A student of fifth grade at Queen's Valley School, Dwarka, New Delhi, Kavya Yadav is an enthusiastic Speed Skater. She started her skating journey at the age of three and began playing professionally at eight. She emphasizes the importance of discipline, focus, stamina, endurance, and environmental awareness in skating. Kavya has achieved success in various competitions, including the Delhi Zonal competition and the 67th SGFI Nationals. She believes that defeat is temporary, and advises young skaters to stay focused, train hard, and have discipline.
The Initiation
Kavya is now training in inline speed skating. When she was in nursery school, her school teacher introduced her to speed skating. Her sports teacher Rekha Lal, who was quite talented in this sport, and her father, who had been a skater in his childhood, pushed her to pursue it. At the age of three, she began practicing skating, and at eight years old, she began playing the sport professionally.
Gurus & Role Models
Kavya began skating at her school and subsequently enrolled in an academy managed by Chunni Lal, a former international medallist, and his son, Manikaran, a former national medallist. Thereafter, she went to a camp in Vizag, Andhra Pradesh, with Brahma Teja. She has recently been receiving training from former Indian Team member and National player Ravi Khati. She looks up to Brahma Teja Sir as her role model, having started winning national medals at a young age and maintaining his winning streak throughout his skating career until retirement.
The Talent
According to Kavya, a speed skating boot has a frame below it, and various age groups have different-sized wheels. For example, wheels for ages 5 to 7 and 9 to 11 are 90 mm, wheels for ages 11 to 14 are 100 mm, and wheels for ages 14 to 17 and 17 to 19 are 110 mm. To skate, an athlete has to be disciplined, focused, strong, enduring, and aware of their surroundings.
Achievements
Kavya finished the Delhi Zonal tournament in second and third place. She earned a spot in the 67th SGFI Nationals, which took place in Satna. There, she finished sixth in the 1.5 km race. When she was in the fourth grade, she also served as her school's vice-sports captain.
A Bit More
According to Kavya, her trainer taught her to increase her stamina when off-skating by having her perform lunges, sport runs, warm-ups, and other exercises. When on-skating, she practices crossing, bending, and other skills to hone her technical abilities. She is always motivated by the saying, "Accepting defeat is what makes it permanent, even though being defeated is often a temporary condition." She says that it implies that when we lose, it is a transient state that won't last until we accept loss. She gives the other rising stars advice on how to succeed, including maintaining concentration, training hard every day, having discipline, and having endurance. Kavya enjoys skating as well as painting, sketching and building clay models. She enjoys studying, dancing, and singing as well.
