“Indian roller hockey players are good at the game. But, lack of international standard infrastructure is affecting their performance in international meets,” Aasrita Namburi, manager of the Indian team that played in the 12 World Women Roller Hockey Championship at Tourtonne (France) recently, has said.
Only wooden or tiled hockey rinks are available in India for practice and tournaments. But Indian teams have to play on acrylic and synthetic-based surface in international tournaments. Participants feel a great difference in speed of the ball and control. This apart, the wheels of the roller-skates are not suited for the surface, she explains.
“In spite of the odds, the Indian team won gold in the Asian championship and improved its position to 11 in the World meet at Tourtonne from the last spot in the previous championship,” she pointed out while sharing her experiences in the World meet.
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The team was coached by an Italian Aldo Barlei. Like any foreign coach, he also laid stress on the fundamentals of the game.
President of the A. P. Roller Skating Association J. Sudhakar Reddy and secretary D. Bhagirath Kumar said infrastructure was improving as Maharashtra laid a synthetic track for speed events. They hoped that the conditions would improve further in the next few years.
In the city, VUDA is willing to lay a synthetic track for speed events in the VUDA Park.
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Chairman of the District Roller Skating Association T. Saraswathi Devi and secretary M. Syambabu were present.
Ms. Aasrita had become manger of the Indian team at a young age. Daughter of N.S. Raju, a Manager in Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Ms. Aasrita took to roller skating at a young age and won several gold medals in State championships and gold, silver and bronze medals in National championships. She was a member of the Indian team that won bronze in the 10 Asian roller hockey championship in 2004. Two years later, she had played in the women’s team that participated in the 8th World championship held in Chile in 2006.