Trying a different ball game

You must have heard about baseball, handball and football. But skate ball? Not many must have heard of this unique game which is slowly gaining popularity day by day, with a lot of kids taking it up as a career.
Garvit Jain, a student of Delhi Public School, RK Puram, is one of those who want to make a career out of this game. His team won gold medal at 1st National Skate Ball Championship 2007 held at Bhopal in the under-19 category.
A resident of Vivek Vihar, East Delhi, he has a keen interest in skating since he was a kid. "I was awestruck while seeing this game on TV one day. I tried doing it myself and liked the game very much. With more and more practise, I started loving the game and stared participating in skating competitions. With time, I got to know more about this game and loved it. It's more of a hobby for me and is practically included in my routine now," said Garvit.

Good at studies
Garvit is in class XII and a science student. He is not only an excellent student but he has also won accolades for skating. On the occasion of his school's Founder's Day, 2007-2008, Garvit was awarded scholarship for meritorious performance and also a certificate for 100% attendance over the last 11 years. He was also nominated for the National Child Award for Exceptional Achievements. He was among the awardees of the Petrotech Essay Writing Competition 2010.

Passionate for skating
Along with his studies, he finds time for his passion for roller skating. He has won over 100 medals in skating competitions at various state and national level competitions. He keeps on participating at state level competitions and has won many of them. "Not everyone wants to build their career in skate ball as it is a different game. I am not sure that I will be able to build my career in this or not but I will love it for sure."

The game
Garvit said, "Skate ball is handball on skates. Many people don't understand the term skate ball but otherwise it's a very simple game. This game was earlier not so popular but now it's gaining grounds in India. It's a game of international level and was introduced a year before in India. There is roller skating and speed skating which are different levels of skate ball."

Garvit's support
Garvit is very happy to receive outstanding support from family and coach. "I have been very lucky to have support from my family and coach. My mother takes care of my interests and every little thing. My coach Shekhar Sir is a wonderful person and trains me perfectly and tells me my flaws to improve me." He practises every evening at Yamuna Sports Complex. Garvit wants to be an engineer apart from being a skate ball trainer.

Participates in several other activities
Garvit takes interest in cultural activities as well. In June 2007, he was sponsored for a yoga camp held in Rikhia, Jharkhand by SPIC-MACAY (Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Among Youth). School and college children from many parts in India participated in this camp.
—Priyanka Narula