Skating away to glory

Inclined towards skating at this tender age, seven-year-old Shubh Gupta aspires to become an international skater.     
 
Shubh Gupta resides with his parents Ashish and Hema Gupta at Roseland Residency Housing Society, Pimple Saudagar. Studying in the 1st Standard of Indira National School situated on Mumbai-Solapur Highway near Wakad, Shubh has a positive approach towards life. Just 7 years of age, Shubh is very sincere towards his studies and prudently completes his homework on time. Other than skating, he equally enjoys activities like drawing, painting and graphology.
Shubh Gupta, an obedient child believes in the proverb, "early to bed  and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." Sleeping on time and waking up early is a routine that Shubh follows in his day-to-day life. He starts his day with his skating practice with his mentors, Rahu Bilgi and Vaibhav Bilgi of Dream'Z Academy, have trained him for various competitions.
When asked about Shubh to his mentors, they proudly added, "He is a disciplined and a determined student of the academy and never backs out from the required hard work. Shubh, who has already finished the two levels of skating has got enrolled for roller skating, which is final level of training. We have never seen him quitting for the fear of falling and getting hurt during the practice sessions, which makes him even more special for us."

In his kitty
Shubh has won several skating competitions and has recently bagged gold and a silver medal. He was also awarded with certificates and awards by Pune District Roller Selection Trials of 2011. He owns two silver and bronze medals, which he has earned in other competitions organised at different places. He has won 17 medals in totality till date. He has also participated in several competitions and bagged many certificates of appreciation.
Shubh's mother, Hema Gupta says, "As a traditional mother, I always wanted my son to become a doctor but when I looked realised that his interest lies in sports, I knew for a fact that whatever he desires to do, he will get our full support and always see us standing by him." Shubh is also a favourite of his teachers.
When asked about his future, Shubh flamboyantly shows off his love for skating and desired to become an international skater. He shows equal interest in academics and Hindi, English and Mathematics are his favourite subjects.
"We are ready to give him full support in whatever he wishes to do but we also want him to have a perfect balance between his studies and games," adds his father.

--Ramesh Kumar