Shiva Keshavan qualifies for 2018 Winter Olympics

Innsbruck (Austria), Nov 20: Indian luger Shiva Keshavan qualified for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics 2018 after earning the necessary five points at the ongoing Viessmann Luge World Cup 2017-18 here.

The three-time Asian Cup gold medallist will make his sixth Winter Olympics. 

The current Asian Champion finished on the 23rd spot out of 57 athletes with a time difference of 0.701 seconds from the winner on Sunday. 

Expressing his delight, Keshavan said in a statement: "I am very happy that I have fulfilled the Olympic Criteria, I still have to participate in the next five Compulsory races but I am relieved that the pressure for getting the World Cup points is over and I can push myself to take more risks and get closer to the leaderboard."

"Thrilled to announce that I have achieved the minimum 5 points for Olympic Selection in the very first of 5 qualification races! Thank you for your support and keep following the next 4 weeks of World Cups," Keshavan later said on Facebook. 

Keshavan, who is also the President of the Olympians' Association of India, is the first Indian to have qualified for PyeongChang 2018 in Luge.