Only last Saturday, Asha and Arun have been selected to represent India at the World Skatepark World Championship to be held in China from the 29 Oct – 4 Nov., 2018. One crucial reason was that Asha and Arun already have their passports so they are ready for international travels. We never realized how big of an advantage this would be … but here we go. This will be the first time, someone will officially represent India at an International Skateboarding Championship.
This event is also the first sighting in the run-up to the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where skateboarding is for the first time an Olympic discipline! And it is a very important step for the kids because now Olympia has really come within their grasp!
This is BIG NEWS !!!
The entire village is happy and proud.
The two even made it into the Patrika newspaper, MP edition!
Unfortunately, the Indian government has not yet budgeted for this sport (it’s currently under the care of Naresh Sharma, General Secretary of the Roller Skating Federation of India) – that’s all only in the beginning, and so we had to raise the money for the kids to cover the costs of their flights, visa, accommodation, clothes and food.
We initiated a fundraiser on Ketto which really went well and with the help of many individuals and a few organisations such as the oxelo Decathlon team, DC shoes and the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences in Bubaneshwar, Odisha, we were able to raise the funds in less than 5 days! A big thank you to all of them.
Tonite Asha and Arun will fyl out to China. They arrive in Shanghai and then take the bullet train to Nanjing. They are truly excited and proud! What an experience this is for them – I am sure it will open a new chapter in their lives and new opportunities! Enjoy your travels and have lots of fun!
