Coimbatore:
The state’s first synthetic skating track was inaugurated at the Svastika International Roller Sports Complex located on Kanuvai-Maruthamalai Link Road in Coimbatore on Monday. Set up by parents of children who represent the sport at state and national level and skating enthusiasts, the 200m synthetic track would now allow budding skaters to get training at home turf itself. The stadium is, however, still under construction.
The parents recalled how their children had to travel to neighbouring states such as Karnataka to practise on synthetic track, as both national and international competitions were held on such tracks. The state so far had only one cement track and one coata stone track. G Sreedhar, a parent involved in setting up the synthetic turf in the city, said, “My son has won at the national level. Since the city lacked enough infrastructure, we often had to travel to Pune or Bangalore for his training. So, we wanted an international-level facility for our children here in our own city.”
To realise this dream, parents and skating enthusiasts came together and formed a trust, Svastika trust, and collected funds for the same. The result is track called synthetic roller rink that was inaugurated on Monday.
N Sathyamoorthy, a professional skater who had represented the country at various international meets since 2006, would impart training to kids at this turf. “Our state has immense talent, but when it comes to national or international level meets, our children lack confidence as they have to skate on synthetic tracks over there. Having mostly practised on cement tracks, when they skate on synthetic tracks at these meets, the speed surprises them and they often under-perform. So, we wanted to give them infrastructure to ensure better performance,” said Sathyamoorthy. He would also train budding talents in the city.
Ganesh, whose son has represented the country at junior-level in various international meets, said taking his son to various cities for training wasn’t always affordable. “It will be easier for our children to train now. This was much needed for the development of the sport in the state,” Ganesh said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Coimbatore / TNN / April 12th, 2016