Chennai: Speed slalom skating is a highly technical form of skating that requires extreme amounts of practice and vigour. It needs the skater to skate through cones that are placed one after the other like in an obstacle course. The goal is to reach the finish line without knocking the cones with the least amount of time. The more cones that are knocked out adds a penalty to the total time.
Ten-year-old A Shree Vidhya from K K Nagar, studying class V at Kendriya Vidyalaya, has defied all odds and has emerged as the gold medalist in the national finals in slalom skating held at Vizag in December 2019. With a speed of 5.5 seconds, this young bolt cruised through the 28 metre course to emerge victorious.
She is the first girl to win such a feat in this form of skating. Nobody has won a gold medal from Tamilnadu in speed slalom skating till date, claim her parents.
Vidhya has been skating for one-and-half years now and has graduated to different higher levels in skating within a short duration of time.
She had received training at Sivan park under the guidance of coach Raja. She has graduated to the third level in a period of three months.
It is to be noted that speed slalom required the skater to wear heavy, tight and flexible shoes. Given the financial circumstances, Vidhya had to wear basic, low quality shoes and undergo training with them.
In 2019, she participated in the district, state and nationals levels and won gold in all. Nobody can shun away from an underdog story, likewise Vidhya won the competition with the basic shoes that she had when all her opponents wore very professional shoes.
Her father K A Abinash says, ”We wanted to see how far she could go. Infact she only had the basic gear. We were so proud when she won the gold. If we had the right support and right sponsors I’m sure my daughter will win in international competitions”.
Her mother B Faridha says, ”She had to overcome many health issues and at the same time manage her studies. We are proud and happy parents. I want to thank the park members, former Councillor M Gunasekaran and K V Baskaran for helping her practice at the park at odd times. The school was also very supportive before her finals.”
Her parents tell that she undergoes training for more than two hours in a day and she never finds time for herself. Considering her physical setbacks, her parents self-trained her to victory without sending her for coaching classes.
Vidhya says, ”Skating is my passion. I usually rest, then study for a while and then go back to skating.”
With the right encouragement and support from the government and private organisations, young talent like Vidhya can achieve greater feats. The monetary support could definitely help youngsters push their boundaries.
(Inputs by Sadakshi Kalyanraman)