Skating ace zips through Mumbai

A narrow lane near the MIG Cricket Club in Bandra, Mumbai, suddenly bursts to life on a quiet afternoon as a female skater hits the street.

Skating is not uncommon in India, but a girl circling the streets at high speed in busy traffic, and cameramen following her, is. It caught everyone's attention.

"Who is that girl? What is she doing skating in such traffic?" enquired a few passersby.

The lady in question was France's former World and European champion Nathalie Barbotin, currently ranked third in world inline skating.

Asked what brings her to the city, she replied: "For training. Back home in Nantes, it's minus 2 degrees and raining, so I can't train there. I have heard the winter in Mumbai is the perfect weather to train, so I have come here on a 10-day trip," she said, on Friday.

Barbotin, who is on a three-month visit to India, was in Mysore the last 30 days. She currently trains at the Bandra-Kurla Complex daily to improve her stamina for the 2007 season.

So what exactly is Inline skating?

Inline skating is roller-skating done on inline skates. The skates used in inline skating usually have 4 wheels, arranged in a single line. The world Inline skating season runs from April to September and consists of 12 races, held in Europe, South America, United States and Asia.

"In Korea the sport is very famous. In the last five years it has taken a big boom there. There are around 8000 skaters around the country and there is a lot of interest for the sport and it is growing. In fact, India can also learn from it," she says.

Nathalie, who took up the sport professionally around eight years back, is a world-renowned skater, having won every major title in the sport.

"Actually I started skating when I was aged 9, when my parents gifted me skates, after which I pursued it seriously. And when I was 18, I took a break because my parents told me to study first and then take up whatever I wanted.

"So I completed my graduation and even got a couple of job offers, but then realised that skating was all I wanted to do and I never looked back.

"Well I don't get paid as much as other sportspersons, but I get a normal salary if I could say that," Nathalie said.

Also making the trip to India is her coach Christophe Audoire, who has coached the Indian national team from 1999 to 2002. Audoire, who holds a first and second level coaching certificate, has trained world-class skaters, like Arnaud Gicquel and Tristan Loy.

"I still remember when I took over as the coach of India. I started in 1999 and in two years we sent a team to World Championships and since then every year India has been taking part," said Audoire.

Audoire, who is also a race director with the World Inline Skating Championships, could not continue after 2002 because of his busy schedule, as most of his time was spent in looking after the organisation of races.

However, he does not rule out a move to coaching the Indian team again.

"Maybe it could happen again. But right now my dream is to bring the World Championship to India and organise some big races here. The first part was over when I took India to the World Championship;, now I want to bring the championship here.

"The World Inline Cup is similar to the tennis tour, like the ATP Tour or the WTA Tour, where you win points through the season for winning," he revealed.

"You can compare it to the Marathon races, wherein the professional skaters start first and then anyone else who wants to skate can join in the race."

The men skaters can reach a maximum speed of around 55 kilometres per hour, while the women can get as high as 51 kilometres per hour, but the average speed during a marathon is around 40 km/h.

He says India have good potential to make it big in inline skating.

"A good example for India is Colombia, who started as a small skating nation around 10 years ago. But they worked hard at it, won races and built new tracks. Now they are one of the top nations in skating." said Audoire.

According to 31-year-old Nathalie, skating is not a difficult sport to get into and believes that starting is difficult, but once you get used to the skates there are lesser problems.

"In the beginning, even I fell like normal people, but look at me today," she says.