Young figure skaters create magic on ice in Gurgaon

The mercury might be flirting with 40 degree mark in Gurgaon these days, but that was not the reason the indoor rink at iSkate was ‘on fire’ this weekend. The reason was some spectacular display of skating by 30 of the country’s best young figure skaters in the All India Open Challenge Figure Skating Championship. The competitors – aged between 5 and 16 years – participated across three age categories – under-10, under-13, and under-16. There were also competitions for pairs and synchronised skating for teams.
Ishita Kapoor, winner in the U-16 girls category

When competitors as young as 10 skated with ease and put up impressive performances, the audience was also moved to applaud them. Most of these young figure skaters had graduated from roller skating to this sport and were quite new to it. Aanya Singh, who stood 2nd in the U-13 girls category, told us, “It was great to perform here and I am happy I finished 2nd. I started figure skating only a few years ago, after doing roller skating since I was 7, because I needed a new challenge. I love figure skating because it is so graceful and beautiful, while being a competitive sport.”

Participants in the pairs category

The young champions say that since figure skating is a niche sport in India, they would now want to help others get into it and use their expertise to spread the sport. Fourteen-year-old Ishita Kapoor, who won the U-16 girls’ title, said, “My aim is to be a trainer one day and teach whatever I have learned to other kids.” The Delhi girl has been training in Moscow for a few years now, and says, “We Indians have a lot of talent but lack the resources to succeed. Once that changes, nothing can stop us.”

A team performing in the synchronised skating category