In September this year, something exciting was happening for the first time in the remote corners of Indian sport. On the 15th, 22-year-old athlete Anandkumar Velkumar from Chennai gave India its first gold medal at the Speed Skating World Championships in Beidaihe, China. He clocked just over one minute and 24 seconds in the senior men’s 1000 meters sprint. On the same day, 18-year-old Krish Sharma from Delhi won the gold medal in the junior category of the same race by clocking one minute and 22 seconds. Then, five days later, Velakumar won gold again in the 42 km skating marathon of the championships. And just like that, India got three top global honors in competitive skating for the first time.
This is a victory of 147 years. Maharaja Rajinder Singh established the first indoor rink in Patiala in 1878. By 1902, Maharaja Ganga Singh and Lord Curzon had inaugurated an outdoor rink in Bikaner. The Indian Roller-Skating Federation was established in 1955 and is the governing body for the sport. And, as 90s kids will remember, getting a pair of skates on, walking around a building complex or a closed road – no knee pads, no helmet – was the ultimate privilege flex of the era. There was no decathlon. But almost every kid had a pair of sturdy, size-adjusted JJ Jonex.
As the millennium changed, skating didn’t go out of style. It added to the multitude of activities available only to children. In small towns, where there were bigger rinks, dedicated inclined tracks, fewer distractions, the sport quietly flourished. Inline skating (in which the wheels under each foot are set one behind the other, allowing more precise turns) became part of the school curriculum and fitness regimen.
RSFI general secretary Bhagirath Kumar Dadhich says there are more than two lakh skaters in India, including men and women, of which about 50,000 are registered with the federation. “Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Delhi and Punjab are at the forefront.” Skating coach Rahul Kausha says that in the last 10-15 years, there have been more frequent domestic competitions and more international exposure for top talent. Who knew little wheels could take us so far? Meet the skating champions who are reinventing their wheels for India.
Anandkumar Velkumar, 22 World Speed-Skating Champion, Senior Division
The 1000 meters is one of the most unpredictable races in speed-skating. This is not a small 100 meter or 200 meter explosion. This is not a 10,000 meter endurance test. This is a distance sufficient to demonstrate an athlete’s energy, balance, speed and strategy. At the top level, it’s all over in under two minutes.
So, for Chennai’s Velkumar, every second mattered at September’s Speed Skating World Championships. In the initial phase he was conserving his energy. But those last laps were when he surged past seven competitors for the gold. “I had just won a bronze medal in the 500 meter sprint,” he recalls. “That gave me confidence for this race.”
He had other stores also. Between 2021-2025, Velakumar won around 10 international awards including one gold and two silvers at the Asian Championships. Satya Murthy, who has been training him since he was 12, describes him as a smooth, versatile skater. “But in the last year their performance has increased from 70% to 90%.”
Velkumar knows why: “I’m competitive, following the thrill of inline speed-skating to more artistic pursuits,” he says. He also exercises four hours every day – reserving Sundays for rest – and does strength training, conditioning and cycling. “Skaters need strong quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings,” he says. “They can’t afford excess fat.”
The computer-science student, who took up the sport at the age of just six after seeing his sister Subi Suwetha try it, says he loves riding on wheels. “It’s an adrenaline rush. It excites me but also gives me a sense of freedom.”
But for the most part, Indian skating means constantly struggling against the odds. The field is dominated by South Korea, Colombia and Italy – where promising young skaters receive specialized coaching in dedicated areas. Meanwhile, “The Indian team pays from its own pocket when it competes internationally. I received financial assistance and reimbursement from the Tamil Nadu government after returning with the medal.” His next goal: winning the World Championship in Paraguay in 2026.
Krish Sharma, 18 World Champion, Junior Category
Sharma started roller skating at the age of four and switched to inline speed-skating in 2019 for competitions. None have been easy. “I used to travel 20 km from my home in Delhi to my training center five days a week,” he recalls. His mother, Kavita Sharma, and his coach, Rahul Kaushal, have been his constants.
Apart from the gold at the World Championship in September, Sharma also won a gold medal at the Asian Championship in Seoul, South Korea in July and two silver medals at the European Cup in Spain last year.
India is proud of him. But life must have been really difficult and lonely for Sharma. “I am no longer in the junior category and am training in Mohali, away from home,” he says. The city has some of the best tracks in the country. But the training is intense, he is also pursuing a BSc in sports science, and hostel life is isolating. “The coaches here are strict about discipline and diet,” he says. “I’ve given up most of my social and family life for skating. I had very few friends who were also skaters. I don’t know my city very well. I miss family gatherings, trips, and hanging out with friends. Few people talk about what it takes to really dream big in this sport.”
Shreyasi Joshi (21) and Swarali Joshi (17) Inline Freestyle Slalom Champion
When the Joshi sisters enter the skating rink, all eyes are on them. Their skills are honed not for speed, but for synchronicity and grace. The moves are almost ballet-like: rolling zig-zag through a row of cones, turning sharp corners as if they’ve got a gravity-free pass, walking through obstacles without bending.
But freestyle slalom skating is not easy at all. It’s easy to fall and get injured when trying a new artistic move. ,And the skating surface is different at each venue – wood, cement, wax-layer or ceramic floors all affect how accurately you can move, turn or stop,” says Shreyasi. “At international competitions, we don’t always know what the surface will be like until we get to the venue. So, we take different pairs of skates. And that’s always a risk.”
10-time national champion Shreyasi is the first Indian woman to win two golds at the Asian Championships in July. Swarali is a nine-time national freestyle skating champion and has five international medals. His software-engineer father was also a roller-skater, while his grandmother was a state-level table-tennis player. Naturally the Pune sisters started skating at the age of three, when most children couldn’t tell their left shoe from their right. They practice between three and six hours every day and look up to Spanish slalom skater Pau Bosch.
But they’re also using Instagram (@_Skater_Sisters) to connect with the world. He has around 230K followers on his handle and it includes reels of his work and BTS. Most posts are filled with cheers and praise from young skaters who look up to him for inspiration.
Visibility has far reaching powers. ,The number of women in national competitions has increased manifold; Women are no longer limited to amateur skating,” says Shreyasi, who is also pursuing a degree in computer-science. “Women are especially interested in slalom and artistic skating.”
Purvi Mete, 18Silver at Asian Championship, July 2025
As a child, Matt suffered from asthma. So, her parents enrolled her in swimming and skating classes to strengthen her lungs. He had not thought about competing until his sports teacher in Pune encouraged him to join a professional club. This and his family’s move to Bengaluru in 2017 boosted his confidence.
“Bengaluru is the hub of speed-skating; it has international-class tracks and good coaches. So, when I joined a club there, I felt seriously motivated to train for tournaments rather than just skating for fun and fitness.”
He overcame asthma. And while girls her age hang out with friends in multiplexes, restaurants and amusement parks, Matt is obsessed with speed, endurance and execution. “In speed skating, micro-seconds matter,” she says, adding that she is also studying to become an orthopedic doctor.
Matt’s favorite speed-skater is Ivone Nochez of El Salvador. She says there are now more young women to look up to in the sport and many young girls who voluntarily spend their formative years practicing intensively to become pro skaters. However, the game requires a little more effort. “Currently, we have to manage our sponsors ourselves. We need government support for international competitions.”
Dhanush Babu, 30 bronze and silver at Asian Speed-Skating Championships
India’s fastest inline speed-skater, Babu won bronze and silver at the Asian Speed-Skating Championships this year. His personal best speed: 17.59 seconds in the 200 m time trial event at the Asian Championships. She was awarded the Karnataka Government’s Krida Ratna Award in 2018, a rare achievement for a skater. He is also the Indian skater who has won the most gold medals in national competitions, 34.
“I tried skating for the first time on my fourth birthday,” he recalls. “Dad used to train me. I used to practice five-six hours every day.” He grew up watching Italian skater Gregory Duggento and Jamaican sprinter Yohan Blake perform at their best and knew that patience and effort pay off.
He has watched the game evolve over the decades. For many people of his generation, skating was merely a hobby. “Now children have a competitive spirit right from the start,” he says. “Even parents realize that sports can be a career. And unlike team sports, performance depends entirely on their child’s skills and training.” Till now no young athlete has broken his record. Babu is still the fastest in 100m and 200m time trials. “It is not so easy to break records,” he says as he prepares for the Euro Cup circuit and the next Asian Championships.
pick up your wheels
Satya Murthy, who has trained world champions like Anandkumar, says beginners in skating have more options for specialization than before. “Speed-skating is the most popular and competitive. It helps develop balance and speed. In freestyle slalom (in which skaters navigate a zigzag course), it is a test of artistic movement, tricks and creativity. In roller derby (played between two teams), teamwork and coordination matter.”
From HT Brunch, December 13, 2025
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