Shivani Chaturvedi (Chennai) In early October, Chennai-based engineering student Anandkumar (20) returned with a bronze medal from the Asian Games 2023 staged in Hangzhou (China). He was among the three-member-strong 3,000 m speed roller skating relay team which finished behind South Korea and gold medalists Chinese Taipei. Winning an Asian Games medal for India was a dream come true for this third-year student of the College of Engineering, Guindy, whose participation was in doubt after he suffered a slew of injuries prior to the Asian Games. “Frequent crashes during my practice sessions leading to serious injuries made it tough for me to give my 100 percent in the selection trials. Nevertheless I persevered and made it into the team. I owe this to my parents and coaches and their continuous encouragement and mental support,” he acknowledges. Inspired by his sister Subi, a national and international level roller skater, Anandkumar took to roller skating at age six, training at a nearby badminton court under the tutelage of Anna Raja. Soon he started competing in district, state and national speed skating competitions with “satisfactory results” which helped him make up his mind to focus on roller skating, a sport practised by a small community of athletes. Anandkumar’s perseverance paid off. In 2021, he won a silver medal at the World Championship staged in Ibague, Columbia. Notwithstanding long hours of training, studying for his engineering degree and finding sponsors for this minority sport which requires expensive imported equipment, has been challenging for this wannabe engineer. Typically his day begins at 4:30 in the morning with road skating or cycling for a minimum three hours. From 8:30 a.m to 4 p.m, he attends college and resumes training at the city’s Indoor Nehru Stadium from 6-8 p.m under coach and former national skating champion Sathya Moorthy. “Encouraged by my performance in Hangzhou, I am determined to get onto the podium at the upcoming World Speed Skating Championship in Italy in March, and the 2025 World Speed Skating Games in China. I am convinced that my intensive training will pay off,” says this determined speedster on skates. Power to your wheels! Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp
