At 15, Visakhapatnam girl Greeshma Dontara is on one cloud nine, having bagged a gold and two silver at the recently-concluded 19th edition of the Asian Roller-Skating Championship held in Beidaihe, China.
It has been just a day since she returned and she is already aiming for her next event. “This is a big boost for me and a dream-come-true. I have been skating since I was four years old and it has become second nature to me,” says a beaming Greeshma, who received a rousing welcome when she returned from China.
Greeshma owes her success to her coaches P Satyanarayana and Chitti Babu. “They have been instrumental in my journey to reach here and have relentlessly worked on my techniques and postures to compete at the international level,” says the class X student of Visakha Valley School.
Greeshma clinched a gold in the youth category of the artistic in-line event and two silvers in freestyle and pair skating in the youth category. To honour her talent, Greeshma has been invited as a brand ambassador of Aadudam Andhra Sports Tournament by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh.
According to her, focus and consistency are the most important skill sets in the sport. The skating champion is currently preparing for the State championship to be held in Tanuku in November, followed by the nationals to be held in Chennai in December.
Greeshma also represented India in the Asian Games where she finished in the sixth position in the woman’s artistic single free skating. To prepare for the competition, she started training in athletics.
“She devoted nearly one and a half hours of athletic training every day from April onwards. This significantly improved her flexibility and fitness,” says Sharmila Dontara, her mother.
Sharmila says, Greeshma’s turning point was when she was selected for the World Skate Oceania competition in Australia and had to perform on a rink with wooden flooring. “In India, we have rinks with cement floor where she was trained all through. So, she had to get used to the wooden floor rink when she was in Australia. Though she couldn’t get a medal there, she got the experience of working on her shortcomings such as body postures and movement from one element to the other on a wooden flooring. That exposure helped her a lot at the Asian Championships,” says Sharmila. While skating is her passion, Greeshma makes sure that she catches up with her studies and does not lag behind as she gears up for the CBSE Board exams next year.
