The skating trials for the final selection of Asian Games 2023, which is to be held in China’s Hangzhou in September-October, saw 10 being selected in India, including seven from Pune alone. The skaters are aiming high for the upcoming 19th Asian Games. The seven who were selected from Maharashtra include, Vikram Ingle, Siddhant Kamble, Jinesh Nanal, Vishvesh Patil, Shreyasi Joshi, Swarali Joshi and and Yashodhan Patil, The Indian Express reported.
Here’s is a look at what’s cooking in the lives of some of these skaters
Jinesh Nanal
A first year B-Tech student Nanal is among the finalists. The 19-year-old started his roller coaster journey at the age of 4 and later switched to inline freestyle skating. He also represented India at several competitions at 9 years of age, including the Asian Championship in Korea and the 2018 World Championship in Netherlands.
His mother says that Jinesh has been training for the last 10-12 years and is an eight-time national gold medalist. He has been selected for two events- Speed Slalom and Pair Slalom, along with Joshi for Asian Games. She added that Jinesh is “putting in all efforts to make his mark at Asian Games”.
Jinesh says he wakes up at 5:30 am and trains from 6 to 8:30 am. That is followed by resting and studying. He trains again in the evening from 6 pm to 9 pm at Maharashtriya Mandal in Mukundnagar.
Coach Asutosh Japtap says that all the players were selected as they are talented. He added that they train for two sessions in a day for 6-8 hours. Each session lasts 3 hours and comprises yoga and meditation to help them with focus. “The training includes camps where all skaters train together for the games,” he added.
Shreyasi Joshi
Training for six hours in a day to get one of the top three positions in the games, Shreyasi started her skating journey at the age of 3. She has been a national champion in inline freestyle skating for eight years. She has represented India at 2017 World Roller Games. She was 12 years old at the time.
Visvhesh Patil
Starting at 4, Visvhesh represented India at the 18th Asian Roller Skating Championship in 2018. He aims to bag the Gold medal at the Asian Games.