City-based skating coach B. Murali is keen on producing many champions but he wants a qualified rink similar to the one at the Steel City - Vizag. The rink at GVS Sastry Municipal Park at Satyanarayanapuram, measuring 100 metres, is not enough to groom medal-winning skaters.
He brought to the notice of Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) chairman P.R. Mohan, who inaugurated the summer camp, and sought a 200-m synthetic bank track rink in Vijayawada.
“All the premium events are held on this [200m] rink which gives skaters enough room to showcase their skating abilities,” he said.
Many parents, who had spent a fortune on their children, are forced to travel to the neighbouring States to practise on synthetic track as both national and international competitions were held on such tracks. “There are skaters who go to as far as Pune and Bengaluru to train. We want an international-level facility for our children either in Vijayawada or at Amaravati, the new capital city,” says Ganesh, father of a talented skater.
The summer camp, which is coming to an end, has witnessed an encouraging turnout with 100 more rookies adding up to the existing 50-odd seniors. “There is good response from corporate schools such as DPS, VPS, Narayana, Chaitanya, Nalanda, Nirmala and Atkinson.” This rink has produced several State and national medallists
The gleaming BRTS Road has come handy to the skaters to learn the art of speed skating under the watchful eyes of their coach. “There are three segments in skating and we teach speed– both inline and quad – to the youngsters,” said the coach. “We are also taking enough precautions to avoid injury.”
