The 31-year-old from India-controlled Kashmir learned how to ski when he was 4, working at Gulmarg, a government-run ski resort at which his father runs a ski shop. The lack of an official winter sports federation has meant that Kahn has had to pay his own to international competitions. That includes the Olympics, for which he employed crowd-funding.

Khan qualified for the Beijing Olympics in November 2021, at a qualifying event at Sku Dubai, an indoor ski arena inside a shopping mall in the United Arab Emirates. In four runs there, he finished 9th, 10th, and 11th (twice). It was enough for him to make the Olympics.

At the previous Winter Olympics, in Pyeongchang, South Korea, two athletes represented India: Jagdish Singh raced in the 15km cross-country skiing freestyle event, and six-time Olympian Shiva Keshavan competed in the luge. Neither of those athletes will be in Beijing (although Keshavan is retired). In all, 15 Indian athletes have competed in the Winter Olympics, the first coming in 1964.

India has won 35 Olympic medals since first competing in Paris in 1900. All medals have been at Summer Games.