Shiva Keshavan goes for crowdfunding

Five-time Olympian luger Shiva Keshavan may have withdrawn from the World Championship ‘due to lack of funds’, but his desire to represent his country still burns strong.

Although finance has been a hindrance throughout his career, the 34-year-old from Himachal Pradesh is determined not to let monetary matters be an obstacle any more.

After trying various avenues for raising funds for his participation, Keshavan has now started his crowdfunding campaign on BitGiving, an online portal. The funds raised will be used to cover his coach’s salary, training, equipment, travel, boarding and lodging.

“We began the campaign with a lot of hope because we want our dreams and aspirations to become a reality and not remain unfulfilled. Whether it will help is already evident by all the contributions coming in,” Shiva told this paper on Tuesday.

“We have decided to pursue our goals on our own without relying on the government since reliance in this case clearly means just waiting until it is too late. It is time to take the initiative and if the government is unwilling or unable it is up to individuals to fill that gap,” he added.

However, Shiva is still hopeful that the government will pay attention to the development of winter sports in India.

“It is never too late for the government to come up with a plan for development of winter sports. I hope that some action is taken and some progress is made by the government lest we lose more generations of winter sports athletes.”

Asked who he blamed for the government’s apathy towards winter sports, Shiva said, “I can definitely blame the lack of commitment by the collective sports administration and the lack of political will to enforce a system of accountability and long term planning.”