Skating On Hope: Eklavya Jagal’s Relentless Push For Olympic Glory

Teenager Eklavya Jagal dreams big. He is chasing just one thing, to represent India at the Winter Olympics. The boy has odds stacked against him.

India doesn’t boast of a rich history at the Winter Games. India has participated in only 11 of the 25 editions of the Winter Olympics and has been represented by only 16 different athletes. None of those athletes ever participated in the sport that Eklavya practices, short track ice skating. Despite these odds, Eklavya aims to not only qualify for the Winter Olympics but to bring home a medal.

The boy is pushing hard and the results are there for people to see. He has been the national gold medalist in short track ice skating for the last seven years. At 17, he became the youngest Indian short track speed skater to qualify and participate in both an ISU World Cup and the Asian Winter Games. To qualify for the next year’s Winter Olympic Games he to secure a top-35 ranking in all Olympic qualifier World Cup events during the 2025-26 season.

Because of the limited facilities in India, Eklavya moved to the USA last year and is currently living in Utah.

Amid a busy training schedule, the boy took time out for an interview with The Sportz Planet where he narrated how he got into the sport, his struggles and much more.

Excerpts of the interview are below:

Q: Could you start by telling, when did you first discover about ice skating and when did you decide to pursue it as a career?

Eklavya: I was 10 when I used to live in Mumbai. I used to do roller skating as a passion at that time. And one day my coach suggested me that I should try it out for just to get to know about it. And I really liked the thrill about the sport, about to be able to skate on ice on such thin blades. In the beginning, it was just a fun sport, but then I really got attached to it and I started practicing it daily.

There was a sports complex near the place that I used to live in Mumbai. And the rink, I just went there for swimming one day and I saw the children skating over there. And just watching them skate, I felt a breeze go through my face and I was like, I really want to try this out.

So I just went for the state championship in Mumbai. And over there racing with the other professional guys at that time, I really felt like if I could do this, it would be really fun to represent my country for future levels too.

Q: And so when you spoke about your dreams of pursuing a career in sports, what was your family response?

Eklavya: My family has always been supportive of it, even if I wanted to do it as a fun sport or even if I wanted to go competitive.

Q: Did you have any role models in sports, in skating or in any other sport growing up that you idealized?

Eklavya:Yeah, there’s one guy named Joey Mantia. He was also a roller skater like me in the beginning and then switched to short track speed skating. Watching him play the World Cups and winning medals for America, I also felt really proud about, happy about it because I used to watch his videos as a child. And that’s why I decided to go for it too.

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Q: When I was having the conversation with your father, he said that there was an lack of infrastructure for you to pursue your career in top-level ice skating. So in what ways did you not have infrastructure? What were the infrastructural challenges that you faced?

Eklavya: So there was never a proper Olympic-sized rink in India. It’s only those small 20 or 30 meter tracks you can find. The largest track that was available at that time was in Gurgaon. But if we wanted a professional rink, we had to wait for the winters so that we could go on natural ice. The biggest thing was like, even if we practiced on that rink, going to a professional rink, the difference would be very, very big. And getting accumulated to that Olympic-sized rink would be very difficult for us.

Q: Any other challenges that you have encountered in pursuing your dream as a roller skater, be it financial, be it persona?

Eklavya: Finance is still a really big problem for me. Till now, my family and my father has been paying for everything, including my international trainings, me going for workups, everything else.

Q: What could be the reason that you are facing financial challenges? Is it the lack of coverage of your sport? The corporate houses are not interested in the sport?

Eklavya: The problem that has been for a long time is that since there have been very few athletes in the sport, there has not been some great performance shown by athletes in the World Cup regions. So there has not been very much attention paid to this sport. And that’s why the government, does not recognize short track speed skating as an official sport.

Q: Could you highlight how expensive pursuing a career in speed skating could be? How much investment is required to reach at least the level that you are here?

Eklavya: Pursuing any sport requires a lot of money and finance with it. Short track is comparatively a really expensive sport because our equipment, as you know, there are blades and then there are maintenance and if they get damaged, you need to immediately get a new pair. So it roughly goes around 50 to 60,000 US dollars a year, just maintaining and traveling and equipment management.

Q: You shifted your base from India to the US and you have been in US for some time now. So what change do you feel now?Has moving to the US helped you in some ways?

Eklavya: I shifted to Salt Lake City in Utah last year in July. I have been training at the Utah Olympic Hall with the fast team over here. The difference from my other trainings in the past has been that there has not been such a well-developed facility that provides proper development for athletes. This is a center of excellence and they take care of everything, starting from development to well-being and everything. I have seen great improvements in my performance ever since I shifted over here. I feel like this is a really good place for me and I can hopefully qualify for the Winter Olympic Games with my training over here.

Q: From your international experience, can you please tell which are the top countries in your sport?

Eklavya: For a long time in the past, South Korea used to dominate the sport. But currently, the Canadians, the Dutch, as well as the Americans and the Chinese have also grown very popular in the sport and they are considered as the powerhouses.

Q: What can India learn from these countries like South Korea, Canadians, Dutch, American, Chinese? They are really performing well in their sport. So what can India learn to develop the sport?

Eklavya: We have recently built an Olympic-sized rink in India, finally, after so many years. The only hope is that if they are able to finance it and are able to produce a world-level coach who can help the athletes to get better and hopefully also develop as a center of excellence, which can further help them to compete with the other massive countries.

Q: In your career so far, what do you think is your biggest achievement which you have been really proud of

Eklavya: My biggest achievement so far has been the youngest Indian to qualify for the World Cups. I have been the national record holder for the past seven years and also the national gold medalist. And also I have recently become the three-time Khelo India gold medalist


Q: And what is your biggest dream?

Eklavya: My dream is to be the first Indian short-tracker to qualify for the Winter Olympic Games and also be the first Indian to win a gold medal for the country.

Q: Winter Olympics is next year in Italy. So you are still trying to push hard to still qualify for a spot. Is that true?

Eklavya: Yes.

Q: What does success look like for you on-field and off-field?

Eklavya: Success for me is if I am able to produce, even if I can’t win the Olympics, if I am able to become a beacon that other people can look up to and continue in the sport and hopefully make the country proud is considered as a success for me.

Q: And how do you deal with setbacks?

Eklavya: Well, there have been many setbacks in my life till now. Getting sick before races and sometimes not getting a chance to participate in races. But my only thing is that as long as I have seen improvement in myself, it doesn’t affect me very much.

Q: Finally, to wrap this conversation, I would like you to send out a message to young boys and girls who wish to pursue a career in sports.

Eklavya: Everyone has a type of dream for something, achieving something. It won’t happen as long as you don’t take the first step. That’s all that matters. If you are able to push for the first step, victory will be yours for sure.

Prakhar Sachdeo
The Sportz Planet Desk