Small and strong

For him it’s a small world on wheels! He’s just eight and has been skating since he was three-and-a-half years old. "Homyar is a very adventurous child, a focused child, especially when it comes to sports. He will never want to miss a practice session, even if it means getting up very early in the morning for road practice,” says Surat’s Cyrus Dotivala describing his young son’s spirited skating! At the CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) National Roller Skating Championship in Noida (Uttar Pradesh) three months ago, Homyar won a bronze medal in rink race 1 (time trial) in the quad category as well as rink race 2 (500 m). "With the help of this performance, Homyar became eligible to participate in the inline tournament,” Keki Doodhwala, sports journalist and Ranji panel cricket umpire, informed Parsiana from Surat.

Homyar Dotivala skating at Noida and holding the torch at Gujarat government event

The child is currently a third standard student at the Delhi Public School in Surat. Homyar first competed in the under four (U-4) category in a district level event in Surat. "He took part in three events and got gold in all,” narrates his father. Diminutive in size, competitive in spirit, with a strong will to win, Homyar was a group champion and created records in the U-6 category including the one km race at the Gujarat State Roller Skating competition in December 2010 in Ahmedabad. At a national event last year in the same city, he annexed two silver and a bronze medal. "He had been competing in the quad category. Since January 2012, he has been put in the inline category,” Cyrus explains. (Skates for the quad category have two front and two rear wheels, whereas inline skates have two, three or even five wheels arranged in a straight line.) "Hom­yar is slim, but with the help of self-confidence and will power, he has achie­ved a lot at higher level tournaments. He is very keen to prove his mettle all the time,” state his coaches Irfan Shaikh and Sabuddin Shaikh, conveyed to Parsiana through Doodhwala. "They have put in a lot of effort to teach him and Homyar on his part has always given his full attention,” adds Cyrus.

The Dotivala family (Surat’s renowned Dotivala Bakers and Confectioners) take great pride in their protégé’s progress. Homyar’s grandparents Yasmin and Jamshed Dotivala and Saker and Aspi Vajifdar are strong supporters. His mother Zinobia travels with him for races in Surat and outside and is in constant touch with his coaches. "I usually take a video of his race as many a time it helps in photo finish results. Homyar’s older brother Rustam is also a skater and has always encouraged him to do his best,” narrates Cyrus. "Uncles Sharukh and Mehernosh (both doctors) and Vaspar are very anxious whenever he is competing, constantly keeping in touch with Zinobia, wanting to know the result. As far as I know, no other member of our family has achieved as many laurels in sports as Homyar has.”