India’s Shiva Keshavan defied all odds today by claiming the gold medal at the Asian Luge Championship. He was clocked at 1 minute and 39.962 seconds with a top speed of 130.4 km/hour. Earlier this week, the 35-year-old Luger had suffered a sudden crash during practise and broke not only his sled but also damaged his left foot tendon, which led to him missing part of the official training before the main event.
Japan’s Tanaka Shohei clinched the silver medal by finishing within 1 minute and 44.874 seconds along with a top speed of 124.6 km/hour. While Chinese Taipei’s Lien Te-An bagged the bronze medal with a combined time of 1 minute and 45.120 seconds alongside a top speed of 126.3 km/hour. Do you know that Shiva is the first Indian representative to ever compete in Luge? Despite the lack of funding, Keshavan has defied all odds to become successful in the adventure sport.
Asian Championship 2016 Gold! 🙂 @FIL_Luge @Media_SAI @IndianOlympians pic.twitter.com/WkI9aT1Ktn
— Shiva Keshavan (@100thofasec) December 23, 2016
“I was determined to not let anything deter me from the gold medal this time, so despite all the obstacles I decided to risk everything in the race. I want to express my deepest gratitude to all my supporters and sponsors Mallcom Ltd., Hero Electronix, Hero Fincorp and Micromax, without whom I would not have been able to get back on track and win this medal for India,” Shiva Keshavan told FirstPost.
What exactly is LUGE?
Did you know that Luge is actually the French word for ”sledge”, this adventure sport was developed in Switzerland. Basically, Luge is one of the oldest sports of the winter season. In this sport, the competitors lie on their backs on a sled in a sleeping position and then race down an icy track at a speed well over 100 km/hour without brakes. The luger has to maneuver the sled with his/her hands to control the aerodynamics. The sport is also a part of the Winter Olympics.
