Photo Caption: Winners of the 15- 19 years category at the Closing Ceremony of the 18th National Speed and Figure Skating Championship held at ISKATE by Roseate in Gurugram
Following a tough competition over the last four days among 300 athletes representing 13 states of India, the winners of the 18th edition of the National Speed and Figure Skating Championship have been announced. Tara Prasad (23) from Tamil Nadu and Vyshnav Nair (21) from Telangana were announced the winners of Senior Category in Figure Skating and Sumit Tapkir (22) from Maharashtra and Swarali Ashutosh Deo (22) from Maharashtra won the Gold Medal for Senior Category in Short Track Speed Skating.
Shri Gagan Narang, Ace shooter, Padma Shri and Khel Ratna awardee and Vice President, IOA felicitated the winners with trophies, medals and certificates at a grand Closing Ceremony that was held at ISKATE by Roseate in Gurugram.Other key dignitaries who were present on this occasion include Lt. General Harpal Singh, Indian Army Veteran & member, IOA Executive Council and Shri Kalyan Chaubey, National Footballer & Joint Secretary, IOA.
ISKATE by Roseate, which is the only ice sports facility in India that is available throughout the year, hosted the Championship. Congratulating the winners, Karan Rai, Business Head, ISKATE, said, “ISKATE is proud to host yet another edition of the National Speed & Figure Skating Championship. I would like to congratulate all the winners across all categories. Being the only ice sports facility in India which is available throughout the year, ISKATE by Roseate takes upon itself the responsibility of encouraging young talent in winter sports. To tap the potential of Indian ice skaters, ISKATE by Roseate has collaborated with the Ice Skating Association of India for over a decade to provide the necessary infrastructure and sponsorship.”
Organized by the Ice Skating Association of India, the Championship was held in two disciplines – short track speed skating and figure skating – wherein the athletes were divided into categories in each discipline based on their age group. In the National Short Track Speed Skating Championship, Kirti Raj Singh (10) from Telangana and Gunti Sreevathsankitha (11) from Andhra Pradesh won the Advanced Novice Category, Aarav Aniruddha Patwardhan (14) from Maharashtra and Swaroopa Nachiket Kad-Deshmukh (14) from Maharashtra won the Advanced Junior D Category, Ishaan Rahul Darvekar (15) from Maharashtra and Nayana Sri Talluri (14) from Telangana emerged as the winners of Advanced Junior C Category, and Astitva Dobhal (16) from Uttarakhand won the first place in Advanced Junior B Category.
In the National Figure Skating Championship, Tanishi (11) from Himachal Pradesh and Arush Tiwari from Delhi were declared as the winners of the Juvenile Category, Adarsh Rawat (14) from Uttarakhand and Soumya Saxena (13) from Haryana won in the Novice A Category, Uttkarsh Saxena (15) from Haryana and Sanskriti Goel (15) from Delhi won a gold in the Novice B Category, Jatin Sherawat (17) from Haryana and Harshita Rawtani (17) from Uttarakhand won the first place in the Junior Category.
Aanya Singh (16), International Figure Skater from Delhi said, “I am extremely happy to have won a silver medal in the 18th National Figure Skating Championship. The National Championship provides me with an opportunity to compete against the best figure skaters from different states of India and this challenge brings out the best in me. I strive to take my performance to an even higher level and win a medal for the country in the upcoming International championships.”
Nayana Sri Talluri, 14, who is an International Short Track Speed Skater from Telangana, emerged as the winner of Junior C Category in Speed Skating. She said, “This year in the 18th Figure and Speed Skating National Championship conducted by the Ice Skating Association of India and held at ISKATE by ROSEATE in Gurgaon, I have secured a gold medal in the speed skating category, which I am very proud of. All the hard work that I have done is being paid off. I thank my parents and all the coaches I’ve been training with. I am working harder to get qualified and participate in the upcoming Junior World Championship going to be held in Canada. I want to represent India and try to win a medal for India.”
This year, athletes from Haryana won the maximum number of awards followed by Telangana.The Championship witnessed participation from athletes from Delhi, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Puducherry, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.