Skater waits for Mama’s blessings

Bhopal: Syeda Masooma Fatima, all of 12 years, is into inline speed skating – a relatively lesser-known form of skating.

The game is an expensive one with skates alone costing around Rs 1.5 lakh. “We can’t afford to buy new skates but we do change the bearings of the wheels once a year,” says Mohammed Rahil Anwar, Masooma’s father. The new bearings cost Masooma’s father – a class three employee of state government  –  Rs 15,000.

And that is not all. Speed skating requires tremendous stamina for which players need to have protein-rich diet, which doesn’t come cheap.

Masooma started skating at the age of three, just two years after she learned to walk. She inherited interest in skating from her father who is a sports lover.

Both started going to TT Nagar Stadium where Masooma honed her skills under the watchful eyes of her coach Sajid Khan. Her younger sister Taiyyaba is also following her footsteps.

Now a class VI student in St Mary Convent Senior Secondary School, Masooma already has already won 38 gold, 30 silver and 10 bronze medals in national, state, division and district-level competitions. One of the certificates describes her as the “Youngest, fastest skater in 2016.”

“I enjoy taking risks,” says Masooma who knows that losing balance may mean a couple of broken bones.

Masooma has to balance studies and skating. “I practice from 5 to 7 in the evening and study for two hours,” she said. Inline speed skating is not an Olympic sport but Masooma is hopeful that it would be included soon.

Like most pre-teens, she likes dancing, singing and painting. But she wants to become a doctor. Though skating is her first love, she likes basketball, badminton and tennis. As for academics, English is her favourite subject.

But there is more to her. She has done road shows in Bhopal, Ratlam, Indore, Jabalpur, Ratlam, Allahabad and Nainital to spread message of Beti Bachao, Beti Bachao.

Her father is hopeful that Mama Shivraj (chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan) would help his gifted ‘bhanji’. “A little financial aid would go a long way in helping her to excel,” says Anwar.

Inline Speed Skating involves skating on hard surfaces wearing special skates that have 4 to 5 wheels in a single row. How speedy inline speed skating is can be gauged by the fact that skaters hurtle upto a speed of 50 km per hour.