Srinagar : In what is being hailed as a landmark moment for Indian winter sports, Zubair Ahmad Lone, the snowboarder from Qazipora Tangmarg in Jammu & Kashmir’s Baramulla district, has become the first Indian ever to compete at the FIS Snowboard Alpine World Cup. The historic debut takes place on December 7, 2025, at the Mylin Ski Resort in China.

For Zubair, the road to this moment has been nothing short of extraordinary. He began snowboarding as a child — learning to ski around the slopes of Gulmarg — and slowly built a career against the odds. Over the years, he clinched multiple medals at national and state-level championships, including gold medals in Slalom and Giant Slalom in Manali (2016) and a top finish at the Khelo India Winter Games in 2021–22.

But Zubair’s ambitions and achi

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