Wheeling along

In his first year at a state level competition, 11-year-old Nekshad Irani secured silver at the 17th State Roller Speed Skating Federation of India Games held in Nasik in December ’05 in the Rink II event in the boys under-12 category. Earlier, Irani had qualified for the state meet from the district of Nagpur by winning gold in Rink I (speed) and silver in Rink II events. "In the Rink I race, it’s a question of fastest timing. Each round (of the rink) is of 100 m and the skater has to do three-and-a-half rounds,” explains his mother Jasmine. "In Rink II, the skater has to complete 20 rounds and has to go through the heats as well! At the state competition, we were at the venue all day as Nekshad had to participate in two kilometer road skating also, where he placed fifth.”

A standard five student at Centre Point school in Nagpur, Nekshad turns over a mean arm in cricket as well. "I am a medium pace bowler,” he states. At the Madhukarrao Padhye Memorial Inter-school cricket under-11 tournament at the beginning of the year, Nekshad took four wickets, helping his school register a fine victory against Saraswati Vidyalaya, chasing a total of 107 runs in 20 overs. Nekshad received the "Best Upcoming Cricketer” award for the tournament.

Nekshad Irani: rolling to glory

"I like skating and cricket equally,” chuckles the lad. "I love the speed!” While cricket coaching claims mornings prior to school hours, it’s a world on wheels after school. With father Percy a manager in Godrej in the sales department, Nek­shad’s early years were in Poona. "Even at that time he showed great interest in sports,” says Jasmine. "At the month-long summer camp at the Maharashtra Mandal Sports Academy in 2001, Nekshad secured second place in overall performance (athletics).” Skating is an expensive sport, she adds, with shoes, wheels, bearings, etc working out to a neat Rs 15,000 and the child growing out of his skating gear every two years!