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ShareMumbai: After the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics, luger Shiva Keshavan felt his career had hit a roadblock. He was in dire need of funds required to train. He wanted to make the big step — from also ran to winner. He ran from pillar-to-post to convince bureaucrats to support him. Then when Keshavan was exhausted, he mulled retirement.
“I was sacred that I would have to quit. I had no financial resources to continue my training. After the Turin Olympics I was out of competition for two years,” Keshavan, who is one of India’s three participants at the Vancouver Winter Games, told DNA on Friday.
Known to call a spade-a-spade, Keshavan’s outbursts against the system and his tirade against the myopic view of officials, who refused to promote his sport, had rubbed many people the wrong way.
“Officials were trying their best to keep me out of the sport as I was voicing my opinion.My dues weren’t cleared,” said Keshavan.
However, all this changed after the Beijing Games. In a way, Keshavan has to thank Abhinav Bindra, Vijender Singh and Sushil Kumar, the three Olympic medallists.
“Lot of things have change in Indian sports since the Beijing Olympics. People’s mentality towards non-conventional sports has changed. Companies started taking interest as well,” Keshavan said a few hours before his departure to Albertville, France.
In Albertville he will train for two weeks under his coach Yann Frichteau before he heads for the Vancouver Winter Games.
That he has a full-time coach in Frichteau is one of the steps in the right direction taken by the sports ministry and the Indian Amateur Luge Association.
“After approaching more than 100 companies for sponsorships during the two years during which I was out of competition, the breakthrough came after the Beijing Games. Swiss International Airlines and the Limca Book of Records supported me. I think my perseverance paid off,” Keshavan added. It was just the kind of boost Keshavan’s career needed. In 2008 he won his first major international medal — a bronze at the Asian Luge Championship in Nagano, Japan. From then on the ‘youngest luge Olympian’ has never looked back.
“I don’t think of retirement now,” he said. “Since my achievements in the Asian Championship the ministry has started taking me more seriously. Sports minister MS Gill was more forthcoming with his support. They’ve promised me that if I show results I will get more support. The Indian Amateur Luge Association is also helping me,” Keshavan said.
In September 2009, the sports ministry handed him Rs10 lakh towards his training expenses. Now, for the first time in his career Keshavan has had an opportunity to focus fully on training and the results are showing. “The financial support and hiring of full-time coach did help. I won silver at 2009 Asian Championship.”
Vancouver will be Keshavan’s fourth Winter Olympics and he wants to better his best — a 25th- place finish achieved in Turin.
“When I started my training with Yann the objective was to finish in the top-20. It will be an achievement if I can do that.”
