Navi Mumbai : She wakes up much before the Sun does. When the kids of her age get cranky on being made to wake up early, she on the other hand gets upset if sometimes she oversleeps for few minutes and her parents don’t wake her up.
Nine-year-old Schaleen Fernandes, a student of Don Bosco School, Nerul has been waking up as early as 4:30 am in the morning to don the skates and hit the road along with her coach. Skating has been her passion since the tender age of five when she was in Sr. KG.
“Once when we had gone to Nerul church to attend regular Sunday mass. Schaleen saw kids skating in the basement of the church. The sight thrilled her so much that on coming back home, she insisted that she would take up skating. And since then she has never looked back”, says her proud mother Dora Fernandes.
Wining her very first medal at the age of five, till date this little wonder has won more than 50 medals at various events.
In the year 2013 she participated in District Level (Under-11) when she was in Std. II and bagged two Gold medals (in ring) and one Silver medal (on road). And the very next year, she repeated her metal run with exactly same performance at the same event, displaying her consistency.
“I love skating, swimming and painting. But skating has always been my passion. I really enjoy getting up early in the morning and skate on the wide open road as it keeps me active entire day,” says Schaleen, who wants to be a lawyer like her father.
“We are really fortunate to have a talented daughter like Schaleen. We have never forced anything upon her, but seeing her passion for skating and having participated for State level since 2012, I wish she gets qualified for the National level this year,” says Schaleen’s father Joaquim Fernandes who is lawyer associated with a legal firm in South Mumbai.
Coached under the watchful eyes of A R Sanofar of Speed Track Skating Academy, Schaleen bagged six Gold medals in three events, two in long and short race formats for Under-10 at a Skating Premier League held at Euro School, Airoli this year and four at the Palm Rollers held this year.
“I have been training several kids for last many years. Schaleen has improved her performance with every single year through her sheer dedication and love for the sport,” says Sanofar who feels that Navi Mumbai should have its own skating ally where kids like Schaleen could practice safely instead taking a risk of practicing on the early morning vacant roads.
How soon Navi Mumbai will get its own skating ally only time will tell. But one thing we can be sure about is that this emerging Queen of Skates shall sit on her deserving throne in the years to come.
