Freestyle sports remain somewhat of a blind spot on India’s sporting landscape. You might not find the next Tony Hawk in the subcontinent anytime soon, but many a Sehwag protégé is fairly visible. In an age of cluttered sports, where the spotlight and focus remains on mainstream sports viewed by a mass audience, 25-year-old Annul Pale is pursuing his dreams on a BMX bicycle.

The BMX high
“As a kid, I started off with some B-boying, followed by a bit of skateboarding,” said Pale, in between his practice session at City Park in Bandra Kurla Complex. “Back then, I wasn’t even familiar with the names of any skateboarding tricks; my friend taught me how to ride it, and within a day, I was already popping tricks on my own. I guess, I’ve always had a flair for freestyle sports.”