JOIN USAbove all, he is more proud that his daughter Sharanya Mahesh has won two bronze medals in Under 17 women’s relay event in the 14th Asian Speed Skating Championship held at Taipei in China between July 19 and 25.
As a professional coach, he has not only produced dozens of skating champs in the district, but also has trained many special children and shaped them into skating champs without charging a single penny from them. An official trainer for Special Olympic Bharath, Mahesh, continues to train special children in his institute without collecting any fee.
Mahesh spent lakhs to shape his daughter into an international roller skating champion. However, he has regrets only for the lack of encouragement, especially from the government’s part. Speaking to City Herald, Mahesh said that despite being a coach of national and international-levels, I have never been felicitated by any of the government or non-government agencies so far. “I am happy that many children, especially children with special abilities, have won national and international accreditation,” he added.
Mahesh, who was associated with Garden’s Roller Skating Club of Bangalore, started his career as a professional coach in Mangalore in 1991. The Mangalore Roller Skating Club came into being in June 1991 with his own initiative. He still remembers that it was the management of Bharathiya Vidya Bhavan, who encouraged him by providing space for skating training classes.
“I started the institute with only one boy initially. But later on, the number of children went on increasing. Children started participating in vacation camps,” he said. Though Mahesh is an expert roller skater himself, he has regrets that he could not bag any national or international medals. “There was nobody to encourage me or sponsor me when I was young even though I was very enthusiastic in skating. At the same time, many started calling me mad, instead of promoting the talent in me those days,” he laments.
It was because of Mahesh’s initiative that the then Deputy Commissioner Bharathlal Meena gave permission to construct a skating rink in Mangala Stadium in 1999 spending about Rs 4 lakh. Now Mahesh is striving to complete the works of new sophisticated skating rink in Kadri Park. He said that the MESCOM has already sanctioned Rs 12 lakh for the purpose. However, he said, it requires another Rs 10 lakh to complete the works. Ground works are complete and benches are ready, but the works on erecting barricades, constructing dressing rooms and toilets are yet to be taken up, he added.
Currently, Mahesh is engaged in training the Indian team, which would take part in the Special Olympics World Summer Camp to be held at Athens in Greece in 2011. He said that he has already conducted the first camp for the special children in Pondichery. The second training camp will be held at Hyderabad in October this year and the third camp will be held in Haryana in February, 2011, he added.