Chandigarh, June 25
The Roller Skating Federation of India has started preparations for participation in the Asian Roller Skating Championship likely to be held in Kolkata in November.

It has planned coaching camps in speed, roller hockey etc at various venues.

The first national roller hockey skating camp is on at the floodlit rink at Kailash Behl DAV Centenary Public School, sector 7.

As many as 77 boys and girls have joined the camp which began on June 16 and will continue till June 30. The focus is on improving physical conditioning in the morning session and later in the evening efforts are made to hone the skills of the probables.

Chandigarh Skating Association chairman Madhu Behl and principal of Kailash Behl DAV Centenary Public School, said, “We have booked the sector 10 rink in case of rain and are also utilising it for quards hockey camp for girls. It is for the first time that inner hockey has been introduced and 24 boys and 13 girls are attending the camp.”

In quards hockey, two boys and 20 girls are attending the first phase of the camp. The coordinator of the camp, Harpreet Singh, admitted that the full equipment for inner roller hockey was not available. However, he said in August, proper equipment would be used.

The coaches imparting training are Balwinderjit Singh (Punjab), Rajesh Anand (J-K), Harpreet Singh (Chandigarh), V. Bakshi (Haryana) and Amit Kumar (AP).

According to Madhu Behl the second camp would also be organised here in the first week of August while the third camp would be conducted in October. The final camp will be at the venue for the Asian Skating Championship. Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Pakistan and Iran, besides India, are likely to participate.

“Our rollerskaters are more skillful but lack physical fitness as against the robust Japanese, Koreans and Chinese,” said Harpreet Singh.

A speed skating coaching camp is in progress at Leisure Valley in Sarabha Nagar, Ludhiana.

The probables attending the camp in Chandigarh are Rohit, Navdeep, Gaurav Rehaja, Amandeep, Arjun Bajwa, Mukul Jung, Jaswinder Singh, Abhishek, Arvind Chandlay, Hafun Sarin, Amit Ahuhja, Anjum Ahmed, Nirmal Narla, Kuljinder Singh, Sanjeev Kumar, Jugraj Singh, Ankush Kohli, Aryaun Jamwal and Atul Sharma.

Girls: N Aasrile, Renuka Sharma, Gurleen, Sumiti Chandel, Mehak Paul, Shakun, Nehal, Meera, Yashdeep Kaur, Ritu Nagpal, Sonal Baghle, Parveen Kaur, Gurpreet Kaur, Milampreet, Pooja, Mandeep, Sandeep Kaur, Anika Jhakar, Prejonka Shan and Romaljeet.

Inner: Amber Gill, Anmol Sood, Abhinay Sharma, Vishwaraj Jadeja, Pankaj Poojan Patel, Ankit Aggawal, Sauabh Duggal, Ramakant, Tarun Gandotra, Gagan Singh Jamwal, Arjun Gandotra, Krish Gupta, Rahul Gupta, Rahul Verma, Arjun, Harshad, Rajdeep Ramesh, Akhil Dhyarshwar and Manoj Chanderkant, Rajbir Singh, Amawr Singh, Virender Singh, Harkiran Singh, Balram Kumar and Chanaresh.

Chandigarh, June 25
It was a family affair at this year’s State Carom Championship as the contest saw four siblings vie for top two positions. The championship was held at St Stephen’s School in Sector 45 recently.

The family is so into the sport that even their father is a carom coach.

The four siblings surprised the city by securing top ranks in the championship.

Hassan, secured the first position while his brother Mohammad Shakib bagged the second place. In the girls’ group, the sister duo of Farheen and Tuba clinched first and second place, respectively, in the same meet.

Having a humble beginning at Sikhya School-46, Hassan shot into limelight during the sub-junior national tournament held at Thiruvananthapuram in January when he shot ‘white slam’.

He made his presence felt at national meets held at Vadodara, Patna and Kolkata. On the basis of the sport, he got admission to Saint Stephen’s School.

“I will not settle for anything less than an ‘Arjuna Award’,” quipped his sister Farheen.

A student of class VI at the same school, she got second position in the sub-junior (girls) in the national championship at Thiruvananthapuram.

She also secured fifth rank in overall girls’ category (singles) in the country.

The other pair representing Sikhya School-46, Tuba and Mohammad Shakib is also on the roll to fame.

Tuba, a student of class III, is mastering the nuances of the game at such a tender age and is equally proficient in academics.

She secured second rank in sub-junior category during the national championship held at Thiruvananthapuram in January.

“I will fulfil my father’s dream to become a world champion”, she said.

Brother Mohammad Shakib, who studies in class VII, said: “I play carom for six hours a day and will be popular in this game one day.”

“I should not be underestimated,” Arish intervenes. Arish, a class IV student is also making a mark in the game.

He has to his credit a second ranking in the State Carom Ranking Tournament held at Saint Stephen’s-45 in under sub-junior group in May.

Currently, he is preparing for the forthcoming sub-junior national championship to be held at Faridabad.

But the fact that the game is not recognised by the Olympic Association and is struggling to get a place under the sports gradation policy has left them disappointed.

“These siblings have been selected to participate in the Sub-Junior National Tournament at Faridabad. Amongst 14 players selected, five coming from one family surprises everyone”, says Mahesh Sekhri, Chandigarh Carrom Association general secretary.