Wheels of success

He is a speed skater from Nagpur who was part of the Maharashtra squad at the Roller Skating Federation of India (RSFI) national championship held at Bangalore from January 23 to 28, 2012. Just prior to the nationals, 17-year-old Nekshad Irani had collected a gold medal in the 500 m rink race and silver in the 1,000 m rink event at the state competition held in Poona. "At Bangalore, among 18 states which had 27 skaters in each category, Nekshad stood seventh in the 5,000 m road race and reached the semi finals in the 500 m rink race. His overall position at the RSFI (rankings) is ninth, which is commendable as he raced in the above 16 years category and had to compete with men who are 25 and 26 years old and are full-time speed coaches,” states his proud mother Jasmine.

One cannot do speed skating if there is no family support, asserts Nekshad who has overcome several medical problems with grit and determination. "I get up around 4.45 in the morning and go for road skating practice along with my mother or my father Pervaz, whoever is in the mood! Usually it is my mother and on weekends it is my dad. I practice till six a.m. as the roads are empty at that time and do about nine km. My parent is on the bike monitoring the speed which has to be around 40/50 kmph,” Nekshad describes. "There are the stray dogs which run behind us which again we have to be careful of.” After his evening tuitions at around eight o’clock, the eleventh standard student of Nagpur’s Centre Point School proceeds to the skating rink 15 km away! The hour-long practice is under the watchful eye of coach Rakesh Rotke. "I do about 20 speed rounds and 30 warm-up rounds apart from the timing round which is a 300 m sprint. This year I was the only student from my school to be selected for the nationals so my school coach (Centre Point has a skating rink) was not allowed to come for just one student. My mother who is the principal at Serra International Pre-school in Nagpur had to take leave to accompany me to the state and national competitions,” Nekshad states.

The thrill of speed skating: Nekshad Irani (inset and ext left on podium)

With no sponsorship, all costs are borne by his parents. "I am on quads, that is four wheels and not on blades. Quads cost around Rs 20,000 (shoes, wheels and bearings). Blades cost around Rs 50,000! Blades can be used for international competitions whereas the use of quads ends at the national level. The skating gear of helmet and skin suit costs another Rs 7,000. There are different types of wheels costing over Rs 4,000 for the rink and the road and also competitive bearings (over Rs 7,000) which we have to purchase when nearing a competition.” Travelling, boarding and lodging are also major expenses, he adds.

Nekshad started to skate in the year 2004 when he was in standard two at the Army Public School in Poona. "I used to see my friends skating in the colony. My parents were not keen (on the sport) as I had to undergo an operation at that time. After my operation I was quite unwell for some time and an MRI showed blankness at certain intervals in the memory function of the brain. The doctor told my parents to put me in a sport which requires concentration. Six months after the operation I joined skating and three months later we moved to Nagpur,” he relates. Three years ago the teenager took ill with headaches and bouts of giddiness and had to drop skating for a year. "It was risky to skate as we have to do the rounds of the rink. But with medication I was well and resumed the sport,” he continues.

Competitive skating, Nekshad believes, is fun! "I enjoy the speed and the thrill of overtaking my competitors. I do have to train every day if I have to reach the level of the nationals. If I miss practice for more than a week due to exams or any other reason, it takes a good 15 days of rigorous skating to come up to my speed again! Last year too I had taken part in the competitions in spite of my tenth standard board exams and I enjoyed it completely!” Additional joy arrived in the form of 91.25 percent at the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) examination, with 96 percent in Hindi!

Unfortunately, skating is not a much recognized sport in colleges in India, the speed skater believes. "I do intend to continue for another year till I finish my twelfth standard board exams. Since I am good at swimming, I intend to take serious coaching so that I can take part in swimming competitions at the college level,” he asserts. As far as skating is concerned, "I have reached a position where without the full support of both my parents it would not have been possible. It is thanks to them that I could compete in spite of the various hurdles that came my way,” he acknowledges gratefully.