“Good things come in small packages.”
But, small packages bring big laurels…
Here is a regular guy with some extraordinary achievements and can be aptly called the naam and shaan of roller-skating in India. A N U P- Agile, Nimble, Uber enthusiastic and Pleasant- that is Anup Yama for you, Asia’s number one and the world’s number six in roller-skating. Anup is also a professional Ice figure skater and is currently ranked first in India and third in Asia. The twenty four year old with his partner Avani, steered the nation towards a jubilant victory at the 13th Asian Roller Skating Championship (2008), in China. It was a huge victory for India after 20 long years. Besides, his individual success is three gold medals and two bronze medals at the same championship.
Magnificent glides and confident strides are the hallmark of this smart skater. With sound technicality and rhythmic choreography in his performances, Anup brings elegance and charisma to the rink. Having donned the skates at a tender age of four he has been practicing the sport with tremendous determination and diligence. He is ably coached by his encouraging father, Veeresh Yama, a national level roller-skating judge and also the coach for the Indian Artistic Skating team. Anup‘s amazing winning spree started with his first victory at the All India National Competition at Bangalore in 1989. His kitty is full with 133 gold medals at the district, state, national and international level. Anup holds the distinction of winning maximum number of medals at the Asian Championships. Anup opines that excellent infrastructure should be developed to encourage the roller-skaters in the country.
Anup has been skating his way to glory for the last 19 years. Winning edge coupled with consistency make this stellar performer stand out among his contemporaries. A unique combination of spins and triple jumps is his forte and rightly, it is an absolute audience delight. Anup founded the Yama Roller Skating Academy in Hyderabad and trains over 150 students under his watchful eye.
Interestingly, this multi-talented prodigy is also a gemologist and a diamond grader. He is an avid movie buff and watches at least four movies a week. A cricket and a football enthusiast, he also has his hand in DJing and his ultimate ambition is to coach his students to take his place and let India maintain its coveted place in the world of roller-skating.
Arpita Soma
