18YO Khushi Shah Will Represent India At World Speed Skating Championships
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Focused on the track: Khushi Shah in action during a race
She has been rolling on her skates since she was four, and soon after she won her first medal at the age of six, she was participating in races and winning them more often! Confident and talented, she went on to participate in state- and national-level championships, and since then, there as been no looking back for this teenager.
The first Mumbaikar in 12 years to be part of the official team that will be representing Indian at the World Speed Skating Championships to be held in Columbia in September this year, 18-year-old Khushi Shah is over the moon at her selection, but by no means is taking it easy.
North Korea skipped the Tokyo Olympics before but under different circumstances insidethegames.biz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from insidethegames.biz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Thursday, 15 April 2021
North Korea’s withdrawal from the upcoming Olympics has echoes of the 1964 Games in Tokyo although the reasons behind it are very different.
Earlier this month, Pyongyang announced that it would not take part to protect athletes from the global health crisis caused by the coronavirus.
The regime claims that there are no cases of COVID-19 in North Korea.
The boycott comes as international relations with the West have hardened despite attempts by the Olympic Movement to build closer relationships in recent years.
It was a similar story approaching the Tokyo Games in 1964.
Protracted negotiations had finally seen North Korea join the Olympic family. They made their debut at the Winter Games in Innsbruck but, later that year, withdrew their entire team of 180 from Tokyo after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) banned six members for taking part in an unsanctioned event.
JOHN BISSET/Stuff
South Canterbury s top skaters will not be able to compete in the world championships this year. Pictured, from left, are Charli Nevin, Ella Benson, Roshean O Connor and Charlotte Clarke.
New Zealand’s top speed skaters will miss out on an opportunity to compete in the World Speed Skating Championships for the second consecutive year due to Covid-19. The championships are scheduled to take place in Cartagena and Arjona, Colombia, from September 4 to 11, but national coach Bill Begg said he had received news New Zealand would not be attending. A letter from Skate NZ, also known as New Zealand Federation of Roller Sports, says “due to the continuation of the Covid-19 pandemic worldwide, the Government requirements for quarantine, and the health and wellbeing of our skaters and management, the NZFRS board have determined that the team will not be able to attend the event”.