Pradesh and is a younger cousin of Lal.[28]
Thakur was initially slated to compete as an Independent athlete at the games.[29] But after the reinstatement of the Indian Olympic Committee on 11 February 2014, he received the necessary funding and equipment from theGovernment of India two days later, less than a week before the main event.[30] The giant slalom event was held on 19 February 2014 at theRosa Khutor Alpine Resort and marked Thakur's first and only appearance at the Winter Olympic Games.[31] Thakur completed his first run in 1:47.86 to rank 71st. He took slightly longer to complete the course in the second run at 1:49.69 to be ranked 72nd among the competition.[32] With a combined time of 3:37.55, he finished 72nd and last amongst the classified finishers in the overall classification.[32][33][34]
| Athlete | Event | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Himanshu Thakur | Men's giant slalom | 1:47.86 | 71 | 1:49.69 | 72 | 3:37.55 | 72 |
As per the "A" standard, athletes with a maximum of 100 distance points were allowed to compete in both the sprint and distance events. Athletes with a maximum of 120 sprint points were allowed to compete in the sprint event. They were also allowed to compete in the distance event provided that their distance points did not exceed 300. NOCs which did not have any athlete meeting the "A" standard were allowed to enter one competitor of each sex (known as the basic quota) in the sprint event or the distance event provided that they satisfied the "B" standard of having a maximum of 300 distance points at the end of qualifying on 20 January 2014. A maximum of 20 athletes (maximum of 12 male or 12 female athletes) from a single participating NOC were allowed to compete and the remaining quotas were allocated further to athletes satisfying the "B" standard criteria from other NOCs.[35]
Indian skier Nadeem Iqbal achieved the basic qualification mark to participate in theMen's 15 km classical distance event at the Nordic qualifying ski event held at France and Italy in November–December.[36][37] As per the final quota allocation released on 20 January 2014, India was allocated one place for the distance event under the basic quota.[23][38] Iqbal hailed fromGulmarg in the Indian state ofJammu and Kashmir.[28] He is the first athlete representing theIndian Army from the state to qualify for the Winter Olympic Games.[39][40]
Iqbal was initially slated to compete as an Independent athlete at the games.[29] But after the reinstatement of the Indian Olympic Committee on 11 February 2014, he received clearance to compete under the Indian flag the day before the main event.[19] The main event was held on 14 February 2014 at theLaura Biathlon & Ski Complex and marked Iqbal's first and only participation in the Winter Olympic Games.[41] Iqbal completed the 15 km (9.3 mi) course in 55:12.5.[42][43] He finished the race in 85th position (out of 87 competitors who completed the race), nearly 17 minutes behind the winnerDario Cologna ofSwitzerland.[19][42][44]
| Athlete | Event | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Deficit | Rank | ||
| Nadeem Iqbal | Men's 15 km classical | 55:12.5 | +16:42.8 | 85 |
As per the qualification criteria, a maximum of 38 men were eligible for qualification. The qualification was based on the cumulative world ranking points from 1 November to 31 December 2013. The top ranked 30 athletes qualified directly and eight athletes were later added with first preference given to qualified relay teams who did not qualify individuals in all three disciplines followed by athletes from NOCs that met the minimum standards and who had not already qualified any athlete.[45] India got one of the additional quota spots, as no nations were able to use them to complete a relay.[46] Shiva Keshavan was the only Indian to qualify for the event.[47] Keshavan had represented India since 1997 and was the youngest ever men's luge competitor at the1998 Nagano Olympics, where he finished 28th. He was also the sole Indian athlete to compete at the2002 Winter Olympics and further represented India in the2006 and2010 Games.[28]
In the main event, Keshavan competed as anIndependent Olympic Participant due to the suspension of the Indian NOC.[47] This was Kesavan's fifth consecutive appearance at the Winter Olympic Games since he made his debut at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.[48][18]
The event was held on 11 February 2014 at theSliding Center Sanki.[49]In his first run, Keshavan clocked a time of 53.905, finishing 1.735 behind the leaderAlbert Demchenko. In the second run, he clocked 55.203 to be ranked next to last amongst the 39 participants. In the penultimate run, he completed the circuit with a slightly better time of 54.706 to be ranked 37th. He had his best run in the final attempt, finishing 34th with a time of 53.335.[49] Keshavan clocked a total time of 3:37.149 and was classified in the 37th position out of the 39 athletes, marking his worst ever performance at the Winter Olympic Games.[18][50]
| Athlete | Event | Run 1 | Run 2 | Run 3 | Run 4 | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | Time | Rank | ||
| Shiva Keshavan | Men's singles | 53.905 | 35 | 55.203 | 38 | 54.706 | 37 | 53.335 | 34 | 3:37.149 | 37 |
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