“I started skating at the age of 4 at Yama Skating Academy. The sheer excitement of watching skaters perform graceful movements, exciting jumps, and spins intrigued me. I was left in awe and wanted to perform all those cool tricks as a young child. My family’s legacy of reaching milestones in the sport also played a major role in my decision to venture into the skating world.
Ever since my early years, I have been waking up at 4 AM for practice, followed by school, and then another practice session ending at night. A total of 6-7 hours of my day has always been dedicated to skating. Striking a balance between skating and my education has always been challenging, leaving no time for leisure.
As a young child of about 7 or 8 years old, I often felt bad about small things, like not consuming junk food such as fizzy drinks or jellies, to maintain my health. Another thing I disliked was missing my friends’ birthday parties or other outings because I had skating classes or homework. Being a naive child, these things often bothered me. But as I grew, I understood that it was all worth it because of the elation I felt achieving feats in what mattered to me the most—my sport. No amount of parties or outings could ever compare to that elation.
As I grew older, I also understood the efforts and sacrifices made by my father, Mr. Nitin Dundigalla, and my mother, Mrs. Suhasini Dundigalla. Just like the parties I missed, they too missed their social gatherings and casual outings so they could wake up earlier than me, prepare me for my session, take me to the rink, and stay there, monitoring me until practice ended. Their belief in me and their constant support cannot be appreciated enough. The person I am today is because of the sacrifices they made yesterday.
My grandfather, Mr. Veeresh Yama, was my first teacher. He made my skating basics rock solid and helped me excel in a myriad of intricate varieties of spins and jumps in free skating. Along with that, he instilled the values of hard work, consistency, and a never-give-up attitude at the very foundation of my career. My uncle Mr Amar is the person who has furnished me with the A to Z of Dance Skating. It is due to his sheer hard work and willpower that all his students brought back a huge bounty of medals at the International level. He is the man behind the successful sports careers of so many skaters, including me.
My other uncle, Mr. Anup Yama, a former world champion and Arjuna Awardee, is the epitome of reaching the greatest heights in skating. His guidance is something I will always cherish.
My most recent achievements include a Silver medal and a Bronze medal at the prestigious Asian Championship held i n China in 2023. I have also been featured in the India Book of Records for the maximum number of gold medals won at my age. Other achievements include winning around 70 medals at national, state, and district levels in Artistic skating and Ice skating competitions.
My experience at the recent Asian Championship was unforgettable and made me cry tears of joy, but the situation there was quite challenging. A major challenge was the rink, which had a wooden flooring that felt extremely foreign. Indian skaters had never skated on such a slippery rink before, as the rinks in India are drastically different. Getting used to this new rink just one day before the competition was a huge task. Yet, we faced the challenge head-on due to Mr. Amar Yama’s coaching, who ensured we practiced in the scorching hot afternoon sun in Hyderabad, making the usually normal rink super slippery during those hours. This preparation helped us gain confidence.
National Ice Skating Competitions were held in places like Delhi and Gulmarg. We, the skaters from Telangana, did not have the luxury of an ice skating rink. We had to go to Delhi to practice about twice a year and then perform directly at nationals. Competing with such limited practice was a huge hurdle, but I managed to push through and win gold medals with the help of Mr. Anup Yama’s coaching.
I wish to see many more people take up unique sports like skating and make our country proud. I urge all students to follow their passion and pursue sports professionally. Being a sportsperson is not just about aiming for the pinnacle of success but also embracing defeat along the way and learning from it. It teaches discipline, perseverance, and dedication.
Lastly, I would like to say that for me, skating is not just a sport but a way of life.”
- Veda Dundigalla, Roller Skating Athlete