Chennai: What started off as an afternoon pastime for a six-year-old on a badminton court in KK Nagar, a middle-class neighbourhood in south Chennai, has now made Anandkumar Velkumar a world champion. The 22-year-old, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering, became the first Indian to win a medal in the Speed Skating World Championship — and that too a gold. It was his second medal in the event currently on in Beidaihe, China. The Tamil Nadu boy started his historic run with bronze in men’s 500m inline sprint. Then came the gold in men’s 1000m inline sprint. “I have dreamt of this moment, and it finally came true. It is hard to put it into words, but I am very happy to have won and sung the national anthem on the podium. The fact that I am the first Indian skater to achieve this feat makes it special,” Anandkumar told TOI. Anandkumar still has two more events left in the competition and he may well add to his tally. While this is surely his biggest moment, the skater made his mark as a junior as well. In 2021, he became the first Indian to secure a medal at the Junior World Championships. A weeks ago, he achieved another milestone as he became the first skater from the country to earn a medal at the World Games, which is considered the equivalent of the Olympics for non-Olympic sports. “This year has been the best of my career so far. I went from becoming the Asian champion to winning a medal at the World Games, and finally, I am a world champion,” Anandkumar, a student of the College of Engineering in Guindy, said. Anandkumar’s skating journey started on a cement badminton court. It was his sister, Subi Suvetha, an India international skater, who inspired him to take up the sport. Till the age of 12, Anandkumar was into quad skating. He later moved to inline. He began training under coach Anna Raja and then joined Sathyamoorthy, with whom he has had an association for close to a decade. The turning point was the junior Worlds silver in 2021. “My aim was to finish in the top-10, but it turned out completely different. I exceeded my expectations, and it was the country’s first medal on the world stage (junior and senior). That experience motivated me to think bigger and train harder for the future,” he said.
