HYDERABAD: Passion for the sport is what drives 13-year-old Ramya (name changed), an aspiring roller skater who practices at LB Stadium. In the last two years, Ramya had to undergo treatment for two hair-line fractures in her body. Both the times, she fell flat while practising on the tiny skating rink in LB Stadium, which is chipped off in various places.
The roller blades and wheels get stuck in the chipped parts of the floor and it has become common for children to fall and hurt themselves. This particular rink, in LB Stadium was inaugurated in 1999 and on average allows for around 15 players to practice.Today, hundreds of aspiring children and youngsters practice in turns, with each getting around 30 minutes on an average.
Despite this, they were a hopeful lot. A new rink, at least five times bigger than this one, was constructed in the premises. The work took three long years and was ready in December 2017. However, for the last eight months, officials have been delaying its inauguration. Parents of these skaters have sent representations personally, and have also taken to Twitter to get the attention of officials.
“We finished our state-level tournament and came back by the end of December. The Sports minister, T Padma Rao, stated that the new rink would be open by January. We were all hopeful because we wanted to practise for the national level tournament which was held in the end of January 2018. We are still waiting,” shared a 17-year-old inline skater.
She also represented the country at an international level tournament. Parents and skaters share that there is hardly anything that the Sports Authority of Telangana State (SATS) provides for these youngsters when they are on tour. “There do not pay for the travel or accommodation when we go. We bear all the expenses. All that we are asking for is to open the new rink for our children to practise, but our efforts have gone in vain,” rued a parent.