Aarathy Kasturi Raj can’t remember the number of times she has crashed and hurt herself in the skating rink. In May, she needed multiple stitches on the forehead after a fall in training. A month later, she escaped injury during the trials. All those mishaps were only minor hurdles on the way to win an Asian Games medal.

PREMIUM

On Monday, the Indian team of Aarathy, Karthika Jagadeeswaran and Heeral Sadhu won bronze in women’s speed skating 3000m relay (4:34.861), finishing behind Chinese Taipei and Korea. The men’s team (Anandkumar Velkumar, Siddhant Rahul Kamble and Vikram Rajendra) added a second bronze in the event.

For Aarathy, 29, it has been a roller-coaster journey that has culminated in a medal in her second Games.

“I have been skating since I was just seven. Speed fascinated me. It’s really fast,” says Aarathy.

“Our parents wanted us to do some sport. My younger sister played squash. I took up tennis, swimming, and then for some reason I was attracted to this sport. Within three months of joining, I won medals at club level. That’s how my journey started,” says Aarathy, who is a doctor.

Injuries, a constant companion in the sport, never rattled her.

“It’s part and parcel of the sport. The bruises keep coming, we keep crashing. It is normal when you are racing at such speed. In May, I fell and hurt my forehand and had 16 stitches near my eyebrow. I was back training within a week, as soon as the stitches were removed. In the trials in June, I hurt my head but won the race.”

Aarthy has been juggling between skating and her medical studies. She finished her Masters in Clinical Embryology in 2021 and then immersed herself in preparing for the Asian Games.

“I completed MBBS and Masters in December last year and then took the year off just to train for the Asian Games. I wanted to put more hours in training and prepare for the Games. It was my second Games and I wanted to win a medal.”

It was not easy but Aarathy says the support of parents and cricketer husband has helped.

“It was a roller-coaster ride for five-and-half years but it taught me a lot about time management. I was going to college, skating, coming home and sleeping. That was my routine. I missed a lot of fun time with friends, but nothing gave me more joy than just going to skate in the evening. It would not have been possible without my family’s support,” says Aarathy. Her father is a businessman and mother is a gynaecologist who runs her hospital.

For the Asian Games, Aarathy was guided by Belgium speed skater Ferre Spruyt – a multiple times European and world champion. “My foreign coach works online. I was in Belgium for a European race and he was there to help me with strategy. I send videos of my skating and my club coach co-ordinated.”

Being married to a cricketer – Sandeep Warrier plays for Tamil Nadu and is part of Mumbai Indians IPL team – Aarathy knows her sport will not always be in focus, but she has taken it in her stride.

“To be honest I didn’t like cricket before I met my husband. We don’t compare the sports, but I feel because of him skating is becoming a bit famous. Now cricketers know about our sport. It’s fine for me that they have the limelight. When we start winning more, we will get more limelight. Each one has their own journey.”