With the 2018 Pyeongchang Games around the corner, luger Shiva Keshavan is all set to participate in his sixth and final Winter Olympics. Regardless of whether his last attempt will earn him a medal or not, he will go down in the record books as the biggest name in Indian winter sport history.
But while we celebrate witnessing history, it’s only fair that we look back at the story of the man who started it all for India at any Winter Olympics - Jeremy Bujakowski. Over 50 years ago, this Polish-Indian was skiing down Australian slopes at the IX Olympic Winter Games, becoming the first representative for India in the history of the competition.
Bujakowski was born on March 30, 1939, in Druskininkai, Lithuania to a Polish couple who soon moved to India having acquired new jobs. He was sent to the United States for higher education after his preliminary education was done in India. He started out skiing in Boise, Idaho and very soon he was offered a full scholarship at the University of Denver. He soon became very proficient at skiing and in 1963, he decided to enter the Winter Olympics scheduled to take place in Innsbruck, Austria next year, thus becoming the first athlete from India to do so.
At the 1964 Olympics downhill event he suffered a broken back, concussions and internal haemorrhages, leading to a long struggle that would eventually put his participation at the 1968 Winter Olympics in doubt. After going through multiple surgeries, he pushed through and ended up taking part in the next one as well.
Watch, as we pay homage to the man who started it all for India at the Winter Olympics: