Even as roller skating gains momentum in the city, the first generation of skating champions from here are already stamping their excellence in the national circuits.
At the recently-concluded 61{+s}{+t}All India School National Roller Skating Championship in Belagavi (Belgaum), skaters struck it rich bagging a clutch of medals and filling up the top ten ranks in various categories.
For the second consecutive year, Sethu Sai Praneetha (St. Patrick MHSS) won the title of overall champion in the under 11 category winning the gold medal in the rink-3 as well as the road race-1 events.
S. Praveena (Don Bosco HSS) bagged gold in the rink-2 and silver in the road race-1 events in the under 17 segment, S. Vishnu Prasad (Petit Seminaire HSS) bagged silver medal in the under 11 rink-2 event and V. Koushik (Petit Seminaire HSS) took the silver in rink-3 in the under 14 category.
Several other skaters in the 39-member contingent that participated distinguished themselves finishing in top ten places at various events.
“Roller skating is certainly becoming more and more popular but a large part of the city’s potential remains untapped,” says Thomas, founder of the Thomas Speed Skating Academy chain of training schools.
Three of the four medallists at the Belgaum event were from his stable.
“About three years back, we had only about 80 skaters in the entire UT. Now the numbers have crossed 500,” said Prasad Rao, general secretary, Pondicherry Roller Skating Association.
“Even way back in 1998, we had a few skating enthusiasts. In the absence of rinks, they practised on the Promenade or the edge of basketball courts in some schools,” he recalled.
These days, however, children with a passion for this sport now have a proper practice facility too after the especially after the Government set up a rink at Lawspet.
It has helped young skaters like Praneetha practice regularly during before and after school hours. “After the rink came up, I have been practising for a couple of hours in the morning and the evening every day,” she said.
While the Association is happy for the rink, they hope that the Government will follow through on developing other facilities there.
This year, the Government provided power connection and toilets. However, the rink is still laid in concrete though the plan was to provide a synthetic surface. The proposal to build a circuit road and locker rooms and also provide a compound wall also remain on paper due to lack of funds.
Once these facilities come up, it will be possible for Puducherry to host competitive skating events. Walling off the facility and appointing a guard is imperative as the rink is already partially damaged by some youngsters who ride two-wheelers when skaters are not around, Mr. Thomas said.
“If the Government allows the Association to manage the rink, there are well wishers ready to build the facility to world class levels,” said Mr. Thomas.
The Association also wants to expand into other skating forms such as hockey and slalom in addition to the in-line, quad and speed skating routines.
