Indian Skaters

jatin · Administrator Joined: 20 Jan 2007 Posts: 136

Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam
At the dawn they are there, on Beach Road, the VUDA Park and the Shivaji Park, whizzing past the morning walkers and vehicles with whir of their wheels vying with the sound of waves. From beginners to international medal winners and from tiny tots to those in their late teens, can be seen either doing it on their own or following the instructions being shouted by their coaches. You guessed it right: they are roller-skaters.

This sport is in full bloom in the city now. Not only the large number of roller-skaters but the excellent show being put up by the locals year after year in the State-level and national meets indicate that roller-skating has not only established itself as a popular event but also promises better deeds from the locals.

Thrilling experience

Roller-skating is thrilling and sheer pleasure, particularly for children, as they race with the wind on the roller-skates firmly bridled to their shoes. A little bit of practice is all needed to keep the balance before a roller-skater is ready for the long rides. After a while, coaches come into the picture and start teaching them the basics, even in the way one has to start the art of balancing.

It was more a fun than sport in the past, when some enthusiastic children and a few adults managed to get roller-skates (mostly from major cities since they are not many available here) and enjoyed rides on the city's undulating roads or on Beach Road which fortunately had been widened into a double road by that time.

It was in 1989 that roller-skating was provided with a rink in its real sense. The then Chairman of Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority, M.V.V.S. Murthi, provided a 40-metre diameter rink in the VUDA Park and the sport received a good boost.

In no time dozens of children started practising on the rink and it soon became crowded, with some coaches emerging on the scene. Every conceivable place was used for teaching and practising this game. Beach Road came in handy for conducting major competitions also.

Infrastructure, too, developed in course of time. The then Mayor, Sabbam Hari, created another rink in Shivaji Park which was built during his tenure. Thanks to the National Games, the city could get a 200 metre bank track and the existing rink in the VUDA Park was developed into an international track of 20 m. x 50 m. dimension. Another 50 m. x 50 m. multi-purpose rink was built.

"Now Visakhapatnam has become a major centre for this game," says the general secretary of the Roller Skating Federation of India (RSFI), G.R.K. Prasad.

There are many roller-skaters who represented India in the international meets or won gold medals in national championships. N. Aashrita was a member of the Indian team that won bronze in the 10th Asian championship held recently at Akito in Japan, while Mahesh Varma lost the bronze by a whisker. D. Priyanka and N. Navya participated in the Asian championship held recently while D. Harisha and D. Lakshmi Manasa took part in the world championship last year.

There are many national champion medallists from Visakhapatnam, like N. Kiriti Raju, P. Brahma Teja, G. Krishna Sweta, G.Krishna Kaushik, P.P. Nirmal, V. Jitin, K. Manoj Kumar, Rupal Dilhan, Sai Srujana, Padma Priya Sahu, Shirin Lazer, Ravi Teja, K. Ramakrishna, D. Harisha, P. Rahul Narayana, V. Mouni, etc.

The AP team which won the junior girls roller-hockey silver ômedal in the 41st National championships held here during May has many from Vizag, like Tanmayi, N. Hanisha, U. Soumya, Sneha, Sirisha, S. Reshma, K. Divya, P.Tulasi Prasanna, Valli Sri Satya, Ramya Choudary, P.Meghna and G. Alekhya.

Skating prodigies

Among the first batch of roller-skaters that participated in the national championships were Krishna Sweta, Priyanka and the three sisters, Padmaja, Sailaja and the late Tanuja. The discipline also proved beneficial to those who pursued it. Vikram and Mahidhar secured seats in medicine while Pradosh Rag in engineering in the sports quota. Krishna Sweta is noted for performing classical dance on roller-skates. Ch. Neelima won gold medal in the event of dancing with roller-skates at the 41st national championships held here during May.

Like any other sports that is gaining popularity, roller-skating also suffered some hiccups but the intervention of a senior sports administrator, S. Kodandaramiah, saw it back on the rails. First, R.R.K. Ranga Rao and then Sudhakar Reddy, as presidents of the State association, with Ram Persad Srivastav, as general secretary, helped in the improvement of roller-skating. It continues to prosper with P. Prasanna Kumar as the working president. The then Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, L.V. Subrahmanyam, was instrumental in creating a good infrastructure in the city.

Visakhapatnam hosted major roller-skating meets and important camps for Indian skaters. In the 41st National Championship held during May, AP topped the table with a tally of 106 medals, says the secretary of the District Roller-Skating Association, M. Syam Babu.

Upcoming event

The city will soon host a speed skating camp to be conducted by Carols of Argentina. Jaison of Australia will be here later this year to conduct a national camp in artistic skating for the Indian team. The city may bid to host the Asian roller-skating hockey championship to be held in 2006, says Mr. Prasad.

The good performance of the roller-skaters here is possible due to the efforts being made by coaches like S. Lakshmana Rao, Pawan Kumar, Gangadhar, Krishna Rao, Raja, Raj Kumar, Kalyan, Subhakar Reddy, Satyanarayana, Chittibabu and the duo from Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Kasi and Gopi. S.V. Raja and Gangadhar have qualified in the national examination for coaches and judges.

The city can also boast of two international referees in Mr. Prasad himself in the speed section, and Lakshmana Rao and Pawan Kumar in the artistic section.

G. NARASIMHA RAO