Mumbai’s speed skating champ Swaraj dreams big

Swaraj Shinde at the 6th National Ranking Open Championships held at Madgaon, Goa, recently

Vasai lad Swaraj Shinde, representing Maharashtra, bagged two bronze medals in road speed skating at the 6th National Ranking Open Championships held at Madgaon, Goa, recently.

Swaraj, a Class VI student of Vidya Vikasini ICSE, Vasai, finished third in the 7-9 age group category in the 1,000 m and 500m skating events, while he just missed a medal, finishing fourth in the 200m event.

Swaraj Shinde practises speed skating

Swaraj's achievement is special, considering over 500 young skaters participated across various age groups in the National competition. Last year, Swaraj won a bronze in the 7-9 age group category at the Roller Skating Federation of India-organised Maharashtra State Sprint Skating Championships. Having bagged over 45 medals across various district, state and national competitions, young Swaraj aims to represent India in the sport and win medals in international events.

Also Read: How Mumbai's roller-skating community is gaining momentum like never before

At the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, a 14-member Indian roller-skating team finished with two bronze medals in the men's and women's speed skating 3000m relay team events.

"My friends play other sports like cricket and football, but I chose skating because it's different and exciting. I enjoy speed skating and I will continue to work hard to make it to the Indian team one day," Saraj told mid-day.com.

"I want to represent India at the Asian Games and win a medal for my country," he added.