India skater Anandkumar Velkumar makes history after bronze medal finish at World Games 2025

CHENGDU(China): India’s Anandkumar Velkumar scripted history after clinching a bronze medal in the men’s 1000m sprint inline speed skating track event at the World Games 2025 in Chengdu, People’s Republic of China, on Friday.

The 22-year-old Indian skater clocked 1:22.482s to breeze past Switzerland’s Livio Wenger to take away the final spot on the podium by a mere 0.1 seconds. Spain’s Jhoan Sebastian Guzman Bitar struck gold with a timing of 1:22.288s while Colombia’s Jhon Edwar Tascon Holguin was forced to settle for silver despite a faster run of 1:21.846s.

The Colombian was slapped with a reduced rank. In the context of speed skating or roller skating competitions, “reduced rank” refers to a ranking adjustment applied to a skater due to a penalty, disqualification in a heat or inability to complete a race as intended.

Velkumar’s podium finish marked India’s first medal in roller skating at the World Games. Overall, in the ongoing edition of the World Games, Velkumar’s triumph added a third medal to India’s tally.

The 22-year-old has developed an appetite for making skating history for India on the global stage. In 2021, he became the first Indian to secure a World Championships medal after claiming a silver in the junior men’s 15000m elimination race in Ibague, Colombia.

Velkumar was also part of the Indian team which won a bronze medal in the men’s 3000m event at the 2023 Asian Games in Hangzhou.

Before Velkumar’s heroics, Rishabh Yadav’s bronze in the men’s compound archery event, and Namrata Batra’s milestone silver in wushu, the three-medal haul marks India’s best campaign at the World Games, surpassing two from the 1989 edition.

India now boasts eight medals in the World Games history, consisting of one gold, two silvers and five bronzes. The five medals before the valiant effort in Chengdu consist of Aditya Snehal Mehta’s snooker gold at Cali 2013 and Sumita Laha’s powerlifting silver at Karlsruhe 1989.

Indian badminton legend Prakash Padukone dazzled in the men’s singles event to claim bronze at the inaugural 1981 edition in Santa Clara. Abhishek Verma and Jyothi Surekha Vennam’s mixed team compound archery bronze in Birmingham in 2022 and Rekha Mal’s powerlifting bronze in 1989 are the remaining winners. (ANI)