Girl from Netflix movie wins gold at National Games

Ahmedabad: Maharashtra emerged as the champions with five gold and Tamil Nadu the runners-up with three as the Roller Sports events in the 36th National Games drew to a close after wowing crowds for three days at the picturesque Sabarmati Riverfront.

The real heroes, however, were street skateboarders Shraddha Gaikwad (Maharashtra) and Chingngbam Ranju Singh (Manipur) who have taken fascinating, slightly tough, routes to success and popularity.

Shraddha Gaikwad, the Women's Skateboarding gold medal winner, recently featured in Netflix movie 'Skater Girl'. She won her first senior-level gold medal at the National Games, making her story no less than a film script in itself.

Her father, a security guard, shifted from Beed to Pune in search of a job. He found one at an international sports goods-selling giant.

One day, Shraddha Gaikwad came to deliver lunch for her father and saw an interesting sight.

"I saw people skateboarding at the store and tried my hand at it. The store manager Abu Sheikh saw me practice and gifted me a pair of shoes and a skateboard. I began training and I soon became pretty good at it," the 16-year-old said.

The Men's gold medal winner Ranju Singh also has an interesting story. He got hooked to the sport five years ago but had to be innovative to follow his training regimen. Every day, he wakes well before dawn in Manipur before the city wakes up.

In darkness, and on empty streets, he first learnt the nuances of the sport and then mastered it. He became good enough to be selected for his state and now he has even won the ultimate glory in the National Games.

Of course, there was the little matter of finding funds to buy his skateboarding kit. "I took up several part-time jobs, including whitewashing, to fund my training," Ranju Singh said.

They are now hoping that their success in the National Games will open up new avenues for support as they focus on qualifying for the Asian Games next year.

RESULTS

Men

1000m: 1. Amitesh Mishra (Chhattisgarh) 1:35; 2. Aarya Mayur Juvekar (Maharashtra) 1:35; 3. Anandkkumar Velkumar (Tamil Nadu) 1:35.

Artistic Single Free Skating: 1. Abhijith Amal Raj (Kerala) 146.9; 2. Kunj B Chokshi (Gujarat) 106.3; 3. Kotyada Mohan Kiran Kumar (Karnataka) 104.2.

Inline Freestyle – Speed Slalom: 1. Sanchot Bhandari (Uttar Pradesh) 4.58; 2. R Sarvesh (Tamil Nadu) 4.73; 3. Vishvesh Ganesh Patil (Maharashtra) 4.75.

Relay: 1. Maharashtra 4:29.00; 2. Tamil Nadu 4:32.32; 3. Karnataka 4:32.35.

Skateboarding Park: 1. Mahin Ivan Tandon (Karnataka) 28.33; 2. Shivam Balhara (Delhi) 24.89; 3. S Vineesh (Kerala) 18.89.

Skateboarding Street: 1. Chingngbam Ranju Singh (Manipur) 90; 2. Shubham Sharma (Maharashtra) 80.33; 3. Nikhil Naresh Shelatkar (Maharashtra) 73.

Women

1000m: 1. K Aarathy (Tamil Nadu) 1:39; 2. Heeral Sadhu (Delhi) 1;39; 3. Suvarnika Radhakrishnan (Karnataka) 1:40.

Artistic Single Free Skating: 1. Riya Saboo (Telangana) 112.4; 2. Kula Sai Samhitha (Andhra Pradesh) 107.0; 3. Bhupathiraju Anmisha (Andhra Pradesh) 97.8.

Inline Freestyle – Speed Slalom: 1. Prachi Singh (Uttar Pradesh) 4.95; 2. Piyusha Tarini (Puducherry) 4.98; 3. Merlin Dhanam Arpoudam (Puducherry) 5.04.

Relay: 1. Tamil Nadu 4:46.03; 2. Karnataka 4:46.85; 3. Delhi 4:54.57.

Skateboarding Park: 1. Vidya Das (Kerala) 25.78; 2. P Kamali (Tamil Nadu) 12.22; 3. Aadya Aditi (Delhi) 11.22.

Skateboarding Street: 1. Shraddha Ravindra Gaikwad (Maharashtra) 61; 2. Urmila Jitendra Pabale (Maharashtra) 59.33; 3. Meera Gautam (Delhi) 53.

Mixed

Artistic Skating Couple Dance: 1. Maharashtra; 2. Tamil Nadu; 3. Telangana.

Slalom Pair Inline Freestyle Skating: 1. Maharashtra; 2. Maharashtra; 3. Puduchery.