Roller Sports
World Games 2025: Anandkumar Velkumar wins India's first-ever roller sports medal
He clinched a bronze medal at the Inline Speed Skating 1000m Sprint event, taking India to its highest-ever medal count.
Anandkumar Velkumar won India's first-ever roller skating medal at the World Games. (Photo Credits: World Games)
Anandkumar Velkumar made history in Chengdu, China, by clinching a bronze in the Inline speed skating track event, marking India's first-ever Roller Skating medal at the World Games on Friday.
He clinched the medal in the men's 1000m sprint event with a time of 1:22.482s, taking India's medal tally to 3 medals (1 Silver, 2 Bronze) — India's highest ever medal count in a single edition.
Anadkumar started the day with a third-place finish in the preliminary round with a time of 1:22.151s and booked his spot in the semi-final alongside fellow Indian Aryanpal Singh Ghuman.
He then bettered his time in the semi-finals and finished second in the first heat with a brilliant 1:20.355s to qualify for the final. Meanwhile, Aryanpal, finishing 7th in the same heat, exited from the competition.
Anadkumar ran a very tactical final race and didn't make any hurry before the final lap, where he came from behind to finish 4th at the finish line behind the two Colombians and a Spanish skater.
But the fortune favoured him, and one of the Colombian skaters, Juan Jacobo Mantilla Pinilla, was disqualified, and hence Anadkumar was adjudged as the bronze medalist.
This was Anand's 4th event in Chengdu, and finally, he breached the barrier to win a medal in his penultimate event. He will race one final time in the Men's 10,000m Elimination Race final later today.
