New Delhi, India, January 21, 2025: Indian skater Shruti Kotwal has set her sights on the Asian Winter Games in Harbin, China, next month as a platform to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy.
Kotwal, who is training in the United States, will be leading India’s 41-strong athlete contingent at the Harbin Games from February 7-14.
Kotwal said the Asian Winter Games would be a big opportunity to test herself against the best skaters in the world.
“I’m focusing on the 500m and 1000m events for Olympic qualification. The timing requirements are incredibly challenging – sub-40 seconds for the 500m and under 1:20 for the 1000m.
"My Indian national record is 41.97 seconds and I need to skate under 40 seconds to qualify,” Kotwal was quoted by Indian media.
This will be Kotwal’s second appearance at the Asian Winter Games after 2017, when the Asian showpiece was held in Sapporo, Japan.
“Countries like South Korea, Japan and China consistently produce strong skaters who are technically and physically exceptional. I’ve faced some of these competitors in previous events and understand their strengths. It’s a tough field,” said the 33-year-old speed skater from Pune.
Several Indian speed skaters are training in Korea for the AWG and athletes from at least 24 National Olympic Committees are expected to take part in speed skating.