Sometimes competing is bigger than winning. Anyone who’s watched Cool Runnings is likely to echo that sentiment. Bollywood better fire up the camera for a desi version of the same movie, for participating in the winter Olympics is Indian luge competitor, Shiva Keshavan. [Vancouver Sun] (Runa via email)
Keshavan was interested in winter sports from an early age, despite being born in Vashisht, a village in the Indian Himalayas. “I was lucky because I was picked out by an international talent scout who started training me,” said Keshavan, who often trained on dry roads using wheeled sleds.
At 16, he became the youngest luge Olympian ever at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. This will be his fourth Olympics, having also competed in Salt Lake City in 2002 and Torino in 2006.
What makes Keshavan’s kesh…. err… case even more interesting is that he grew up in Kerala, which probably had its last snowflake in the waning moments of the ice age. [NBC]
Keshavan, who hails from the southern state of Kerala, took up winter sports while studying international relations at the University of Florence in Italy. He now resides and trains in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, on the foothills of the Himalayas and the home of winter sports in the country. “I was offered Italian citizenship, but I refused because I am an Indian and want to spend my life here,” he said. “So what if they don’t know what a luge is.”
He holds the record of fastest Indian without an engine and almost did not make it to the games.
Keshavan’s Vancouver 2010 dreams were almost dashed when his sled broke during training in November.
Five Indian lawyers heard about his plight, however, and pooled together 450,000 rupees [about $10,500 Canadian] to buy him a new one.
“It was such unexpected support,” said Keshavan. “Out of the blue they just contacted me and said they wanted to help. It’s a great feeling to know you’re being appreciated by people all over the country.”
Kesavan, hopes to not only compete but also win medals. Now, my knowledge of the winter Olympics is admittedly limited to the 2010 Swimsuit edition photo shoot of Lindsey Vonn (have fun googling) but my understanding is that if Keshavan wins a medal it would make him the first and only person of Indian-origin to ever win in the Winter ‘lympics. Coming from a tropical cricket loving nation, participating in a sport where he is a decided minority, it’s hard not to root for him, not that we need a reason anyway.
Chak de, Shiva!
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