Mangaluru: Dhanush Babu, a young skater hailing rom Puttur in Dakshina Kannada District has been selected for World Games at Birmingham. He is the first Indian male skater to be selected for this event scheduled to be held from July 7 to July 17 in USA.
He started skating when he was just 4 years old in January 1999. His mother was an athlete too, and at that time she was training at the Athletic Stadium in Bengaluru. He would visit the stadium with her and watch a few people skate, and worked their magic on the skates is something that always intrigued him. His grandmother also was a veteran athlete, and his father is a cricketer too. Therefore, the sports is in his blood.
The interest coupled with hardwork led him to bag his first national medal when he was just 6 years old. From the year 2003 to 2007, he was in the Karnataka State Team and represented State. He had won multiple medals but he couldn’t get to a point where he could win a gold. It was always silver and bronze. But today he has won 11 national championships and 17 gold medals overall. He is also India’s fastest skater, Asian Bronze medalist, and listed among world’s top 5 skaters.
Selection for World Games Birmingham was done at the last world games where he stood 12th in 3 events and 5th in another event.
Speaking to NewsKarnataka Dhanush’s mother and his coach Suma Babu said, “When he was just 4 years old, I used to take him with me while I was going for the practice at Kanteerava Stadium. There he was inspired by the skaters. He wished to fly like eagle and that is what attracted him towards skating,” she recollects.
Dhanush is a Sound Engineer from Carmel College. He has been a national champion for last five years. He has won three Bronze medals in 12th World Championship in 2012. One more interesting thing is Dhanush’s sister Mouna Babu is also an international skater and national gold medalist.
