KOCHI: In the quiet, laid-back village of Panikkarambalam, near Perumbavoor town, a dream project has come to fruition. Kerala’s first international-level roller skating rink has been conceived and realised by Siyad K S, a former international skater, with the intention of making the sport more popular in the state.
Being a moderately expensive sport, skating has failed to catch on in Kerala. But Siyad has defied the odds in setting up the 200m polyurethane (PU) synthetic bank track, which is enclosed by a 280m road circuit, in the middle of a forested area.
The story began 15 years ago when Siyad, an eight-time state champion who has represented the country in the world championship in 2009, moved to Perumbavoor to take up the job as a skating instructor at a private school. “I arrived full of hope, with a bag full of skates, preparing for a promising start to my coaching career.
But to my disappointment, only four students showed any interest in the sport,” he said. “I set out in search of more interested children and this finally gave rise to summer classes. That’s how it all began,” says Siyad, a native of Thodupuzha.
Setting up the facility did not prove easy. Siyad had to mortgage his house, borrow money from friends and parents of enthusiastic students to build the rink, which was completed in January 2025 at a cost of over `1 crore. There are only three standard skating tracks in Kerala, two of which are in Palakkad.
“A track of this quality had become a necessity. Many from across the state come here to practice. The difference in quality is very visible,” points out Gayathri Leemon, who has been a skater for 10 years. “Kerala alone did not have an international-level skating rink and this reflected in our performance in national competitions. The facility could lead to the state producing more promising skaters,” she says.
Hailing from Iringole, near Perumbavoor, Gayathri is a two-time national champion who represented the country in the world championship in Italy last year.
The rink is home to Siyad’s Asiad International Roller Skating Academy. Two of its 60 trainees have already made it to the national team.
Many children from Kochi travel regularly to Panikkarambalam for training sessions. Adin, 8, makes it to the rink daily from Kakkanad. “Like Adin, several children from the city regularly come for practice sessions, often two times a day,” his father Jomy George said.
The facility’s rural setting is also contributing to its popularity. The houses nearby have been making room to accommodate skaters arriving for regular training. The circuit, which will host the 8th ranking national roller skating championship from May 15-19, has also been attracting skaters from all over the nation for pre-championship practice sessions.
‘Don’t skate like skaters from Kerala’ was a refrain heard in national skating circles in the past. Siyad, who has also been at the receiving end of the humiliation despite his achievements, wanted to change the perception. “I want to see the dominance of Kerala skaters in the upcoming championships and my efforts are solely aimed at achieving it,” he adds, full of optimism.