Gulmarg, February 26 Born and raised in the hills, but completely unaware of what snow felt like for the first 24 years of her life, Renu Danu only took two years to not just become a skier, but also to win multiple silver medals at the Khelo India Winter Games, which concluded here on Thursday.
The 26-year-old constable in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) grew up in Haldwani, Uttarakhand, where winters were cold but never snowy.
Her father drives trucks for a living. One of her brothers serves in the Indian Air Force, and the other runs a business.
"They know cricket, football, volleyball. They don't understand what Nordic skiing is. They don't understand what Ski Mountaineering is. They only see videos of me," Renu said with a smile.
In Haldwani, there were no ski tracks or winter sport academies. But there were grounds, where she ran races and played Kabaddi, building the endurance that would one day carry her across frozen valleys.
In 2021, Renu joined the CRPF as a General Duty Constable, and in 2024, this job took her to Srinagar and then Gulmarg, where she saw snow for the first time.
She trained for just one month before competing at the Khelo India Winter Games in 2024. She didn't win anything, and even came close.
But she finished. For most athletes, finishing is routine. For Renu, finishing was defiance.
"I was new. I didn't know the techniques, but I completed the races," she recalled.
In 2025, Renu returned stronger and finished fourth in a Nordic event.
However, she won a silver medal in the Ski Mountaineering relay. The same year, she won a gold medal at the National Winter Biathlon Championship in Gulmarg.
This year, she won three silver medals in the women's Nordic 15km, women's Nordic 1.5km Sprint, and women's Ski Mountaineering Relay.
The Army's High Altitude Warfare School was her classroom. Olympian coach Nadeem Iqbal taught her technique, and CRPF coach K Shukla and team manager Magesh K gave her belief.
"When she came, she knew nothing about winter sports. But she worked harder than anyone. Her future is bright. I see her at the World Championships, even the Olympics," said Shukla.
