Ahmedabad’s Vishwaraj makes a mark in ice-speed skating

Having been brought up in a warm city like Ahmedabad hasn’t deterred Vishwaraj Jadeja from going places in ice speed-skating. The 26-year-old participated in the Asian Single Distances Competition held at the Ice Palace “Alau,” an artificially frozen indoor skating rink at Astana in Kazakhstan over the weekend.

Jadeja was among the two skaters from India to participate in the cold event. Shruti Kotwal was the other Indian at Astana.
Though the Amdavadi failed to improve upon his personal best, it was a memorable outing. In the 500m single distances competition, Jadeja missed the medal by a whisker. He clocked 42,71secs to finish fourth behind Korea’s Kim Yeong-Ho (35,84s), Viktor Glustsjenko and Roman Kretsj. In the 5,000m and 10,000m, Jadeja clocked 8.31,93 and 17.43,89 and had to be satisfied with the ninth and seventh position respectively. In both the races, Korea’s Lee Seung Hoon emerged winner.

“It was a nice outing and a great learning experience. Earlier, nobody used to take us seriously at these meets. But this time I noticed that everyone paid us respect. They appreciated our efforts,” said Jadeja while recalling his experience. This was the first time Jadeja participated in an Asian competition. “It was a tough one. They (participants) were muscular, very fit. Finishing was important for me and I did it. It is matter of a few months …. I am sure I will catch up with them. I am working hard for it,” said Jadeja, who has been training under Wim Nieuwenhuizen in Holland since 2009.

When asked about the difference between the European and Asian competitions, he said both are almost at par. Jadeja’s determination to excel in a sport that’s unusual for Gujaratis can be witnessed on his website. He wants to become the first Indian to represent the country at the Olympic Winter Games —in the sport of long track speed skating.