Gulmarg: The first time Renu Danu saw snow, she did not rush to play in it. She stood quietly on the slopes of Gulmarg, watching skiers carve through the frozen landscape, absorbing a world completely unfamiliar to her. She was 24 then — a constable in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from Haldwani in Uttarakhand, a town where winters are cold but never white.
Two years later, at 26, she stood on the podium at the Khelo India Winter Games 2026 with three silver medals around her neck — a remarkable achievement for an athlete who had only recently discovered winter sports.
Danu secured silver medals in the women’s Nordic 15-km race, the Nordic 1.5-km sprint and the ski mountaineering relay, marking one of the most inspiring performances of the Games.
Her journey to the snowfields was unlikely. Her father is a truck driver, her mother a homemaker, one brother serves in the Air Force and another runs a business. Sports existed in her childhood, but only in the form of running races and playing kabaddi on dusty grounds. Winter sports were unheard of.
“They know cricket, football and volleyball,” Danu said with a smile. “They don’t really understand Nordic skiing or ski mountaineering. They just watch my videos.”
In 2021, she joined the CRPF as a constable (General Duty), seeking stability and employment. Her life changed in 2024 when she was posted to Srinagar. Exposure to the mountains of Kashmir — and particularly Gulmarg — introduced her to winter sports.
She trained for barely a month before competing in the Khelo India Winter Games 2024. She did not win and finished far behind experienced skiers, but completing the race itself became a turning point.
“I was new and didn’t know the techniques, but I finished,” she said.
The next year brought rapid progress. In 2025 she finished fourth in a Nordic event and won silver in the ski mountaineering relay. She also clinched gold at the National Winter Biathlon Championship in Gulmarg, combining endurance racing with precision shooting.
Training at the Army’s High Altitude Warfare School and guidance from Olympian coach Nadeem Iqbal, along with CRPF coach K. Shukla and team manager Magesh K, helped refine her technique and confidence.
“When she joined, she knew nothing about winter sports, but she worked harder than anyone,” Shukla said, expressing confidence in her future prospects at international competitions.
Despite her success, Danu pointed to the limitations athletes face in India’s winter sports ecosystem, noting that training opportunities are largely restricted to only a couple of months each year.
“Imagine if we could train throughout the year — with artificial snow tracks and better gym facilities,” she said, adding that her ambitions now include FIS competitions, World Championships and eventually the Olympics.
Her story is striking not because she began young, but because she began late. In just two years, she went from never seeing snow to becoming a national-level medallist.
“Some girls think winter sports need too much endurance,” she said. “But if I can do this, anyone can.”
For Danu, the three silver medals represent more than podium finishes — they mark a transformation. From a transporter’s daughter in Haldwani to a winter athlete in Gulmarg, she has carved a place for herself in India’s growing winter sports narrative — and believes her journey has only just begun.
