Such a cool skate!

This youngster from the coastal town of Mangaluru is excited and raring to go. In the throes of training to participate at the Asian Open Championship 2018 that takes place in Jakarta in November 2018, the ice rink is where he is most comfortable. The ultimate dream for this 15-year-old is to put India onto the world map of ice skating. Niranjan Deepak seems to be going about it in the right way. What started off as an extra-curricular activity ended up as a passion to make a mark.

Niranjan shares, “Skating was introduced to me as an extra curricular activity in school in second grade. For me to be able to achieve so much wouldn’t have been possible without my dad’s support and guidance.” This is also evident as Niranjan’s dad, Deepak is by his side every morning and evening, taking him through his practice sessions.

On how he juggles school with the sport, Niranjan adds, “After school, I study for two to three hours, post which I practice.” As Niranjan trains for the Ice Skating Championship in Jakarta, his eyes light up with a sense of achievement, “There is nothing I can do about the weather. To get the real experience of skating on ice, we travel to different countries where we meet up with coaches who give us tips, and exercises that I can do to improve muscle, stamina and power,” says the 15-year-old lad who has already a number of accolades to his credit. “I have been the National Champion for two years in a row for the years 2015-16 — where I won a bronze and 2017-18 — where I won gold. Apart from this, I am also a state level chess player.”

On how he is preparing for the upcoming championship, he shares, “The championship is set to start at the end of the month. I am training on improving my muscle, power and stamina. I plan to finish the 500 meters in 50 seconds, beating my personal best which is 50.89 seconds.”

Starting his day as early as 5.45 am, Niranjan proves how perseverance can help achieve anything. He says, “I practice until seven every morning. I start off with a three km run on a straight road. I follow it up with exercises where my dad and I use a rope to train.” A student of the Lourdes Central School, Nirajan feels that children who want to take up this sport should never give up. He concludes, “Unlike skating, ice skating is very technical. One needs to be aware that they are skating on blades, and not on wheels. You might end up with a lot of bruises, but the key is to never let go, and never give up.”