Good Sports: Speed Skater Makes History at World Championships
When Anandkumar Velkumar won a bronze medal in the 500-meter sprint at the 2025 Inline Speed Skating World Championship in China, it was a major achievement, India’s first senior medal in the annual event, held officially since 1966. But the 22-year-old from Chennai wasn’t done winning medals. He won gold in the 1,000-meter sprint and another gold in the 42,195-meter marathon.
“To be honest, I didn’t expect to win gold,” he told India Today. “My target was to be on the podium. I’m really happy that I was able to go one step further.” A computer engineering student at Anna University, Velkumar trains during the day and catches up on his assignments at night. “Balancing both hasn’t been easy, since engineering itself is tough,” he said. “But my college has been very supportive. I got admission through the sports quota, and they give me on-duty leave whenever I travel for competitions.”
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Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge.
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