India’s first world champion skater Anandkumar Velkumar, pleads for the popularisation of the sport in India and abroad by including it at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games with the hope that it will eventually reach the Olympic Games
India’s Anandkumar Velkumar celebrates after winning the 1000m race at the Skating World Championships in Beidaihe, China, recently. Pic/World Skate Instagram
While India’s top track and field athletes were sweating it out at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo without any success, around 1900 km away in Beidaihe, China, Anandkumar Velkumar was busy crafting his own legacy.
The 22-year-old from Chennai became India’s first world champion skater, winning the gold medal in the 1000m race at the Inline Speed Skating World Championships. He subsequently backed up that performance with another gold medal in the marathon event and also picked up a bronze medal in the 500m race to boot.
‘Need more recognition’
Despite the tumultuous week that has catapulted him to sporting stardom, Velkumar is pleading for the sport to gain more recognition, both in India and globally, so that it can develop and eventually chart its path into the Olympic arena. “I definitely think this sport has the scope to grow a lot in India. We need some support from our government. And though it’s not part of the Olympics yet, it will be great to have it included on a regular basis at the Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. This would give us a strong platform to showcase our talent and the sport itself too and eventually gain Olympic recognition,” Velkumar told mid-day.
Inline speed skating was a part of the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, where Velkumar won the bronze medal in the 3000m relay along with compatriots Aryanpal Singh, Siddhant Kamble, and Vikram Ingale. However, the only roller sport listed for the upcoming 2026 Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan is skateboarding. The sport is not included at the Commonwealth Games either. Speed skating’s popularity can be gauged from the fact that 25 nations took part in it at the World Games in Chengdu, China in August this year, while 40 nations were part of the World Championships in Beidaihe.
Interestingly, Velkumar took up the sport at the age of six after being inspired by his elder sister Subi — a former national-level skater. And he is honest in his admission that he did not expect to be world champion here. “I never expected to be a world champion. My target was just to be on the podium. But now it’s hard to pick [between the 1000m race and the marathon] which was my best performance since both were really good,” said Velkumar, who is currently pursuing a degree in computer science from The College of Engineering, Guindy, Chennai.
Next target: Gold at home
Velkumar’s next aim is to make a bigger splash at the 2026 Inline Speed Skating World Championships while also targeting glory at the 2027 Asian Roller Skating Championship which will possibly be held on home turf, at Visakhapatnam.
“I’m really looking forward to that [the 2027 Asian Championship] championship. My personal target is to win a gold medal in front of my home crowd. That will be just great,” Velkumar signed off.
03
No. of medals won by Anandkumar Velkumar at the Inline Speed Skating World C’ships
Anand at the World Championships
1000m race
Gold (1 min 24.924s)
Marathon (42.2 km)
Gold (58 min 29.747s)
500m race
Bronze (43.072s)
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